Alfred Lunt was an American actor, renowned for his exceptional partnership with his wife Lynn Fontanne. He was one of the leading male stars on Broadway, and his ancestry dated back to the colonial era, tracing his roots to Maine, Massachusetts, and Scotland.
Born in 1892 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lunt's father, Alfred D. Lunt, was involved in the lumber business, while his mother, Harriet Washburn Briggs, was a housewife. After his father's untimely death in 1893, his mother remarried a Finnish-American physician, Dr. Karl Sederholm, and the family eventually settled in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.
Lunt's early life was marked by his attendance at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He gained recognition in 1919 for his starring role in the comedy play "Clarence" by Booth Tarkington. He went on to distinguish himself in various theatrical roles, including Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and Chekhov's "The Seagull".
On May 26, 1926, Lunt married actress Lynn Fontane, and the couple became the preeminent Broadway acting duo. Their successes included a play written specifically for them, the menage a trois-themed "Design for Living" (1932) by Noël Coward.
Lunt began his film career in the 1920s, with his debut in the silent drama "Backbone" (1923) for Goldwyn Pictures. He went on to appear in films such as "The Ragged Edge" (1923),"Second Youth" (1924),"Sally of the Sawdust" (1925),and "Lovers in Quarantine" (1925).
His most notable film effort was the comedy film "The Guardsman" (1931),in which he played the role of a jealous husband who creates a second identity to woo his wife. Although it was a critical success, it did not perform well at the box office. Lunt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role but lost to Wallace Beery and Fredric March.
Lunt returned to the stage, making cameo appearances in films such as "Stage Door Canteen" (1943) and "Show Business at War" (1943). During the 1940s, he and Fontane starred in several radio dramas, and in the 1950s and 1960s, they frequently appeared on television.
Lunt officially retired from the stage in 1958 at the age of 66. His last film appearance was in the television film "The Magnificent Yankee" (1965),in which he played United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
In his later years, Lunt spent his time at his summer home, "Ten Chimneys," in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin. He passed away in August 1977, a week shy of his 85th birthday, due to cancer. Lynn Fontane remained at "Ten Chimneys" until her own death in 1983. The property was later converted into a house museum and a resource center for theater.
