The Best Actresses and Actors - Born in the 1870s
by dziwnytenswiat | created - 22 Apr 2019 | updated - 3 months ago | Public
Points from my "The Best Films Ever Made"-Lists:
Vol. 1 = 100%, Vol. 2 = 50%, Vol. 3 = 33%, Vol. 4 = 25%, Vol. 5 = 20 %, Vol. 6 = 17%
1. Lionel Barrymore
Actor | You Can't Take It with You
Famed actor, composer, artist, author and director. His talents extended to the authoring of the novel "Mr. Cartonwine: A Moral Tale" as well as his autobiography. In 1944, he joined ASCAP, and composed "Russian Dances", "Partita", "Ballet Viennois", "The Woodman and the Elves", "Behind the Horizon...
6369 points
2. Jane Darwell
Actress | The Grapes of Wrath
Missouri-born Jane Darwell was born Patti Woodard, the daughter of William Robert Woodard, president of the Louisville Southern Railroad, and Ellen (Booth) Woodard, in Palmyra, Missouri, where she grew up on a ranch . She nursed ambitions to be an opera singer, but put it off because of her ...
5804 points
3. H.B. Warner
Actor | It's a Wonderful Life
Henry Byron Warner was the definitive cinematic Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). He was born into a prominent theatrical family on October 26, 1875 in London. His father was Charles Warner, and his grandfather was James Warner, both prominent English actors. He replaced ...
5723 points
4. Halliwell Hobbes
Actor | You Can't Take It with You
Born at Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon, Halliwell Hobbes could perhaps not aspire to anything else but to be an actor. He made his stage debut in 1898 playing Shakespearean repertory with the famous acting company of Sir Frank Benson throughout England. Among others he played opposite ...
5630 points
5. Robert Greig
Actor | Sullivan's Travels
Robert Greig was born on December 27, 1879 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and producer, known for Sullivan's Travels (1941), Animal Crackers (1930) and The Lady Eve (1941). He was married to Beatrice Denver Holloway. He died on June 27, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
5373 points
6. Robert Warwick
Actor | In a Lonely Place
A prominent matinée stage and silent-film star with handsome features offset only slightly by a prominent proboscis, Robert Warwick was born and raised in Sacramento, California, as Robert Taylor Bien. The gift of music was instilled at an early age (he sang in his church choir) and he initially ...
5271 points
7. Grant Mitchell
Actor | Arsenic and Old Lace
You would think stage and film veteran Grant Mitchell was born to play stern authoritarians; his father after all was General John Grant Mitchell. But Mitchell would actually be better known for his portrayals of harangued husbands, bemused dads and bilious executives in 30s and 40s films. Born in ...
5064 points
8. Samuel S. Hinds
Actor | It's a Wonderful Life
Samuel S. Hinds, a Harvard graduate, was a lawyer in Hollywood until the stock market crash of 1929, in which he lost most of his money. Hinds, who had an interest in theater acting, decided to embark on a career in acting, albeit it age 54. The tall, dignified-looking Hinds appeared in over 200 ...
4383 points
9. Donald Meek
Actor | You Can't Take It with You
One Hollywood stalwart whose screen incarnations more than lived up to his name was bald-domed character actor Donald Meek, forever typecast as mousy, timorous or browbeaten Casper Milquetoasts. He stood at 5 ft. 6 in. in his boots and weighed a mere 81 pounds. However, the little Glaswegian's ...
4197 points
10. Charles Halton
Actor | To Be or Not to Be
A respected stage actor -- he trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts -- since the 1920s, birdlike Charles Halton's thinning hair, rimless glasses and officious manner were familiar to generations of moviegoers. Whether playing the neighborhood busybody, a stern government bureaucrat or ...
3844 points
11. Ernest Thesiger
Actor | Bride of Frankenstein
Although he made nearly 60 films in a 50-year acting career, it is for the two he made with director James Whale that Ernest Thesiger will be best remembered. Born Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger in London on January 15, 1879, he was the grandson of the first Baron of Chelmsford. Educated at ...
3827 points
12. Henry Travers
Actor | It's a Wonderful Life
British-born Henry Travers was a veteran of the English stage before emigrating to the U.S. in 1917. He gained more stage experience there on Broadway working with the Theatre Guild, and began his long film career with Reunion in Vienna (1933). Travers' kindly, grandfatherly demeanor became ...
