As per our current Database, Francis McDonald has been died on 18 September, 1968 at Hollywood, California, USA.
When Francis McDonald die, Francis McDonald was 77 years old.
| Popular As | Francis McDonald |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Age | 77 years old |
| Zodiac Sign | Leo |
| Born | August 22, 1891 (Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA) |
| Birthday | August 22 |
| Town/City | Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA |
| Nationality | USA |
Francis McDonald’s zodiac sign is Leo. According to astrologers, people born under the sign of Leo are natural born leaders. They are dramatic, creative, self-confident, dominant and extremely difficult to resist, able to achieve anything they want to in any area of life they commit to. There is a specific strength to a Leo and their "king of the jungle" status. Leo often has many friends for they are generous and loyal. Self-confident and attractive, this is a Sun sign capable of uniting different groups of people and leading them as one towards a shared cause, and their healthy sense of humor makes collaboration with other people even easier.
Francis McDonald was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Rabbit enjoy being surrounded by family and friends. They’re popular, compassionate, sincere, and they like to avoid conflict and are sometimes seen as pushovers. Rabbits enjoy home and entertaining at home. Compatible with Goat or Pig.
Francis J. McDonald - not a name to bring ready recognition-but a look at the face reminds one of many old movie roles indeed. His career as an actor literally spanned from early silent films and the great silver screen era of sound film to follow on through the golden age of television.
His screen credits, noticeable and small, amount to an amazing nearly 350 roles. Starting on stage, he was a slight but handsome leading man who entered films in 1913 and continued lead and featured romantic roles from contemporary to costume adventure into the 1920s.
It was during this period that he married - and divorced - actress Mae Busch, most familiar for the many Laurel and Hardy comedies she did. MacDonald worked on Broadway briefly in only two plays (mid-1918).
By the time he did his first totally sound film (late silent movies had intervals of background or short dialog sound), Burning Up (1930), MacDonald had 83 films under his belt. But into the 1930s, being older, his roles were turning toward shady characters of second order - and increasingly uncredited.
With dark hair and mustache and beady eyes with a prominent nose, MacDonald fit well into many an ethnic or sneaky villain role and continued in demand. He got to know Cecil B. DeMille and had a regular featured character role in his long history of films beginning with The Plainsman (1936).
Still through the 1930s and 40s MacDonald averaged a steady five to ten films a year-dipping somewhat in the World War II years. Into the 1950s he was increasingly cast in one of his perennial staples, westerns, with roles already familiar to him: weaselly, tin horn gamblers, henchmen, but also dignified Indian chiefs.
He was a natural to move into the incredibly popular western phenomenon that burst over the new medium of TV. He showed up in the spectrum of episodic oaters: from early Range Rider, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, and The Lone Ranger to later fare, such as, Have Gun-Will Travel, Wanted Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, the whole stable of Warner Bros.
westerns at the end of the decade (Maverick, etc.), and The Virginian in the next. In the meanwhile there were some good character pieces in movies. Perhaps the most poignant being his last for DeMille's, The Ten Commandments (1956), where he had the small but showcase role as Simon, the old Jewish slave.
Bedraggled and working in the clay pit - with Charlton Heston - he pleads for freedom for the Israelites - and gets a a trowel in the gut from a Egyptian guard for his trouble - dying heroically in Heston's arms - it is classic DeMille.
And it was classic MacDonald - always ready to give a skillful and memorable performance.
