Character Actors-The Mortar Between the Bricks
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Not all of 'em, just the ones I know by face and name
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The parents of Frank McHugh ran their own stock company and he was on the stage as a child. When he was 10 he was part of an act that include his brother Matt McHugh and sister Kitty McHugh. After vaudeville and other stock companies, Frank debuted on Broadway "The Fall Guy" (1925). In 1930 he was hired at Warner Brothers as a contract player. Frank would usually play the sidekick to the lead actor and would provide the comedy relief in tense situations - if it were called for. With his nervous laugh and hangdog look, he appeared in over 90 movies in the first dozen years he worked at Warners. He would also appear with another very busy character actor, Allen Jenkins, in a dozen or so films. McHugh would be a mechanic, a song plugger, a pilot, a baseball player or a newspaperman, and would either be married or get the girl only if the girl was not the one the hero was interested in. Over the years he would work with most of the stars that Warners employed. By the early 1950s his film career started winding down. From 1964 to 1965 he played the role of Willis Walter on The Bing Crosby Show (1964).My #1. His laugh always makes me laugh- Actress
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With blonde hair, big blue eyes and a big smile, Joan Blondell was usually cast as the wisecracking working girl who was the lead's best friend.
Joan was born Rose Blondell in Manhattan, New York, the daughter of Katie and Eddie Blondell, who were vaudeville performers. Her father was a Polish Jewish immigrant, and her mother was of Irish heritage. Joan was on the stage when she was three years old. For years, she toured the circuit with her parents and joined a stock company when she was 17. She made her New York debut with the Ziegfeld Follies and appeared in several Broadway productions.
She was starring with James Cagney on Broadway in "Penny Arcade" (1929) when Warner Brothers decided to film the play as Sinners' Holiday (1930). Both Cagney and Joan were given the leads, and the film was a success. She would be teamed with Cagney again in The Public Enemy (1931) and Blonde Crazy (1931) among others. In The Office Wife (1930), she stole the scene when she was dressing for work. While Warner Brothers made Cagney a star, Joan never rose to that level. In gangster movies or musicals, her performances were good enough for second leads, but not first lead. In the 1930s, she made a career playing gold-diggers and happy-go-lucky girlfriends. She would be paired with Dick Powell in ten musicals during these years, and they were married for ten years. By 1939, Joan had left Warner Brothers to become an independent actress, but by then, the blonde role was being defined by actresses like Veronica Lake. Her work slowed greatly as she went into straight comedy or dramatic roles. Three of her better roles were in Topper Returns (1941), Cry 'Havoc' (1943), and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). By the 50s, Joan would garner an Academy Award nomination for The Blue Veil (1951), but her biggest career successes would be on the stage, including a musical version of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
In 1957, Joan would again appear on the screen as a drunk in Lizzie (1957) and as mature companion to Jayne Mansfield in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). While she would appear in a number of television shows during the 50s and 60s, she had the regular role of Winifred on The Real McCoys (1957) during the 1963 season. Her role in the drama The Cincinnati Kid (1965) was well received, but most of her remaining films would be comedies such as Waterhole #3 (1967) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971). Still in demand for TV, she was cast as Lottie on Here Come the Brides (1968) and as Peggy on Banyon (1971).Adorable 'saucer-eyed' wise-cracking dame.- Actor
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It seemed like Edward Everett Horton appeared in just about every Hollywood comedy made in the 1930s. He was always the perfect counterpart to the great gentlemen and protagonists of the films. Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Isabella S. (Diack) and Edward Everett Horton, a compositor for the NY Times. His maternal grandparents were Scottish and his father was of English and German ancestry. Like many of his contemporaries, Horton came to the movies from the theatre, where he debuted in 1906. He made his film debut in 1922. Unlike many of his silent-film colleagues, however, Horton had no problems in adapting to the sound, despite--or perhaps because of--his crackling voice. From 1932 to 1938 he worked often with Ernst Lubitsch, and later with Frank Capra. He has appeared in more than 120 films, in addition to a large body of work on TV, among which was the befuddled Hekawi medicine man Roaring Chicken on the western comedy F Troop (1965).A true character actor - created one character and played it brilliantly throughout his career.- Actress
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Her father was a minister, and when she joined a local stock company as a youngster she changed her name to avoid embarrassing her family. She worked in vaudeville and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Her film debut was in A House Divided (1931). She repeated her stage role in Dead End (1937) as Baby Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart)'s mother, which led to a number of slum mother parts. She played very strong role of Lucy, the dude ranch operator in The Women (1939). She achieved popularity as a comedienne in six 1940s movies made with Wallace Beery e.g., Barnacle Bill (1941). The character which would dominate her remaining career was established when she played Ma Kettle in The Egg and I (1947), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She began her co-starring series with Percy Kilbride the following year in Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948) and continued through seven more. Her last movie was a "Kettle" without Kilbride: The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957).Played 'country' characters, even in the city.- Actor
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Born in London, Eric Blore came out of college and started his working life as an insurance agent. But while touring in Australia he took an interest in the stage and theater. He gave up his insurance job and turned to acting after returning to England. With his elfish long, straight nose, squint-eyed demeanor and a crisp voice, he successfully began a career starring in many shows and revues, focusing on traditional British comedy. Encouraged further, in 1923 he came to New York and was almost immediately using his London stage experience on Broadway. Though there were a few dramatic parts, he inevitably played comic roles in musical comedies and revues (in some of which he also received billing as a lyricist) regularly from 1923 to 1933. He would return once again some ten years later to take on multiple roles for Ziegfeld Follies of 1943. No stranger to film, as early as 1920 he had tried his hand in British cinema. And in 1926 he did the US silent version of The Great Gatsby (1926) that starred Warner Baxter. His familiar role as a head waiter began with his first Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film, Flying Down to Rio (1933). With a foot still on Broadway, in 1933 he played the waiter in the stage version of The Gay Divorcee and was then tapped to reprise the role in the film version with Fred and Ginger. Blore had been perfecting his basic comic characters since his London days -- a leering English gentlemen, brusque/wise-acre butler or waiter or other service provider -- with a lockjawed British accent. These characters accompanied by Blore's flawlessly timed delivery were thoroughly applicable and effective as he moved permanently to Hollywood character acting. He played a fair spectrum of other roles, even in a few rare dramas, such as the adventure The Soldier and the Lady (1937) and Island of Lost Men (1939).
Blore was very busy with movies from 1934 through most of the 1940s. He appeared in five of the nine Fred and Ginger dance musicals. Some of his best mugging and scripted lines were in Top Hat (1935) and Shall We Dance (1937) of that series. He was also cast very effectively as valet/butler Jamison in the screen adaptations of the Wolfe Kaufman Lone Wolf mystery novel series. There were eleven films between 1940 and 1947, with all but the last three starring the dashing, sonorous-voiced Warren William (who had a greater profile than 'The Great Profile', John Barrymore) as Michael Lanyard. This was a popular series with first-rate scripts and good production values to keep the public coming back for more. Blore was also invited into the company of stock players ruled over by zany comedy director Preston Sturges. Though Blore only did two films for Sturges, his role in the first of these, The Lady Eve (1941), was a Blore tour de force. Playing the suave confidence man, Pearly, to his old bunko acquaintances Barbara Stanwyck and Charles Coburn, he took the role of pseudo-wealthy Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith out to fleece the local American business gentry. His scene with a gullible Henry Fonda taking in Sir Alfred's concocted story of Stanwyck's being a twin daughter of the lady of the manor by way of her coachman is a delight, punctuated with Blore interrupting perplexed Fonda's questions with a loud shhhhhhh of silence at each.
Inevitably, the parts started to become less frequent. Several of Blore's 1940s movies were with lesser known up-and-comers or older stars such as himself. Still, he enjoyed a variety of roles, including the opportunity of animation immortality when Disney chose him for the voice of Mr. Toad in the classic short The Wind in the Willows (1949). But for two widely spaced appearances, Blore essentially retired by 1955.
And as sometimes is the case when personalities move into obscurity, their deaths are prematurely announced. Such was the case with Blore when the New Yorker journalist Kenneth Tynan reported him as having already passed on. Blore's lawyer raised a flurry, as did the editor of the New Yorker, who claimed the periodical had never had to print a retraction. The night before the highly profiled retraction appeared, Blore indeed passed away. And the next morning the New Yorker was the only publication with the wrong information. It seems likely Blore would have been particularly tickled with the irony of this last comedic bit in honor of his passing.One of my 2 favorite butlers.- Actor
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Robert Greig was born on 27 December 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 27 June 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Played butlers and bureaucrats.- Actor
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American character actor, a fixture both in Westerns and in the comedies of Preston Sturges. Although frequently billed as "Alan" Bridge, he was born Alfred Morton Bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1891 (not as "Alford" Bridge in 1890, as his tombstone erroneously states), he and his sister, future actress Loie Bridge, were raised by their mother Loie and her second husband, butcher Wilmer Shinn. Following service as a corporal in the U.S. Army infantry in the first World War, Bridge joined a theatrical troupe which also included several of his relatives. The 1920 census showed him on tour in Kansas City, Missouri. He dabbled in writing and in 1930 sold a script to a short film, Her Hired Husband (1930). He followed this with a B-Western script, God's Country and the Man (1931), in which he made his film debut as an actor. For the next quarter century, he managed the atypical achievement of maintaining a career in both B-Westerns and in bigger dramatic and comedy features. Ten films for director Preston Sturges represent probably his most familiar contribution to Hollywood history. Bridge also appeared frequently on television until his death in 1957 at 66.Part of the Preston Sturges stock company- Actor
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Best known for his work in slapstick comedy and detective whodunits, character actor Donald MacBride lent his serious, craggy mug and determined professionalism to scores of 30s and 40s crimers. Born in Brooklyn, he first appeared on the vaudeville and Broadway stages as a teenage singer in such shows as "George White's Scandals" and "Room Service." Taking a chance on Hollywood, he appeared in a few silents, then returned full time to films again in the 30s with a variety of interesting parts in over 100 comedies and dramas. These included the movie version of Room Service (1938) with the Marx Brothers, the flustered hotel manager in My Favorite Wife (1940), an ex-con and ringleader in High Sierra (1940) and an Irish politico in The Dark Horse (1946). However, his real prowess was playing by-the-book police inspectors and, while looking slightly less capable when at odds with a Charlie Chan, a Michael Shayne, or the Saint, he came off much more capable on his own in tracking down such hardened criminals as The Creeper. In the 50s he turned to TV as well, until his death in 1957.Part of the Preston Sturges stock company- Actor
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A stocky, serious-looking character, Carl William Demarest started off in vaudeville in 1905 along with two older brothers. At one time he also performed in a stage act with his wife Estelle Collette (billed as 'Demarest and Collette') and then moved on to Broadway. He entered movies in 1926 and first appeared in Vitaphone one-reelers and in films for Warner Brothers, which included the first sound picture, The Jazz Singer (1927). In his later years, he became a household name on TV as retired sea captain Uncle Charley, replacing a seriously ill William Frawley in My Three Sons (1960). However, Demarest was truly at his best during the 1940s as a member of Preston Sturges's unofficial stock company of players, noted for his trademark deadpan or exasperated expressions. He made his reputation in eccentric comic supporting roles, invariably seen as pushy, wary or droll cops, business guys or wisecracking, jaundiced friends of the hero with names like Mugsy, Kockenlocker or Heffelfinger. The Great McGinty (1940), Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943) are often cited as his best films. When movie offers began to diminish, Demarest segued into television work with many guest spots and a regular co-starring role as a ranch foreman in the western series Tales of Wells Fargo (1957). As a character actor, his quiet intensity and comic timing kept him in demand well into his eighties. Nominated just once for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in the biopic The Jolson Story (1946), he lost out to Harold Russell for his performance in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).Sharp-tongued sidekick or father.- Actress
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She was one rowdy, no-holds-barred entertainer. Comedienne Polly Moran was considered second only to perhaps Louise Fazenda as Mack Sennett's funniest lady during her silent-era heyday. Born in 1883, Polly was made for vaudeville, touring all over the world, notably Europe. Sennett snapped her up in 1915 and she clowned around for him for several years in scores of his classic one- and two-reelers. At age 40 she, just by happenstance, paired up with, of all people, equally homely and down-to-earth Marie Dressler. The two scene-stealing man-chasers created comedy magic together as a cinematic MGM team, riotous in their eight films together including The Callahans and the Murphys (1927), their first, Chasing Rainbows (1930), Caught Short (1930), and Politics (1931). Sound was not quite the kick in the pants Polly had experienced in silents but she survived, trooper that she was, in both servile and dowager roles. By the 40s, however, she had been reduced to a smattering of bit parts. A small but showy role in Adam's Rib (1949) might have sparked a possible resurgence, but Polly died of heart problems into her 69th year before she was able to seize the moment.Paired a lot with Marie Dressler. Gets on my nerves.- Actress
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Patsy Kelly was born Bridget Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly on January 12, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. She began performing in vaudeville when she was just twelve years old. Patsy worked with comedian Frank Fay and starred in several Broadway shows. She was discovered by producer Hal Roach, who paired her with Thelma Todd in a series of comedy shorts. They became a popular onscreen team and made thirty-five films together including Top Flat (1935) and Done in Oil (1934). Although Patsy never became an A-list star she continued to work throughout the 1930s. She had supporting roles in Pigskin Parade (1936), Merrily We Live (1938), and Topper Returns (1941). Patsy was a lesbian and she was always open with the press about her sexuality. She had a long-term relationship with actress Wilma Cox. By the early 1940s Patsy was drinking heavily and making headlines for her erratic behavior. She decided to quit show business and moved to New York City. She started dating Tallulah Bankhead and worked as her secretary. Eventually, Patsy went back to acting and appeared on numerous television shows. She also had small roles in the films Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Freaky Friday (1976). Patsy won a Tony award in 1971 for her performance in No No Nanette. After suffering a stroke she moved into a nursing home. She died from pneumonia on September 24, 1981. Patsy is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.Also gets on my nerves.- Actor
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Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest American films of the 20th century: Lost Horizon (1937); Stagecoach (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and High Noon (1952). His portrayals are so diverse and convincing that most people don't even realize that one actor could have played them all. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1940 for his role as the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939).More than just a character actor.- Actress
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Lively, buxom character actress Mary Boland made a name for herself playing vacuous or pixilated motherly types during the 1930s. One of her most memorable performances was as the addle-brained Mrs. Rimplegar of Three Cornered Moon (1933), who gives away her family fortune to a swindler because he seemed like 'such a nice young man'. She also made a series of popular homespun comedies under contract to Paramount, in which she co-starred opposite Charles Ruggles. She was notable as a social snob in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), the oversexed and alcoholic Countess DeLave in The Women (1939) and as Mrs. Bennet in MGM's classic Pride and Prejudice (1940). For all her scatty or matronly character roles in the movies, Mary Boland had once been a star comedienne on Broadway.
Born in Philadelphia, the daughter of traveling actor William A. Boland (who happened to be on tour at her birth), she was educated at Sacred Heart Convent in Detroit. At 25, Mary appeared in her first play, 'Strongheart', and was on Broadway two years later in 'The Ranger', with Dustin Farnum. She started in silent films in 1915, her debut being Thomas H. Ince's 'The Edge of the Abyss'. After a wartime interval, entertaining troops on the Western Front during World War I, she made a return to the stage and had notable successes with the comedies 'Clarence' (1919-20,with Alfred Lunt) as Mrs.Wheeler, 'Meet the Wife' (1923-24,with a young Humphrey Bogart) and 'Cradle Snatchers' (1925-26), starring as Susan Martin. These performances established her as one of theaters foremost comediennes, ideally cast as dithery wives and mothers, or social climbers.
