History: Boca Grande resident and actor, impeccably mannered Brian Aherne
BY KAREN GRACE
Famous stars have been coming to Gasparilla Island for years, from Lana Turner to Robert Redford, Harrison Ford and Michael Keaton. The most famous was Katherine Hepburn, a relative of the late Arthur Houghton. She wintered in Boca Grande for many years.
There are some less-known stars as well, one of which was Brian Aherne, an English actor who began his career at age eight in a pantomime show with Noel Coward. He later appeared in British silent films working with Merle Oberon and Alfred Hitchcock.
In 1946, William Bryan deLacy Aherne married Eleanor de Liagre who met him through her brother Alfred de Liagre, the Broadway producer and director famous for plays like “Deathtrap”. It was because of Eleanor that the couple came to Boca Grande, giving him a house on his 81st birthday in 1983. In addition to 440 Gilchrist, the Ahernes also maintained houses in Santa Monica, New York City and Switzerland.
Before Aherne came to Boca Grande, he made his Broadway debut in 1931 in The Barretts of Wimpole Street and his American movie debut in 1933 in The Song of Songs with Marlene Dietrich. He was described in 1936 by Renee Houston, his brother’s wife, as “tall and masculine but sensitive” with “a stubbornness and a free spirit. He was most frequently cast as a man in authority: impeccably mannered and meticulously groomed, epitomizing the debonair, self-assured British gentleman.”
His movie credits and famous female co-stars include What Every Woman Wants with Helen Hayes, The Great Garrick with Olivia De Havilland, I Live My Life and The Best of Everything with Joan Crawford, The Lady in Question with Rita Hayworth, Vigil In The Night with Carole Lombard, My Sister Eileen with Rosalind Russell, A Night to Remember with Loretta Young and Sylvia Scarlett with Katherine Hepburn. He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Juarez, a historical drama which also starred Paul Muni, Betty Davis and John Garfield. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Beyond Hollywood, Aherne had a distinguished career in the theater and in television. His first wife was actress Joan Fontaine.
During World War II, since he was already a pilot, Aherne served as a flight instructor for the Royal Air Force at Falcon Field in Arizona. He also supported the British Red Cross raising money to purchase ambulances, supported programs to evacuate orphans and participated in USO productions for Allied troops. And he was involved in the creation of Actors Equity in Britain.
In 1969, Aherne published his autobiography, A Proper Job, reflecting on his career as an actor and questioning whether acting was a “serious” career. He commented that he was “never all that impressed with the glamour of it.”
While here, the Aherne’s were known for holding hands on their Gilchrist walks, according to residents at the time. In his 1969 autobiography, the facetiously titled “A Proper Job”, he wrote that the title came from his lack of faith in acting as a serious career.
“Never was all that impressed with the glamour of it,” he wrote.
Brian Aherne died at Venice Hospital in 1986 of heart failure at age 83. His wife Eleanor told the Los Angeles Times that “his heart just gradually gave out.” She continued to live in Boca Grande until her death in 2000.
Aherne’s movies show up occasionally on Turner Classic Movies, and other streaming services.
Karen Grace wrote about Eleanor Aherne in February 2022 for the Beacon, as part of the Boca Grande Historical Society’s History Bytes program.
