George Cukor


Director
George Cukor

About

Also Known As
George Dewey Cukor
Birth Place
New York City, New York, USA
Born
July 07, 1899
Died
January 24, 1983
Cause of Death
Natural Causes

Biography

One of the most respected directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Oscar-winning filmmaker George Cukor was frequently described as a "women's director," thanks to his stellar collaborations with Katherine Hepburn on ten films, including "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), as well as Joan Crawford on "The Women" (1939), Ingrid Bergman on "Gaslight" (1944), Judy Holliday on "Born Yesterday" (195...

Photos & Videos

Gaslight - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Camille - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Our Betters - Behind-the-Scenes Photo

Bibliography

"George Cukor, Master of Elegance: Hollywood's Legendary Director and His Stars"
Emanuel Levy, William Morrow (1994)
"George Cukor: A Double Life"
Patrick McGilligan, St. Martin's Press (1991)
"George Cukor: A Critical Study and Filmography"
James Bernardoni, McFarland (1985)
"Cukor"
Carlos Clarens, Secker & Warburg (1976)

Notes

"Women's director! Well, I'm very pleased to be considered a master of anything, but remember, for every Jill there was a Jack. People like to pigeonhole you--it's a shortcut, I guess, but once they do, you're stuck with it." --George Cukor in 1979, quoted in his The New York Times obituary, January 26, 1983.

"You have to know when to shut up. A director can talk a lot and theorize and shut off whatever creative thing they [actors] have. You can be quiet, but you can't be inhibited." --George Cukor, quoted in his The New York Times obituary, January 26, 1983.

Biography

One of the most respected directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Oscar-winning filmmaker George Cukor was frequently described as a "women's director," thanks to his stellar collaborations with Katherine Hepburn on ten films, including "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), as well as Joan Crawford on "The Women" (1939), Ingrid Bergman on "Gaslight" (1944), Judy Holliday on "Born Yesterday" (1950), Judy Garland on "A Star is Born" (1957) and Audrey Hepburn on "My Fair Lady" (1964). The appellation, while appropriate, did not sufficiently explain the scope of Cukor's five-decade career; rather, it was his scrupulous attention to every detail of his films - from pace and design to casting, scripting and editing - that created a fluid, flawless aesthetic that remained almost invisible to viewers until after the final credits rolled. Though he worked in all genres - from comedies and dramas to musicals - his true focus was the complicated entanglement of relationships between friends and lovers in the face of political, social and interpersonal conflicts. In doing so, Cukor crafted a body of work that represented some of the finest pictures ever released by Hollywood studios; pictures that stood the test of time and changing audiences, who returned to Cukor's cinematic offerings in order to see a master craftsman at work.

George Dewey Cukor was born July 7, 1899 in New York City. The only son of Hungarian Jewish parents Victor and Helen Cukor, who drew their son's middle name from Naval hero George Dewey, he began acting in local productions as a youth, and performed in a recital alongside his future mentor, David O. Selznick, when both were just boys. Theater became his first and greatest love as a teenager; he would frequent cut classes at DeWitt Clinton High School to see afternoon matinees at the famed Hippodrome. He later worked as a supernumerary actor with the Metropolitan Opera. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton, Cukor enrolled in the City College of New York with designs on following his father, an assistant district attorney, into a career in law. While there, he joined the Student Army Training Corps in 1918, but missed serving in World War I by only two months.

After Cukor's duty was concluded, he left school and began working in theater. In 1920, he served as stage manager for a Syracuse-based troupe called the Knickerbocker Players before forming his own company, the C.F. and Z Production Company with Walter Folmer and John Zwicki. There, he made his debut as a director on various productions before heading to Broadway with Melchior Lengyel's "Antonia." For the next five years, he worked on Broadway in the winters, gradually gaining acclaim for shows like a 1926 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby." In the summer months, he returned to Rochester to work with his production company, which later became the Cukor-Kondolk Stock Company and featured the likes of Louis Calhern, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen and a young Bette Davis. In 1927, he relocated to New York to work as the stage manager for the Empire Theater on 42nd Street, where he oversaw productions with Ethel Barrymore and Jeanne Eagles, among others.

