Henry Hathaway

Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Background Henry Hathaway was born Henri Léopold de Fiennes, in Sacramento, California. His title of Marquis was inherited from his paternal grandfather, a Belgian nobleman in service to King Leopold I of Belgium. When his grandfather failed in his commission to secure the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) for Belgium, the disgraced elder Marquis self-exiled to San Francisco in 1850. There he established a law practice and married, the union of which produced Hathaway’s father, Rhoady (1868–1944), who carried the title of nobility. Rhoady became a theatrical manager and married Hathaway’s mother, a Hungarian-born Belgian of aristocratic ancestry, born the Marquise Lillie de Fiennes (Budapest, 1876–1938), who acted under her maiden name Jean Hathaway. Early career