Born 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky, American actor Victor Mature was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.
After five years of retirement, Mature was lured back into acting by the opportunity to parody himself in After the Fox (1966), co-written by Neil Simon. He played “Tony Powell”, an aging American actor who is living off his reputation from his earlier body of work. In a similar vein in 1968, he played a giant, The Big Victor, in Head, a movie starring The Monkees.
Mature came out of retirement again in 1971 to star in Every Little Crook and Nanny and again in 1976 along with many other former Hollywood stars in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood. His last feature film appearance was a cameo as a millionaire in Firepower in 1979, while his final acting role was that of Samson’s father Manoah in the TV movie Samson and Delilah in 1984.
Mature died of leukemia in 1999 at his Rancho Santa Fe, California home at the age of 86. For his contribution to the motion-picture industry, Mature has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard. Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of a young and handsome Victor Mature in the 1940s.
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