The following year, Cukor headed to Hollywood to join the growing ranks of theater people who were finding employment in feature films. He signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and, after a six-month apprenticeship, began working as a dialogue coach and screen test director on films like "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930). That same year, he earned his first screen credit as co-director on "Grumpy" (1930), a mystery starring English actor Cyril Maude in his signature role as a cantankerous British barrister. Two more films with Gardner followed before Cukor gained his first solo outing with "Tarnished Lady" (1931), a melodrama with Tallulah Bankhead as a socialite whose unrequited love for a callous writer leads her to personal and financial ruin. In 1932, Cukor signed on to replace Ernst Lubitsch as director on "One Hour with You" (1932), a musical comedy vehicle for Maurice Chevalier. Lubitsch, who had taken ill during the shoot, left the project to recuperate, but remained on board as producer. However, after two weeks of recuperation, Lubitsch returned to the set and began directing scenes, with Cukor's consent. After filming wrapped, Lubitsch demanded that Paramount remove Cukor's directorial credit, and threatened to leave the studio if his request was not honored. Studio executive B.P. Schulberg asked Cukor to cooperate with Lubitsch's request, but the young upstart instead responded with a lawsuit. After eventually settling for a dialogue director credit, a disgusted Cukor left Paramount in disgust, instead signing with his old friend David O. Selznick at RKO.

There, Cukor developed his unique and subtle style, which over the years was defined as "theatrical," with a heavy emphasis on female actresses in what were commonly known as "women's pictures." It was true that Cukor worked well with actresses and with material based in the theater and film worlds, as evidenced by his first picture for RKO, 1932's "What Price Hollywood?" The film, which paralleled the life of rising starlet Constance Bennett with that of fading actor Lowell Sherman, was filled with sudsy romance, tear-jerking moments and touch of scandal. But as writer and Cukor friend Gavin Lambert noted in a 2002 essay, Cukor's true interest lay with stories about truth, identity, and the self-deception that was often an integral part of the show business world, as well as interpersonal relationships between men and women. These themes would remain at the core of Cukor's work for the next half-century.

Cukor's championing of Katherine Hepburn also contributed to his label as a "women's director" - a title which he loathed. He had fought for her to star in his 1932 remake of "A Bill of Divorcement" as Billie Burke's daughter, whose impending marriage to fiancé Grey Cavanaugh is threatened by familial uproar over the return of her father (John Barrymore) after two decades in a mental hospital. Selznick, however, disliked the actress and believed that her presence in the film would actually hamper its box office success. Cukor disregarded his boss' opinion and cast her in the film, which served as both the launch of her storied career and the beginning of their long friendship and professional relationship.

Over the next decade, Cukor would helm a string of popular comedies and dramas for the studio, all delivered with exacting detail in regard to performance, story and production. Behind each of the films, beginning with 1932's "Rockabye" and ending with the infamous flop "Sylvia Scarlett" (1935), Cukor would explore the tensions between class, sex and society; in the wildly successful "Little Women" (1933), which netted his first Oscar nomination for Best Director, the simple New England life of the March sisters, led by Hepburn's Jo, is tested by the demands of maturity and romance, while "Dinner at Eight" (1933), which Cukor directed as a loan-out for MGM, explored the effects of power and money on romantic and business relationships via a stellar cast that included John and Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery. His "Romeo and Juliet" (1936), with Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard as Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, was of course the epitome of class conflict, as was his celebrated take on Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" (1935), another loan-out to MGM with Lionel Barrymore and an acclaimed dramatic turn by W.C. Fields. In all cases, Cukor worked with the industry's best behind-the-scenes talent, from producers Irving Thalberg and Meriam C. Cooper, to writers Frances Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz, to composer Max Steiner, all of which generated a high level of quality that critics frequented described as "gloss," another descriptive term that dogged Cukor throughout his career. In reality, the combined efforts of these talented people were orchestrated by Cukor to deliver consistency of product; he believed that the talents of his actors or writers should be matched on all levels by his production staff. The result was what writers and filmmakers like Francois Truffaut noted as a masterful control of tone, rhythm and pacing in his films, resulting in something like movie perfection.

