Peter Lawford
| Peter Lawford | |
|---|---|
Peter Lawford in 1955
|
|
| Born |
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen 7 September 1923 London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 24 December 1984 (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest complicated by renal and liver failure |
| Occupation | Actor, film producer |
| Years active | 1930–1983 |
| Spouse(s) |
Patricia Kennedy Lawford
(m. 1954; div. 1966) Mary Rowan (m. 1971; div. 1975) Deborah Gould (m. 1976; div. 1977) Patricia Seaton (m. 1984) |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) |
Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford May Sommerville Bunny |
Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford (born Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor who lived in the United States throughout his adult life.
He was a member of the "Rat Pack" and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy. In later years he was noted more for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he had a strong presence in popular culture and starred in a number of highly acclaimed films.
Born in London in 1923, he was the only child of Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford, KBE (1865-1953) and May Sommerville Bunny (1883-1972). At the time of Peter's birth, however, his mother was married to Dr. Capt. Ernest Vaughn Aylen, one of Sir Sydney's officers, while his father was married to Muriel Williams. At the time, May and Ernest Aylen were living apart. May confessed to Aylen that the child was not his, a revelation that resulted in a double divorce. Sir Sydney and May then wed in September 1924 after their divorces were finalised and when their son was one year old.
Lawford's family was connected to the English aristocracy through his uncle Ernest Lawford's wife (a daughter of the 14th Earl of Eglinton) as well as his aunt Ethel Turner Lawford (who married a son of the 1st Baron Avebury). His aunt Jessie Bruce Lawford, another of his father's sisters, was the second wife of the Hon Hartley Williams, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court of the colony of Victoria, Australia. A relative, through his mother, was Australian artist Rupert Bunny.
He spent his early childhood in France and, owing to his family's travels, was never formally educated. Instead, he was schooled by governesses and tutors, and his education included tennis and ballet lessons. "In the beginning," his mother observed, "he had no homework. When he was older he had Spanish, German and music added to his studies. He read only selected books—English fairy stories, English and French classics; no crime stories. Having studied Peter for so long, I decided he was quite unfitted for any career except art, so I cut Latin, Algebra, high mathematics and substituted dramatics instead." Because of the widely varying national and religious backgrounds of his tutors, Lawford "attended various services in churches, cathedrals, synagogues and for some time was an usher in a Christian Science Sunday School...." Around 1930, aged seven, he made his acting debut in the English film Poor Old Bill.
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Wikipedia