Dapper leading man who drifted into Hollywood in the mid-1930s. Despite his lack of acting experience Niven rapidly graduated from bit parts to supporting and lead roles which showcased his polished British diction. His first major success came with Edmund Goulding's THE DAWN PATROL (1938), in which he played a courageous, devil-may-care WW I pilot. Over the next three decades Niven appeared in numerous films in England and America. Though most adept at comedic roles -- ranging from the dashing, romantic hero of BACHELOR MOTHER (1939) to the unflappable Englishman, Phileas Fogg, in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956) -- he also proved a capable dramatic player, winning critical acclaim for his performance as Major Pollock in SEPARATE TABLES (1958).
Some of Niven's other notable screen credits include WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939), RAFFLES (1940), THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947), TOAST OF NEW ORLEANS (1950), THE MOON IS BLUE (1953, US version), PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES (1960), THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961), 55 DAYS AT PEKING and THE PINK PANTHER (both 1964), CASINO ROYALE (1967), MURDER BY DEATH (1976), DEATH ON THE NILE (1978), ROUGH CUT (1980), BETTER LATE THAN NEVER (1982) and two of the lesser "Pink Panther" films, TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER (also 1982) and CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER (1983). He appeared frequently on television in the 1950s and hosted his own television show, "The David Niven Show," in 1959.
In the 1970s Niven published several books, including two bestselling autobiographies, The Moon's a Balloon and Bring On the Empty Horses, and the novel, Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly.
Actor