Not all of his efforts were celebrated by the press and public. 1936's "Sylvia Scarlett," with Hepburn as a con artist who disguises herself as a man, and Cary Grant as the Cockney rogue who loves her, was one of the biggest failures of the 1930s. More famously, Cukor was fired as director of "Gone with the Wind" (1939) after devoting more than two years to the project's development. The Hollywood rumor mill swirled around Clark Gable as the culprit behind Cukor's removal, due to his discomfort over Cukor's sexuality and fear that he, as the male lead, would be lost in the shuffle by the reputed "woman's director." In truth, Cukor had been one of the industry's most openly gay figures since his debut in 1928, but Gable and Cukor had also worked together prior to "Wind" on 1934's "Manhattan Melodrama" without incident. The real architects behind Cukor's dismissal were his patron, David O. Selznick, and Cukor himself. The former had grown tired of Cukor's methodical pace, as well as his decision to turn down such pet projects as "A Star is Born" (1937). As for the director, he complained that unless he was able to work under the conditions he desired, he would have to leave the project. Selznick agreed to Cukor's decision, having already received quality work from him on several interim projects, including several scenes for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938). During his downtime on "Wind," Cukor also spent a week on the set of MGM's "Wizard of Oz," where he made several key decisions on the film's development, including the change in Dorothy's hair color from blond to auburn, and bringing Jack Haley aboard to replace Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man. He departed the project in late 1938 to return to work on "Wind." His replacement on both pictures would be MGM workhorse, Victor Fleming.

Following his dismissal by Selznick, Cukor moved to MGM, where he began the second and most significant period of his career. He launched his tenure at the studio with "The Women," (1939), an acerbic adaptation of Clare Booth Luce's play about the social and romantic travails of a group of well-heeled Manhattan women. Sporting an extraordinary cast, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and Cukor's personal favorite, Paulette Goddard, the comedy fit neatly into the director's oeuvre through its clash between bored socialites, the husbands who ignored them (no men appeared onscreen), and the friends they believed would support them. "The Women" was one of the biggest hits in the storied year of 1939, and was soon followed by a string of Cukor's finest films.

His tenure at MGM was marked by a string of extraordinary hits and a smattering of dismal failures. His first picture after "The Women" was a bonafide American classic and earned his second Best Director Oscar nomination: "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), with Hepburn as a brassy socialite caught between her playboy ex-husband (Cary Grant), a do-gooder reporter (James Stewart) and the man (John Howard) she believed she needed to marry, was among the crown jewels of Hollywood comedies, and helped to re-establish Hepburn as a movie star after years as "box office poison." He bookended his time at MGM with "Gaslight" (1944), a memorable thriller about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who believed that her husband (Charles Boyer) was planning to murder her. It received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Bergman. Between these efforts was the courtroom drama "A Woman's Face" (1941), with Joan Crawford as a disfigured blackmailer in turmoil over returning to her criminal life after her appearance is corrected by plastic surgery, and two major failures - "Two-Faced Woman" (1945), a dismal comedy that marked the end of Greta Garbo's film career, and "Her Cardboard Lover" (1942), which rang down the curtain on Norma Shearer's life on screen as well.

In 1942, the 43-year-old Cukor enlisted in the Army Signal Corps, where he produced training films for military personnel. The experience was a disappointment for him, as he found it difficult to give direction to his superiors. He also never advanced beyond the rank of private, despite intervention from Frank Capra, and suspected that his sexual orientation was the stumbling block. Cukor was honorable discharged in 1944 and returned to MGM, where his career picked up where he had left off.

Key to his third act success was a collaborative relationship with writers Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, whom he had met at his home in 1939 before they married in 1941. Together, they forged some of the most sparkling Hollywood comedies of the late '40s and early 1950s, including two of the best Katherine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy films, "Adam's Rib" (1949) and 1952's "Pat and Mike, as well as "Born Yesterday" (1950), an extraordinary comedy about a politician's mistress (Judy Holliday) who, upon discovering her own innate intelligence, throws off her boorish lover (Broderick Crawford) to fall for her tutor (William Holden). The picture earned Cukor a fourth Oscar nomination, and made a star of Holliday, who won the Oscar for her performance in the film. She would go on to appear in two more hits for Cukor, "The Marrying Kind" (1952), which introduced war hero-turned-actor Aldo Ray, and "It Should Happen to You" (1954), which brought a young comic actor named Jack Lemmon to audiences' attention.

