Jean Pierre Carl Buron, known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor.
14 Facts About Jean Hersholt
2.
Jean Hersholt is best known for starring on the radio series Dr Christian and in the film Heidi.
3.
Jean Hersholt appeared in two of the first short films of Danish film studio Nordisk Film in 1906, but did not find much success in his early years in Denmark.
4.
Jean Hersholt emigrated to the United States in 1913, and spent the remainder of his acting career in America.
5.
Jean Hersholt's best-remembered film roles include Marcus Schouler in Erich von Stroheim's 1924 Greed and Shirley Temple's beloved grandfather in the 1937 film version of the 1880 children's book, Heidi, written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri.
6.
Jean Hersholt wanted to do the role on radio, but could not get the rights.
7.
Jean Hersholt decided to create his own doctor character for radio, and since he was a Hans Christian Andersen enthusiast, he borrowed that name for his character of the philosophical Dr Paul Christian who practiced in the Midwest town of River's End with the assistance of Nurse Judy Price.
8.
Various spin-offs were produced, as Jean Hersholt co-wrote a Dr Christian novel and made a series of six family films as Christian from 1939 to 1941, for instance Dr Christian Meets the Women in 1940.
9.
In 1939, Jean Hersholt helped form the Motion Picture Relief Fund to support industry employees with medical care when they were down on their luck.
10.
Jean Hersholt translated over 160 of Andersen's fairy tales into the English language.
11.
Jean Hersholt was appointed a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1948, partly due to this endeavor.
12.
Jean Hersholt was the paternal half-uncle of actor Leslie Nielsen and former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Erik Nielsen.
13.
Jean Hersholt died of cancer in Hollywood in 1956, and is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
14.
Jean Hersholt is one of only 11 people with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with one at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in motion pictures and another one at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in radio.