Mary's film career ended in 1950 and she appeared in her last play, 'Lullaby', in 1954. She retired to live out the rest of her days in her suite at the Essex House in New York.Good at playing self-important matrons.- Actor
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One of the best and most familiar character actors of the first four decades of sound films, although few who knew his face also knew his name, John Qualen was born in Canada to Norwegian parents. His father was a minister. The family moved to the United States and Qualen (whose real name was Kvalen) grew up in Elgin, Illinois. He won an oratory contest and was given a scholarship to Northwestern University. His interest in acting was piqued there, and he began appearing in tent shows on the Lyceum-Chautauqua circuit and in stock. He went to New York in 1929 and got his big break as the Swedish janitor in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. He repeated the role two years later in the film version. That same year he first worked for director John Ford in Arrowsmith (1931). He became a member of Ford's famed stock company and had prominent roles for Ford for the next thirty-five years. He became a most familiar character player, specializing in Scandinavians of various nationalities, but frequently playing a wide variety of other ethnicities. Perhaps his greatest work among many memorable roles was as the pitiful Muley, who recounts the destruction of his farm by the bank in Ford's masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Although plagued in his later years by failing eyesight, he continued to work steadily into his final years. He was treasurer of The Authors Club and historian of The Masquers, Hollywood's famed social group for actors. He had three children, Elizabeth, Kathleen, and Meredith. Qualen died in 1987.Canadian-born of Swedish stock. Played many 'yumpin' yiminy' roles.- Actor
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Hungarian-born S.Z. Sakall was a veteran of German, Hungarian and British films when he left Europe because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. In Hollywood from shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Sakall began appearing in comedies and musicals, often playing a lovable if somewhat excitable and/or befuddled uncle, businessman or neighborhood eccentric. Memorable as the waiter in Casablanca (1942) and as a somewhat lecherous Broadway producer in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). He retired from films in 1954 and died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1955.Cuddles- Actor
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Rotund comic character actor of American films. Born Andrew Vabre Devine in Flagstaff, Arizona, he was raised in nearby Kingman, Arizona, the son of an Irish-American hotel operator Thomas Devine and his wife Amy. Devine was an able athlete as a student and actually played semi-pro football under a phony name (Jeremiah Schwartz, often erroneously presumed to be his real name). Devine used the false name in order to remain eligible for college football. A successful football player at St. Mary & St. Benedict College, Arizona State Teacher's College, and Santa Clara University, Devine went to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actor. After a number of small roles in silent films, he was given a good part in the talkie The Spirit of Notre Dame (1931) in part due to his fine record as a football player. His sound-film career seemed at risk due to his severely raspy voice, the result of a childhood injury. His voice, however, soon became his trademark, and he spent the next forty-five years becoming an increasingly popular and beloved comic figure in a wide variety of films. In the 1950s, his fame grew enormously with his co-starring role as Jingles P. Jones opposite Guy Madison's Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951), on television and radio simultaneously. In 1955, before the Hickok series ended, Devine took over the hosting job on a children's show retitled Andy's Gang (1955), in which he gained new fans among the very young. He continued active in films until his death in 1977. He was survived by his wife and two sons.Unique voice. Part of John Ford's stock company.- American character actor of gruff demeanor who played in dozens of films through the Thirties and Forties. A native of New Jersey, he was a wagon driver for his father's laundry business before joining a vaudeville company. He played in stock and touring companies, then was cast in the Walter Huston production of 'Desire Under the Elms' on Broadway. While working on the New York stage, he made a few appearances in films shot on Long Island. In 1935 he came to Hollywood and appeared with great frequency in supporting roles over the next decade and a half. In the early 1950s, he was blacklisted for his political beliefs during the Communist witch-hunts, and returned to the stage almost exclusively thereafter. In 1976, he gained perhaps his greatest fame, as the title character's libidinous grandfather on the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) TV series. But three years later, he was beaten to death by robbers burgling his apartment.
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Familiar and well-liked character actor of very different persona than either his father, Noah Beery, or his uncle, Wallace Beery. He attended Harvard Military Academy but managed to make a number of appearances on film and on stage with his father before adulthood. At age 19, he began playing amiable second leads and occasional leading roles, primarily in westerns, before settling into what would be the pattern for much of his career: good-natured supporting roles, usually as a pal of the hero. He kept going in such parts into his late 70s, transforming slowly into warm (or, rarely, curmudgeonly) rustic sages. In later years, he achieved great renown as the father of the James Garner character on TV's The Rockford Files (1974). He married the daughter of cowboy star Buck Jones. Their son Bucklind Beery is an actor. They also had two daughters, Muffett and Melissa. Beery died in 1994 at the age of 81.- Actor
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Edward Arnold was born as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider in 1890, on the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants, Elizabeth (Ohse) and Carl Schneider. Arnold began his acting career on the New York stage and became a film actor in 1916. A burly man with a commanding style and superb baritone voice, he was a popular screen personality for decades, and was the star of such film classics as Diamond Jim (1935) (a role he reprised in Lillian Russell (1940)) Arnold appeared in over 150 films and was President of The Screen Actors Guild shortly before his death in 1956.More than just a character actor.- Actor
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Mischa Auer, the American screen's supreme exponent of the "Mad Russian" stereotype so dear to Yankee hearts before and after World War II, was born Mischa Ounskowsky on November 17, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the grandson of violinist Leopold Auer, whose surname he took when he became a professional actor in the U.S. during the 1920s. Mischa's father, an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, died in the Russo-Japanese War while was he was still a baby, which wiped the family out financially. After the November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the Ounskowsky family disintegrated and Mischa became a "street Arab", living with homeless youths and barely scraping by in appalling poverty. He eventually was reunited with his mother, who had nursing experience and became a caregiver in the nascent Soviet Union. But Vladimir Lenin's socialist dream wasn't for her, and she fled to Turkey with Mischa.
In Constantinople Mischa's mother contracted typhus from the patients she was tending and died. The young boy had to dig a grave with his own hands to bury her. He then began wandering, and was in Italy when Leopold Auer, his mother's father, discovered his whereabouts. Subsequently, young Ounskowsky emigrated to the United States to join Auer, who lived in New York.
Leopold encouraged his grandson to become a musician, and Mischa matriculated at New York City's Ethical Culture School to please his grandfather. He became an accomplished musician, able to play multiple instruments, including the violin and piano. However, young Mischa soon became smitten with acting and, through his grandfather's contacts, was able to turn professional in the 1920s. Mischa Auer made his Broadway debut on February 24, 1925, in a walk-on role as an elderly guest in the Actors Theatre production of Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck", which starred Helen Chandler as Hedvig. He also appeared in the Actors Theatre's Broadway production of the play "Morals" in 1925 before continuing his his apprenticeship in small roles, including an appearance with the great Walter Hampden in "Cyrano de Bergerac".
While acting, Mischa also performed as a musician. As an actor, he eventually caught on with Eva Le Gallienne's touring theatrical company before joining Bertha Kalich's company, which toured the provinces after Kalich -- a stalwart of the Yiddish theater -- made her last appearance as the eponymous "Magda" on Broadway in January and February 1926. Kalich cast Auer as Max in the touring production of "Magda".
Director Frank Tuttle hired Auer for a role in the comedy Something Always Happens (1928) after he saw the Russian perform with the Bertha Kalich Company in Los Angeles. This led to a decade of screen work in many films, in which the tall, unusual-looking actor was typecast as a foreigner, often of a villainous bent as befitted the prejudices of the time, which were actively catered to by the movies. The films he appeared in, usually in small, uncredited parts, included Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore; Viva Villa! (1934) with superstar Wallace Beery; and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), one of Gary Cooper's best early films.
One year after signing a long-term contract with Universal, Auer broke through into the realm of featured character actors with his Academy Award-nominated turn as the fake nobleman/freeloader/gigolo Carlo in the classic screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936) over at Universal in 1936. That was the first year that Oscars were awarded to supporting players, and although he lost to eventual three-time Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Walter Brennan, it made him as a popular character actor. Auer -- the Mad Russian -- became a fixture in comedies of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Of the role of Carlo, he said: "That one role made a comedian out of me. I haven't been anything else since. It's paid off very well. Do you wonder that I am flattered when people say I am mad?"
He turned in a memorable appearance as the Russian ballet-master Boris Kolenkhov in Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic You Can't Take It with You (1938) opposite Jean Arthur and Ann Miller. Other memorable parts in the "Golden Years of Hollywood" phase of his career came in the musical One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) in support of Deanna Durbin and as Boris Callahan, who touches off a cantina catfight between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel, in the classic Destry Rides Again (1939).
After appearing in the musical comedy "The Lady Comes Across" in early 1942, a flop which lasted three performances, he toured with vaudeville before acting in the summer radio series "Mischa the Magnificent". In the radio show, he played a man writing his memoirs, but after the summer run he returned to the movies. The last play he appeared in on Broadway, "Lovely Me", opened on Christmas Day 1946 and closed 37 performances later, on January 25, 1947. Between movies, he appeared in touring shows and in vaudeville.
During the 1950s, after the Paramount decision, when Hollywood first experienced runaway production as American producers turned to the cheaper European film studios to save money, Auer decamped for Europe. He and his family settled in Salzburg, Austria, where he made broadcasts for Radio Free Europe between appearances in European-made films, mostly in France. He achieved acclaim in Paris for his appearance in the title role of the 1953 revival of the comedy "Tovarich".
On the Continent he was typecast as an elderly eccentric, most notably in Orson Welles's Confidential Report (1955). He also appeared frequently on American television during the 1950s. He was praised for his appearance in a 1953 Omnibus (1952) presentation of George Bernard Shaw's play "Arms and the Man". He suffered a heart attack in 1957 but continued to make movies in Europe and appear on television in the U.S.
In 1964 he appeared as Baron Popoff in the New York Lincoln Center Music Theater's revival of "The Merry Widow". It was not a success, but the New York Times review praised him: "Mischa Auer is, after all, one of the great comics. With his head down a little, jowls flapping, his ripe Marsovian accent rolling through the house, his eyes popping--he dominates the performance."
Suffering from cardiovascular disease, Auer suffered a second heart attack and died in Rome on March 5, 1967, at the age of 61. He will long be remembered as one of the inimitable character actors who graced the classic films of the Golden Age of Hollywood.Played comic and not so comic Russians.- Actor
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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 personal history rather belied his gormless image on the silver screen. By the age of fourteen, Donald had joined an acrobatic team ("The Marvells") on the piano wire as a top mounter. He accompanied the troupe on their tour of the U.S. but sustained several compound fractures in a fall and had to quit. After spending six months on crutches, he joined the U.S. 6th Pennsylvania Regiment and saw action during the Spanish-American War in Cuba, was wounded and lost his hair after a bout of yellow fever. This did not deter him from re-enlisting at the onset of World War I. He went on to serve with the Canadian Highlanders as a corporal, but, to his consternation, never got any further than Toronto.
Donald had been infatuated with acting since early childhood. At the age of eight, he first performed publicly in the comic pantomime "Le Voyage en Suisse". Later, he toured Australia, South Africa, India and England in "Little Lord Fauntleroy". During his wartime sojourn in Cuba he had learned to "listen to those Yankees" and imitated their manner of speech, losing his Scottish accent in the process. When he was forced to abandon his career as an acrobat, he devoted more time to acting with various traveling stock companies and in New York. He made the first (of many) appearances on Broadway in 1903. Until the late 1920s, Donald remained quite gainfully employed in droll comical roles. Having flirted with screen acting since 1923, he made the move to the celluloid media by the end of the decade. Filmed at the Warner Brothers Eastern Vitaphone Studio in Brooklyn, he found himself an unlikely star, as amateur sleuth Dr. Amos Crabtree in The Clyde Mystery (1931), the first of eleven detective two-reelers, averaging just over twenty minutes in length. In 1933, Donald and wife Belle relocated to Hollywood.
Moving from studio to studio (his only long-tern tenure was at MGM from 1940 to 1944), Donald Meek quickly emerged as one of the most prolific, sought-after character players in the business. Invariably, he was respectability personified, all prim and proper. The role of eccentric toy maker Mr. Poppins in You Can't Take It with You (1938) was specially written for him. Other memorable performances included the nervy little whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock, losing his samples to Thomas Mitchell in Stagecoach (1939) ("the cutest coach rider in the wagon", according to a New York Times review); shady gambler Amos Budge in My Little Chickadee (1940); Mr. Wiggs thinking himself to sleep in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934); the eccentric little bee-keeper Bartholomew, helping the crime fighting exploits of Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939); and the intoxicated food taster and mince-meat enthusiast Hippenstahl of State Fair (1945). On odd occasions, Donald managed to step out of character, notably as the courageous Scottish prospector McTavish standing up to the villains of Barbary Coast (1935); scene-stealing, as miserly financier Daniel Drew in The Toast of New York (1937); as a rather loony citizen determined to collect a reward by unmasking Edward G. Robinson in The Whole Town's Talking (1935); or as tough railroad executive McCoy in Jesse James (1939) and The Return of Frank James (1940).
Donald Meek crammed more than 120 screen roles into a mere one and a half decades. His performances were consistently a joy to watch. He was never able to realise his ambition of retiring to raise hybrid roses, dying in November 1946 at the age of 68. Fourteen years later, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Played his name very well.- Actress
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The possessor of one of Hollywood's gentlest faces and warmest voices, and about as sweet as Tupelo honey both on-and-off camera, character actress Spring Byington was seldom called upon to play callous or unsympathetic (she did once play a half-crazed housekeeper in Dragonwyck (1946)). Although playing the part of Mrs. March in Little Women (1933) was hardly what one could call a stretch, it did ignite a heartwarming typecasting that kept her employed on the screen throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Her first name said it all: sunny, sparkling, flowery, energetic, whimsical, eternally cheerful. She was a wonderfully popular and old-fashioned sort. By the 1950s, Spring had sprung on both radio and TV. The petite, be-dimpled darling became the star of her very own sitcom and, in the process, singlehandedly gave the term "mother-in-law" a decidedly positive ring.
She was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on October 17, 1886 (some sources list the year as 1893), one of two daughters born to a college professor/school superintendent. Her father Edwin died when she was quite young, and mother Helene placed the children with their maternal grandparents while she studied to become a doctor. Spring developed an early interest in the theater as a high-school teenager and ambitiously put together an acting company that toured mining camps in the Colorado Springs area. Her professional career materialized via the stock company circuit in both the U.S. and Canada. At the onset of WWI she joined a repertory company that left for Buenos Aires. There she married the company's manager, Roy Carey Chandler, and had two children by him: Phyllis and Lois. The couple remained in South America and Spring learned fluent Spanish there. About four years into the marriage, the couple divorced and Spring returned to New York with her children. She never married again.
Spring took her first Broadway bow at age 31 with a role in the comedy satire "A Beggar on Horseback", a show that lasted several months in 1924. She returned to the show briefly the following year. Other New York plays came and went throughout the 1920s, but none were certifiable hits. She did, however, gain a strong reputation playing up her fluttery comic instincts. Other shows included "Weak Sister" (1925), "Puppy Love" (1926), "Skin Deep" (1927), "To-night at Twelve" (1928) and "Be Your Age" (1929). She also played the role of Nerissa in "The Merchant of Venice" on Broadway alongside George Arliss and Peggy Wood in the roles of Shylock and Portia, respectively.
By the 1930s, Spring had established herself as a deft comedienne on stage but had made nary a dent in film. In early 1933, following major hits on Broadway with "Once in a Lifetime" (1930) and "When Ladies Meet" (1932), Spring was noticed by RKO, which had begun the casting for one of its most prestigious pictures of the year, Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women (1933). As a testament to her talents and graceful appeal, the studio took a chance on her and gave her the role of Marmee. As mother to daughters Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Jean Parker and Frances Dee in what is still considered the best film version of the novel, Spring was praised for her work and became immediately captivated by this medium. She never returned to Broadway.
She became the quintessentially wise, concerned and understanding mother/relative in scores of films, often to her detriment. The roles were so kind, polite and conservative that it was hard for her to display any of her obvious scene-stealing abilities. As a result, she was often overlooked in her pictures. Her best parts came as a bewildered parent, snooty socialite, flaky eccentric, inveterate gossip or merry mischief-maker. From 1936 to 1939, she did a lot of mothering in the popular "Jones Family" feature film series from 1936 to 1940. but the flavorful roles she won came with her more disparate roles in Dodsworth (1936), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) (as the Widow Douglas), When Ladies Meet (1941) (in which she recreated her Broadway triumph), and Roxie Hart (1942) (in which she played the sob sister journalist). Spring's only Oscar nomination came with her delightful portrayal of eccentric Penny Sycamore in You Can't Take It with You (1938).
Throughout the war years, she lent her patented fluff to a number of Hollywood's finest comedies, including The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), Rings on Her Fingers (1942) and Heaven Can Wait (1943). Her career began to die down in the 1950s, and, like many others in her predicament, she turned to TV. Her sparkling performance in the comedy Louisa (1950), in which she played an older lady pursued by both Edmund Gwenn and Charles Coburn, set the perfect tone and image for her Lily Ruskin radio/TV character. December Bride (1954) was initially a popular radio program when it transferred to TV. The result was a success, and Spring became a household name as everybody's favorite mother-in-law. As a widow who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, complications ensued as the married couple tried to set Lily up for marriage--hence the title. Brash and bossy Verna Felton and the ever-droll Harry Morgan were brought in as perfect comic relief.
