James Hilton was born on September 9, 1900 in Leigh, Lancashire, England. He was a writer and actor, known for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Foreign Correspondent (1940) and Lost Horizon (1937). He was married to Alice Brown and Galina Kopineck. He died on December 20, 1954 in Long Beach, California, USA.
[on discovering that, in 'Lost Horizon' (1937), his female missionary character had been replaced by a pulchritudinous blonde] The passengers who were in the plane that was kidnapped from the Chinese city of Baskul and taken to Shangri La were a purely fortuitous group... chosen for their adventure by chance. It might just as well have been Gloria as Miss Brinklow who was crowded aboard as a last minute rescue. As a matter of fact, if I'd thought of Gloria while I was writing the book, I might have given her Miss Brinklow's seat in the airplane myself.
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Tempted by Hollywood, a writer must decide whether he would rather say a little less exactly what he wants to millions or a little more exactly to thousands.
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Fact
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British novelist and Hollywood scenarist whose "Lost Horizon" gave the English language the word 'Shangri-La' (the name of an imaginary Himalayan paradise). He is best remembered, however, for "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (whose lead character was inspired by his own father) and "Random Harvest".
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His beloved character, Mr. Chips, was partly modelled on his father John, who was head teacher of Chapel End School, in Walthamstow.
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Hilton was the host of CBS Radio's "The Hallmark Playhouse" (1948-1953).
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Son of a schoolmaster. Attended Christ's College, Cambridge (A.B. 1921).
$16 Million
