Dana Andrews

Solid (sometimes to the point of being wooden), average-Joe leading man of the 1940s who specialized in earnest, embittered and/or disillusioned characters. Having worked as an accountant and a singer, Andrews entered films in the early 40s as a supporting player in Westerns. After portraying the victim of a lynch mob in "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), his career took off and he starred in a succession of strong vehicles, often as flawed heroes.

Most memorable in urban settings, Andrews successfully teamed up with director Otto Preminger and co-star Gene Tierney for "Laura" (1944) and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1950); he was equally superb as the re-adjusting bombardier in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) and as the unflinchingly honest prosecuting attorney in Elia Kazan's "Boomerang!" (1947). With his big-screen career on the wane, Andrews starred in prestige TV showcases in the 50s and headlined a daytime soap opera, "Bright Promise," in the late 60s. Andrews' second wife, Mary Todd, was an actress and his brother, Steve Forrest, an actor.