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Talk:Ross Hunter

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Age discrepancy

[edit]

The article currently states (citations omitted):

Hunter was born Martin Terry Fuss in Cleveland, Ohio on May 6, 1926. He was of Austrian-Jewish and German Jewish descent. Hunter attended Glenville High School where he later taught English and drama (he also taught these subjects at Rawlings High School). During World War II, he worked in United States Army Intelligence. After his time in the Army, he returned to his job as a drama teacher. He eventually moved to Los Angeles after his students sent his photo to Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures passed on signing him to a contract and he subsequently signed with Columbia Pictures. It was at Columbia that a casting agent changed his name from "Martin Fuss" to "Ross Hunter".

During the 1930s, Hunter acted in a number of B-movie musicals.

If Hunter was born on May 6, 1926, then he would only have been 13 years old when the 1930s ended. Yet the implication from the prior paragraph is that he didn't become a movie actor until after World War II and having been a high school teacher. I don't claim to know what the exact chronology of his life was, but it seems unlikely that if he was born in 1926, he would have had time to become a high school drama teacher before serving in Army Intelligence during World War II, given that the war ended when he was (purportedly) 19 years old. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 06:37, 7 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You're right. It seems to me unlikely that he was a high school drama teacher as a minor! --Clibenfoart (talk) 12:49, 21 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Clibenfoart: - This is over a year and a half ago, but some sources indicate that he was born as early as 1916 (per his obituary from the Los Angeles Times)[1]: "His age was variously reported between 69 and 79 ... Film guides variously report that Martin Fuss was born between 1916 and 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio." But if he was born on May 6, then the 1920 birth year would be supported by his New York Times obituary,[2] stating that he died aged 75 in March. Although Hunter's page doesn't indicate when he began his army service, since he completed his service by 1943 or 1944 (1944 was when he made his first movie, though the movie may have been filmed in 1943, and then released in 1944, IDK), then the 1916 would seem more likely then the 1920 birth year. Clear Looking Glass (talk) 16:42, 12 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Quite a birth mystery as it is with Joan Crawford. I think we can't be sure about the exact date, but any date later than 1920 seems highly unikely (and thankfully it has been changed in the meantime). --Clibenfoart (talk) 17:30, 12 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I’ve added a note on his page explaining the situation, but yes, I think we can safely rule out anything after 1920 given what we know of his life. Clear Looking Glass (talk) 17:53, 12 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I believe Martin Fuss was most likely born in 1916. He was my mother's English teacher and she was born in 1926. Cory0908 (talk) 14:40, 13 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]