Biography

Over a five-year-period (1930-1934), John Alexander, a cute little boy, was known as Tad Alexander and acted in a dozen films, alongside big stars (Will Rogers, Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Bette Davis and in important roles (the young King of Sylvania in Ambassador Bill (1931), the Czarevitch in Rasputin and the Empress (1932)), at least once under the direction of a great director (King Vidor for The Stranger's Return (1933)). But for all this impressive debut, Tad, for some unknown reason, gave up acting. He then became a concert artist before joining the Army in the Second World War where he served as a radar technician. After the War he worked as an engineer at Lockheed Radioplane, Hughes Aircraft and TWR. A pretty full life in fact, in which movie acting was only a short (but not insignificant) parenthesis but of which John Alexander, then a very old man, was reminded the day his name was added to the Young Hollywood Hall of Fame. Two years after, he died aged ninety.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Guy Bellinger

John Alexander began his work in the theater at age 7, when his mother "ran away" from his Greek baker father in Alameda, CA and took the young boy to Los Angeles. He walked down Broadway, in downtown LA, then a strip of live theaters like the Broadway in New York City, and stuck his head in one stage door after another and asked, "Do you need any kid actors in here?" Finally, he got a yes, won the part and appeared as the child lead in a play starring Ruth Chatterton called, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow." At the beginning of "talkies" (films with sound) stage plays were occasionally filmed and turned into "movies." Thus, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" starring Ruth Chatterton and Paul Lukas and featuring "Tad Alexander" became John's first film credit in 1930.

In "Ambassador Bill" John worked with one of the great comedians of the day, Will Rogers. Will didn't care for the script, or the director, so he improvised his lines in every scene. John had to "keep up" with Will and improvise his lines as well, so the scenes between the two are magical.

As well as those scenes worked, the entire film "Strange Interlude (1932) was another matter. Despite being based on a famous play by noted author Eugene O'Neil, the film experimented with the idea of having the characters "voice over" their "thoughts" while they stood silently. Despite starring Clark Gable, the unusual "voice over" thoughts did not connect with audiences and the film was not a success.

John also appeared in "The Front Page" starring Pat O'Brien and directed by Lewis Milestone.

John's film career ended in 1935 when, at the age of 13, he grew so much he could no longer play kid's roles. As the sole support of his mother and brother, he had to get another job, so despite the fact that he could not read music, he taught himself how to play the piano and joined the "Child Prodigy Circuit" giving concerts as a classical pianist.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Peter Alexander, son of John Alexander