In 1952, Cukor experienced one of the greatest disappointments of his career with the 1952 remake of "A Star is Born." Cukor had turned down the original version in 1937, much to Selznick's dismay, and did the same for producer Sid Luft, who was mounting the new version as a Technicolor musical remake for his wife, Judy Garland, at Warner Bros. Cukor was hesitant, as the film's plot was remarkably similar to his "What Price Hollywood?" but the opportunity to direct a color musical with a script by Moss Hart proved too enticing to turn down. He envisioned Cary Grant, but the actor refused the part, which ended their professional and personal relationships. Warner Bros. chief Jack Warner rejected Cukor's next considerations, Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra, and eventually decided on James Mason as the male lead. The production soon proved to be one of Cukor's most trying, with script changes arriving daily, as well as the challenges of dealing with Garland's addictions and personal issues. A 210-minute cut was assembled in 1954 prior to Cukor leaving for Europe and then India to begin production on "Bhowani Junction" (1954). The original cut received stellar reviews, but Warner executives, fearing its length would turn away ticket buyers, trimmed the final cut down to 154 minutes.

The creative failure of "A Star is Born" marked the end of Cukor's career as a consistent producer of top-quality films. He would bounce between hits like the Golden Globe-winning musical "Les Girls" (1957) with Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor and commercial flops like "Heller in Pink Tights" (1960), a Western comedy with Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn that, despite its lavish sets and visuals, was a personal low point for Cukor, who disowned the final product. There was also the collapse of "Something's Got to Give" (1962), which found Cukor shooting around an increasingly unreachable Marilyn Monroe. After a month of shooting, he had less than 10 minutes of usable footage with the often overly medicated and consistently late actress, who was summarily fired by Fox executives before the entire picture was abandoned. Two months after its collapse, Monroe was found dead at age 36 in her Hollywood home.

Cukor's greatest triumph career triumph also came with adversity. Hired by Warner Bros. to helm their film adaptation of the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady," Cukor was faced with conflicts both in front of and behind the camera. There were frequent disagreements with designer Cecil Beaton, while star Audrey Hepburn - already a controversial choice due to her lack of singing ability - upset the crew with her numerous diva-like demands. Critics were also unkind to the final result, with many noting that Cukor's serene pace stifled the musical's ebullience. Despite these issues, the film went on to be one of the biggest hits of the decade, and earned Cukor his first and only Oscar for Best Director, as well as Golden Globe and Directors Guild accolades. It would also serve as the final high note of his long and storied career.

There would be more films in the two decades following "My Fair Lady;" some inconsequential jobs for hire, like 1969's "Justine," on which he replaced Joseph Strick. Others were hopeless boondoggles, like "Travels with My Aunt" (1972), a project he had hoped would star Katherine Hepburn. However, studio interference led to her abandoning the project under a cloud of litigation, and the resulting film now starring Maggie Smith was largely ignored. Worse still was "The Blue Bird" (1976), a glossy fantasy based on a Russian fable with an all-star cast led by Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Ava Gardner. Filmed entirely in the Soviet Union, Cukor found himself stranded with an uncooperative and frequently mutinous cast, and a Russian crew that spoke no English, which required him to direct via improvised sign language.

Cukor found greater success on the small screen with a pair of intimate dramas, both starring Hepburn. "Love Among the Ruins" (ABC, 1975) teamed Hepburn with Laurence Olivier as an aging London theater star who retained an old flame (Olivier) to defend her in a legal case against an alleged former lover. Originally intended as a vehicle for legendary stage performers Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the TV movie reaped Emmy Awards for Cukor and both stars. Hepburn and Cukor would reunite for the tenth and final time for "The Corn is Green" (CBS, 1979), a remake of the 1945 Bette Davis film, with Hepburn netting another Emmy nomination as a middle-aged schoolmistress who aided a Welsh miner in reaching his academic potential.

