KENT NEWS: Hollywood legend David Niven and the Kentish links that helped him on the road to superstardom are re-examined in a new book.
The late star of Around the World in 80 Days lived in the county for several months from December, 1931, during which time he met the woman who would later give him his first taste of America – the Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton.
A member of the Highland Light Infantry, Niven was stationed at Dover’s Citadel Barracks – now an immigration removal centre – but would frequently travel to London so he could be closer to the rich and famous people he idolised.
His time in Kent forms part of a new biography by Michael Munn, who first met the star in 1970.
Mr Munn said: “He and his mate used to travel up to the capital all the time because that’s where all the action was, so I imagine he probably thought Dover was a bit quiet.
“At that time, when he was a young man in the Army, he was always looking for girls and booze. But even then he already had friends in the theatre, some of whom were very important people.
“In later life I suspect he would have enjoyed living in Kent because he had homes in quiet parts of Switzerland and France so he could get away from things.”
It was while Niven was stationed in Dover that he met Barbara Hutton, who would go on to marry another hero of cinema’s golden age in Cary Grant.
She invited him to spend Christmas with her at her home in New York, with the trip sparking Niven’s love affair with the United States and convincing him that his time in the Army was coming to an end.
Mr Munn said: “He got to know all her rich and famous friends, and he really wanted to be one of them.
“I think a lot of it came from his background because he always felt unloved and unwanted as a child. That led to him almost creating his own persona, and one thing he always needed was an audience.
“He needed to be around people of a certain stature and knew that was how he would work his way up.
“He always wanted to be a Hollywood actor, but he never went to Rada (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) or anything like that. Once his mother died he began to feel like there was nothing left for him in England.”
Niven went on to forge a hugely successful career for himself in Hollywood, starring in more than 90 films between 1932 and 1983 – the year he died aged 73 from the motor neuron disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
He even continued to make movies throughout the course of World War Two, when he returned to the Army and was at one point stationed in Chilham, near Canterbury.
Mr Munn said: “I always got on very well with David and he was always very generous. He once took me out and bought me a whole new outfit. We had some good times together and I look back on those days with great fondness.”
• David Niven – The Man Behind the Balloon is available on Tuesday through JR Books, priced £8.99.
POSTED: 20/03/2010 12:00:00
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