Tom Conway

His final appearance was an uncredited part, in What a Way to Go! (1964). Failing eyesight and prolonged bouts with alcohol took their toll on Conway in his last years.

Conway underwent cataract surgery during the winter of 1964/65.

His second wife, Queenie Leonard divorced him in 1963. George Sanders broke off all contact with him over his drinking.

Conway also lent his voice to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).

When an American-born comic actor first came to Hollywood in the early 1960s, he was forced to change his name because, although he was born as Tom Conway, he could not use his own name due to the already-established character actor Tom Conway. So he changed his name and became known as Tim Conway.

Back in the states, there were guest appearances on TV's Rawhide (1959), Adventures in Paradise (1959), and Perry Mason (1957).

He appeared regularly as the boyfriend on the The Betty Hutton Show (1959).

In October, 1957, Tom turned in a brilliant performance as ventriloquist Max Collodi in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) chilling tale "The Glass Eye".

He worked with his younger brother George Sanders and his ex-sister-in-law Zsa Zsa Gabor in Death of a Scoundrel (1956).

He played a cameo role as a bearded and be-wigged Sir Kay in Prince Valiant (1954) with two brief lines.

Both he and his younger brother George Sanders worked with Thomas Heathcote: Conway in Three Stops to Murder (1953) and The Last Man to Hang (1956) and Sanders in Village of the Damned (1960).

His next film was Bride of the Gorilla - Raymond Burr & Lon Chaney In A Schlock Classic (1951).

Alert to new possibilities for work, he accepted the part of homicide detective Mark Saber in the television series, Mark Saber (1951). Conway also made several mystery films in England during the same period.

These led to two major film appearances, Universal's One Touch of Venus (1948), with Ava Gardner and Eve Arden and Warner Brothers' Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951). Amidst the collapse of the studio system, Tom found his opportunities shrinking. There were to be no further major roles for him.

Conway played the role with even greater success than that of his brother in the next ten installments, concluding with The Falcon's Adventure (1946).

Tom Conway played "The Falcon" in ten of that series' entries. He starred in three Val Lewton horror classics. He appeared in comedies, musicals, two Tarzan films and even science fiction films. He was early television's Detective Mark Saber, but Conway will probably be best remembered as George Sanders' brother. Born into a wealthy family in pre-Bolshevik Revolution Russia, Thomas Charles Sanders might have followed his father as a rope manufacturer and inherited several estates. Had the family not been forced to flee to England, the brothers Sanders may never have added their names to the Hollywood saga. But the Russian Revolution came, and Tom (age 13), George (age 11), sister Margaret (age 5), together with their parents, fled to England, leaving most of their wealth in the hands of the Bolsheviks. The brothers attended Dunhurst and Bedales, private schools, and eventually Brighton College. After college, Tom went to Northern Rhodesia where he worked in gold, copper and asbestos mines and even attempted ranching. Frustrated and "pretty well fed up to the teeth" with his failures, he borrowed passage home. In England, Conway worked as an engineer in a carburetor company and later sold safety glass. He was discovered by a representative from a little theater group who persuaded him to join them. Conway eventually worked for the Manchester Repertory Company and toured with them in over twenty-five plays. He also appeared in BBC radio broadcasts. Brother George persuaded him to come to Hollywood. To prevent confusion on the part of the public, they tossed a coin to see who would have to change his name. Tom lost, thereby becoming Tom Conway. Conway began work at MGM, eventually appearing as a contract player in twelve films there, including a bit part in Mrs. Miniver (1942). Brother George, tiring of B-film appearances in RKO's Falcon series and with better roles at two studios looming on the horizon, offered Tom his first big break.

In The Falcon's Brother (1942), George was conveniently eliminated by a Nazi sniper so that Tom, as Tom Lawrence, could inherit the role.

During those years, he also appeared in Val Lewton's Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Seventh Victim (1943).

Had one younger sister: Margaret Sanders (born 1912).