3814 points
13. J. Farrell MacDonald
Actor | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
J. Farrell MacDonald was born on April 14, 1875 in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Sunrise (1927), My Darling Clementine (1946) and The Great Lie (1941). He was married to Edith Bostwick. He died on August 2, 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.
3418 points
14. Lewis Stone
Actor | The Mask of Fu Manchu
By the time that he was 20, Lewis Stone had turned prematurely grey. He enlisted to fight in the Spanish American War and when he returned, he returned to be a writer. This turned to acting and he began to appear in films during the middle teens. His career was again interrupted by war as he served...
3248 points
15. Henry Stephenson
Actor | Captain Blood
Stephenson was a firm, dignified, worldly presence in Hollywood's classic history-based films of the 30s and 40s. The tall British character actor Henry Stephenson could be both imposing and benevolent in his patrician portrayals, usually expounding words of wisdom or offering gentlemanly aid. He ...
2913 points
16. Ethel Griffies
Actress | The Birds
The daughter of actor-manager Samuel Rupert Woods and actress Lillie Roberts, Ethel Griffies began her own stage career at the age of 3. She was 21 when she finally made her London debut in 1899, and 46 when she made her first Broadway appearance in "Havoc" (1924). Discounting a tentative stab at ...
2830 points
17. Charles Coburn
Actor | The More the Merrier
A cigar-smoking, monocled, swag-bellied character actor known for his Old South manners and charm. In 1918 he and his first wife formed the Coburn Players and appeared on Broadway in many plays. With her death in 1937, he accepted a Hollywood contract and began making films at the age of sixty.
2811 points
18. Georg John
Actor | M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
Georg John was born on July 23, 1879 in Schmiegel, Poland. He was an actor, known for M (1931), Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924). He died on November 18, 1941 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.
2804 points
19. Sydney Greenstreet
Actor | The Maltese Falcon
Sydney Greenstreet's father was a leather merchant with eight children. Sydney left home at age 18 to make his fortune as a Ceylon tea planter, but drought forced him out of business and back to England. He managed a brewery and, to escape boredom, took acting lessons. His stage debut was as a ...
2753 points
20. Emma Dunn
Actress | Son of Frankenstein
Emma Dunn was a much noted stage actress before turning to films. She worked with such theatre luminaries as Richard Mansfield, Frances Starr, James Ellison and Blanche Yurka. She appeared in 3 productions under the direction of the legendary David Belasco. Miss Dunn also authored 2 books regarding...
2650 points
21. Eily Malyon
Actress | The Little Princess
Eily Malyon was born on October 30, 1879 in Islington, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Little Princess (1939), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and Kind Lady (1935). She was married to J. Plumpton Wilson. She died on September 26, 1961 in South Pasadena, California, USA.
2590 points
22. Walter Hampden
Actor | Sabrina
Walter Hampden was one of the great American stage actors and the only performer, aside from Maurice Evans, to play Hamlet three times on Broadway in the post-World War I-era. Born Walter Hampden Dougherty on June 30, 1879, in Brooklyn, New York, he learned his craft in London, where he made his ...
2550 points
23. Elizabeth Patterson
Actress | Dinner at Eight
A dainty but nevertheless feisty character actress, southern-bred (Mary) Elizabeth Patterson was born in Savannah, Tennessee, on November 22, 1874, and started her career over her strict parent's objections. She became a member of Chicago's Ben Greet Players, performing Shakespeare at the turn of ...
2475 points
24. Ivan F. Simpson
Actor | The Adventures of Robin Hood
Ivan F. Simpson was born on February 4, 1875 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Captain Blood (1935) and Maid of Salem (1937). He died on October 12, 1951 in New York City, New York, USA.
2464 points
25. Lucile Watson
Actress | Watch on the Rhine
Unsmiling character player Lucile Watson was one of Hollywood's most indomitable mothers of the 1930s and 1940s...and you can take that both ways. The archetypal matriarch who enhanced scores of plush, soapy, Victorian-styled drama, her prickly pears could be insufferable indeed and heaven help ...
2426 points
26. Maria Ouspenskaya
Actress | The Wolf Man
The daughter of a lawyer, Ouspenskaya studied singing at the Warsaw Conservatory and acting at Adasheff's School of the Drama in Moscow. She received her practical training as an actress touring in the Russian provinces. She later joined the Moscow Art Theatre. It was here that she first worked ...
