ACTOR
Robert Donat
25 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (25)
- #001
Robert Donat was the favourite actor of Judy Garland, who wrote him a fan letter after seeing his performance in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934).
- #002
Donat said his favourite actors were Charles Chaplin, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Greta Garbo and Deanna Durbin.
- #003
When he died on 9 June 1958, Donat left none of his £25,000 estate (equivalent to £660,000 in 2025) to his wife, Renee Asherson. Instead, the estate was divided among his three children, Joanna, John and Brian.
- #004
Donat did not feel comfortable in Hollywood, so Hollywood came to him and he mostly filmed in Britain.
- #005
In Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Donat played Charles Edward "Mr. Chips" Chipping from the age of 20 (in 1870) to 83 (in 1933). Donat was 34 years old when he played the role.
- #006
During stage performances, the actor's asthma sometimes required the use of a mobile oxygen unit. It was kept somewhere in the wings for Robert Donat to use whenever he needed it.
- #007
Donat was considered for Laurence Olivier's roles in Wuthering Heights (1939), Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Rebecca (1940).
- #008
Donat lobbied for the Chorus role in Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944), but Leslie Banks was cast instead.
- #009
Donat appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), The Citadel (1938) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939).
- #010
After his death, Donat was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6420 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on 8 February 1960.
- #011
Donat was an Englishman of Polish origin, and several of his brothers emigrated to Canada.
- #012
In the final years of his career, Robert Donat focused more on the theatre than on films.
- #013
Donat deliberately avoided becoming a mainstream success in Hollywood and hated being called a "star".
- #014
Donat was an actor whom Frank Langella admired.
- #015
A memorial service for Donat was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on 10 July 1958.
- #016
Donat campaigned to be cast as Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist (1948), but Robert Newton was cast instead.
- #017
After his sudden death, Donat was cremated in Marylebone and his ashes were buried in East Finchley Cemetery in the London Borough of Barnet.
- #018
Unhappy with the idea of living abroad, Donat made only one American film before returning home.
- #019
Donat died in 1958 at the age of 53 from a cerebral thrombosis caused by a large brain tumour.
- #020
Robert Donat overcame a childhood stutter and developed the resonant voice that led him to early success as a Shakespearean stage actor.
- #021
With his first wife, Ella Hall, Robert Donat had a daughter, Joanna Donat (born 1931), and two sons, John Donat (born 1933) and Brian Donat (born 1936).
- #022
A blue plaque commemorates Robert Donat's life at 8 Meadway in Hampstead Garden Suburb.
- #023
Robert Donat was the uncle of actors Peter Donat and Richard Donat, and the great-uncle of Lucas Donat.
- #024
The son of a Polish immigrant and an English mother, Robert Donat was born in Manchester in 1905.
- #025
His first wife, Ella, remarried in 1956 and became Ella Hall. She died in West Sussex in the summer of 1994 at the age of 91.
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