1. Bowen Charlton "Sonny" Tufts III was an American stage, film, and television actor.
31 Facts About Sonny Tufts
1. 2.
Sonny Tufts starred in the cult classic Cat-Women of the Moon.
3.
Bowen Charlton Tufts III was born in Boston into a prominent banking family, the son of Octavia Emily and Bowen Charlton Tufts.
4.
Sonny Tufts's granduncle was businessman and philanthropist Charles Tufts, for whom Tufts University is named.
5.
Sonny Tufts attended the Phillips Exeter Academy, He later broke with the family banking tradition by not studying business at Harvard and attending rival Yale instead and following other pursuits.
6.
Sonny Tufts followed up with a year of tutelage in Paris and three more in the United States.
7.
Sonny Tufts appeared in Who's Who, and Sing for Your Supper in 1939.
8.
Egli shot a screen test with Sonny Tufts, who was then signed to Paramount.
9.
Sonny Tufts' performance was praised by critics and the role served as a launching pad for his career.
10.
The farm-out to RKO meant Sonny Tufts had to drop out of Standing Room Only, where he was replaced by Fred MacMurray.
11.
Government Girl was a huge hit and Sonny Tufts was voted the number one "Star of Tomorrow" by Australian exhibitors for 1944.
12.
Sandrich directed Sonny Tufts' next film, Here Come the Waves, which was a huge success, due in part to stars Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton.
13.
Sonny Tufts sang several songs, but the film was a box-office disappointment.
14.
Sonny Tufts made a cameo along with most Paramount stars in Duffy's Tavern, singing "Swinging on a Star".
15.
Sonny Tufts was reunited with De Havilland in The Well-Groomed Bride, replacing Dennis O'Keefe but she wound up with Ray Milland at the end of the film.
16.
Sonny Tufts co-starred opposite Betty Hutton in Cross My Heart.
17.
Sonny Tufts was the romantic male lead in Easy Come, Easy Go, a Barry Fitzgerald vehicle.
18.
Sonny Tufts starred in a Western, The Untamed Breed.
19.
Sonny Tufts was in a film noir with John Payne, The Crooked Way where he played a ruthless villain.
20.
Sonny Tufts received praise for his performance, with critics noting that he "work[ed] against type quite effectively".
21.
Sonny Tufts was Victor Mature's friend in Easy Living at RKO.
22.
Sonny Tufts was arrested for public drunkenness in 1950 and 1951.
23.
Sonny Tufts separated from his wife in 1951 and she divorced him in 1952, saying his drinking had become "intolerable".
24.
Sonny Tufts was unemployed for a year until he received an offer from Britain to make The Gift Horse with Richard Attenborough.
25.
In 1953, Sonny Tufts was cast opposite Barbara Payton in the low-budget comedy film Run for the Hills.
26.
Sonny Tufts had the lead in the low-budget 1954 film Serpent Island.
27.
In 1956, Sonny Tufts had a supporting role in drama Come Next Spring for Republic Pictures.
28.
Sonny Tufts was in "A Tale of Two Citizens" for Damon Runyon Theatre.
29.
Sonny Tufts returned to acting in 1963 with a guest appearance on The Virginian playing the father of Trampas and in a Bob Hope TV special Have Girls Will Travel.
30.
Sonny Tufts was in Town Tamer and "The Ordeal of Bud Windom" on The Loner with Lloyd Bridges and his son Jeff.
31.
On June 4,1970, Sonny Tufts died of pneumonia at age 58 at St John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.