The show ran for a healthy five seasons, and Spring followed this in 1961 with the role of Daisy Cooper, the chief cook and surrogate mother to a bunch of cowpokes in the already established western series Laramie (1959). Making her last film appearance in the comedy Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) as, of course, a spirited mom (this time to Doris Day), Spring, now in her 70s, started to drop off the acting radar. She eventually retired to her Hollywood Hills home after a few guest spots on such '60s shows as Batman (1966) (playing a wealthy socialite named J. Pauline Spaghetti) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965) (as Larry Hagman's mother). A very private individual in real life, Spring enjoyed traveling and reading during her retirement years. She passed away in 1971 from cancer and was survived by her two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.Very adept at lovable goofballs.- Actor
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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 films, often cast as kindly authoritarian figures--doctors, judges, military officers, politicians, and such. His two most notable appearances were in Destry Rides Again (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). In addition to his film work, he kept busy appearing on stage, and continued working up until his death in 1948.- Actor
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Suave, well-mannered, silvery-haired character actor Henry (Joseph) O'Neill played top supports in hundreds of films, often as a benign, wise, sensible father, judge, doctor, minister, general, executive or lawyer. Much of his patrician career was split between two studios: Warner Bros in the 1930s and MGM in the 1940s.
O'Neill was born in Orange, New Jersey on August 10, 1891, and dropped out of college to join a traveling theatre troupe. World War I military service intervened but he quickly returned to acting in 1919 upon his discharge and joined, at different times, the Provincetown Players and the Celtic Players acting companies. Making his Broadway debut at age 30 with "The Spring," he continued on Broadway for over a decade in such plays as Mr. Faust (as the Holy One) 22, "The Hairy Ape" (1922), "The Ancient Mariner" (1924), "The Fountain" (1925), "The Squall" (1926), "Jarnegan" (1928), "The Last Mile" (1930), "Old Man Murphy" (1931), "I Loved You Wednesday (1932) and, his last, "Shooting Star" (1933). His prematurely gray hair lent an air of pride and confidence in his many distinctive stage roles, particularly the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill.
In 1933, O'Neill made a solid, unerring switch to feature films and settled in for the duration of his career as a minor character. Although he was typically cast in agreeable roles, he certainly had it in him to be an urbane villain when the call came in. Films on both sides of the fence included his debut, the romantic drama I Loved a Woman (1933) starring Kay Francis and Edward G. Robinson, as well as many others, the more popular being. -- Fog Over Frisco (1934), Madame Du Barry (1934), The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934), Oil for the Lamps of China (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), Anthony Adverse (1936), The Great O'Malley (1937), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938), Brother Rat (1938), Dodge City (1939), Juarez (1939), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), Four Wives (1939), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), Billy the Kid (1941), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Two Girls and a Sailor (1944), Anchors Aweigh (1945), The Beginning or the End (1947) and Alias Nick Beal (1949)
In the 1950's due to failing health, Henry spaced out his feature work with sporadic filming in such movies as The People Against O'Hara (1951), Scarlet Angel (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957) and, his last, an uncredited bit in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). A one-time member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild, he later earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He died on May 18, 1961, and was survived by his longtime wife (since 1924) Anna and one child, Patricia He was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.- 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 was born Henry S. Garroway in Granada, British West Indies on April 16, 1871 and studied at Rugby in England. His reputation was built solidly on the stage both in America and in England, making his Broadway debut around the turn of the century with "A Message from Mars" in 1901. While he did make a few silent pictures (from 1917), film audiences began taking a notice only in later years. After transferring a successful Broadway role to film with Cynara (1932), Stephenson settled in Hollywood where he distinguished himself in a variety of pictures for RKO, MGM and Warner Bros., among others. He appeared quite frequently in royal support for Warners' top star of the time, Errol Flynn, including Captain Blood (1935) as Lord Willoughby, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) as Sir Charles Macefield, The Prince and the Pauper (1937) as the Duke of Norfolk, and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Lord Burghley. His last film was the sentimental yarn Challenge to Lassie (1949). Long married to character actress Ann Shoemaker, Stephenson died on April 24, 1956 in San Francisco, California at age 85, and was survived by his widow and daughter.
- Dewey Robinson was born on 17 August 1898 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936) and 6 Hours to Live (1932). He was married to Louise Arlene Woolner. He died on 11 December 1950 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
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Movie roles are sometimes based upon what the audience expects to see. If the role called for the tall stereotypical Englishmen with the stiff upper lip and stern determination, that man would be C. Aubrey Smith, graduate of Cambridge University, a leading Freemason and a test cricketer for England. Smith was 30 by the time he embarked upon a career on the stage. It took another 20 plus years before he entered the flickering images of the movies. By 1915, Smith was over 50 in a medium that demanded young actors and starlets. For the next ten years, he appeared in a rather small number of silent movies, and after that, he faded from the scene. It was in 1930, with the advent of sound, that Smith found his position in the movies and that position would be distinguished roles. He played military officers, successful business men, ministers of the cloth and ministers of government. With the bushy eyebrows and stoic face, he played men who know about honour, tradition, and the correct path. He worked with big stars such as Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Shirley Temple. As for honours, Smith received the Order of the British Empire in 1938 and was knighted in 1944. He continued to work up to the time of his death.Played every flavor of upper-crusty British gentleman.- Eduardo Ciannelli was born on the beautiful island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, which is renowned for its thermal baths. His father, a physician, owned a health spa there and Eduardo briefly followed the same career path and studied medicine at the University of Naples, graduating as a fully qualified doctor. His calling, however, lay elsewhere. He first came to prominence as a leading baritone opera star, performing at La Scala and touring internationally. Then he reinvented himself as a dramatic actor of stage and screen, first in Europe, and, from 1919, in America.
He first performed on Broadway in the short-lived play 'Always You' (1920), then had better roles in 'Rose-Marie' (1924-1926), 'The Front Page' (1928-29, as Diamond Louis, establishing his stereotypical later screen persona) and 'Uncle Vanya' (1930,as Telegin). He reprised his stage role from 'Reunion in Vienna' (1931-32) in the MGM movie of 1933. With his heavily-lined face, piercing eyes and erudite Italian-accented manners, Ciannelli was soon cast as Italian gangsters (apparently, there was also some alleged resemblance to the infamous Lucky Luciano). One of his most celebrated roles was as Trock Estrella in Winterset (1936) (re-creating another previous stage performance), which the New York Times review of December 4 described as the film's 'most compelling characterization'. This set the pattern for many of Ciannelli's later efforts, such as the smooth, elegant racketeer Johnny Vanning in Marked Woman (1937) or Rockey in Law of the Underworld (1938). Other notable villains in his repertoire include the maniacal leader of the Kali sect in Gunga Din (1939) and the suave evil genius, titular villain in the Republic serial Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940).
Attempting to shake-off his typecast 'bad guy' image, Eduardo appeared as the jovial speakeasy proprietor Giono in Kitty Foyle (1940). Following that, his screen roles began to diminish. Changing his name to Edward Ciannelli failed to re-ignite his career. In 1952, he returned to Italy to appear in continental co-productions, occasionally re-surfacing in Hollywood sword-and-sandal epics (Attila (1954),Helen of Troy (1956), Love Slaves of the Amazons (1957)). He also continued to portray Godfather-types in film (The Brotherhood (1968),Stiletto (1969)) and on television (Naked City,The Untouchables,I Spy). Among his last roles of note, one must include Houseboat (1958), as Arturo Zaccardi, and a recurring character part, jazz club owner Waldo, in the television series Johnny Staccato (1959). Eduardo died in Rome in October 1969 and is interred at the Cimitero Flaminio in Lazio.Great at good guy and bad guy ethnic types. - Actor
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One of the most versatile character actors in the business, Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (pronounced Nash) was born of Irish descent in New York City. His illustrious ancestors hailed from county Limerick and were listed in Burke's Peerage. He had a Catholic education at St. Cecilia's Academy, but absconded from school at the age of 14 to become a song plugger. He briefly joined a children's vaudeville company run by Gus Edwards. At 16, he enlisted in the Navy, was thrown out, re-enlisted to experience wartime action with the U.S. Army Signals Corps in France, then spent years sailing the world's seas with the Merchant Marine. Around this time, he acquired as many as eight languages and became adept at dialects. J. Carroll then spent some time in Paris singing and dancing with a stage troupe run by musical comedy star Gaby Deslys. Sometime around 1925, he returned to New York for further theatrical work, possibly with Molly Picon's Yiddish Theatre. The following year, he travelled by tramp steamer to California en route to China. The ship suffered mechanical breakdowns and departure was delayed. While ashore, J. Carroll was somehow spotted by a Fox studio talent scout and wound up in Hollywood. He played a few bit roles and then joined a road company production of 'The Shanghai Gesture'. In 1929, he married an Irish stage actress, Gladys Heaney, in what would become one the most enduring of show business unions.
Back in Hollywood from 1930, J. Carroll's gift for dialects were to land him plum character parts as Arabs, Italians, Pacific Islanders, Hindus, Mexicans, African-Americans and Orientals. Villains of the black-hearted variety were his stock-in-trade. Indeed, he was so damn good at his job that Time Magazine referred to him as a 'Hollywood's one-man United Nations'. Ironically, J. Carroll's black hair, moustache and swarthy complexion invariably denied him roles as an Irishman (the sole exception being General Phil Sheridan in Rio Grande (1950)).
On radio, J. Carroll enjoyed one of his most profound successes as the voice of Italian immigrant Luigi Basco. 'Life with Luigi' was broadcast from 1948 to 1954, entertained millions of listeners and helped shape American consciousness about Italian values and the Italian way of life. Of its time, it was also essentially stereotypical. In films, J. Carroll was the consummate scene-stealer who could make even a bad movie look good. There weren't many of those, to be sure. His very best work includes the Italian prisoner Giuseppe in Sahara (1943) (one of his two Oscar-nominated roles), Loretta Young's Chinese father Sun Yat Ming in The Hatchet Man (1932), a Mexican peasant in A Medal for Benny (1945) (his second Oscar nomination), the pirate Cahusac in Captain Blood (1935) and John Garfield's well-meaning father Rudy in Humoresque (1946). He played Lakota medicine man and warrior Sitting Bull twice: in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and in the title role of Sitting Bull (1954). He was the archetypal evil genius Dr. Daka in the Batman (1943) serial and, in 1956, brought his talents to the small screen as Charlie Chan in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957). Having amassed some 224 screen credits, J. Carroll Naish died of emphysema in January 1973 at the age of 77. Sadly, he never won an Oscar which would have been richly merited. However, A Medal for Benny garnered him a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor and he is remembered with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.- 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 J.B. Warner as Jesus in The King of Kings (1927) when J.B. died of tuberculosis at age 29. (J.B. was not Henry's brother. J.B. had taken the professional last name "Warner" because Henry's family took him in.)
Henry Warner's family wanted him to become a doctor, and he graduated from London University but eventually gave up his medical studies. The theater was in his blood, and he studied acting in Paris and Italy before joining his father's stock company, making his debut in the English production of "Drink." It was from his father that he honed his craft.
Warner made it to the United States in the early 1900s, after touring the British Empire. Billed as Harry Warner, he made his Broadway debut in the US colonial drama "Audrey" at Hoyt's Theatre on November 24, 1902, starring James O'Neill, the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill. He was billed as H.B. Warner in his next appearance on Broadway, in the 1906 comedy "Nurse Marjorie." He appeared in 13 more Broadway productions in his career, from the twin-bill of "Susan in Search of a Husband" & "A Tenement Tragedy" (also 1906) to "Silence" in 1925.
He moved into motion pictures, making his debut in the Mutual short Harp of Tara (1914). Also in 1914, he appeared in a film written by Cecil B. DeMille for Famous Players Lasky, The Ghost Breaker (1914), in which he had played on Broadway the year before. Warner became a leading man and a star in silent pictures, reaching the zenith of his career playing Jesus in DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). His excellent performance was actually enhanced by the silent screen, allowing the audience to imagine how Jesus would sound. Warner could be extremely moving in silent pictures, notably in the melodrama Sorrell and Son (1927) as a war veteran father who sacrifices all for his son.
When talkies arrived, he became a busy supporting player. A favorite of Frank Capra, appeared in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Cast again by Capra, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Lost Horizon (1937). He also appeared in You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other major talkies included The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and Topper Returns (1941). Other than Jesus, the role he is best remembered role for today is in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), in which he played Mr. Gower, the druggist who is saved from committing a lethal medication error by the young George Bailey (the James Stewart character as a child). H.B. Warner appeared in Sunset Blvd. (1950) as himself. His last credited role was as Amminadab in DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), a remake of the earlier silent The Ten Commandments (1923). He last role was an uncredited bit part in Darby's Rangers (1958).
Henry Warner died on December 21, 1958 in Woodland Hills, California. He was 82 years old.Part of Capra's stock company - Actor
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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 Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Ellen Terry. Hobbes came to the American and Broadway as early as 1906, doing performing and some directing until early 1929 when he came to Hollywood as an elderly actor to launch a long career of memorable character roles. In those first years he seemed to be either a lord or a butler. But by 1931 he was much in demand, lending his distinctive and dignified nasal voice to nearly ten films per year through most of the 1930s. Moving from one studio to another, he was doctors, diplomats, more lords, and some very memorable clerics-especially the staid archbishop reduced to laughter in The Prince and the Pauper (1937). The roles were scarcer through the 1940s, but he was back on Broadway by mid 1940 playing Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet." Still that distinctive voice graced over 100 films by 1949. He turned to the richly diverse American TV playhouse format by 1950 and continued with roles through the decade along with a continued presence on Broadway until late 1955. Although he was sometimes uncredited in films, his roles were no less a recorded legacy of a dedicated acting talent.Usually a butler, occasionally a politician.- Actor
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Dub Taylor was born on 26 February 1907 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Getaway (1972), The Wild Bunch (1969) and You Can't Take It with You (1938). He was married to Florence Gertrude Heffernan. He died on 3 October 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Mary Forbes was born on 1 January 1883 in Hornsey, Middlesex [now in Haringey, London], England, UK. She was an actress, known for You Can't Take It with You (1938), The Awful Truth (1937) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). She was married to Wesley Wall, Charles Quatermaine and Ernest J. Taylor. She died on 22 July 1974 in Beaumont, California, USA.Very good at snobby matron roles.
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Grady Sutton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He arrived in California in 1924. He got his first break in Hollywood from director William A. Seiter who used him as an extra in The Mad Whirl (1925) starring May McAvoy. Grady remained a Hollywood staple for the next 55 years.
He specialized in playing naive, slightly befuddled young men and country bumpkins, adding comedic bits to many films. His most famous association came from appearing in four movies with W.C. Fields: The Pharmacist (1933), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) and The Bank Dick (1940). He can also be seen in such classics as My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), Angels Wash Their Faces (1939), Anchors Aweigh (1945), White Christmas (1954) and A Star Is Born (1954). He was also a regular on The Egg and I (1951) and The Phyllis Diller Show (1966) television series.
In total, he appeared in over 200 feature films and short subjects spanning 1924 to 1979. His final film appearance was in Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979). In 1994 he moved to the Motion Picture and Television Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California where he died September 17, 1995, of natural causes.- The son of a minstrel and circus tightrope walker, Eddie Anderson developed a gravel voice early in life which would become his trademark to fame. He joined his older brother Cornelius as members of "The Three Black Aces" during his vaudeville years, singing for pennies in the hotel lobby. He eventually moved his way up to the Roxy and Apollo theaters in New York, which led to the Los Angeles Cotton Club in the west.
He began to appear in films, typically in servile bits, his best being the featured role of "Noah" in The Green Pastures (1936). He continued in that vein until a chance pairing with comedy star Jack Benny on his radio program in 1937 put him on the map. He only had a bit part on Benny's Easter show as a Pullman porter, but his scratchy voice, superb timing and comic reaction to Benny's banter earned him a fixed spot. He then was heard as Benny's personal valet, Rochester Van Jones, and the role became so popular that he became billed as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.