2289 points
27. Charles Middleton
Actor | Duck Soup
Charles Brown Middleton was born 7th October 1879. His father was a military man with a strong sense of discipline which conflicted with Charles' own outlook on how to live his life so when 12 he ran away to join a circus and looked after the elephants before moving into performing in dramatic ...
2263 points
28. Clem Bevans
Actor | Saboteur
Born in 1879, Clem Bevans spent most of his performing career on the stage. First appearing in 1900 in a vaudeville act with Grace Emmett as a boy and girl act, he would move on to burlesque and eventually make the move to Broadway and even opera productions. His first screen appearance did not ...
2128 points
29. Richard Carle
Actor | The Ghost Walks
Richard Carle was born on July 7, 1871 in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Ghost Walks (1934), Ninotchka (1939) and Seven Sinners (1940). He was married to Laura Casner and Ella Samantha Clifford. He died on June 28, 1941 in North Hollywood, California, USA.
2074 points
30. Victor Sjöström
Actor | Smultronstället
Victor Sjöström was born on September 20, 1879, and is the undisputed father of Swedish film, ranking as one of the masters of world cinema. His influence lives on in the work of Ingmar Bergman and all those directors, both Swedish and international, influenced by his work and the works of ...
2033 points
31. Sara Allgood
Actress | How Green Was My Valley
Dublin-born Sara Allgood started her acting career in her native country with the famed Abbey Theatre. From there she traveled to the English stage, where she played for many years before making her film debut in 1918. Her warm, open Irish face meant that she spent a lot of time playing Irish ...
2007 points
32. Ethel Barrymore
Actress | The Spiral Staircase
Ethel Barrymore was the second of three children seemingly destined for the actor's life of their parents Maurice and Georgiana. Maurice Barrymore had emigrated from England in 1875, and after graduating from Cambridge in law had shocked his family by becoming an actor. Georgiana Drew of ...
1999 points
33. Maurice Moscovitch
Actor | The Great Dictator
Maurice Moscovitch was born on November 23, 1871 in Odessa, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for The Great Dictator (1940), Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) and Love Affair (1939). He died on June 18, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1998 points
34. George Irving
Actor | Bringing Up Baby
George Irving was born on October 5, 1874 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Bringing Up Baby (1938), Man Power (1927) and The Landloper (1918). He was married to Mary Katherine Gilman. He died on September 11, 1961 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
1985 points
35. Jessie Ralph
Actress | Captain Blood
Jessie Ralph was a sailor's daughter, who first came to the stage at the age of 16, performing with a stock company in either Boston, Massachusetts, or Providence, Rhode Island (accounts differ). The year was 1880, and it took Jessie another 26 years to make her debut on the Great White Way in "The...
1951 points
36. Spencer Charters
Actor | High Sierra
Spencer Charters was a burly, moon faced man who got his start in the theater where he basically stayed until 1930. Thereafter, he quickly launched a career as a character actor in movies. His specialty was a lower-to-middle-class worker, and he portrayed many types, including judges, doctors, ...
1944 points
37. Beryl Mercer
Actress | The Little Princess
Too short to be a leading lady, Beryl Mercer had a very active and productive career playing motherly characters. She played opposite great leading men, such as Colin Clive, Robert Montgomery, James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Leslie Howard, Spencer Tracy, and Randolph Scott. She also played Queen ...
1919 points
38. Sidney Bracey
Actor | The Monster Walks
Sidney Bracey was born on December 18, 1877 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and director, known for The Monster Walks (1932), The Million Dollar Mystery (1914) and Show People (1928). He was married to Evelyn Foshay. He died on August 5, 1942 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1919 points
39. Claire McDowell
Actress | Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ
Claire McDowell was born on November 2, 1877 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), The Big Parade (1925) and The Mark of Zorro (1920). She was married to Charles Hill Mailes. She died on October 23, 1966 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1874 points
40. Robert Elliott
Actor | The Maltese Falcon
Robert Elliott was born on October 9, 1879 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Maltese Falcon (1931), Lights of New York (1928) and Gone with the Wind (1939). He was married to Ruth Thorp. He died on November 15, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1872 points
41. Harlan Briggs
Actor | Dodsworth
Harlan Briggs was born on August 17, 1879 in Blissfield, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Dodsworth (1936), My Pal Trigger (1946) and Live, Love and Learn (1937). He was married to Merle Ione Weeks, Viola Marguerite Scott and Mary E. Brockway. He died on January 26, 1952 in Woodland Hills,...