In 1981, the 82-year-old Cukor replaced Robert Mulligan on his final motion picture, "Rich and Famous," with Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen. The film had all the earmarks of a classic Cukor film: a drama about two college friends who, in rising to their chosen professions, were tested at every turn by financial success and failure, relationships, and their own changing identities. Though not a hit with viewers or critics, what scant praise it received was reserved for Cukor himself, whose sophisticated style shone through the wan material. The following year, he was feted by the Venice Film Festival with the Career Golden Lion, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild. On Jan. 24, 1983, Cukor died from a heart attack. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Glendale, CA.

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

Rich and Famous (1981)
Director
The Corn Is Green (1979)
Director
The Blue Bird (1976)
Director
Love Among the Ruins (1975)
Director
Travels with My Aunt (1972)
Director
Justine (1969)
Director
My Fair Lady (1964)
Director
The Chapman Report (1962)
Director
Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
Director
Let's Make Love (1960)
Director
Song Without End (1960)
Director
Wild Is the Wind (1958)
Director
Les Girls (1957)
Director
Bhowani Junction (1956)
Director
A Star Is Born (1954)
Director
It Should Happen to You (1954)
Director
Moment To Moment (1954)
Director
The Actress (1953)
Director
The Marrying Kind (1952)
Director
Pat and Mike (1952)
Director
The Model and the Marriage Broker (1952)
Director
A Life of Her Own (1950)
Director
Born Yesterday (1950)
Director
Adam's Rib (1949)
Director
Edward, My Son (1949)
Director
A Double Life (1948)
Director
Desire Me (1947)
Director
The Valley of Decision (1945)
Fill-in Director of added scenes
Gaslight (1944)
Director
Winged Victory (1944)
Director
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
Director
Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
Director
A Woman's Face (1941)
Director
Two-Faced Woman (1941)
Director
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Director
Escape (1940)
Addl scenes Director
Susan and God (1940)
Director
Zaza (1939)
Director
The Women (1939)
Director
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Director
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Fill-In Director
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
Director of retakes and addl scenes
Holiday (1938)
Director
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
Director of added scenes
Camille (1936)
Director
Sylvia Scarlett (1936)
Director
Romeo and Juliet (1936)
Director
No More Ladies (1935)
Fill-In Director
David Copperfield (1935)
Director
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Fill-In Director
Dinner at Eight (1934)
Director
Little Women (1933)
Director
Our Betters (1933)
Director
One Hour with You (1932)
Assistant by
The Animal Kingdom (1932)
Director addl scenes
What Price Hollywood? (1932)
Director
Rockabye (1932)
Director
A Bill of Divorcement (1932)
Director
Tarnished Lady (1931)
Director
Girls About Town (1931)
Director
The Royal Family of Broadway (1931)
Director
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Dialogue Director
The Virtuous Sin (1930)
Director
Grumpy (1930)
Director

Cast (Feature Film)

MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992)
Bhowani Junction (1956)
Man on train

Producer (Feature Film)

Ne Men... Alla (1972)
Executive Producer

Production Companies (Feature Film)

Justine (1969)
Company

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Annie (1982)
Other

Director (Special)

Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001)
Segment Director

Cast (Special)

TCM Interviews: George Cukor (2010)
Himself
The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor (1973)
Himself
Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1961)

Life Events

1917

Served in sudent Army Training Corps

1919

Became a Broadway stage manager, first for Edgar Selwyn organization, then for the Shuberts

1919

Hired as stage manager in Chicago for "The Better 'Ole"

1922

General manager and actor with the Lyceum Players (Rochester, New York) where he made stage directing debut

1925

Broadway directorial debut, credited as co-stager of "Antonia"

1926

Enjoyed first success as a Broadway director with "The Great Gatsby"

1929

Went to Hollywood under contract to Paramount and earned first screen credit, as dialogue director for "River of Romance"

1930

First film as co-director (with Cyril Gardner), "Grumpy"

1931

Solo film directing debut, "The Tarnished Lady"

1932

First film with Katharine Hepburn, "A Bill of Divorcement"