In between radio assignments, he found the time to appear in both film drama and comedies, including You Can't Take It with You (1938), Kentucky (1938), Jezebel (1938), and three with Benny - Man About Town (1939), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) and Love Thy Neighbor (1940). After the films Brewster's Millions (1945) and The Show-Off (1946), Anderson concentrated on his partnership with Jack Benny, following him into television and working with him for a total of 23 years. He returned to the screen for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) but ill health eventually forced him into retirement. He died of long-standing heart problems in 1977. - Actor
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Leonid Kinskey, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, performed across Europe and much of Latin America before his arrival in the United States. By 1932 he landed a small role as a radical in Ernst Lubitsch's comedy, Trouble in Paradise (1932). The next year he played an agitator in Duck Soup (1933). He went on to play small parts, nearly always foreigners and often comedic, in over sixty films, including Genflou in Les Misérables (1935), the snake charmer in the well-known scene from The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), an Arab in The Garden of Allah (1936), Ivan in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938), and Pierre in That Night in Rio (1941). His final film role was Dominiwski in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Kinskey's most famous role was as Sascha, the humorous bartender at Rick's Cafe Americaine, in Casablanca (1942). The part had originally been given to Leon Mostovoy; Kinskey replaced him because (1) he was funnier than Mostovoy, and (2) by his own testimony, he was a drinking buddy of the star Humphrey Bogart. His contract guaranteed him two weeks at $750 a week. He died on 8 September 1998, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, aged 95.- Actor
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Though born in Georgia and having a Russian-sounding name, Akim Tamiroff is actually of Armenian descent. At 19 he decided to pursue acting as a career and was chosen from among 500 applicants to the Moscow Art Theater School. There he studied under the great Konstantin Stanislavski, and launched a stage career. This included road company productions, in one such tour in 1920 Tamiroff came to New York City, which he liked so much he decided to stay there. Broadway suited him, and he worked steadily with the Theatre Guild from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s. He was a short, stout man with a guttural baritone voice and a thick but rather generic Russian accent that, with his skill in characterizations, seemed to mesh with any role calling for a foreign type--whether European, West Asian or even East Asian. His voice became his principal asset. He came west to Hollywood in 1932 to break into the movie business, and first appeared on screen in a bit part in Okay America! (1932). Until 1934 his appearances were usually uncredited, but he managed to stand out in several films, one of his best roles of the time being the servant Pedro of John Gilbert Queen Christina (1933). By early 1934 he was much in demand, appearing in 12 films during that year. The next year was even busier for him, with roles in 15 films altogether, and not just bit parts--he was getting more feature supporting roles, such as Gopal the emir in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) and the comic puppet master Rudolpho in the adapted operetta Naughty Marietta (1935). He signed with Paramount in 1936 but was often loaned out to other studios. He went to Warner Bros. for one of his earliest big supporting characters: the sly Cuban mercantile agent Carlo Cibo in Anthony Adverse (1936). For Paramount, his General Yang in The General Died at Dawn (1936) brought him his first of two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Along with substantial supporting roles in top movies, Tamiroff was getting starring roles in "B" pictures, allowing him to show his range by playing everything from amiable rogues to thoroughly evil villains. Two of his roles from that time exemplify what a versatile actor he was. As French trapper and scout Dan Duroc of North West Mounted Police (1940), he was something of a rascal but with a sense of humor and dignity. However, as the vile Colonna in The Corsican Brothers (1941), he is irredeemably wicked, and deservedly dies in the longest sword duel on film. For his role as the self-serving guerrilla Pablo in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Tamiroff received his second Oscar nomination. He continued through the decade with more fine work, and in 1949 he joined the cast of Black Magic (1949) and met Orson Welles, who played late 18th-century charlatan Cagliostro. The two became friends and associates in Welles' later film projects. Through the 1950s Tamiroff's time was fairly divided between T.V. productions and films earlier in the decade and a surprising number of episodic TV and more films later. His three films with Welles, as director and sometime actor, were: Confidential Report (1955) with its Wellesian maze of flash-backs; the over-the-top Touch of Evil (1958) with its gritty surrealism and incredible cast; and The Trial (1962) (The Trial), Welles' stylistic spin on the Franz Kafka story. Certainly it was in "Touch of Evil" that Tamiroff's Tijuana boss Uncle Joe Grandi--outlandishly bug-eyed alternately with fear or mercurial anger intensified by Welles' wild camera angles--stood out as a most intriguing character. He took a last fling at Broadway in 1959. For the 1960s Tamiroff continued to sample American T.V. but was still very active in American, French and Italian movies. His voice and talent were still a draw in films like Topkapi (1964) and Alphaville (1965). In addition, he remained on call for Welles' meandering/unfinished Don Quixote (1992) as Sancho Panza for nearly twenty years. One of the great character actors of film history, Akim Tamiroff appeared in over 150 screen projects.- Actor
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"You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh; the fundamental things apply, as time goes by...". . The gentleman who crooned this now legendary tune for the morose Humphrey Bogart and moist-eyed Ingrid Bergman at Rick's Cafe Americain amid the bleak WWII backdrop was none other than 56-year-old Arthur "Dooley" Wilson, an African-American actor and singer who earned a comfortable niche for himself in film history with this simple, dramatic, piano-playing scene.
Dooley was born Arthur Wilson in Tyler, Texas. His exact year of birth was debated for years, listed in reference books as either 1886 or 1894. His grave marker, however, at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles gives the year 1886. At age 12 he performed in minstrel shows and later became a fixture in black theater in both Chicago and New York (circa 1908). He received the nickname "Dooley" while working in the Pekin Theatre in Chicago, because of his then-signature Irish song "Mr. Dooley," which he usually performed in whiteface as an Irishman. In subsequent years Dooley displayed his musical skills in various forms. As a vaudevillian, drummer and jazz band leader, he entertained both here and in 1920s European tours (Paris, London, etc). From the 1930s to the 1950s he focused on theatrical musicals and occasional films.
Appearing in such diverse Broadway plays as the comedy "Conjur Man Dies (1936) and the melodrama "The Strangler Fig" (1940), along with various Federal Theater productions for Orson Welles and John Houseman. This exposure led directly to his signing on as a contract player with Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. He unfortunately began things off in era stereotypes as porters, chauffeurs and the like. Unhappy with his movie roles he was about to abandon Hollywood altogether when Paramount lent him out to Warner Bros. for the piano-playing role of Sam and the rest is history. In Casablanca (1942), Dooley immortalized the song "As Time Goes By" as boss and nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Bogart) and lost true love Ilsa Lund (Bergman) briefly rekindled an old romantic flame. While paid only $350 a week for his services, Dooley achieved his own immortality as well. However, he was not a pianist in real life and was dubbed while fingering the keyboard. In addition to "As Time Goes By," Dooley's character did warm renditions of "It Had To Be You," "Shine," "Knock On Wood" and "Parlez-moi d'amour."
Back on the live stage Dooley portrayed an escaped slave in the musical "Bloomer Girl" (1946) and, as a result, made another song famous, "The Eagle and Me," which went on for inclusion in the Smithsonian recordings compilation "American Musical Theatre." He graced approximately twenty other motion pictures in all, including the war-era musicals Stormy Weather (1943) and Higher and Higher (1943).
In his final season of performing (1952-1953) Dooley was a regular on the TV sitcom Beulah (1950) which starred Ethel Waters. He played the title maid's boyfriend Bill Jackson and Dooley was the second of three actors who would play the role during its three-season run. Dooley died of natural causes on May 30, 1953, and was survived by wife, Estelle, who subsequently passed away in 1971.- Actor
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In many ways the most successful and familiar character actor of American sound films and the only actor to date to win three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Walter Brennan attended college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying engineering. While in school he became interested in acting and performed in school plays. He worked some in vaudeville and also in various jobs such as clerking in a bank and as a lumberjack. He toured in small musical comedy companies before entering the military in 1917. After his war service he went to Guatemala and raised pineapples, then migrated to Los Angeles, where he speculated in real estate. A few jobs as a film extra came his way beginning in 1923, then some work as a stuntman. He eventually achieved speaking roles, going from bit parts to substantial supporting parts in scores of features and short subjects between 1927 and 1938. In 1936 his role in Come and Get It (1936) won him the very first Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He would win it twice more in the decade, and be nominated for a fourth. His range was enormous. He could play sophisticated businessmen, con artists, local yokels, cowhands and military officers with apparent equal ease. An accident in 1932 cost him most of his teeth, and he most often was seen in eccentric rural parts, often playing characters much older than his actual age. His career never really declined, and in the 1950s he became an even more endearing and familiar figure in several television series, most famously The Real McCoys (1957). He died in 1974 of emphysema, a beloved figure in movies and TV, the target of countless comic impressionists, and one of the best and most prolific actors of his time.Versatile, but a putz in real life.- George Bancroft was raised in Philadelphia and attended high school at Tomes Institute (Philadelphia). He won an impressive appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated as a commissioned officer. He served in the Navy for the prescribed period of required service but no more. He decided to turn to show business, first as a theater manager. He worked in the old and fading minstrel show variety format into the 1920s but then decided to try his hand at acting. By 1923, he was good enough for Broadway and spent about a year there doing two plays. But he was already good enough for some early camera work for by 1921, so he had made his first appearance in the silent movie medium. Being a big man with dark features, he was a natural for heavies. And it seemed that early Westerns were an easy fit as well after his first four films. Through 1924 and into 1925, he did four, culminating with pay dirt in his appealing performance as rogue Jack Slade in the James Cruze Western The Pony Express (1925). With him was another up-and-coming character actor, Wallace Beery. Bancroft's acting made Paramount Pictures take a look at him as star material. His roles as tough guy took on more flesh into the later 1920s, especially in association with director Josef von Sternberg and his well-honed gangster films that started with Underworld (1927). Their work culminated with Sternberg's Thunderbolt (1929) for which Bancroft received an Oscar nomination. He was tops at the box office.
Bancroft's various on-screen personas as bigger-than-life strong man was not far from his off-screen character as Hollywood notability got to him. It was recalled that he became more difficult to deal with as his ego grew. At one point, he refused to obey a director's order that he fall down after being shot by the villain. Bancroft declared, "One bullet can't kill Bancroft!" Although he stayed busy through the 1930s, he was older and stouter -- the stuff of featured characters. And Bancroft was also getting a lot of competition from younger character actors. In the early '30s, his roles continued to typecast him as lead heavies, but increasingly, he was cast as second tier -- if with more variety -- in later roles. He was paper editor MacWade in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); a doctor in A Doctor's Diary (1937); a few sea captains along the way; and most memorably Marshal Curly Wilcox in the John Ford Western (his first with sound) Stagecoach (1939). Here he is particularly engaging tough lawman but with a big heart. Into the 1940s, he only did a handful of films. But he again had a rogue's spotlight with another name director -- Cecil B. DeMille -- in one of his always epic yarns. This time it was a Texas Ranger chasing a murderer over the Canadian border in North West Mounted Police (1940) with a stellar cast including Gary Cooper, everybody's favorite blond Madeleine Carroll, and Paulette Goddard as fleeing criminal, Jacques Corbeau's (Bancroft) daughter. By 1942, Bancroft had decided to move on, retiring with the intention of becoming a Southern California rancher. He quietly assumed this new role for a long run of 14 years before his passing. - Actor
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Berton Churchill was born on 9 December 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 10 October 1940 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
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Gruff, burly American character actor. Born in 1903 in Benkelman, Nebraska (confirmed by Social Security records; sources stating 1905 or Denver, Colorado are in error.) Bond grew up in Denver, the son of a lumberyard worker. He attended the University of Southern California, where he got work as an extra through a football teammate who would become both his best friend and one of cinema's biggest stars: John Wayne. Director John Ford promoted Bond from extra to supporting player in the film Salute (1929), and became another fast friend. An arrogant man of little tact, yet fun-loving in the extreme, Bond was either loved or hated by all who knew him. His face and personality fit perfectly into almost any type of film, and he appeared in hundreds of pictures in his more than 30-year career, in both bit parts and major supporting roles. In the films of Wayne and Ford, particularly, he was nearly always present. Among his most memorable roles are John L. Sullivan in Gentleman Jim (1942), Det. Tom Polhaus in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and the Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton The Searchers (1956). An ardent but anti-intellectual patriot, he was perhaps the most vehement proponent, among the Hollywood community, of blacklisting in the witch hunts of the 1950s, and he served as a most unforgiving president of the ultra-right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. In the mid-'50s he gained his greatest fame as the star of TV's Wagon Train (1957). During its production, Bond traveled to Dallas, Texas, to attend a football game and died there in his hotel room of a massive heart attack.- Actor
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The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. While some film historians complain that a number of his performances were annoying or overbaked, he was for the most part applauded for his zesty contributions to a number of comedy classics. Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933), Broadway Bill (1934) and It Happened One Night (1934), not to mention the Carole Lombard/Fredric March screwball farce Nothing Sacred (1937) as news reporter March's hot-headed editor boss are sure-fire examples.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native was born on April 8, 1887 and schooled there. The son of the head of the Western Union relay office, he attended St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin in Ireland before making his New York debut in 1910 in an outdoor presentation of "As You Like It". For the next year or so he was a member of E.H. Sothern's touring company and played supporting roles in a number of Shakespearean shows on the road. After a few silent pictures left him unimpressed with film-making, he turned to the Broadway stage in the 1920s and scored quite well. Somewhat short and tubby, it was not difficult for the jowly, mustachioed actor to seize laughs and he found his share in such outings as "The Talking Parrot" (1923), "Applesauce" (1925), "The Springboard" (1927), "The Happy Husband" (1928), "Stepping Out" (1929), "Your Uncle Dudley" (1930), "Anatol" (1931), "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1931), "The Good Fairy" (1932) and "The Late Christopher Bean" (1932).
With his talents as a stage farceur firmly established, it was time to make a second attempt at a film career and Hollywood (specifically, Columbia) wisely opened their doors to him. Interestingly, his debut in a full-length talking picture came at age 45 in the form of a drama, Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), where he was third-billed as a rather benign senator. For the next seven years Connolly, often playing older than he really was, could be found everywhere giving good fluster to the greatest and glossiest of stars -- Janet Gaynor, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, and Ginger Rogers, among hordes of others.
Every now and then he was asked to hold up a film, as with his leading roles in the drama Whom the Gods Destroy (1934), the Hecht/MacArthur comedy/drama Soak the Rich (1936), and the whodunnits Father Brown, Detective (1934) (as the title priest/gumshoe) and The League of Frightened Men (1937) (as supersleuth Nero Wolfe). Connolly's archetypal fuming was on full display in the comedies She Couldn't Take It (1935) with George Raft and Joan Bennett and Fifth Avenue Girl (1939) with Ginger Rogers. His last role was as the great composer himself in the highly fictional The Great Victor Herbert (1939), although it wasn't the leading role.
Connolly married actress Nedda Harrigan in 1920. The two appeared together in the Broadway comedies "Treat 'Em Rough" (1926) and "Merry Andrew" (1929). They had one daughter, actress Ann Connolly (1924-2006), who also appeared on stage and played the grownup Wendy in the 'Mary Martin' /Cyril Ritchard Broadway production of "Peter Pan" in 1954. Ironically, Connolly, whose obesity was probably a contributing factor to his fatal stroke suffered on May 28, 1940, received his final divorce decree on the day he died. He was only 53.- Actor
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Leo Carrillo was born on 6 August 1881 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Guilty Generation (1931), The Cisco Kid (1950) and Crime, Inc. (1945). He was married to Edith Shakespear Haeselbarth. He died on 10 September 1961 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Actor
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Mean, miserly and miserable-looking, they didn't come packaged with a more annoying and irksome bow than Charles Lane. Glimpsing even a bent smile from this unending sourpuss was extremely rare, unless one perhaps caught him in a moment of insidious glee after carrying out one of his many nefarious schemes. Certainly not a man's man on film or TV by any stretch, Lane was a character's character. An omnipresent face in hundreds of movies and TV sitcoms, the scrawny, scowling, beady-eyed, beak-nosed killjoy who usually could be found peering disdainfully over a pair of specs, brought out many a comic moment simply by dampening the spirit of his nemesis. Whether a Grinch-like rent collector, IRS agent, judge, doctor, salesman, reporter, inspector or neighbor from hell, Lane made a comfortable acting niche for himself making life wretched for someone somewhere.
He was born Charles Gerstle Levison on January 26, 1905 in San Francisco and was actually one of the last survivors of that city's famous 1906 earthquake. He started out his working-class existence selling insurance but that soon changed. After dabbling here and there in various theatre shows, he was prodded by a friend, director Irving Pichel, to consider acting as a profession. In 1928 he joined the Pasadena Playhouse company, which, at the time, had built up a solid reputation for training stage actors for the cinema. While there he performed in scores of classical and contemporary plays. He made his film debut anonymously as a hotel clerk in Smart Money (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney and was one of the first to join the Screen Actor's Guild. He typically performed many of his early atmospheric roles without screen credit and at a cost of $35 per day, but he always managed to seize the moment with whatever brief bit he happened to be in. People always remembered that face and raspy drone of a voice. He appeared in so many pictures (in 1933 alone he made 23 films!), that he would occasionally go out and treat himself to a movie only to find himself on screen, forgetting completely that he had done a role in the film. By 1947 the popular character actor was making $750 a week.
Among his scores of cookie-cutter crank roles, Lane was in top form as the stage manager in Twentieth Century (1934); the Internal Revenue Service agent in You Can't Take It with You (1938); the newsman in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); the rent collector in It's a Wonderful Life (1946); the recurring role of Doc Jed Prouty, in the "Ellery Queen" film series of the 1940s, and as the draft board driver in No Time for Sergeants (1958). A minor mainstay for Frank Capra, the famed director utilized the actor's services for nine of his finest films, including a few of the aforementioned plus Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and State of the Union (1948).
