Career Highlights: The Prisoner of Zenda, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Queen Christina
First Major Screen Credit: Concert (1921)
Biography
He was an established matinee idol in his mid-thirties when he broke into films in 1915. After a career interruption caused by service in the cavalry in World War I, he returned to films as a popular leading man. Throughout the '20s, he was very busy onscreen playing dignified, well-mannered romantic heroes. For his work in The Patriot (1928), he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Stone's career remained very busy through the mid-'30s, and then continued at a slower pace through the early '50s; in the early sound era, when he was in his fifties, he played mature leads for some time before moving into character roles. Stone is best remembered as Judge Hardy, Andy's father in the Andy Hardy series of films with Mickey Rooney; typically, later in his career, he played Judge Hardy-like senior citizens. Ultimately, he appeared in over 200 films, almost all of them at MGM. ~ All Movie Guide
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting, but his career was interrupted by World War I. By then he had a white-haired, distinguished appearance, and began appearing in roles which matched his demeanor.
In 1937, Stone essayed the role which would become his most famous, that of Judge Hardy in the Mickey Rooney "Andy Hardy" series. Stone appeared as the judge in fifteen movies, beginning with You're Only Young Once.
Stone died in Beverly Hills, California on September 12, 1953. Reportedly, he suffered a heart attack while chasing away some neighborhood kids who were throwing rocks at his garage. A photo published in Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon shows Stone's body immediately after the incident.