Name: George Macready
Date of Birth: 29 August 1899 The distinctive scar on Macready's cheek resulted from a road accident. Though specializing in playing truly evil villains, he was actually a cultured and expert art collector, as was his good friend Vincent Price, with whom Macready was partners in a Los Angeles art gallery. He claimed (probably correctly and truthfully) to be a descendant of the great 19th-century Shakespearean actor William Macready. Grandfather of US gymnast John Macready. Father of actor/producer Michael Macready. ... George Macready's name was the inspiration for the name of Kurt Russell's character's name in John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. The scar on Macready's right cheek was the result of a car accident during his college days. According to Michael Macready (George's son), George and some fraternity brothers were riding in a Model T Ford when they hit an icy patch on the road. They struck a telephone pole, and George went through the windshield. His friends could find only one doctor in the vicinity, who happened to be a veterinarian. George did get his cheek stitched, but he also ended up with scarlet fever, apparently because the veterinarian didn't wash up properly. George and Vincent Price opened the Little Gallery in Beverly Hills in the spring of 1943. According to Victoria Price (Vincent's daughter), their customers included Charles Laughton, Tallulah Bankhead, Barbara Hutton, Fanny Brice, Katharine Hepburn, and Greta Garbo. Of Garbo, Vincent said she "dropped in to look and, if anyone else was looking, dropped out -- quickly." Jane Wyatt said, "It was a great, fun gallery. It was the place to go to meet and mingle. There was nothing else like it around. It was a wonderful place." George and Vincent eventually closed the Little Gallery when they could no longer do it justice while maintaining full-time movie careers. George became good friends with Vincent Price when they were both appearing on stage with Helen Hayes in "Victoria Regina." Vincent wrote about George in a letter home: "The boy who plays my brother and is my understudy is a swell egg and I thank God for him.". Read more George Macready movies (actor)User Comments |