Lane's career was interrupted for a time serving in the Coast Guard during WWII. In post-war years, he found TV quite welcoming, settling there as well for well over four decades. Practically every week during the 1950s and 1960s, one could find him displaying somewhere his patented "slow burn" on a popular sitcom - Topper (1953), The Real McCoys (1957), The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959), Mister Ed (1961), Bewitched (1964), Get Smart (1965), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), The Munsters (1964), Green Acres (1965), The Flying Nun (1967) and Maude (1972). He hassled the best sitcom stars of the day, notably Lucille Ball (an old friend from the RKO days with whom he worked multiple times), Andy Griffith and Danny Thomas. Recurring roles on Dennis the Menace (1959), The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) and Soap (1977) made him just as familiar to young and old alike. Tops on the list had to be his crusty railroad exec Homer Bedloe who periodically caused bucolic bedlam with his nefarious schemes to shut down the Hooterville Cannonball on Petticoat Junction (1963). He could also play it straightforward and serious as demonstrated by his work in The Twilight Zone (1959), Perry Mason (1957), Little House on the Prairie (1974) and L.A. Law (1986).
A benevolent gent in real life, Lane was seen less and less as time went by. One memorable role in his twilight years was as the rueful child pediatrician who chose to overlook the warning signs of child abuse in the excellent TV movie Sybil (1976). One of Lane's last on-screen roles was in the TV-movie remake of The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1995) at age 90. Just before his death he was working on a documentary on his long career entitled "You Know the Face".
Cinematically speaking, perhaps the good ones do die young, for the irascible Lane lived to be 102 years old. He died peacefully at his Brentwood, California home, outliving his wife of 71 years, former actress Ruth Covell, who died in 2002. A daughter, a son and a granddaughter all survived him.- Actor
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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 weaselly attorney, you could count on Halton to try to drive the "immoral influences" out of the neighborhood, foreclose on the orphanage, evict the poor widow and her children from their apartment, or any other number of dastardly deeds, all justified by "I'm sorry but that's my job." His 40-year film career ended with High School Confidential! (1958), after which he retired.- Actor
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Charles "Chic" Sale was primarily a stage comedian who, although he infrequently appeared on Broadway from 1902-30 and appeared in a handful of silent films, spent the majority of his career treading the boards of vaudeville as a comedian, usually in the persona of "Lem Putt," a carpenter from Urbana, Illinois who specialized in the building of outhouses. By age 49 his stage act had become so popular that he felt compelled to write, with the help of two newspaper writers, a 3000-word collection of his monologues (at the urging of his lawyer who expressed dismay over lesser comedians stealing his act) which was published as, "The Specialist." The book was a huge hit, published in 9 languages and remains in print to this day (he actually took 6 months off touring to personally answer fan mail resulting from the book and a sequel was published as "I'll Tell You Why"). During the 1930s and 40s there were outhouses sporting "Chic Sale" signs all over the world, his name becoming synonymous for toilet (which didn't please him in the least) and the butt of fellow comedian Groucho Marx' jokes. After appearing in a flop Broadway show in 1930 Sale headed for Hollywood for good and became, thanks to effective makeup and complete mastery of his lanky body, a character actor. Still in his mid to late 40s Sale convincingly played octogenarians. He did this so well that it was quite a shock to see him out of make-up; he was unrecognizable from his old man screen persona. He died of pneumonia in 1936 at just 51 years of age, survived by his wife Marie.- Actor
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Charles Sellon was born on 24 August 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Make Me a Star (1932), The Monster (1925) and Bright Eyes (1934). He was married to Florence E. Willis. He died on 26 June 1937 in La Crescenta, California, USA.- Actress
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Feisty, ebullient character comedienne who, for three decades, enlivened Hollywood films with her drollery and quick-fire repartee. The daughter of a newspaper editor and music critic, Ruth made her stage debut in the chorus of the touring production 'The Quaker Girl' in 1913. Four years later, she had made it to Broadway, playing a telephone operator in 'The Scrap of Paper' at the Criterion Theatre. She then appeared for ten months in the musical farce 'Going Up' (1917-18), which starred Frank Craven and a young Ed Begley. Some of her biggest comic successes were in plays by George M. Cohan, notably 'A Prince There Was' (1918-19) and 'The Meanest Man in the World' (1920-21).
Ruth appeared on screen, first in a small part in Rubber Heels (1927). Not until the Wall Street crash of 1929 was she tempted to pursue a career in Hollywood, rather than on Broadway. For most of her time in the movies, she played acidulous secretaries, wisecracking friends of the heroine, or shrewish wives. She gave excellent support as Mary Brian's domineering mother in Hard to Handle (1933) and was excellent as Edward G. Robinson's wife in the Runyonesque comedy A Slight Case of Murder (1938). There were many other good roles as comedy relief from Hands Across the Table (1935), with Carole Lombard to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936),with Gary Cooper); and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939),with James Stewart.. She was versatile enough to handle dramatic roles, playing a worldly nun in The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) and one of the asylum inmates of The Snake Pit (1948).
Except for a handful of TV guest appearances, Ruth essentially retired after her last film, The Way to the Gold (1957), and lived for the remainder of her life at the Wellington Hotel in Manhattan. She was for many years married to Basil de Guichard, an airline executive.- Actress
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Billie Burke was born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke on August 7, 1885 in Washington, D.C. Her father was a circus clown, and as a child she toured the United States and Europe with the circus (before motion pictures and after the stage, circuses were the biggest form of entertainment in the world). One could say that Billie was bred for show business. Her family ultimately settled in London, where she was fortunate to see plays in the city's historic West End, and decided she wanted to be a stage actress. At age 18, she made her stage debut and her career was off and running. Her performances were very well received and she became one of the most popular actresses to grace the stage. Broadway beckoned, and since New York City was now recognized as the stage capital of the world, it was there she would try her luck. Billie came to New York when she was 22 and her momentum did not stop. She appeared in numerous plays and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling, which is exactly what happened. She made her film debut in the lead role in Peggy (1916). The film was a hit, but then again most films were, as the novelty of motion pictures had not worn off since The Great Train Robbery (1903) at the turn of the century. Later that year, she appeared in Gloria's Romance (1916). In between cinema work, she would take her place on the stage because not only was it her first love, but she had speaking parts. Billie considered herself more than an actress--she felt she was an artist, too. She believed that the stage was a way to personally reach out to an audience, something that could not be done in pictures. In 1921, she appeared as Elizabeth Banks in The Education of Elizabeth (1921), then she retired. She had wed impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. of the famed Ziegfeld Follies and, with investments in the stock market, there was no need to work.
What the Ziegfelds did not plan on was "Black October" in 1929. Their stock investments were wiped out in the crash, which precipitated the Great Depression, and Billie had no choice but to return to the screen. Movies had become even bigger than ten years earlier, especially since the introduction of sound. Her first role of substance was as Margaret Fairlfield in A Bill of Divorcement (1932). As an artist, she loved the fact that she had dialog, but she had to work even harder because her husband had died the same year as her speaking debut - and work she did. One of her career highlights came as Mrs. Millicent Jordan in David O. Selznick's Dinner at Eight (1933), co-starring Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, John Barrymore and Jean Harlow - heady company to be sure, but Billie turned in an outstanding performance as Mrs. Jordan, the scatterbrained wife of a man whose shipping company is in financial trouble and who was trying to get someone to loan his company money to help stave off disaster. Her character loved to give dinner parties because a dinner affair at the Jordans had a reputation among New York blue-blood society as the highlight of the season. With all the drama and intrigue going on around her, her main concern is that she is one man short of having a full seating arrangement. The film was a hit and once again Billie was back on top. In 1937, she had one of her most fondly remembered roles in Topper (1937), a film that would ultimately spin off two sequels, and all three were box-office hits. In 1938, Billie received her first and only Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live (1938). This was probably the best performance of her screen career, but she was destined to be immortalized forever in the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939). At 54 years of age - and not looking anywhere near it - she played Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. The 1940s saw Billie busier than ever--she made 25 films between 1940 and 1949. She made only six in the 1950s, as her aging became noticeable. She was 75 when she made her final screen appearance as Cordelia Fosgate in John Ford's Western Sergeant Rutledge (1960). Billie retired for good and lived in Los Angeles, California, where she died at age 85 of natural causes on May 14, 1970.- Actor
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Both of Allen Jenkins' parents were musical comedy performers, and he entered the theater as a stage mechanic after World War I, after having spent time working in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Although his screen persona was that of a not-too-bright Brooklyn tough guy, Jenkins attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and appeared in many Broadway plays before making his film debut in 1931. He found his niche at Warner Brothers, where he perfected his slow-witted but good-natured gangster/taxi driver/cop/etc. character. In the latter part of his career he appeared frequently on TV, and was a regular on the TV series Hey, Jeannie! (1956). He is probably best remembered by "baby boomers" as the voice of the put-upon cop Officer Dibble in the popular cartoon series Top Cat (1961).
He died in Santa Monica, CA, in 1974 after undergoing surgery.Part of Warner Bros.' Irish gang- Actor
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Walter Catlett carved out a career for himself playing excitable, officious blowhards, and few actors did it better. A San Francisco native, he started out in vaudeville - with a detour for a while in opera - before breaking into films in the mid-1920s. Two of his best remembered roles were as the stage manager driven to distraction by James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and the local constable who throws the entire cast in jail, and winds up there himself, in the classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). He retired after making Beau James (1957), and died of a stroke in 1960.- Actor
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Former stage actor and playwright - he wrote over 150 plays and vaudeville sketches - Hugh Herbert went, in the early 1930s to Hollywood, as a comedian. In the 1930s he worked mostly for Warner Bros., impersonating often eccentric millionaires, tycoons and dimwitted professors. In a few movies he collaborated on the screenplays, e.g. on "Gold Diggers of 1935" and "Hit Parade of 1941".- Actor
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Al Shean was born on 12 May 1868 in Dornum, Province of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia [now Lower Saxony, Germany]. He was an actor and writer, known for The Blue Bird (1940), Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Live, Love and Learn (1937). He was married to Johanna Davidson. He died on 12 August 1949 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Willie Fung was born on 3 March 1896 in Canton, China. He was an actor, known for The Gay Falcon (1941), The Great Profile (1940) and Shanghai (1935). He died on 16 April 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
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Delightful child/juvenile actress Virginia Anna Adelaide Weidler (her friends called her "Ginny") had that knowing gleam in her eye that usually spelled trouble in one form or another for anyone nearby. She was born in Eagle Rock, California, in 1927, one of six children. Her mother was former Wagnerian opera singer Margarete Radon (born Margarete Therese Louisa Meyer), and her father was architect Alfred Weidler.
Virginia nearly made her acting debut at age 3 in John Barrymore's Moby Dick (1930) but was summarily replaced. A year later, she scored her first small movie bit in Warner Baxter's Surrender (1931) and was on her way. One of her brothers, child actor and musician George Weidler, was Doris Day's first husband (from 1946 to 1949).
RKO picked up young Virginia after learning that she could speak a bit of French. The average-looking youngster was ably cast as rural tomboy types in Laddie (1935) and Freckles (1935), the latter film allowing her to do a dead-on parody of Shirley Temple. She earned her first lead in Girl of the Ozarks (1936) and showed she could easily hold her own. After an unimpressive stint with Paramount, who tried to groom her as a rival to Fox's bratty Jane Withers, she was finally picked up by MGM and her film career blossomed. Co-starring with Mickey Rooney in Love Is a Headache (1938), she proved a natural young comedienne and precocious scene-stealer in such films as Out West with the Hardys (1938) (again with Rooney) and Too Hot to Handle (1938).
Little Virginia could also shine in dramatic outings, as she did with The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) and Bad Little Angel (1939), but she was never a good choice for sappy roles, as demonstrated when she played Norma Shearer's whiny imp of a daughter in The Women (1939). Virginia's forte was providing comedy relief, and she reached her young peak with two classic MGM films: Young Tom Edison (1940), as Rooney's creative sister, and The Philadelphia Story (1940), as Katharine Hepburn's smart-alecky younger sister. Her tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" at the piano was just one of many memorable highlights from this vintage classic.
The young actress's career started to slip away from her when the teenage Shirley Temple signed with MGM, abruptly bumping "Plain-Jane" Virginia back to secondary status. After rather disappointing receptions to Born to Sing (1942), The Youngest Profession (1943), and Best Foot Forward (1943), the awkward teen left films and turned to vaudeville as a song-and-dance comedy performer, utilizing her full-scale talents as a mimic. She made her legitimate stage debut in "The Rich Full Life" at the John Golden Theatre in 1945, but the show closed within a month.
Soon after, Virginia retired from show business, married, and had two children. She passed away from a heart ailment at 41. After her death it was learned that she had suffered from rheumatic fever as a child.- Actress
- Soundtrack
When her Hollywood career began in 1934, Mary Nash was already a veteran performer, having appeared in vaudeville and on Broadway. Following a brief appearance as a dancer in 1904, she joined Ethel Barrymore in a 1905 off- Broadway production, 'Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire'. This was followed by 'Captain Jinks' and 'The Silver Box' with the same company, and in 1915 she acted in George Bernard Shaw's play 'Major Barbara' at the Playhouse Theatre. The versatile actress was as adept at comedy ('Captain Applejack',1921-22) as she was in drama (Cassie in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,1933).
She is best remembered on screen for being nasty to Shirley Temple in Heidi (1937) and The Little Princess (1939), and for playing Katharine Hepburn's elegant and proper society mother in The Philadelphia Story (1940). In addition, she gave excellent value-for-money in the role of Emma Louise in Come and Get It (1936) and as the ill-fated queen in the technicolor adventure Cobra Woman (1944). Mary Nash was briefly married to the actor José Ruben ((1888-1969).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Cecil Cunningham was born on 2 August 1880 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Awful Truth (1937), Playboy of Paris (1930) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937). She was married to Jean C. Havez. She died on 17 April 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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After military service during the First World War, Chandler studied at the University of Illinois, financing his studies by playing jazz violin in a band. During the early 1920's, he returned to the vaudeville circuit and began in films from 1928. Most of his early efforts were short one- and two-reel comedies, arguably his best being The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) with W.C. Fields. While he mostly appeared in comedy and had countless bit parts, he later proved that he could handle meatier assignments, such as the simple-minded husband of Ginger Rogers, Amos, in Roxie Hart (1942). George was a protege of director William A. Wellman , who used him in twenty of his films.
On television, he made his mark as the jovial, well-remembered Uncle Petrie in Lassie (1954). He also had many good guest spots in other series, a particularly enjoyable one being the old man who sells a haunted Model A to dubious second-hand car dealer Jack Carson(with interesting results) in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode 'The Whole Truth' (1961). Prior to replacing Ronald Reagan as president of the Screen Actor's Guild, Chandler had been treasurer for twelve years (1948-60).342 film credits + 85 TV credits- Actor
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Frank Albertson entered the film industry in 1922 as a prop boy, but soon graduated into acting. He was a prolific and reliable character actor who occasionally played the lead in a "B" picture, but was used mainly as a supporting actor in scores of films, often cast as a wisecracking cab driver, a cop or a reporter.- Actor
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A stocky, friendly-faced character actor, Ford was born Samuel Jones in England, where the brutality of his childhood rivaled anything that Charles Dickens ever dreamed up. He lived for a while in an orphanage after being separated from his parents. While still young, he was sent to a Toronto branch of the orphanage. There, he began a cycle that involved living in 17 foster homes, the longest being with a farm family that treated him like a slave. At age 11 he ran away and joined a vaudeville troupe called the Winnipeg Kiddies, with whom he stayed until 1914. He then joined a friend named Wallace Ford, and the two 'hoboed" their way into the United States. After the friend was crushed to death by a railroad car, he took the name Wallace Ford in his friend's memory and found work in theatrical troupes and repertory companies. On Broadway he acted in "Abraham Lincoln," "Abie's Irish Rose," and "Bad Girl." He left Broadway in 1932 to appear with Joan Crawford in Possessed (1931); he also landed the lead in MGM's notorious Freaks (1932), although his fellow actors proved more memorable. He also co-starred as Walter Huston's amoral brother in one of the studio's few full-blown gangster melodramas, The Beast of the City (1932), starring Jean Harlow in arguably her most hard-bitten role. In all he appeared in over 200 films, including five directed by John Ford (The Last Hurrah (1958), The Whole Town's Talking (1935), They Were Expendable (1945), The Lost Patrol (1934), and The Informer (1935)). He also appeared with Henry Fonda in the TV series "The Deputy," which ran from 1959 to 1960. Ford died of a heart attack soon after his last memorable role as "Old Pa" in the hit Sidney Poitier drama A Patch of Blue (1965).- 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 mothers, landladies, neighborhood gossips and the like, although she is best remembered for playing Mrs. Morgan, the mother of a family of Welsh miners, in How Green Was My Valley (1941), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her sister Maire O'Neill was an actress in Ireland, and famed Irish poet William Butler Yeats was a family friend.
