BIO

Robert Donat was born Friedrich Robert Donath in Withington, Manchester, England, in 1905.   The youngest of four boys, he developed acute asthma and stuttered as a child.   Donat took elocution lessons to overcome the speech impediment and began performing in local repertory companies, making his first stage appearance in 1921, at the age of 16.

He continued his stage career in London, appearing in the West End as early as 1924.   By the early 1930s, he was a stage star and his performances included the role of Dudgeon in the hit London revival of George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple (1938-1940).

Wracked with self-doubt and anxiety which, in turn, triggered severe asthma attacks, Donat only appeared in 19 feature films.   With the exception of a single Hollywood swashbuckler in 1934, all of his films were made in England.

Donat began his film career with a starring role for London Film Productions in 1932.

He received an Academy Award nomination for Actor after his performance in The Citadel (1938).   The next year, competing against the performances of Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind (1939) and James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Donat was presented the Academy Award for his turn in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939).

His last film performance was in The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness (1958).

He was twice married - first to Ella Voysey (m. 1929-1946), with whom he had 3 children, and then to British actress Renée Asherson (1915-2014) (m. 1953-1958).

Donat died of a stroke in London, in 1958.   He was 53 years old.

Additional English stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS