June 1, 1943: The Murder of Leslie Howard

June 1, 1943: British actor Leslie Howard is killed when the Nazis shoot down his plane off the coast of Spain. He was just 50 years old.

He was born on April 3, 1893, in Forest Hill, Southeast London, with the name Leslie Howard Steiner. ("Leslie" is one of many names that are considered masculine in Britain but feminine in America.) Having a German surname did not protect him at the end. He was also Jewish, also it's not clear whether the Nazis knew that. 

One of the earliest literary characters who could be called a "superhero" was the Scarlet Pimpernel. Sir Percy Blakeney was an English aristocrat living in Paris when the French Revolution broke out in 1789, and he disguised himself and used his swordfighting skills to save his friends among the French aristocracy that were targeted for death by the revolutionaries. The character was created by Baroness Emma Orczy, a Hungarian-born British noblewoman, for a 1903 play. Howard starred in the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel.

But he was already a star, having starred in Berkeley Square, and the film version of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. He later starred in the American crime film The Petrified Forest, where he met the film's (and previously the play's) star, Humphrey Bogart; and played Professor Henry Higgins in the 1938 film version of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, 18 years before Rex Harrison debuted in the role in the musical version, titled My Fair Lady. Most Americans, though, remember him for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind in 1939.

That film was released 3 months after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany, to start World War II. Howard made pro-British, anti-Nazi propaganda films, which which later led the British Film Yearbook to call his work "one of the most valuable facets of British propaganda."

He was rumored to have been working for British intelligence, which may have explained why he was killed. In May 1943, he traveled to Portugal -- which, like neighboring Spain, then had a Fascist government, but was neutral in the war, refusing to help fellow Fascists Germany and Italy -- to promote the British cause.

On June 1, 1943, he intended to head home, on a Douglas DC-3, co-operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation, which became British Airways in 1974), labeled Flight 777. It took off from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, intending to fly to Bristol, in England's West Country.

The plane was intercepted by 8 Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 fighters, and was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, off Cedeira, in northwestern Spain. There were 17 people on board, all killed, including Howard and 4 KLM flight crew members.

The Nazis knew Howard had made his propaganda films, but it's not clear whether they knew he was on the plane. One theory that has persisted is that they thought that Prime Minister Winston Churchill was on it. They had certainly targeted Churchill, but they never got him.

Howard left behind a wife, Ruth Evelyn Martin; and 2 children, Ronald and Leslie Ruth. Ronald became an actor, and in the 1954-55 television season, he became TV's 1st Sherlock Holmes. He lived on until 1996.

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June 1, 1943 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Giants player-manager Mel Ott went 2-for-3 with a walk.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-9 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 4-for-6 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Harry Walker won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Ellis Clary singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 5-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Eugene "Huck" Geary stole home plate in the bottom of the 14th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Browns won the opener, 7-4 in 12 innings. The BoSox won the nightcap, 3-2 in 10 innings.

* And the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 24. The Yankees won the opener, 5-1. The ChiSox won the nightcap, 5-3.