Victor McLaglen, actor and then some

One of my all-time favorites - actor Victor McLaglen (1886 - 1959) is probably best known for his role as Maureen O'Hara's brother in The Quiet Man. He had 10 siblings, and his father was Bishop of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church of England, and at one time Bishop of Claremont, South Africa. At age 14 McLaglen joined the British Army to fight in the Second Boer War, but was assigned to the Life Guards at Windsor Castle, instead. In 1913 he served Britain in WWI, and for a time he was military Assistant Provost Marshal in Baghdad. In 1919 he fought and lost to Jack (The Great White Hope) Johnson (who once lived down the street from my Mom, here in Chicago.) In Canada he became a wrestler, boxer, and circus prize fighter. Upon his return to England he appeared in many silent movies before coming to America, where he appeared with Ronald Coleman in the silent version of Beau Geste, and in the original The Unholy Three, with Lon Chaney. He made many films for director John Ford over his long career, most of which starred John Wayne. In 1935 McLaglen won an Academy Award for his performance in The Informer, and he was nominated a number of times over the years for supporting roles. At the age of 33 he wrote his biography - I guess he had already lived a full life! Among his many films are Gunga Din, Wee Willie Winkie, Fort Apache, Rio Grande, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, The Lost Patrol, Nancy Steele is Missing, Full Confession, and The Captain Hates the Sea, which also featured Moe, Larry, and Curly as the ship's orchestra. His son Andrew later became a film and television director, specializing in westerns, Talk about a full life - Victor McLaglen led at least 3 lives! Oh, those were the days. If I could go back in time, it would be to 1920s Hollywood, in the era of silent films when there were no film schools, and your film education was the job you had.