Nick Grinde (January 12, 1893 – June 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter.[1][2] He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945.

Nick Grinde
Grinde in 1928
Born(1893-01-12)January 12, 1893
DiedJune 19, 1979(1979-06-19) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation(s)Film director
Screenwriter
Years active1928-1945
Nick Grinde in the 1910s

Biography

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Born Harry A. Grinde in Madison, Wisconsin but nicknamed "Nick", Grinde graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He later moved to New York and worked in Vaudeville. Grinde became a Hollywood film writer and director in the late 1920s, and was often assigned to familiarize Broadway stage directors with the techniques of film making. As a director, he is considered one of American cinema's early B film specialists. Notable films include The Man they Could Not Hang with Boris Karloff, and Ronald Reagan's first motion picture: Love is on the Air (1937). As a screenwriter, he is credited as a co-writer of Laurel and Hardy's Babes in Toyland (1934).[3][4]

Throughout his career, Grinde was a writer of short stories, articles and columns usually about show business and film making in early Hollywood. Prime examples include "Pictures for Peanuts" (Saturday Evening Post, December 29, 1945), a humorous B picture "how-to," and "Where's Vaudeville At?" (Saturday Evening Post, January 11, 1930).

Grinde died in Los Angeles, California in 1979 at the age of 86.[3][4] In the early 1940s, he was engaged to actress Marie Wilson. Later, he married Korean-American actress Hazel Shon.[4]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences houses the Nick Grinde Papers in its Special Collections.[5]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Raw, Laurence (January 10, 2014). Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930-1960. McFarland. ISBN 9780786490493. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (January 10, 2014). Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982. McFarland. ISBN 9780786457663. Retrieved March 6, 2019 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b "Harry A. Grinde". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 23, 1979. p. 15. Retrieved February 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ a b c "Rites Set for Harry A. Grinde, 86, Pioneer Movie Director". The Los Angeles Times. June 22, 1979. p. 29. Retrieved February 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Nick Grinde papers". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
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