At the height of his career as a director, James Whale directed several of Universal's classic horror films: Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, and the somewhat rare The Old Dark House. He directed numerous critical and box office sucesses in practically every genre, including Show Boat. In a little over a decade, he directed over 20 films.

Yet when he died in the late 1950s of propbable suiside, he had not make a film in near a decade and few recognized his name. Today only 6 of his films are available (all on VHS tape -- one of those films,The Old Dark House will be issued on DVD on June 22, 1999).

James Whale's name came back into the general publics eye, when Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein was adapted into the film Gods and Monsters. which had Oscar nominations for best actor & best supporting actress and won for best adapted screenplay.

James Whale was born on July 21, 1889 in Dudley, Worcester, England to CCC Whale, an iron worker, and Sarah Whale, a nurse. He was, even as a child, drawn to creative persutes. He was proficiant at drawing. He grew up to be a thin and fairly hansome youth. So, like Noel Coward, part of his persona was a "put-on" upper class air.

Upon reaching Hollywood in 1929, Whale worked as a dialog coach for $500 a week on a film The Love Doctors. A number of studios courted Whale as they toyed with the idea of contracting him.

It was during this period that Whale met David Lewis. Lewis was an assistant story editor for Paramount when met Whale and took him out to lunch. He may have been 14 years younger then Whale, but Lewis would be Whale's lover and companion for over a decade.

In his later years, Whale only directed one film, a short, that, while getting a positive reactions from the Hollywood notables to which it was shown, was never released.His film career was over.

Instead, Whale turned to to his first love -- visual art. While living lived in relative seclusion (for it was during this time that Whale's long-time companion, producer David Lewis, moved out) in his Pacific Palisades home, he studied The Great Masters through the practice of painting copies. At one point he make the journey to Europe to do the Grand Tour, the better to study.

In Lewis's absent, Whale took up for a short time with chauffeur Pierre Foegel.

Then, early in 1957, Whale had a small stroke.

Whale was found dead on May 29, 1957. He was floating, fully clothed, in his swimming pool. He had left a long suiside note which was addressed to David Lewis:

Do not grieve for me--my nerves are all shot...the future is just old age and pain.

The autopsy indicated that he had had a few drinks before he dove head first into the shallow end of his pool, hitting himself on the bottom and knocking himself out.

His obituaries gave his age as 60 and his birth year as 1896. His actual age was 67. He had apperently been using the later birth date out of vanity.

Whales death has by some been considered mysterious. He had found floating dead in his swimming pool. Whale was afraid of water and he never used the pool or even went near it.

Whale's last days and his death were the subject of the novel was made into the Oscar-winning film "Gods And Monsters"

The key book about James Whale is A New World Of Gods And Monsters by James Curtis. Originally published in 1982, it has been substansually enlarged and updated. Filled with new research, it has published in a new paperback edition that is readily available. When his work was first published, Curtis was the first to reveal that Whale had left a suiside note adressed to his ex-lover David Lewis. (It is reprinted in the book.)

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