Il y a 70 ans l'avion de l'acteur Leslie Howard était abattu par les Allemands

Le 1er juin 1943, disparaissait à l'âge de 50 ans, le grand acteur juif britannique Leslie Howard, de son vrai nom Leslie Howard Stainer, lorsque son avion est abattu par la Luftwaffe au-dessus du Golfe de Gascogne. Il participa activement à l'effort de guerre contre le nazisme au travers de films, d'articles et d'émissions radio- phoniques. En 1939, il fut inoubliable dans le rôle d'Ashley Wilkes dans Autant en emporte le vent.

"Leslie Howard was visiting Lisbon and Madrid on a British Council-sponsored propaganda tour.  Howard had cultivated something of a reputation as being a marketable instrument of British propaganda, both in making patriotic films and by undertaking performance and speaking tours to bolster the war effort.  Howard was born in Forest Hill in southeast London into a Jewish family.  His outstanding performance as Ashley Wilkes in the blockbuster movie Gone with the Wind helped make him one of the biggest movie stars of the era.  An elegant gentleman who was always well dressed in Savile Row-cut double-breasted suits, complete with matching waistcoats, fedora hat, and club tie, he was a major draw on the lecture and solo performance circuit."

Sa mort:

"On the morning of June 1, 1943, Howard and Chenhalls [son agent] climbed the steps to Flight 777A.  The plane left on time at 9:30 AM.  During its crossing of the Bay of Biscay it too was spotted by a Luftwaffe patrol.  The Dutch pilot, instead of diving  for the cover of the clouds, chose to remain at a high altitude and the unarmed plane was first followed by a German fighter plane, and then attacked with deadly precision.  The pilot of Flight 777A radioed Whitchurch, the destination of the plane, to say that he was being followed and then again to warn that he was under attack.  After this point, contact with the plane was lost. The pilot of the German fighter confirmed the "kill" after seeing the aircraft fall towards the sea.  No survivors or wreckage was ever found." (Neill Lochery, Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-45 (2011), pp. 156-158)

Photos reprises du blog Leslie Howard Forever.

Leslie et Douglas Fairbanks Jr, dans le film Outward Bound, 1930

Vidéo: A tribute to one of the greatest actors of all times: Leslie Howard, 1893-1943.

Théories sur l'attaque de l'avion sur Wikipédia ICI.

Voir également:
- The actor, the Jew and Churchill’s double
- Actor Leslie Howard kept Spain out of WWII, claims author