Sara Allgood died of a heart attack shortly after making her last film, Sierra (1950). - Margaret Wycherly was born in London, England on October 26, 1881. She was predominately a stage actress, continuing stage work even after performing in films. Her first film role came when she appeared in The Fight (1915) at 34 years old. It was not until 1929 that audiences got another glimpse of her in The Thirteenth Chair (1929). Playing largely character roles, one of her finest performances was as Gary Cooper's mother in Sergeant York (1941). She later gave stellar performances in The Yearling (1946) and Forever Amber (1947). She appeared on the then-new medium of television on The Philco Television Playhouse (1948). After a small role in The President's Lady (1953), Margaret retired at age 72. Three years later, on June 6, 1956, she died at age 74.Played the mother of both Sergeant York and Cody Jarrett.
- 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 Victoria in The Little Princess (1939) and The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939).
She and Holmes Herbert had a daughter, Joan. - Actor
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Sicilian-born character actor who appeared in scores of American films, usually as an exuberant and demonstrative Italian. As a teenager in 1902, Armetta stowed away on a boat bound for New York. There he did menial jobs until landing a position as a valet and presser at the Lambs Club, the New York actors' club. One of the members took a liking Armetta and arranged a small role for him in a Broadway show. Armetta followed this with many stage roles both in New York and in stock. In the early Twenties, he moved to California in search of work in movies, of which he'd had a taste while in New York. In Hollywood, Armetta slowly gained a name for himself as a character actor, and by the end of the decade, he had carved a niche for himself as a portrayer of humorous and sympathetic Italian immigrants, a position he maintained into the 1940s. He died of heart failure at 57.- Actor
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James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).- Actor
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William Gargan was an American actor, better known for playing fictional detectives Ellery Queen, Martin Kane, and Barrie Craig. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Gargan was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He attended St. James School in Brooklyn. While he was the younger brother of actor Edward Gargan (1902-1964), Gargan was not initially interested in an acting career. He worked as a salesman of bootleg whiskey during the Prohibition, and later as a professional detective. His life changed through a visit to his brother on a musical comedy stage/ Gargan was offered a stage job of his own, and he accepted.
Gargan started out as a theatrical actor, appearing in the play "Aloma of the South Seas". His film career started in the 1930s, and he was often typecast as as a stereotypical Irishman. He played policemen, priests, reporters, and adventurers. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe in the romantic drama "They Knew What They Wanted" (1940). The film was an adaptation of a 1924 play by Sidney Howard (1891-1939), and Joe was depicted as a womanizing foreman who has an affair with a woman engaged to one of his workers. While Gargan's role was critically well-received, the award was instead won by rival actor Walter Brennan (1894-1974).
In the 1940s, Gargan portrayed popular detective Ellery Queen in three films: "A Close Call for Ellery Queen" (1942), "A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen" (1942), and "Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen" (1942). "Enemy Agents" was the final entry in the Ellery Queen film series. Gargan spend the rest of the decade mostly playing supporting roles in film.
Gargan found another major role as a detective, playing protagonist Martin Kane in the radio series "Martin Kane, Private Eye".(1949-1952). He also appeared in the television adaptation of the series, which lasted from 1949 to 1954. While he was the originator of the role, Gargan was eventually replaced by actor Lloyd Nolan (1902-1985). Nolan was eventually replaced by actor Lee Tracy (1898-1968). The final actor to portray Martin Kane in the original series was Mark Stevens (1916-1994). Gargan returned to the role in the sequel series "The New Adventures of Martin Kane" (1957).
Gargan also played detective Barrie Craig in the popular radio series "Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator" (1951-1955). Unlike the hard-boiled detectives of the genre (popularized by Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe), Craig was noted for his laid-back personality. The series was suggested for adaptation to a television series, but only an unsuccessful pilot episode was filmed.
Gargan's acting career ended abruptly in 1958, when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. His larynx was surgically removed in 1960. This saved his life, but Gargan lost his distinctive voice. He spend the rest of his life speaking through an artificial voice box. He became a spokesman for the American Cancer Society, warning people about the dangers of smoking. Meanwhile he established his own production company, William Gargan Productions.
In 1979, Gargan suffered a mid-flight heart attack, while flying from New York City to San Diego. He died due to the heart attack, at the age of 73. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego, California.- Actor
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Edward Gargan was born on 17 July 1902 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Falcon's Brother (1942), The Falcon and the Co-eds (1943) and The Falcon in Danger (1943). He was married to Catherine Conlan. He died on 19 February 1964 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
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American character actor, mainly in Westerns in comic or rustic roles. Born Norton Earl Worden in Rolfe, Iowa, during his parents' visit to a relative's home there, he was raised on a cattle ranch near Glendive, Montana. Educated at Stanford and the University of Nevada as an engineer, he trained as an Army pilot, but washed out of flight school. Worden toured the country in rodeos as a saddle bronc rider and broke his neck in a horse fall in his 20s, but didn't know it until his 40s. Chosen along with Tex Ritter from a rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York to appear in the Broadway play "Green Grow the Lilacs", the play from which the musical "Oklahoma" was later derived, he afterward drove a cab in New York, then worked on dude ranches as a wrangler and as a guide on the Bright Angel trail of the Grand Canyon. Recommended by Billie Burke to several movie producers, Worden became friends with John Wayne, Howard Hawks, and later John Ford, all of whom provided him with much work. He was married to Louise Eaton, who predeceased him. Following his wife's death, he shared his house with Jim Beaver for several years, thus generously helping the young actor gain a foothold in Hollywood. He died in his sleep at 91, survived by his adopted daughter Dawn Henry.- Actor
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Stanley Fields was born on 20 May 1883 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Little Caesar (1931), Algiers (1938) and Hell's Kitchen (1939). He was married to Alta Bailey. He died on 23 April 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Though not as well known as his nearly decade-older brother Barry Fitzgerald, Shields was a talented actor with well over twice the film roles in his career. Fitzgerald was already a well established player at the renowned Dublin Abbey Theater when Shields, also bitten by the acting bug, joined in 1914. He performed but was also out front directing plays. Already he had dabbled in the new medium of Irish film (1910) with two notable examples (1918). There was more to the seemingly mild-mannered Shields than met the eye. His family was Protestant Nationalist and he himself fought in the Easter Uprising of 1916. And he was in fact captured and imprisoned in a camp in North Wales. Late in 1918 he came to the United States and first helped bring Irish comedy and drama to Broadway. He would continue to appear on Broadway for some 24 plays until 1941, especially reviving two Abbey Theater favorites from the hand of Sean O'Casey, "The Plough and the Stars" and "Juno and the Paycock", the latter being produced and staged by him in 1940. Still not settled, Shields was back in Dublin through most of the 1920s but returned to Broadway almost full time in 1932 moving through the repertory of Irish plays. When John Ford finally convinced his brother - and some other Abbey players - to come to Hollywood to do the 1936 film version of "The Plough and the Stars", Broadway veteran Shields was asked to take the pivotal part of Padraic (Patrick) Pearse, perhaps the most important leader of the Easter Rising.
By early 1939 he was finished with his concentration on Broadway and found Ford eager to offer him a part in his Revolutionary period adventure Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) as the matter-of-fact pioneer minister with a good shooting eye Rev. Rosenkrantz. Ministers, reverends, priests, and other assorted clerics would be a Shields staple throughout his career - and he always managed to breath an individual humanity into each and every one. From then on through the 1940s he was in demand as character actor - and not just Irish roles as Fitzgerald with his gravelly, prominent brogue, found himself. Along with the aforementioned men of the cloth, Shields was provided a steady offering of the gamut of Hollywood's character storehouse-Irish and otherwise. And among them were parts for some of Ford's most memorable films: How Green Was My Valley (1941) and especially The Quiet Man (1952). Here again, he was a cleric but a uniquely sympathetic one - the lone Protestant Reverend Dr. Playfair - whom John Wayne affectionately calls "Padre" in the vastly Catholic village of the film. He alone knows the former identity of Wayne and convinces the latter of his final struggle to go on with his new life in Ireland. Enough said - with a wonderful cast of Ford stalwarts and native Irish (including Fizgerald), this was Ford's long awaited crowning achievement.
Though Shields was taking on the occasional film through the 1950s, most of his time was going to television. Along with TV playhouse roles he became a most familiar face of episodic TV with a variety of roles (even the old Mickey Mouse Club Hardy Boy Adventures), especially in the ever-popular TV Western genera. Aside from his numerous appearances in plays throughout his career, all told Arthur Shields screen appearances approached nearly 100 memorable acting endeavors.- Actor
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The son of a travelling salesman and a department store merchandise demonstrator, Arthur was obliged to fend for himself from an early age, selling newspapers and working at starvation wages for a condiment manufacturer. Although underage, he escaped from this life by joining the Bugle Corps at the outset of World War One. His experience in army shows as a comedian and singer encouraged him to try for an acting career.
Again a civilian, Arthur took advantage of a government program to enroll at a dramatic school run by the wife of prominent Shakespearian actor/producer Sir Frank Benson. Deciding to adopt a stage name, he simply reversed his first and middle names, adding a meaningless initial 'K' in order to distinguish himself from another George Arthur. He made his professional debut as a spear-carrier in a production at the Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon, and soon was playing minor parts in Benson's West End Shakespearian productions.
Learning that American film director Harold M. Shaw was in London planning a cinematic adaptation of the novel "Kipps" by H.G. Wells, Arthur, with characteristic brashness and skillful self-promotion, managed to persuade Shaw that he was perfect for the title role - as indeed he was. Even before its release it was apparent to all that the film would be a hit, and Arthur found himself in demand as a film actor, and in a position to hobnob with visiting celebrities like Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
The success of Kipps (1921) led to two films with visiting American star Mae Marsh and dreams of Hollywood. Leaving behind a newly-acquired wife (Milba Lloyd, later employed by Cecil B. DeMille in his art department), Arthur sailed to America and was received with profound indifference by American film makers. Arthur turned to Chaplin for help, and the latter found him a role in a John Gilbert film at Fox. Arthur was then able to persuade director James Cruze to give him a prominent part in his all-star production of Hollywood (1923), today one of the most eagerly sought-after 'lost' films of the silent era.
A five-year contract with producer Pat Powers in his pocket, Arthur was convinced that he was firmly established in Hollywood as a light comedian / juvenile, and brought the rest of his family over from England. Within a few months Powers's venture collapsed, and Arthur was reduced to operating a grocery store and remodelling houses to eke out a living. Having long nurtured plans of producing a film of his own, he managed to bluff his way into obtaining sufficient money to finance an ultra-low budget production. He turned to would-be director Josef von Sternberg to helm the film, and with a script by the latter and a largely non-professional cast, The Salvation Hunters (1925) was made. Arthur screened the film for Chaplin, who showed it to Pickford and Fairbanks, and it was decided that United Artists would distribute it. A critical success, Sternberg's career was launched, and Arthur obtained a contract with MGM.
Arthur now enjoyed his best days as a film actor. Separated from his first wife, he romanced Renée Adorée and Jean Arthur, and was a frequent visitor to San Simeon. MGM paired Arthur with Karl Dane in a very successful series of light comedies, which ended when the advent of sound revealed Dane's thick accent. The team was able to keep going for a while in vaudeville and short films for RKO and Paramount, and Arthur tried his hand as a singer / composer and novelist, but by 1933 he was pretty much desperate for work. He was able to obtain bit parts at MGM, but focussed his attention on a new career as theatrical producer. He opened a short-lived Grand Guignol theatre in Hollywood, followed by a much more ambitious venture in partnership with E.E. Clive, but after a final film appearance in Vanessa, Her Love Story (1935), he wound up working as a film salesman in Michigan, and then as a theatrical reviewer on Station WQXR. He also published a not-very-successful magazine guide to New York theatre and night life.
Following Pearl Harbor, Arthur, now a US citizen, joined the Air Force as a private. Shortly before being shipped overseas, he married again. He spent the war years organising shows for the troops.
On his return Arthur tried to revive his magazine, with little success. Once again he reinvented himself, this time as a producer and distributor of short films for television. This provided him with a comfortable living into the 1960s.- Actor
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Charles Arnt was born on 20 August 1906 in Michigan City, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Sudan (1945), The Great Gildersleeve (1942) and Dangerous Intruder (1945). He died on 6 August 1990 in Orcas Island, Washington, USA.- Actor
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Roscoe Ates was born on 20 January 1895 in Grange, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Freaks (1932), The Great Lover (1931) and Tumbleweed Trail (1946). He was married to Beatrice Heisser, Barbara Ray and Clara C. Adrian. He died on 1 March 1962 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
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Becoming popular with playing the ukulele, his unique singing and supplying the voice of animated movies, Cliff Edwards was one of the most popular singers in America.
Born in Hannibal, Missouri, Edwards left school at the age of 14, moved to St. Louis, and started to work as a singer in saloons. Edwards then taught himself to play the ukulele. He got his nickname, "Ukelele Ike", from a club owner who couldn't remember his name.
Entering in the vaudeville circuit, he finally made it big. When entering into movies, one of his first movies he made was his most noticeable: The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929). Eleven years later, he was immortalized in Disney's Pinocchio (1940).Reliable, entertaining sidekick. Also Ukelele Ike. Also Jiminy Cricket.- Actor
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A minor character actor who appeared in literally hundreds of films, actor Irving Bacon could always be counted on for expressing bug-eyed bewilderment or cautious frustration in small-town settings with his revolving door of friendly, servile parts - mailmen, milkmen, clerks, chauffeurs, cab drivers, bartenders, soda jerks, carnival operators, handymen and docs. Born September 6, 1893 in the heart of the Midwest (St. Joseph, Missouri), he was the son of Millar and Myrtle (Vane) Bacon. Irving first found work in silent comedy shorts at Keystone Studios usually playing older than he was and, for a time, was a utility player for Mack Sennett in such slapstick as A Favorite Fool (1915). Irving made an easy adjustment when sound entered the pictures and after appearing in the Karl Dane and George K. Arthur two-reel comedy shorts such as Knights Before Christmas (1930), began to show up in feature-length films. He played higher-ups on occasion, such as the Secretary of the Navy in Million Dollar Legs (1932), police inspector in The House of Mystery (1934), mayor in Room for One More (1952), and judge in Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958), but those were exceptions to the rule. Blending in with the town crowd was what Irving was accustomed to and, over the years, he would be glimpsed in some of Hollywood's most beloved classics such as Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), San Francisco (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938) and A Star Is Born (1954). Trivia nuts will fondly recall his beleaguered postman in the Blondie (1938) film series that ran over a decade.
Irving could also be spotted on popular '50s and '60s TV programs such as the westerns Laramie (1959) and Wagon Train (1957), and "comedies December Bride (1954) and The Real McCoys (1957). He can still be seen in a couple of old codger roles on I Love Lucy (1951). One was as a marriage license proprietor and the other as Vivian Vance's doting dad from Albuquerque, to whom she paid a visit on her way to Hollywood with the Ricardos. Irving died on February 5, 1965, having clocked in over 400 features.- Actor
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Barbier was educated for the ministry before going to work on the stage. He appeared on Broadway in such successes as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Man Who Came Back," among others. He signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1929 and later worked as an actor for most of the major studios.- Actress
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Thelma McQueen attended public school in Augusta, Georgia and graduated from high school in Long Island, New York. She studied dance with Katherine Dunham, Geoffrey Holder, and Janet Collins. She danced with the Venezuela Jones Negro Youth Group. The "Butterfly" stage name, which does describe her constantly moving arms, actually derives from dancing the "Butterfly Ballet" in a 1935 production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Her stage debut was in "Brown Sugar," directed by George Abbott for whom she did several other stage shows. In 1939 she appeared as the shop girls' assistant Lulu in The Women (1939) and in her most famous role, the irresponsible, whiny Prissy of Gone with the Wind (1939) ("Oh, Miss Scarlett, I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies").
Two other notable appearances among her string of silly maid parts were in Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) and Mildred Pierce (1945). From 1947 to 1951, she was a regular on the radio show "Beulah" and then in the TV version 1950-52.
In 1980, a Greyhound Bus Lines guard mistook her for a pickpocket and handled her roughly, throwing her against a bench and cracking several of her ribs. She sued for assault, and after several years of litigation, she was awarded $60,000. She chose to live very frugally on the money and retired to a small town outside Augusta, Georgia, where she lived in anonymity in a modest one-bedroom cottage.
