Laird, Bared

In forties he went on a tear
and thundered through Hangover Square
Psychotic'lly scheming
in I Wake Up Screaming
As The Lodger he killed on a prayer

Laird Cregar would fill up the screen
as villains both oily and mean
He'd whine and he'd sulk
and throw 'round his bulk
Too bad that he tried to go lean

Actor Laird Cregar had a tragically short life and career.
In the 1940s he created a series of vivid and memorable
characters at 20th Century Fox, equally adept at comedy
and drama. Cast as the demented pianist in Hangover
Square, Cregar wanted to look the romantic lead: he lost
100 pounds on a crash diet which included using ampheta-
mines, leading to severe abdominal problems. Several days
after undergoing stomach surgery the actor died of a heart
attack. He was just 28 years old.