W. S. Van Dyke
| W. S. Van Dyke | |
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| Born |
Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II March 21, 1889 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 1943 (aged 53) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | One Take Woody |
| Occupation | Film director, writer |
| Years active | 1915–42 |
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Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932, The Thin Man in 1934, San Francisco in 1936, and six popular musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Director for The Thin Man and San Francisco, and directed four actors to Oscar nominations: William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Norma Shearer, and Robert Morley. Known as a reliable craftsman who made his films on schedule and under budget, he earned the name "One Take Woody" for his quick and efficient style of filming.
Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II was born on March 21, 1889 in San Diego, California. His father was a Superior Court judge who died the day his son was born. His mother, Laura Winston, returned to her former acting career. As a child actor, Van Dyke appeared with his mother on the vaudeville circuit with traveling . They traveled up and down the coast and into the Middle West. When he was five years old, they appeared at the old San Francisco Grand Opera House in Blind Girl. He would later remember his unusual education, "I think I've been to school in every state in the Union. Whenever the company stopped off long enough in any city I went back behind a school desk. The rest of the time my mother taught me."
When Van Dyke was fourteen years old, he moved to Seattle to live with his grandmother. While attending business school, he worked a number of part-time jobs, including janitor, waiter, salesman, and railroad attendant. Van Dyke's early adult years were unsettled, and he moved from job to job. In 1909, he married actress Zelda Ashford, and the two joined various touring theater companies, finally arriving in Hollywood in 1915.
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