1862 points
42. Louise Carter
Actress | Week-End Marriage
Louise Carter was born on March 17, 1875 in Denison, Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for Week-End Marriage (1932), Madame Butterfly (1932) and Broken Lullaby (1932). She died on November 10, 1957 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1848 points
43. Alfred Abel
Actor | Metropolis
This elegant actor of the golden age of German cinema appeared in several masterpieces, before the cameras of such inspired geniuses as Lang, Lubitsch and Murnau. Vocation had come rather late in his life, though. Abel was indeed already 33 when he made his first film. Beforehand, he had been a ...
1839 points
44. Harry Carey
Actor | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Born in New York City to a Judge of Special Sessions who was also president of a sewing machine company. Grew up on City Island, New York. Attended Hamilton Military Academy and turned down an appointment to West Point to attend New York Law School, where his law school classmates included future ...
1813 points
45. Barlowe Borland
Actor | The Hound of the Baskervilles
Barlowe Borland was born on August 6, 1877 in Greenock, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), The Little Minister (1934) and A Tale of Two Cities (1935). He was married to Francesca Redding. He died on August 31, 1948 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, ...
1799 points
46. Laura Hope Crews
Actress | Gone with the Wind
Laura Hope Crews was born on December 12, 1879 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Gone with the Wind (1939), The Silver Cord (1933) and Camille (1936). She died on November 13, 1942 in New York City, New York, USA.
1777 points
47. Finlay Currie
Actor | Ben-Hur
Scottish-born Finlay Currie was a former church organist and choirmaster, who made his stage debut at 20 years of age. It took him 34 more years before making his first film, but he worked steadily for another 30 years after that. Although he was a large, imposing figure, with a rich, deep voice ...
1756 points
48. Clarence Kolb
Actor | His Girl Friday
Contrary to his familiar image, Clarence Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy act, Kolb and Dill. He made a few shorts in 1916 and a feature in 1917, but went back to vaudeville and the stage immediately thereafter, and did not return to films until the late 1930s. His stern, ...
1729 points
49. Leona Roberts
Actress | Gone with the Wind
Leona Roberts was born on July 26, 1879 in Monroe Center, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Gone with the Wind (1939), Bringing Up Baby (1938) and The Blue Bird (1940). She was married to Walter Beck and Charles James Hutchinson. She died on January 29, 1954 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
1720 points
50. Clara Blandick
Actress | The Wizard of Oz
Clara Blandick was an American actress born as Clara Dickey and born aboard an American ship off the coast of Hong Kong on June 4, 1880. Little is known about her early life until she became an actress. She grew up in Boston and first acted on stage in E.H. Sothern's 'Richard Lovelace'. Although ...
1668 points
51. Victor Moore
Actor | Swing Time
Victor Moore was born on February 24, 1876 in Hammonton, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Swing Time (1936), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947). He was married to Shirley Paige and Emma Littlefield. He died on July 23, 1962 in East Islip, Long ...
1643 points
52. Robert McWade
Actor | The Kennel Murder Case
Robert McWade was born on January 25, 1872 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Kennel Murder Case (1933), The Dragon Murder Case (1934) and Anything Goes (1936). He was married to Almina Lee. He died on January 19, 1938 in Culver City, California, USA.
1633 points
53. Georgia Caine
Actress | The Count of Monte Cristo
Georgia Caine was born on October 30, 1876 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) and It's Love I'm After (1937). She was married to Alphonzo Bell Hudson and Charles Winters. She died on April 4, 1964 in ...
1625 points
54. Nigel De Brulier
Actor | Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ
British-born Nigel De Brulier's long career began in silent films, but unlike many performers of that era, he managed to successfully transition into sound films. His authoritarian and somewhat regal bearing was perfect for the many bishops, cardinals, knights and other authority figures he often ...
1615 points
55. O.B. Clarence
Actor | Great Expectations
Stocky, bespectacled English character actor, whose career began in the music halls. Educated at Dover College, Oliver Burchett Clarence acted in repertory theatre from 1890. He then worked as a member of actor-manager Frank Benson's troupe for a number of years. During the First World War, he ...
1607 points
56. Blanche Friderici
Actress | It Happened One Night
Blanche Friderici was born on January 21, 1878 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for It Happened One Night (1934), Sadie Thompson (1928) and Secrets (1933). She was married to Donald Campbell. She died on December 23, 1933 in Visalia, California, USA.
