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Kenneth Neil Hawks (August 12, 1898 – January 2, 1930) was an American film director and producer.
Kenneth Hawks | |
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Born | Kenneth Neil Hawks August 12, 1898 Goshen, Indiana, U.S. |
Died | January 2, 1930 Santa Monica, California, U.S. | (aged 31)
Occupation | Film director |
Years active | 1926–1930 |
Spouse | |
Relatives |
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Life and career
editHawks served in the United States Army Air Service during World War I. He then graduated from Yale University in 1919. He soon moved to Hollywood, California with brother Howard Hawks; He became a writer, editor and supervisor at Fox Films Corporation in 1926. He began directing films for Fox in 1929. He was supervising producer of the Fox documentary film True Heaven (1929). On January 2, 1930, while directing filming of aerial scenes for the film Such Men Are Dangerous, he was killed in a mid-air plane crash over the Pacific Ocean along with 9 others: pilot Walter Ross Cook, cameraman George Eastman, assistant director Ben Frankel, assistant director Max Gold, Tom Harris, Harry Johannes, Otho Jordan, pilot Halleck Rouse, and cinematographer Conrad Wells (also known as Abraham Fried). The planes that crashed into each other were identical Stinson SM-1F Detroiters; sun glare was listed as probable cause.
His body was recovered and after cremation his ashes were scattered over the site of his death.
Family
editHe was the brother of director Howard Hawks and producer William Hawks.
Kenneth met actress Mary Astor in 1927; the couple married on February 26, 1928 at her home, Moorcrest. Kenneth gave Astor a new Packard as a wedding gift. They soon moved to a home on Lookout Mountain in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography as director
edit- Masked Emotions (1929)
- Big Time (1929)
- Such Men Are Dangerous (1930)
References
edit- ^ Kidd, Charles (1986). "Howard Hawks and Mary Astor". Debrett Goes to Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-312-00588-7.
External links
edit- Kenneth Hawks at IMDb
- Wedding day photo of Mary Astor and Kenneth Hawks
- Parker v. Granger case details plane crash that killed Kenneth Hawks
- an account of the plane crash that killed Kenneth Hawks et al
- an account of the plane crash that killed Kenneth Hawks et al Archived November 10, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- Kenneth Hawks
- basicfamouspeople Mary Astor
- Davis Monthan Aviation Field Register