On the night of Dec. 22, 1995, a fire broke out in her home, and she was found by firefighters lying on the sidewalk outside with severe burns over 70 percent of her body. She said her clothes caught fire while she was trying to light a kerosene heater in her cottage, which was destroyed by the fire. She was taken to Augusta Regional Medical Center, where she died at age 84.- Actor
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Former vaudevillian, who acquired a solid reputation as a practical joker and master of insult, second only to the great Groucho Marx. Celebrity hosts would often hire Vince to perform gags and put-on jokes at their lavish parties, where he would insult the guests and create mayhem in his wake. He often posed as heavily-accented journalists with names like 'Timothy Glutzspiegel'. Among the many victims of his pranks were such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford and the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Clark Gable nearly punched him out during a party given by Joan Crawford. Vince greeted Greta Garbo with "Good Morning, Miss Hepburn", and, as 'sound expert' Dr. Hoffman, instructed star Richard Barthelmess to take voice lessons from Texas Guinan or quit acting. During a trip to New York, he even cornered Mae West, posing as a member of the vice squad and threatening to close down her show ('Diamond Lil') unless she cut some of her bawdy dialogue. When the star acquiesced, the phoney inspector ordered her to burn the whole play and take the next train out of town. Not even Jack L. Warner was immune, being told by 'foreign producer' Barnett to learn the basics of film-making.
Roly-poly, moustachioed, bald-pated Barnett followed in the footsteps of his father Luke, who had made a name for himself for playing similar pranks on people for thirty years in his home town of Pittsburgh. After studying at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Vince, who was an avid amateur pilot, flew mail planes for a couple of years before making his stage debut with "Earl Carroll's Vanities" in 1926. The following year, he acted on Broadway in "George White's Scandals". Movie roles soon followed.
From 1930, Vince appeared, usually as comedy relief, in films and on television in a career spanning 45 years. Among his best-regarded early roles were Scarface (1932),as a dumb gangster; The Big Cage (1933), Thirty Day Princess (1934) and, in a perfectly-suited Runyonesque part, Princess O'Hara (1935). In later years, Vince often relinquished his comedy image and was seen in innumerable small roles, often as careworn little men, undertakers, janitors, bartenders and drunks in pictures ranging from films noir like The Killers (1946), to westerns such as Springfield Rifle (1952).
In one of his last public appearances, Vince showcased his unique brand of humour with a monologue, delivered at Madison Square Garden in the vaudeville revue 'The Big Show of 1936'. It was to his ever-lasting regret that he never got the chance to match wits (and insults) with his illustrious Irish contemporary George Bernard Shaw.- Actress
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Classic comedienne Zasu Pitts, of the timid, forlorn blue eyes and trademark woebegone vocal pattern and fidgety hands, was born to Rulandus and Nellie (Shay) Pitts, the third of four children on January 3, 1894. Her aged New York-native father, who lost a leg back in the Civil War era, had settled the family in Kansas by the time ZaSu was born but relocated to Santa Cruz, California, when she was 9, seeking a warmer climate and better job opportunities. She attended Santa Cruz High and somehow rose above her excessively shy demeanor to join the school's drama department. She went on to cultivate what was once deemed her negative qualities by making a career out of her unglamorous looks and wallflower tendencies in scores and scores of screwball comedy treasures.
Pitts made her stage debut in 1915 and was discovered two years later by pioneer screenwriter Frances Marion, who got her work, though in small, obscure parts, in vehicles for such Paramount stars as Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Mary cast her in another of her films to greater effect and the rest is history. She grew in popularity following a series of Universal one-reeler comedies and earned her first feature-length lead in King Vidor's Better Times (1919). She met and married matinée idol Tom Gallery in 1920 and paired up with him in several films, including Bright Eyes (1921), Heart of Twenty (1920), Patsy (1921), and A Daughter of Luxury (1922).
Their daughter Ann was born in 1922. In 1924 the actress, now a reputable comedy farceur, was given the greatest tragic role of her career in Erich von Stroheim's epic classic Greed (1924), an over-four-hour picture cut down by the studio to less than two. The surprise casting initially shocked Hollywood but showed that she could draw tears and pathos as well as laughs with her patented doleful demeanor. The movie has grown tremendously in reputation over time, although it failed initially at the box office due to its extensive cutting.
Trading off between comedy shorts and features, she earned additional kudos in such heavy dramas as Sins of the Fathers (1928), The Wedding March (1928), also helmed by Von Stroheim, and War Nurse (1930). Still, by the advent of sound, which was an easy transition for Pitts, she was fully secured in comedy. One bitter and huge disappointment for her was when she was replaced in the war classic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) by Beryl Mercer after her initial appearance drew unintentional laughs from preview audiences. She decided, however, to make the most of a not-so-bad situation. She had them rolling in the aisles in such wonderful and wacky entertainment as The Dummy (1929), Finn and Hattie (1931), The Guardsman (1931), Blondie of the Follies (1932), Sing and Like It (1934), and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). She also excelled deliciously in her comedy partnerships with stunning blonde comedienne Thelma Todd (in short films) and gangly comedian Slim Summerville (in features).
Breezing through the 1940s in assorted films, she found work in vaudeville and on radio as well, trading quivery banter with Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, and Rudy Vallee, among others. She also tackled Broadway, making her debut in the mystery "Ramshackle Inn" in 1944. The play, which was written especially for her, fared quite well and, as a result, took the show on the road frequently in later years. Postwar films continued to give Pitts the chance to play comic snoops and flighty relatives in such quality fare as Life with Father (1947), but into the 1950s she started focusing on TV. This culminated in her best known series role, playing second banana to cruise line social director Gale Storm in The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna (1956) [aka "Oh, Susannah"]. As Nugie, the shipboard beautician and partner-in-crime, she made the most of her timid, twitchy mannerisms.
Sadly, ill health dominated Pitts' later years when she was diagnosed with cancer in the mid-1950s. She bravely carried on, continuing to work until the very end, making brief appearances in The Thrill of It All (1963) and the all-star comedy epic It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). Having married a second time after her divorce from Gallery, the beloved sad sack comedienne passed away at age 69 on June 6, 1963, leaving behind a gallery of scene-stealing worrywarts for all to enjoy.Dramatic silent actress, her voice moved her straight into comedy in talkies.- Actress
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The American character actress, Florence Rabe, was the daughter of an antique store owner. She gained a degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas in 1906 and went on to a career in teaching and social work. She changed course after being persuaded by a friend to study law, and, passing her bar exam in 1914, practised for four years in San Antonio. When her parents died, she took over the business and travelled abroad extensively to acquire stock, all the while adding to her knowledge of foreign languages (she was, for instance, a fluent Spanish speaker). After the Wall Street crash of 1929, Florence sold the antique store and married Texan oilman William F. Jacoby. Jacoby eventually went bankrupt and the couple moved to California in the late 1930's, briefly becoming proprietors of a bakery.
At this time, Florence, a heavy-set woman of matronly appearance and well into her middle age, developed an interest in acting and auditioned for the part of Miss Bates in the Pasadena Playhouse production of Jane Austen's 'Emma'. This proved to be a momentous career choice. Her popularity became such, that she went on to leading roles with the same company, changing her name to Florence Bates as a nod to her perceived good fortune. In 1939, she screen tested for Alfred Hitchcock, who was sufficiently impressed to cast her as the demanding, imperious dowager Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper in Rebecca (1940). Her excellent performance was the first in a gallery of memorable characters: wealthy socialites, irritable, henpecking wives, hotel managers (The Moon and Sixpence (1942)), theatre owners (Tonight and Every Night (1945)) and unctuous, gossipy landladies (Portrait of Jennie (1948)). She was equally adept at comedy, appearing to great effect in Heaven Can Wait (1943) and Lullaby of Broadway (1951), with frequent co-star S.Z. Sakall, aka 'Cuddles'. She was enjoyably larger-than-life as Danny Kaye's prospective mother-in-law in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and as Vera-Ellen's inebriated Russian dance teacher, Madame Dilyovska, in On the Town (1949). Bates even essayed a murderess in The Brasher Doubloon (1947). Destined never to win any awards, Florence Bates continued in films until her death in 1954. She was pre-deceased by her sister, her only daughter and her husband.- Actress
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1930s and 1940s film actress Louise Beavers was merely one of a dominant gallery of plus-sized and plus-talented African-American character actresses forced to endure blatant, discouraging and demeaning stereotypes during Depression-era and WWII Hollywood.
It wasn't until Louise's triumphant role in Fannie Hurst's classic soaper Imitation of Life (1934) that a film of major significance offered a black role of meaning, substance and humanity. Louise's servile role as housekeeper Delilah, who works for single white mother Claudette Colbert, was a poignant and touching, three-dimensional character that had its own dramatic story. Brilliantly handling the heartbreaking co-plot of an appeasing single parent whose light-skinned daughter (played by Fredi Washington) went to cruel and desperate lengths to pass for white. While Louise certainly championed in the role and managed to steal the lion's share of reviews right from under the film's superstar, the movie triggered major controversy and just as many complaints as compliments from black and white viewers. This certainly did not help what could have been a major, positive shift in black filmmaking. Instead, for the next two or more decades Louise was again forced back to secondary status.
Ms. Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 8, 1902 and moved with her family to the Los Angeles area at age 11. A student at Pasadena High School and a choir member at her local church, her mother, a voice teacher, trained Louise for the concert stage but instead the young girl joined an all-female minstrel company called "Lady Minstrels" and even hooked up for a time on the vaudeville circuit. A nursing career once entertained was quickly aborted in favor of acting. Her first break of sorts was earning a living as a personal maid and assistant to Paramount star Leatrice Joy (and later actress Lilyan Tashman). By 1924 she was performing as an extra or walk-on in between her chores. A talent agent spotted her and gave her a more noticeable role in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927). She went on to gain even more visibility, but was invariably stuck in the background cooking or cleaning after the leads. Despite this her beaming smile and good nature paid off.
Following scene-grabbing maid roles to such stars as Mary Pickford in Coquette (1929) Linda Watkins in Good Sport (1931), Mae West in She Done Him Wrong (1933), Constance Bennett in What Price Hollywood? (1932) and Jean Harlow in Bombshell (1933), Louise received the role of her career. Her poignant story line and final death scene deserved an Oscar nomination and many insiders took her snub as deliberate and prejudicial. Five years later her close friend Hattie McDaniel would become the first black actor to not only earn an Oscar nomination but capture the coveted trophy as well for her subordinate role in Gone with the Wind (1939).
Despite their individual triumphs, both ladies continued in stereotyped roles. Occasionally Louise was rewarded with such Hollywood "A" treats as Made for Each Other (1939) with Carole Lombard, Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby, and especially Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. In The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), she offered lovely moments as the baseball star's mother.
Although film offers dried up in the 1950s, Louise managed to transfer her talents to the new TV medium, and was one of a number of character actresses hired to play the wise-cracking, problem-solving maid Beulah (1950) during its run. "Beulah" was one of the first sitcoms to star a black actor. She also had a recurring role in Disney's "The Swamp Fox". In 1957, she made her professional stage debut in San Francisco with the short-lived play "Praise House" as a caregiver who extols the Bible through song. Her last few films, which included The Goddess (1958), All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) and the Bob Hope comedy The Facts of Life (1960) were typical stereotypes and unmemorable.
A long time bachelor lady who finally married in the 1950s, the short, heavyset actress was plagued by health issues in later years, her obesity and diabetes in particular. She lost her fight on October 26, 1962, at age 60 following a heart attack. In 1976 she was posthumously inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.Many many many maids.- Because of his heavy generically "European" accent and Slavic-sounding surname (not an uncommon one among Czechs or Slovaks), many people assumed Oscar Homolka was Eastern European or Russian. In fact, he was born in Vienna (then Austria-Hungary), the multicultural capital of a large multi-ethnic empire at the time. It was there he began his successful stage career, which eventually led him to Hollywood. Homolka was one of the many Austrian and specifically Viennese actors (many of them Jewish) who fled Europe for the U.S. with the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Although often typecast in villainous roles - Communist spies, Soviet-bloc military officers or scientists and the like - he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Uncle Chris in I Remember Mama (1948).Uncle Chris.
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Ellen Corby was born Ellen Hansen on June 3, 1911, in Racine, Wisconsin. She played many uncredited bit parts from the late '20s through the '30s. Ellen would not be seen on the big screen again until 1945 in Cornered (1945). In 1946, she appeared in 14 films, although mostly in small, minor roles. One of them was in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). One of the highlights of her career came about in 1948 in I Remember Mama (1948) as Aunt Trina. Ellen garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, which was ultimately won by Claire Trevor in Key Largo (1948). The Oscar nomination didn't send her to the heights she had hoped. This wonderful actress continued in roles that were mostly minor compared to some of her contemporaries. However, it was television where she would receive the acclaim that had eluded her on the screen. Time after time she played parts that were absolutely outstanding. One of the funniest was as Myrt "Hubcaps" Lesh in The Andy Griffith Show (1960). She was the ringleader of a gang that stole cars and then sold them, and she sold Barney Fife a stolen car that turned out to be a real lemon. The series that brought her worldwide recognition, though, was the highly acclaimed The Waltons (1972) as Esther "Grandma" Walton. The role got her Emmy awards in 1973, 1974, and 1975. Although a stroke in 1976 slowed her down, Ellen still made appearances on the series. Her last TV appearance was in 1997 in the TV movie A Walton Easter (1997). On April 14, 1999, Ellen died at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 87 years old.- Actor
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Charles C. Wilson was born on 29 July 1894 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for It Happened One Night (1934), Blazing Across the Pecos (1948) and The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936). He died on 7 January 1948 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.Cops, newspaper editors, office managers- Actor
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William Benedict was active in the drama department of his Tulsa, Oklahoma, high school and, at the height of the Depression (1934), decided to relocate to California. At first, he wanted to be a dancer, but when he discovered that dancers were a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood, he concentrated on acting. He made his film debut in Fox's $10 Raise (1935) and went onto the Fox payroll as a "featured player". After leaving Fox, he played some of his larger parts in serials and in the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys features in which he was a regular. During his half-century-plus career, Benedict has had roles in practically every type of movie; there's only one thing that the ex-hoofer might have enjoyed doing in a movie, but never had the chance: "Strange as it seems, I've never once danced in a picture!".- Actor
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Edward S. Brophy was born on February 27, 1895 in New York City and educated at the University of Virginia. He became a bit and small-part in the movies starting in 1919, but switched to behind-the-scenes work for job security, though he continued appearing in small parts. While serving as a property master for Buster Keaton's production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Brophy appeared in a memorable sequence in Keaton's classic The Cameraman (1928), in which Buster and Brophy both try to undress simultaneously in a tiny wardrobe room. Keaton cast Brophy in larger parts in two of his talkies, and by 1934, Brophy abandoned the production end of the movies altogether and was acting full-time.
Possessed of a chubby, bald-headed face with pop-eyes, and blessed with (for a comic) a high-pitched voice, Brophy appeared in scores of comic roles. He also played straight dramatic parts, but was less effective in them. Typical of his work was his memorable turn providing comic relief in the small supporting role of the Marine in Manila who adopts the dog "Tripoli" in Howard Hawks' war propaganda masterpiece Air Force (1943).
In the 1950s, Brophy began taking fewer roles. His last role was in director John Ford's Western Two Rode Together (1961), during the production of which, he died on May 27, 1960 in Pacific Palisades, California. He will always be remembered to film-lovers as the voice of Timothy Mouse in Walt Disney's classic 1941 cartoon Dumbo (1941).- A doctor's daughter, the versatile actress Minna Gombell had a successful career on the stage from 1912 to the end of the 1920's, appearing often in comedic roles, almost always in leads. She had a reputation as a fast learner, capable of reading and comprehending a script in a matter of hours. This ability served her well as an understudy early in her career. She made her Broadway debut in 1913 in 'Madam President' and later appeared in several productions of her stage director husband Myron C. Fagan (for instance,'Nancy's Private Affair',1930).
Minna began her film career in 1929. Although her specialty was street-wise, tough-talking blondes, she displayed quite a repertoire of varied characters during her movie career. She was best friend and steadying influence on Sally Eilers in Bad Girl (1931), a conflicted and unhappy mother in After Tomorrow (1932), the cold wife of The Thin Man (1934), a waspish wife in Babbitt (1934), brassy burlesque performers in Stepping Sisters (1932), a spunky wagon-line owner in Doomed Caravan (1941), and a tough nurse presiding over The Snake Pit (1948). She also had occasional leads, for instance as the gold-digger Stella in Bachelor's Affairs (1932), a comedy with Adolphe Menjou. An underrated actress, she enlivened many a film with her presence. - Actor
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With his slicked back hair and thin moustache Erik Rhodes arrived in Hollywood to recreate his stage role of Rudolfo Tonetti (which he had performed first on Broadway and then in London, 1932-1933) for the filming of The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Contrary to his screen image, Erik was born in Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma where he won a scholarship to study acting in New York. He made his theatrical debut, delivering eight lines, in the 1928 play 'A Most Immoral Lady', under his birth name Ernest (sometimes spelled Earnest) Sharpe. Because of his good baritone voice, he was next cast in two musicals. An expert mimicker of accents and dialects, he came to specialise in films as the perennial hyperactive continental charmer. In his second notable screen outing, Top Hat (1935), he played flamboyant dressmaker Alberto Beddini, famously declaring to Ginger Rogers "All my life I have promised my dresses I'd take them to Italy...and you must be in them". There were other good parts, particularly in the comedy A Night at the Ritz (1935) as would-be master chef Leopold Jaynos. Andre Sennwald's review in The New York Times (May 16,1935) commented on Erik's performance "as the psychopath with a yearning for culinary immortality, he gives 'A Night at the Ritz' its air of polite lunacy and helps to wring laughter out of a featherweight enterprise".