1583 points
57. Lawrence Grant
Actor | Son of Frankenstein
As a young boy in England, Lawrence Grant became a great admirer of the Native American peoples. He devoured every book or article he could get his hands on relating to their culture and history. Years later Grant got the opportunity to spend some months living with several Native American tribes ...
1580 points
58. Edward Fielding
Actor | Rebecca
Edward Fielding was born on March 19, 1875 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Rebecca (1940), The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and Sherlock Holmes (1916). He was married to Elizabeth Sherman Clark. He died on January 10, 1945 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
1547 points
59. Henry B. Walthall
Actor | The Birth of a Nation
Henry B. Walthall was a respected stage actor who became a favorite of pioneering film director D.W. Griffith. Born in 1878 in Alabama, Walthall embarked on a law career but quit law school in 1898 to enlist in the US Army in order to fight in the Spanish-American War. Returning from the war he ...
1542 points
60. Edmund Gwenn
Actor | Miracle on 34th Street
There are very few character actors from the 1930s, '40s or '50s who rose to the rank of stardom. Only a rare man or woman reached the level of renown and admiration, and had enough audience appeal, to be the first name in a cast's billing, a name that got marquee posting. Charles Coburn comes to ...
1541 points
61. Maude Eburne
Actress | The Bat Whispers
Eburne started on the stage in Ontario and New York, later appearing on Broadway in 1914, playing a cockney maid. She played comic servants on stage until 1930 then moved to films in 1931. On screen, she played a variety of roles from maids to aristocrats to pipe-smoking harridans. Eburne retired ...
1534 points
62. Berton Churchill
Actor | Stagecoach
Berton Churchill was born on December 9, 1876 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Stagecoach (1939), Sweethearts (1938) and Steamboat Round the Bend (1935). He was married to Harriet Elizabeth Gardner. He died on October 10, 1940 in New York City, New York, USA.
1530 points
63. DeWitt Jennings
Actor | Exit Smiling
DeWitt Jennings was born on June 21, 1871 in Cameron, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Exit Smiling (1926), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and The Squaw Man (1931). He was married to Margaret Ethel Conroy. He died on March 1, 1937 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
1506 points
64. Arthur Hoyt
Actor | It Happened One Night
Extremely prolific actor/director of the silent screen, on Broadway from 1905. Hoyt joined the acting fraternity through the recommendations of an uncle, who worked as dramatic editor for a Cleveland tabloid. Signed by theatrical producer George C. Tyler (1868-1946), he began on stage (earning $10 ...
1459 points
65. Basil Ruysdael
Actor | Pinky
Basil Ruysdael was born on July 24, 1878 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Pinky (1949), Broken Arrow (1950) and Colorado Territory (1949). He was married to Kathleen Dobbyn, Rose Swettenham and Eleanor Mason Manierre. He died on October 10, 1960 in Hollywood, California, ...
1454 points
66. Henry Kolker
Actor | Holiday
Stalwart character actor Henry Kolker appeared on the Broadway stage from 1904, comedy being his forte early on. Later, as a leading man in romantic dramas, he partnered famous stars like Alla Nazimova. Moving on to films in 1914 as actor/director, he became noted in particular for directing ...
1447 points
67. Mike Donlin
Actor | The General
A famous, yet controversial major league baseball player, "Turkey Mike," as Donlin was known because of his unique strut, played on seven teams in a 12-year career, mostly in the National League, from 1899-1914. His career reached its peak in 1905-06, when he was the star outfielder for the ...
1443 points
68. Ernest Torrence
Actor | Steamboat Bill, Jr.
He was the man you loved to hiss. This towering (6' 4"), highly imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge, protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, ...
1395 points
69. Bodil Rosing
Actress | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Bodil Rosing was born on December 27, 1877 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Sunrise (1927), You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Why Be Good? (1929). She was married to Einer Jansen. She died on December 31, 1941 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1394 points
70. Nora Cecil
Actress | Street Scene
Nora Cecil was born on September 26, 1878 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Street Scene (1931), Seven Days Leave (1930) and Midnight Faces (1926). She died on May 1, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1393 points
71. Lucille La Verne
Actress | A Tale of Two Cities
A legendary stage actress and character player in early films, Lucille La Verne is one of those forgotten legends who seem to fade as the years go on. However, at her prime she was one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation.
Lucille La Verne Mitchum was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on ...