1932

Put under contract by RKO

1933

Directed Hepburn in "Little Women"; received first Best Director Oscar nomination

1933

Loaned to MGM for "Dinner at Eight"

1935

Signed contract with MGM

1936

Helmed both "Camille" with Greta Garbo and "Romeo and Juliet" with Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard

1938

Guided Hepburn and Cary Grant through "Holiday", an engaging adaptation of Philip Barry's romantic comedy

1939

Directed an all-star cast in "The Women"

1939

Was fired from "Gone with the Wind"

1939

Did uncredited tests for "The Wizard of Oz"

1940

Reteamed with Hepburn and Grant for another Philip Barry adaptation "The Philadelphia Story"; earned second Academy Award nomination as Best Director; James Stewart received the Best Actor Oscar

1941

Directed Garbo in her final screen appearance in "Two-Faced Woman"

1942

Enlisted in Army Signal Corps at age of 43; honorably discharged a year later and returned to MGM

1944

Helmed "Gaslight", a thriller starring Ingrid Bergman (in an Oscar-winning performance), Charles Boyer and Angela Lansbury

1947

Received third Best Director Oscar nod for "A Double Life", a drama about an actor who takes playing Othello a little too close to heart; star Ronald Coleman picked up a Best Actor Oscar

1949

Helmed "Adam's Rib", which teamed Hepburn and Spencer Tracy

1950

Guided Judy Holiday to a Best Actress Oscar in "Born Yesterday"; received fourth Best Director nomination

1952

Again directed Holiday in "The Marrying Kind"

1952

Reunited with Tracy and Hepburn for "Pat and Mike"

1954

Made first color film, "A Star Is Born", teaming Judy Garland and James Mason

1954

Last film with Holiday, "It Should Happen to You"

1957

Helmed the musical "Les Girls", with Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor

1960

Directed Marilyn Monroe in "Let's Make Love"

1962

Signed to direct Marilyn Monroe in "Something's Got to Give"; film never completed

1964

Won Best Director Oscar for helming "My Fair Lady", starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn; last film for five years

1969

Returned to features as director of "Justine", adapted from one of Lawrence Durrell's novels that comprised "The Alexandria Quartet"

1972

Helmed "Travels with My Aunt"; star Maggie Smith garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination

1975

First TV-movie, "Love Among the Ruins" (ABC), starring Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier; won Emmy Award

1976

Went to Russia to direct the first Soviet-US co-production, the misguided "The Blue Bird", starring Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Jane Fonda

1979

Final TV-movie, a remake of "The Corn Is Green" (CBS) starring Katharine Hepburn

1981

Final feature film, "Rich and Famous"

Photo Collections

Gaslight - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos taken during the making of Gaslight (1944), starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.
Camille - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are several behind-the-scenes photos taken during the shooting of Camille (1937). Look for director George Cukor and stars Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor.
Our Betters - Behind-the-Scenes Photo
Here is a photo taken behind-the-scenes during production of RKO's Our Betters (1933), as George Cukor directs a scene with Constance Bennett.
The Philadelphia Story - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from The Philadelphia Story (1940), starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.
The Philadelphia Story - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are a number of Behind-the-Scenes photos taken during production of The Philadelphia Story (1940), directed by George Cukor and starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart.
Dinner at Eight - Coca-Cola Ad
Here is a magazine ad for Coca-Cola utilizing the cast of MGM's Dinner at Eight (1933) and a special color photo taken for the occasion.
Bhowani Junction - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are a few photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of MGM's Bhowani Junction (1956), starring Ava Gardner and Bill Travers, and directed by George Cukor.
Bhowani Junction - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Bhowani Junction (1956). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.
Gone With the Wind - Behind-The-Scenes Photos
Here are a number of photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of David O. Selznick's Gone With the Wind (1939), starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh and directed by Victor Fleming and George Cukor.
Born Yesterday - Movie Posters
Here are a few original-release movie posters from Born Yesterday (1950), directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Holliday, William Holden, and Broderick Crawford.
My Fair Lady - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for My Fair Lady (1964), starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters. This iconic artwork is by noted illustrator Bob Peak.
Holiday - Movie Posters
Here are a few original-release American movie posters from Holiday (1938), starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.
A Life of Her Own - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are a few photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of MGM's A Life of Her Own (1950), starring Lana Turner and Ray Milland and directed by George Cukor.
Dinner at Eight - Behind-the-Scenes Stills
Here are a number of photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of MGM's all-star comedy Dinner at Eight (1934), directed by George Cukor.
Heller in Pink Tights - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Paramount's Heller in Pink Tights (1960), starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.
Little Women (1933) - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Little Women (1933). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.
The Women - Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Here are a few photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of MGM's The Women (1939), directed by George Cukor and featuring an all-star, all-female cast.
The Women - Movie Posters
Here are a few original-release and re-issue American movie posters for MGM's The Women (1939).
The Philadelphia Story - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for The Philadelphia Story (1941). One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Movie Clip

