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David Niven

File:David_Niven_bw_Allan_Warren.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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David Niven

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Also known as James David Graham Niven

British actor and novelist (1910–1983)

OverviewAI-generated

David Niven was a person whose work period spanned from 1935 to 1983. Born on 1910-03-01, he died on 1983-07-29. He was recognized in the Legion Of Merit collection, the Academy Award Best Actor collection, and the Hollywood Walk Of Fame collection. He had four children and stood 181 in height.

Niven is listed as an author in the Open Library, which records 76 works by him. His top works include *Heroic War Stories*, *Once Overly Lightly*, *Reader's Digest Condensed Books*, *Bring on the empty horses*, and *Heavenly Bodies (Complete Pirelli Calendar Book)*. Crossref lists five works associated with him.

He is referenced by 1,038 other encyclopedia articles. His quotes include, "Can you imagine being wonderfully over-paid for dressing up and playing games?", "Going to war was the only unselfish thing I have ever done for humanity.", and "Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don't take anything too seriously, it'll all work out in the end."

Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Last.fm, Crossref, Wikiquote, MusicBrainz, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
76

Top works

  • Heroic War Stories
  • Once Over Lightly
  • Reader's Digest Condensed Books
  • Bring on the empty horses
  • Heavenly Bodies (Complete Pirelli Calendar Book)

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Active from
1938-04-30

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
1,421
Total plays
4,110

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/David+Niven">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · David Niven

Quotes

  • Can you imagine being wonderfully over-paid for dressing up and playing games?
  • Going to war was the only unselfish thing I have ever done for humanity.
  • Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don't take anything too seriously, it'll all work out in the end.
  • Isn't it fascinating that probably the only laugh this man will ever get in his life is by stripping off his clothes and showing his shortcomings.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Graham
Gender
male
Citizenship
United Kingdom
Place of birth
London
Place of death
Château-d’Oex
Occupation
novelist
Languages spoken
English language
Native language
British English
Conflict
World War II
Military branch
British Army
Military rank
Lieutenant Colonel
Image
David Niven Allan Warren.jpg
Height
181
Number of children
4
Work location
United Kingdom
Show 14 more facts
start of work period
1935-00-00
end of work period
1983-00-00
birth name
David Graham Niven
Commons category
David Niven
date of birth
1910-03-01
date of death
1983-07-29
cause of death
ALS
manner of death
natural causes
Commons gallery
David Niven
place of burial
Canton of Vaud
name in native language
David Niven
allegiance
United Kingdom
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~37 min read

Encyclopedic overview

James David Graham Niven (/ˈnɪvən/; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award and two Emmy Awards.

Born in central London to an upper-middle-class family, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe School before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Sandhurst, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Upon developing an interest in acting, he found a role as an extra in the British film There Goes the Bride (1932). Bored with the peacetime army, he resigned his commission in 1933, relocated to New York, then travelled to Hollywood. There, he hired an agent and had several small parts in films through 1935, including a non-speaking role in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). This helped him gain a contract with Samuel Goldwyn.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “David Niven” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)