1366 points
72. Marguerite Moreno
Actress | La dame de pique
Marguerite Moreno was born on September 15, 1871 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Pique Dame (1937), Les Misérables (1934) and Jim la houlette (1935). She was married to Jean Daragon and Marcel Schwob. She died on July 14, 1948 in Touzac, Lot, France.
1364 points
73. Edward Ellis
Actor | The Thin Man
Character actor in films, often portraying strident types, he is best remembered cast as "The Thin Man" (actually, "Wynant") of the hit 1934 MGM film. He Ellis was active on Broadway as an actor, producer and playwright from 1905-32 (see "Other Works"). He died in Beverly Hills, CA at age 81 in ...
1354 points
74. Russell Simpson
Actor | The Grapes of Wrath
His grim, beady-eyed, sharp-nosed, weatherbeaten face was always familiar despite the small roles he appeared in. Every once in a while character actor Russell Simpson would stand out in a small scene, but his main purpose seemed to be adding rustic authenticity to his westerns or small-town dramas...
1349 points
75. Mary Young
Actress | The Lost Weekend
Mary Young was born on June 21, 1879 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Lost Weekend (1945), Alias Jesse James (1959) and Blondie's Holiday (1947). She was married to John Craig. She died on June 23, 1971 in La Jolla, California, USA.
1339 points
76. O.P. Heggie
Actor | Bride of Frankenstein
O.P. Heggie was born on September 17, 1877 in Angaston, South Australia, Australia. He was an actor, known for Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) and Smilin' Through (1932). He was married to Lilian Clara Rogers. He died on February 7, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, ...
1325 points
77. Gilbert Emery
Actor | Between Two Worlds
Gilbert Emery was born on June 11, 1875 in Naples, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Between Two Worlds (1944), Wife vs. Secretary (1936) and Let Us Be Gay (1930). He died on October 28, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1293 points
78. Wilfred Lucas
Actor | Modern Times
The youngest of three sons, he was born in Norfolk, Ontario, Canada and was educated at McGill University then In 1904 he moved to New York where he appeared in a number of plays on Broadway including The Blue Grass Handicap, The Superstition of Sue and successful The Chorus Lady after which he was...
1287 points
79. Richard Garrick
Actor | High Society
Richard Garrick (born Richard T. O'Brien) was active on stage, in film, television and radio from 1907 through 1957. His New York City acting career began with "The Boys of Company B" (in which Mack Sennett appeared in one of his 2 stage roles).
Garrick went on to become Gaumont's Director General ...
1279 points
80. Taylor Holmes
Actor | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Taylor Holmes, the American stage and film actor, was born in Newark, New Jersey. He made his Broadway debut in February 1900 in the controversial play "Sapho", which was closed down by the New York Police Department for immorality after 29 performances. In the April 1900 trial, the play was ...
1206 points
81. Robert Homans
Actor | The Grapes of Wrath
Dour-faced US character player in films for more than two decades from 1923, often in portrayals of peace officers such as judges and lawmen. Even at his most elderly, he could frequently be seen as a white-haired, uniformed policeman - often affecting an Irish accent to boot.
1186 points
82. Alma Kruger
Actress | Saboteur
Matronly or grandmotherly, Alma Kruger appeared onscreen between 1935-47. She was 64 years old when she made her film debut in William Wyler's These Three (1936). She then proceeded to appear in over 40 films in the space of little more than a decade, appearing in, among others, Mother Carey's ...
1170 points
83. Mack Swain
Actor | The Gold Rush
Mack Swain was born in 1876 and soon became a talented vaudevillian. In 1913 he was hired by Mack Sennett and appeared in a few Mabel Normand pictures until a year later he became even bigger when Charlie Chaplin arrived at the Keystone Studio. Swain later created a character by the name of Ambrose...
1158 points
84. Max Schreck
Actor | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
Max Schreck was born in Berlin. He worked in an apprenticeship until his father's death before enrolling into a school for acting. He toured the country with his peers and was a member of several theaters until he became a part of Max Reinhardt's group of innovative German actors. He played mostly ...
1142 points
85. Claude Gillingwater
Actor | A Tale of Two Cities
A man so disagreeable on celluloid, Claude Gillingwater's characters seemed to subsist on a steady diet of persimmons. Fondly recalled as the cranky old skinflint whose seemingly cold heart could only be warmed by the actions of a cute little tyke, the tall and rangy Gillingwater invariably played ...