Animal Kingdom, The (1932) -- (Movie Clip) You Haven't Any Clothes On Having just parted ways with his long-time butler, and about to attend a gallery opening for his best friend Daisy, new fianceè Cecelia (Myrna Loy) in a pre-code negligee persuades publisher Tom (Leslie Howard) to change his plans, in The Animal Kingdom, 1932.
Keeper Of The Flame, The (1942) -- (Movie Clip) I Envisioned An Older Man 25 minutes into the picture the first appearance of co-top-billed Katherine Hepburn, as Christine Forrest, mourning widow of national hero Robert, as she meets enterprising and acclaimed reporter O’Malley (Spencer Tracy), who has snuck into her house, in George Cukor’s Keeper Of The Flame, 1942.
Gaslight (1944) -- (Movie Clip) You Shall Have Your Dream Vacationing at Lake Como, new husband Gregory (Charles Boyer) mentions his apparently coincidental dream of a home in London, identical to the home in which his traumatized wife Paula (Ingrid Bergman) found her murdered aunt, early in George Cukor's Gaslight, 1944.
Gaslight (1944) -- (Movie Clip) Free Yourself From The Past From director George Cukor’s opening in foggy London, we jump ten years to Italy where Ingrid Bergman has matured, but is losing interest in opera, to the dismay of her devoted teacher (Emil Rameau as Maestro Guardi), and Charles Boyer appears in his first scene as a mere hired accompanist, in Gaslight, 1944.
Woman's Face, A (1941) -- (Movie Clip) This Lady Is Interested In Love Already in flashback, vast plot complexity, Melvyn Douglas as Swedish plastic surgeon Gustav is confronted with Joan Crawford as Anna, who sprained her ankle trying to escape when he interrupted her trying to blackmail his wife (Osa Massen) with love letters, intrigued by her case, in George Cukor’s A Woman’s Face, 1941.
Woman's Face, A -- (Movie Clip) A Most Generous Gesture Deep in the Swedish woods, waiter (Donald Meek) serving Vera (Osa Massen) and the party of playboy Barring (Conrad Veidt) who then meets "proprietor" Anna (Joan Crawford), early in George Cukor's A Woman's Face, 1941.
Philadelphia Story, The (1941) -- (Movie Clip) They Grew Up Together Complexity as Tracy (Katharine Hepburn) performs for impostor society wedding guests (really reporters) Mike (James Stewart) and Liz (Ruth Hussey), fiancè George (John Howard) arrives, and her ex, Dexter (Cary Grant) crashes in The Philadelphia Story, 1941.
Les Girls (1957) -- (Movie Clip) I've Seen You Dance Auditioning in Paris, Joanne (Mitzi Gaynor) and Sybil (Kay Kendall) are snarky and sweet as their boss Barry (Gene Kelly) hires French Angele (Tania Elg) for their act, in the first flashback, in George Cukor's loose adaptation of Vera Caspary's Idiot's Delight, Les Girls, 1957.
Les Girls -- (Movie Clip) Why Am I So Gone About That Gal? Gene Kelly goes all Brando, with Mitzi Gaynor, in the famous biker number, to Cole Porter's Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?, choreography by Jack Cole, in Les Girls, 1957.
Holiday (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Your Nose Is Frozen Johnny (Cary Grant), having discovered that his newly betrothed Julia (Doris Nolan), whom he just met on vacation, is one of the super-rich Setons, meets her sister Linda (Katharine Hepburn, her first scene), in George Cukor's Holiday, 1938.
Holiday (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Want A Bite? Arrived early for his big meeting with father, Johnny (Cary Grant), who's just learned he's marrying into a super-rich family, visits with Linda (Katharine Hepburn), sister of his betrothed, in George Cukor's Holiday, 1938.
Star is Born, A (1954) -- (Movie Clip) Your Face Is Just Dandy At first failing to recognize her in studio make-up, Norman (James Mason) takes over the preparations for Esther (Judy Garland) before her screen test, an intimate scene from George Cukor's A Star Is Born, 1954.

