Bohnen, Roman, 1894-1949
Variant namesBiographical notes:
Actor Roman Bohnen, known as "Bud" to family, friends and colleagues, was born November 24, 1901 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His parents were Lottie Johnston and artist Carl Bohnen. He had two siblings, his older brother Arthur and younger sister Charlotte. Bohnen was educated in Munich, Germany, where his family lived from 1914-1917, and at the University of Minnesota where he was active in his fraternity, involved in drama club productions, and was such an outstanding cheerleader he earned the title "Rooter King". After working in stock for a couple of years, he joined Thomas Wood Stevens' newly formed repertory company at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago where he remained for five years playing over one thousand performances. He also taught make-up classes and created the First-Night Club, an audience subscription promotion.
In 1930 Bohnen headed for New York and married actress Hildur Ouse, whom he had met at the Goodman. He landed his first Broadway role in As Husbands Go by Rachel Crothers in 1931. In 1932, after working with the Group Theatre during their summer season in Dover Furnace, N. Y., he was chosen to replace Franchot Tone in the Group's production of Success Story . Bohnen joined the Group on a full-time basis in 1934 playing roles in Waiting for Lefty, Golden Boy, Awake and Sing, and The Gentle People, to name only a few. He was also a member of the Group's Actors' Council. Besides acting, Bohnen wrote plays. Incubator, which he co-wrote with John Lyman, was produced in 1932. His one-act $4.80 Top, later slightly revised under the title Four Forty, was produced at the Actor's Lab in the 1940's.
In 1937 Walter Wanger attempted to put together a motion picture deal with the Group which would form a resident company for movie production. His plans fell through but the possibility of film work brought Bohnen to Hollywood where he carved out a career as a character actor appearing in over thirty films including Of Mice and Men, The Song of Bernadette, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Edge of Darkness . While in Hollywood, Bohnen helped found and was the driving force behind the Actors' Laboratory Theatre . He was performing in the Lab production of A Distant Isle when he collapsed and died on February 24, 1949. His wife, Hildur, had died in 1941. They left behind one daughter, Marina, who was affectionately known as Button.
From the guide to the Roman Bohnen papers, 1918-1976, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)
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