1136 points
86. Frank Reicher
Actor | King Kong
Though most famous as Capt. Englehorn, the ship captain who carried the expedition to an island to capture the great ape in King Kong (1933)--and its sequel, Son of Kong (1933)--Frank Reicher had a long history as a stage actor and director, and film director, prior to his "Kong" appearances, and in...
1108 points
87. Hilda Borgström
Actress | Körkarlen
Hilda Borgström was born on October 13, 1871 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress, known for The Phantom Carriage (1921), Ingeborg Holm (1913) and Striden går vidare (1941). She died on January 2, 1953 in Stockholm, Sweden.
1100 points
88. Lumsden Hare
Actor | Svengali
Distinguished Irish character actor of aristocratic or avuncular mien who appeared on stage from the age of 19. He had a penchant for appearing in plays by George Bernard Shaw (at first at London's Court Theatre and later on Broadway) and was was an early interpreter of Dr. John Watson during an ...
1081 points
89. Arthur Byron
Actor | The Mummy
Arthur Byron was born on April 3, 1872 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Mummy (1932), 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) and Marie Galante (1934). He was married to Kathryn Byron and Lillian Hall (actress). He died on July 17, 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1077 points
90. Jules Cowles
Actor | The Scarlet Letter
Jules Cowles was born on October 18, 1877 in Farmington, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for The Scarlet Letter (1926), The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923) and One Hysterical Night (1929). He died on May 22, 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.
1073 points
91. Rosa Valetti
Actress | M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
Rosa Valetti was born Rosa Alice Vallentin, the daughter of industrialist Felix Vallentin and his wife, Bertha. Her brother was actor Hermann Vallentin, who emigrated to Mandatory Palestine. She first appeared on the Berlin stage and later also in Paris, Brussells and Vienna. During the First World...
1042 points
92. John St. Polis
Actor | Three Weeks
John St. Polis was born on November 24, 1873 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Three Weeks (1924), Why Be Good? (1929) and The Hero (1923). He was married to Angela M. Grimaldi and Rachel Amelia Ryan. He died on October 8, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1030 points
93. Dudley Digges
Actor | The Emperor Jones
Dudley Digges was born on June 9, 1879 in Dublin, Ireland, UK [now Republic of Ireland]. He was an actor, known for The Emperor Jones (1933), The Invisible Man (1933) and Raffles (1939). He was married to Mary Roden Quinn. He died on October 24, 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.
994 points
94. Sam De Grasse
Actor | The Man Who Laughs
Born in Canada, Sam De Grasse entered films in 1912 and specialized in playing thoroughly disreputable, nasty, slimy bad guys. Douglas Fairbanks was so impressed with De Grasse's villainy that he used the actor in several of his more memorable productions. He wasn't the only member of the De Grasse ...
992 points
95. Lionel Braham
Actor | A Christmas Carol
Lionel Braham was born on April 1, 1879 in Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for A Christmas Carol (1938), Skinner's Dress Suit (1926) and As You Like It (1936). He died on October 6, 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA.
962 points
96. Sidney Toler
Actor | Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
The son of Colonel H.G. Toler, breeder of trotting horses, Sidney Toler acted on stage by the time he was seven years old. He was an established star of the theater by the 1890s, long before his career in motion pictures began. He was also active as a playwright and had a good enough voice to be ...
958 points
97. Marc McDermott
Actor | He Who Gets Slapped
Marc McDermott was born Marcus Patrick McDermott in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, on July 24, 1871. His father Patrick James McDermott and mother Annie Massey McDermott were born in Ireland, and Marc later became an English citizen when he moved to London. His younger sister May, was born ...
944 ponts
98. David Landau
Actor | Horse Feathers
Very busy Hollywood character actor who didn't hit his stride on screen until he was in his 50s but who nonetheless appeared in 33 films between 1931 and 1934. The Philadelphia-born actor, veteran of a dozen Broadway plays, specialized in playing corrupt authority figures, and was perhaps best ...
936 points
99. Tom McGuire
Actor | Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Tom McGuire was born on September 1, 1873 in Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), City Girl (1930) and The Reckless Age (1924). He died on May 6, 1954 in Hollywood, California, USA.
921 points
100. Louise Closser Hale
Actress | Shanghai Express
An endearing veteran of the U.S. and London stages before entering films at the advent of sound, matronly Louise Closser Hale would also earn recognition as a novelist. Born Louise Closser in Chicago, Illinois on October 13, 1872, she was the daughter of a well-to-do grain dealer. She began her ...
916 points
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