Ex-Envoy John Davis Lodge Dies

John Davis Lodge, scion of New England’s esteemed diplomatic clan who once was a debonair screen actor but then returned to his roots to become an envoy and successful politician, died late Tuesday night in New York City.

The former ambassador, congressman and governor of Connecticut was 82 and was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Clare’s Hospital where he was taken after being stricken at the Women’s National Republican Club after finishing a speech.

Lodge was being honored with his wife, Francesca, a former Italian ballerina, at a testimonial dinner.

Lodge, who abandoned a lucrative law practice to come to Hollywood where he starred opposite Marlene Dietrich in “The Scarlett Empress,” most recently served as ambassador to Switzerland.

He was asked by President Reagan to take that position in March, 1983; Lodge resigned last spring. Earlier he had been ambassador to Spain and Argentina.

Lodge said once in an interview that he and Reagan had known each other as actors, but “we were never involved in the same movie.”

‘Different Aspects of Acting’

“We were involved in different aspects of acting. I was leading man for Marlene Dietrich, and I acted with Katharine Hepburn in ‘Little Women,’ and I played Shirley Temple’s father in ‘The Little Colonel.’ ”

He also appeared in the title role in “Bulldog Drummond at Bay” and several French and British films. His last performance was as Archduke Francis Ferdinand in the 1940 French production “Mayerling to Sarajevo.”

His was a family famed for its statesmen. He was the grandson of U.S. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge and younger brother of U.S. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., the Republican candidate for vice president in 1960 and later ambassador to the United Nations.

He began his acting ventures after graduating from Harvard in 1925 and Harvard Law School in 1929. But after Navy service in World War II, in which he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his work as a liaison officer between the French and U.S. fleets, he abandoned his film career and returned to politics--the Lodge clan’s mainstay.

In 1946, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, replacing Rep. Clare Booth Luce, and served until 1950, when he was elected governor. He lost a reelection bid to Democrat Abraham Ribicoff in 1954.

During the gubernatorial campaign his opponent, Gov. Chester Bowles, dismissed him publicly as “just an actor.” “Marvelous,” Lodge told an aide, remembering the number of show business veterans living around Connecticut.

His friendship with President Dwight D. Eisenhower led to his being made special ambassador on several presidential missions before becoming ambassador to Spain from 1955 to 1961.

In 1964, he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democrat Thomas J. Dodd.

When fellow Republican Richard M. Nixon was elected President in 1968, Lodge gained his second ambassadorship--to Argentina, where he served from 1969 to 1974.

He later served as U.S. representative to the United Nations under Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick.

In addition to his wife, Lodge is survived by two daughters.