Trivia

Appeared in six Best Picture Oscar nominees: The Thin Man (1934), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Going My Way (1944), Double Indemnity (1944) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947), with "Going My Way" winning Best Picture.

Active on Broadway from 1926-1934. Performed in 9 major productions including the original cast production of "The Great Gatsby" in 1924.

Has appeared in ten films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": The Thin Man (1934), Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), Going My Way (1944), Double Indemnity (1944), Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and Ace in the Hole (1951).

Became a member of the Screen Actors Guild in late 1935.

Children: David and Sarah Jane.

Paramount produced a promotional short about the musical scoring of the 1937 feature "Wells Fargo". Featured in the short were the movie's director Frank Lloyd, composer Victor Young, musical director Boris Morros and actors Bob Burns, Porter Hall, Frances Dee, and Joel McCrea. The short was narrated by Gayne Whitman.

Appeared in three films listed on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, a list of the 100 greatest films in American cinema; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Sullivan's Travels (1941) and Double Indemnity (1944).