Born Stanislas Pascal Franchot Tone in Niagara Falls, NY. Suave leading man who initially achieved prominence in the 1930s but never really broke through to the A-list, and evolved into a character actor. Born into a well-to-do family, Tone was educated at Cornell University, where he was president of the Dramatic Club. Forsaking the family business to take up acting, he toiled in stock for several years before reaching Broadway. In 1932 Tone came to Hollywood to appear in Paramount's THE WISER SEX he didn't last very long at that studio but did manage to make a hit with MGM, which put him under contract and kept him busy through much of the decade. Often cast as wealthy playboys, Tone appeared in seven Metro films during 1933 alone: BOMBSHELL (he was the one who wanted to run barefoot through Jean Harlow's hair), TODAY WE LIVE, GABRIEL OVER THE WHITE HOUSE, MIDNIGHT MARY, STAGE MOTHER, DANCING LADY (romancing Joan Crawford), and THE STRANGER'S RETURN. 1934 was similarly busy for him, with appearances in MOULIN ROUGE, SADIE McKEE, THE WORLD MOVES ON, THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI, STRAIGHT IS THE WAY and GENTLEMEN ARE BORN. He got two good parts in 1935: He was Oscar-nominated as midshipman Byam in MGM's spectacular MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY supporting Clark Gable and Charles Laughton, and backed up Gary Cooper as the insouciant Lieutenant Fortesque in THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER. That same year he played opposite a rip-roaring Bette Davis in her Oscarwinning melodrama DANGEROUS. Tone also appeared in THE GORGEOUS HUSSY, SUZY (both 1936), QUALITY STREET, THEY GAVE HIM A GUN (both 1937), THREE COMRADES (1938, with Roberts Taylor and Young in this poignant tale of post-WW I Germany coscripted by F. Scott Fitzgerald), and FAST AND FURIOUS (1939, as bookseller-turned-detective Joel Sloane). In the 1940s it seemed as if he was doomed to play nothing but The Other Man in love triangles, but there were occasional bright spots: TRAIL OF THE VIGILANTES (1940), NICE GIRL? (1941), FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943, as a secret agent trying to extract war secrets from Nazi Field Marshal Rommel in this marvelous thriller directed and cowritten by Billy Wilder; arguably Tone's best 1940s film), PILOT #5, HIS BUTLER'S SISTER (both also 1943), PHANTOM LADY (1944, another fine performance in a first-rate suspense film), HONEYMOON (1947), I LOVE TROUBLE (1948, as private eye Stuart Bailey, the character played by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., on the TV series "77 Sunset Strip"), EVERY GIRL SHOULD BE MARRIED (also 1948), THE MAN ON THE EIFFEL TOWER (1949, as a suspected murderer in this Inspector Maigret thriller starring Charles Laughton and directed by Burgess Meredith), JIGSAW (also 1949), WITHOUT HONOR (1950), and HERE COMES THE GROOM (1951). Tone's screen career had pretty much petered out, so he moved over to TV and kept busy for most of the decade in the era's numerous dramatic anthology shows. He also returned to the stage. In 1958 he coproduced, codirected, and starred in UNCLE VANYA an unsuccessful comeback vehicle. He more or less retired, emerging only to play character roles in ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962, as the President), IN HARM'S WAY, MICKEY ONE (both 1965), and THE HIGH COMMISSIONER (aka NOBODY RUNS FOREVER, 1968). He costarred with Vince Edwards, replacing Sam Jaffe, in the 1965-66 season of the "Ben Casey" TV series. He was married to actresses Joan Crawford (1934-39), Jean Wallace (1941-48), Barbara Payton (1951-52) -- a barrom brawl he had with actor Tom Neal over Payton made headlines in 1952 -- and Dolores Dorn-Heft (1956-59).    Nominated for Actor 1935: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY 1 nomination