'' (1929) He started out in
Hollywood in
silent movies, but became a huge star with the advent of talkies. After the war, Boles moved to New York City to study music. He quickly became well known for his talents and was selected to replace the leading man in the 1923 Broadway musical
Little Jesse James. He became an established star on Broadway and attracted the attention of Hollywood producers and actors. Boles'
Broadway credits include
One Touch of Venus (1943), ''Kitty's Kisses
(1925), Mercenary Mary
(1924), and Little Jessie James'' (1923). He was hired by MGM to appear in a silent film in 1924. He starred in two more films for that studio before returning to New York City and the stage. In 1927, he returned to Hollywood to star in
The Love of Sunya (1927) opposite
Gloria Swanson, which was a big success for him. Unfortunately, because the movies were still silent, he was unable to show off his singing ability until late in the decade. In 1929, Warner Bros. hired him to star in their lavish musical operetta
The Desert Song (1929). This film featured sequences in
Technicolor and was a box-office success. Soon after, Radio Pictures (later known as
RKO) selected him to play the leading man in their extravagant production (the last portion of the film was photographed in Technicolor) of
Rio Rita, opposite
Bebe Daniels. Audiences were enthralled by his beautiful voice, and John Boles suddenly found himself in huge demand.
RCA Victor even hired him to make phonograph records of songs that he had sung in his films. As soon as
Rio Rita was completed, Boles went back to
Warner Bros. as the leading man in an even more extravagant musical entitled
Song of the West (1930) that was filmed entirely in Technicolor. Shortly after this film,
Universal Pictures offered John Boles a contract, which he accepted. He starred in a number of pictures for them, most notably the all-Technicolor musical revue entitled
The King of Jazz (1930) and a historical operetta entitled
Captain of the Guard (1930). In 1931, he starred in
One Heavenly Night (1931), which proved to be his last major musical. Boles portrayed
Victor Moritz in
Frankenstein (1931). He starred with
Irene Dunne in a 1934 film adaptation of
Edith Wharton's 1920 novel
The Age of Innocence directed for RKO Radio Pictures by
Philip Moeller, and took the role of Edward Morgan in
Curly Top (1935), starring
Shirley Temple. In 1937, Boles starred alongside
Barbara Stanwyck in the
King Vidor classic
Stella Dallas. In 1943, he co-starred with
Mary Martin and
Kenny Baker in
One Touch of Venus. ==Later years and popularity after death==