Trailer

Born Yesterday (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Inspecting Your Wing Crooked titan Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) blowing into D.C., girlfriend Billie (Judy Holliday), reporter Verrall (William Holden) and hotel concierge (Grandon Rhodes) also introduced, opening George Cukor's Born Yesterday, 1950.
Susan and God - (Original Trailer) A flighty socialite neglects her family to promote a new religious group in Susan and God (1940) starring Joan Crawford, directed by George Cukor.
Dinner at Eight - (Original Trailer) A high society dinner party masks a hotbed of scandal and intrigue in Dinner at 8 (1933), directed by George Cukor.
Bhowani Junction - (Original Trailer) An Anglo-Indian beauty (Ava Gardner) falls for a British officer (Stewart Granger) as her country fights for independence.
Escape - (Original Trailer) A Nazi officer's mistress helps an American free his mother from a concentration camp in Escape (1940) starring Norma Shearer.
Keeper of the Flame - (Original Trailer) A reporter digs into the secret life of a recently deceased political hero in Keeper of the Flame (1942) with Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy.
Camille - (Re-issue Trailer) A kept woman runs off with a young admirer in search of love and happiness in Camille (1937) starring Greta Garbo.
Gone With the Wind (1939) -- (1961 Re-Issue Trailer) Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) fights to save her beloved plantation and find love during the Civil War in Gone With the Wind (1939).
Model and the Marriage Broker, The - (Original Trailer) A marriage broker can't resist meddling in the life of a model (Jeanne Crain), with disastrous results in The Model and the Marriage Broker (1952).
Two-Faced Woman - (Original Trailer) Greta Garbo's last movie was the screwball comedy Two-Faced Woman (1941) about a woman who pretends to be her own twin sister to win back her straying husband.
Heller In Pink Tights - (Original Trailer) Touring actors in the wild West brave Indians and outlaws in Heller In Pink Tights (1960) starring Sophia Loren, directed by George Cukor.
Women, The - (Original Trailer) A happily married woman (Norma Shearer) lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband has an affair with shopgirl Joan Crawford in The Women (1939), directed by George Cukor.

Family

Victor Cukor
Father
Worked for Manhattan District Attorney. Married Ilona Gross in 1894.
Helen Cukor
Mother
Married Victor Cukor in 1894.
Elsie Cukor
Sister
Born in 1895; predeceased him.

Bibliography

"George Cukor, Master of Elegance: Hollywood's Legendary Director and His Stars"
Emanuel Levy, William Morrow (1994)
"George Cukor: A Double Life"
Patrick McGilligan, St. Martin's Press (1991)
"George Cukor: A Critical Study and Filmography"
James Bernardoni, McFarland (1985)
"Cukor"
Carlos Clarens, Secker & Warburg (1976)
"On Cukor"
Gavin Lambert, G.P. Putnam's Sons (1972)

Notes

"Women's director! Well, I'm very pleased to be considered a master of anything, but remember, for every Jill there was a Jack. People like to pigeonhole you--it's a shortcut, I guess, but once they do, you're stuck with it." --George Cukor in 1979, quoted in his The New York Times obituary, January 26, 1983.

"You have to know when to shut up. A director can talk a lot and theorize and shut off whatever creative thing they [actors] have. You can be quiet, but you can't be inhibited." --George Cukor, quoted in his The New York Times obituary, January 26, 1983.