Erik Rhodes made films at RKO until 1937, more often than not as excitable Europeans (Henri Saffron in Woman Chases Man (1937), Frank Rochet in Old Man Rhythm (1935), Tony Bandini in Criminal Lawyer (1937) and, not forgetting, Spaghetti Nadzio in Music for Madame (1937)). By the end of the decade, his screen career had run its course. After his wartime service with U.S. Air Force Intelligence, he went back to Broadway for a lengthy spell in 'Can Can' as a Parisian bon vivant.Born in Oklahoma but known for his comic Italian Lothario roles.- Actress
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Helen Broderick was a deliciously funny character comedienne with vaudeville and stage experience, a close friend of Jeanne Eagels. The story goes that, at the age of 14, she ran away from home because her mother (who featured in operatic comedy) was totally obsessed by the theatre. Ironically, all the people she met turned out to be performers, and Helen (who needed to make a living, after all) ended up where she hadn't wanted to be -- on the stage.
Helen started out as a chorus girl in the first Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. Her talent for comedy was discovered quite by accident. In 1911, she was understudy to the actress Ina Claire in the Broadway play 'Jumping Jupiter'. One night, Claire was unable to perform and Helen Broderick stood in as the romantic lead. She soon had the audience in stitches, trampling about the stage like an elephant, rolling her big saucer eyes and attempting to croon 'Cuddle Near Me All Day Long' in her rather unique voice. The romance was no more and instead turned into a popular farce with Helen now permanently installed in the lead role. For a while, Helen partnered her husband Lester Crawford in vaudeville. In the 1920's, she enjoyed success on Broadway, most notably in 'Fifty Million Frenchmen' (a role she took to Hollywood in 1931). Her best parts in the movies were as the perennial friend or chaperone of the heroine (the type of role subsequently associated with Eve Arden), delivering acidic wisecracks in her inimitable dead-pan manner. On several occasions, Helen co-starred with Victor Moore, one of her previous acting partners on Broadway. However, these efforts were decidedly bottom-of-the-bill. She reserved her amusing best enlivening some of RKO's prestige musicals, especially Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Another good part came her way in The Rage of Paris (1938) (with Danielle Darrieux). Helen retired from films in 1946 and died thirteen years later at Beverly Hills Doctor's Hospital at the age of 68.Cynical but reliable best friend.- Actor
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This eminently recognizable, bulbous, beetle-browed character actor left Culver Military Academy and began acting in repertory companies before becoming a Hollywood extra and stunt man. Eugene's father had also been a thespian at one time but eventually ended his career as an insurance salesman. In his younger days, Eugene was apparently of the more slender build since he once managed to hold down a job as a jockey! He spent in total six years with touring companies, briefly worked as a streetcar conductor in Portland and finally found his way to motion pictures. By his own account, he began in films on the East Coast around 1910 or 1911, gravitating to Hollywood by 1913 and appeared in some 100 productions each year for the first four years of his tenure. The majority of this prodigious output was undoubtedly made up of one-reel shorts. Eugene initially played leads in silent feature films and was described as relatively athletic by the time he appeared in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). His career was put on hold while he served with the Flying Corps during the First World War, but just a couple of years after his return to films he started to turn into a compulsive gourmand. His vast appetite for food increased his girth manifold and he steadfastly refused to go on a diet. Consequently, he found himself demoted to supporting roles but still managed to make a decent living out of his unusual appearance and his trademark gravelly bullfrog voice. Sometime in the early 1920s, he began to dabble in Texas oil and first amassed and then lost a fortune within the space of a year.
Eugene remained gainfully employed all through the '20s, '30s, and '40s. He played Aramis to Douglas Fairbankss's D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921) and appeared as a Hal Roach contract player in the classic Laurel & Hardy short The Battle of the Century (1927). In talkies, he was the truculent police sergeant Heath in five installments of the Philo Vance series at Paramount, starring William Powell. When not used as pinstripe-suited authority figures or Runyonesque characters (Nicely-Nicely Johnson in The Big Street (1942)), he was always diverting in screwball comedies, notably in My Man Godfrey (1936) and Topper (1937). A truly versatile, his gallery of characters ranged from garrulous and witty and ingratiating, to brooding loners, from avuncular to cantankerous. Under contract at Warners, he proved to be the very best ever incarnation of Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and followed this with another priestly effort as Father Felipe in The Mark of Zorro (1940).
Near the end of World War II, Eugene and a business partner acquired a 3500-acre estate and ranch along the Imnaha River in remote Wallowa County, Oregon, complete with a fallout shelter. Allegedly, he lived the life of a semi-recluse for the next four years, anticipating a nuclear attack by stockpiling all manner of essential items in order to become fully self-sufficient. The aforementioned business partner later denied this as a rumor, implying that the ranch was merely a place where Eugene entertained his actor friends (some came to hunt and fish). Whether true or not, Eugene was ultimately forced to sell the property in 1949 due to ill-health (throat cancer, as it turned out). He made his final return to the screen at Poverty Row studio Monogram in Suspense (1946), rounding out his career with a minor film noir set in the skating rink, starring the 'Ice Maiden' Belita. Eugene died eight years later in Los Angeles at the age of 65.The gravelliest voice ever.- Actress
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Connecticut-born Jean Dixon had an auspicious theatre debut: on a Parisian stage with Sarah Bernhardt while still a student at a French university. Upon her return to the U.S. in 1921, she made her Broadway debut, and thereafter appeared in many stage productions, on Broadway and across the country, before Hollywood called her in 1929. She most often appeared as the streetwise, smart-mouthed friend of the leading lady. Her most famous appearance would probably be as Molly in the classic screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936).- Actor
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Alan Mowbray, the American film actor who was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild, was born Ernest Allen on August 18, 1896, in London, England, to a non-theatrical family. He served in the British army during World War I and received the Military Medal and the French Croix De Guerre for bravery in action. He began as a stage actor in England, and in some accounts he gave of his life, claimed he was a provincial actor in England before his naval service. In other versions, he claimed he turned to acting after The Great War, as World War I was then known, as he was broke and had no other skills.
After acting in London's West End, Mowbray came to the United States, where he toured the country with the Theater Guild from 1923 to 1929. On the road with the Guild, he most enjoyed acting in the plays of Noël Coward and George Bernard Shaw. He made his Broadway debut in the play "Sport of Kings" at the Lyceum Theatre on May 4, 1926. He also appeared on Broadway in "These Modern Women" in February 1928 and in "The Amorous Antic" in December 1929.
On August 25, 1929, Mowbray's own play, "Dinner is Served," an original comedy he wrote, directed and starred in, made its debut at the Cort Theatre. The play was not a success, closing after just four performances. After "The Amorous Antic," Mowbray did not appear again on Broadway until 1963, when he was featured in "Enter Laughing," the hit stage adaptation of Carl Reiner's novel.
His relative lack of success on Broadway during the "Roaring Twenties" did not matter, as sound had come to Hollywood and the studios were looking for stage actors who could appear in the talkies. Blessed with excellent diction, and tall with a stiff posture and a patrician air, he was ideal for character parts in sound pictures. A member of the "stiff-upper lip" school of British acting, he was often cast as a British, European or upper-class American gentleman, or as an aristocrat or royalty. As he aged, roles as doctors or butlers were his forte.
Mowbray was praised by the critics for limning George Washington in the 1931 biopic Alexander Hamilton (1931) (he would once again play the Father of His Country, this time in a comic vein, in the 1945 musical Where Do We Go from Here? (1945)). He had a romantic lead role opposite Miriam Hopkins in Pioneer Films' Becky Sharp (1935), which was the first feature film made in three-strip Technicolor.
Mowbray had the distinction of appearing in movies with three screen Sherlock Holmeses: Clive Brook in Sherlock Holmes (1932), Reginald Owen in A Study in Scarlet (1933) and Basil Rathbone in Terror by Night (1946). He played the butler in the first two "Topper" films, and as a character actor had memorable turns in two John Ford pictures, My Darling Clementine (1946) and Wagon Master (1950). In the area of typecasting, Mowbray could be counted on as a "pompous blowhard" in such movies as My Man Godfrey (1936), or as "the surprise killer" in B-movie murder mysteries. One of his favorite roles was the con man in the television series Colonel Humphrey Flack (1953), which ran on the Dumont network in 1953.
Mowbray occasionally was a screenwriter, but mostly concentrated on acting. In his personal life he was a member of the Royal Geographic Society and was active in several acting fraternities. He also was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild. The Guild was formed in 1933, in the wake of the formation of the Screen Writers Guild, in reaction to a proposed 50% across-the-board pay cut implemented by the studios.
Actors Equity, the theatrical actors union, had tried to organize Hollywood after winning a contract and a closed shop on Broadway after World War I, but it had failed. Screen actors angered over the lack of contracts and the grueling work hours at the Hollywood studios founded the Masquers club in 1925 in a move towards unionization. After studio technicians won a collective bargaining agreement from the studios in 1926, MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer had the idea of heading off collective bargaining by the "talent" branches--the actors, writers and directors--by creating a company union. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences was created to serve as an intermediary between the studios and the talent branches and technicians, negotiating contract disputes. Proto-unions, such as the original Screen Writers Guild, folded in 1927 after the creation of the Academy.
By the announcement of the across-the-board cut in 1933, two previous rounds of cutbacks and lay-offs caused by the Great Depression had alienated most of the talent in Hollywood and had led to a strike by the technicians which had closed down the studios for a day. Losing faith in the company union that was the Academy, the talent began organizing their own guilds. In addition to the lack of contracts for many actors and the concerns over wages and hours, one of the new Screen Actors Guild's grievances was that Academy membership was by invitation-only.
In March 1933, SAG was founded by six actors: Berton Churchill, Charles B. Miller, Grant Mitchell, Ralph Morgan, Alden Gay and Kenneth Thomson. Three months later Mowbray was named to SAG's board of directors. He personally funded SAG when it was first founded. While many high-profile actors, already signed to seven-year contracts, refused initially to join SAG, they began to flock to the new union once the studios initiated an anti-raiding provision in the new National Industrial Relations Act code the industry had implemented after Franklin D. Roosevelt became US President and oversaw the enactment of his New Deal legislation in the first 100 days of his administration.
The NRA code the movie industry adopted created a situation for the talent similar to baseball's reserve clause, in which another studio was prevented from offering a contract to an actor, writer or director whose contract had lapsed until their old studio had finished with them and not picked up their option. The NRA code contained a pay ceiling for the talent and technicians, but not for executives. The talent was further enraged when it found out that the Academy, the "company union," had created a committee to investigate the feasibility of long-term contracts. Long-term contracts were the only island of stability in an industry that enhanced its profitability by cutting the wages of its employees and by working them long hours.
At a pivotal meeting at the home of Frank Morgan (the future "Wizard of Oz" and the brother of first SAG president Ralph Morgan), Eddie Cantor insisted that SAG's response to the new code--a collective bargaining agreement--should be in the interests of all actors, not just the already established ones. In the three weeks after the critical meeting, SAG membership rose from approximately 80 members to more than 4,000. Actors resigned from the Academy en masse to join SAG.
Cantor, a friend of President Roosevelt, took the occasion of his being invited to spend the 1933 Thanksgiving holiday with the Roosevelt family to point out the inequities in the new code that SAG found particularly noxious. By executive order, F.D.R. struck them down.
Finally, in 1937, after a long period of resistance, the studios recognized SAG as a collective bargaining agent for actors. Recognition of the Screen Writers Guild and the Screen Directors Guild eventually followed. Mowbray's financial support, in the crucial early days of the guild, had helped make a collective bargaining agreement for actors a reality.
Alan Mowbray married Lorayne Carpenter in 1927, and they had two children. He died on March 25, 1969, of a heart attack.- Actress
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This Hollywood High graduate began her career as a secretary and script girl, working for Josef von Sternberg and Charles Chaplin. A sexy and bubbly player, she was repeatedly miscast as a singer-dancer. She toured the vaudeville circuit after her career spluttered, returning to Hollywood only to get involved in a sex scandal in 1933 with her boyfriend, actor Jack Warburton, and future husband Sy Bartlett. She continued working on the stage and screen for the next two decades, but a series of divorces, further sex scandals, and a 1957 accident effectively ended her career.- Bess Flowers was born on 23 November 1898 in Sherman, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for We Faw Down (1928), The Shadow (1937) and Sinister Hands (1932). She was married to William S. Holman and Cullen Tate. She died on 28 July 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Russell Wade was born on 21 June 1917 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for The Body Snatcher (1945), Shoot to Kill (1947) and Sundown Riders (1944). He was married to Janie. He died on 9 December 2006 in Riverside, California, USA.- Robert McWade was born on 25 January 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 19 January 1938 in Culver City, California, USA.
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Stalwart Irish-American character actor Robert Emmett O'Connor was born on March 18, 1885, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He made his bones performing in circuses and in vaudeville. He made his Broadway debut in the musical "Fritz in Tammany Hall" at the Herald Square Theatre on October 16, 1905, ultimately appearing in 13 musical comedies and operettas on the Great White Way through 1930 (he also appeared in four straight plays during that period, mostly comedies such as "The Old Soak" during the 1922-23 season). After 1930, he never appeared on Broadway again, focusing instead on his movie career.
He made his movie debut in 1920 in the Harold Lloyd comedy short His Royal Slyness (1920), directed by Hal Roach. He made six comedies for the Hal Roach Studios in the years 1920-21, including one more Harold Lloyd vehicle, Never Weaken (1921), before taking a five-year hiatus from films. He returned in the Thomas Meighan drama Tin Gods (1926), directed by Allan Dwan, then spent the next 24 years acting in movies.
In 1930, he went back to the Roach Studios to support Laurel and Hardy in two Spanish language shorts, then moved over to Warner Bros. as a bit player. He played the Irish bootlegger Paddy Ryan in the classic The Public Enemy (1931) in support of fellow Irish-American James Cagney and appeared in another classic, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). He then settled into being typecast as Irish cops. After he moved on to MGM, the typecasting led to one of his most famous roles: the plainclothes detective in pursuit of the Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935).
During the 1940s, still under contract to MGM, he was kept busy, appearing in every genre, including the "Our Gang" comedies. His last film role was as the Paramount Studios guard who remembers Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950). He virtually retired from acting at the age of 65, though he made some television appearances in the 1950s.
Robert Emmett O'Connor died on September 4, 1962, of injuries sustained in a fire. He was 77 years old.Usually a cop.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Born Mary Jeanette Robison. She was the youngest daughter of Henry Robison of Penrith, Cumberland, England and Julia Schelesinger of Liverpool, Lancashire, England. Her father died in 1860 and her mother remarried. In 1866/67 they were living in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and moved back to London, England in 1871. She ran away from home to marry Charles Leveson Gore in 1875 and in 1877 the young couple went to Fort Worth, Texas, USA to establish a cattle ranch. They survived for two years before moving to New York where her husband died about 1881.
In 1884 she took up acting to support her three children (only her son Edward Gore survived childhood). She played both leads and supporting roles on the road and on Broadway, and over several decades she became highly respected as a character actress. She appeared in a few silent films, then returned to the screen for good in 1926 and flourished in the subsequent sound era. She was usually cast as crusty, gruff, domineering society matron or grandmother. For her portrayal of Damon Runyon's Apple Annie in Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933), one of her rare starring roles, she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Ultimately she appeared in more than 60 films, the last of which was released the year of her death.Played dames, dowagers, drunks, and grandmas.- Born Mary Whitty on June 19, 1865, to a Liverpool newspaper editor and his wife, she became known as May Whitty to the world. She first stepped onto the London stage in 1882 at which she worked as an understudy at the St. James Theatre and then began playing leading roles when she joined a traveling stock company. After nearly 25 years as one of Britain's leading stage actresses, she appeared in her first film, Enoch Arden (1914), in Great Britain. She did not care much for the experience and appeared in only a few silent films afterward.
In 1918, based on her service to the arts and for performing for the troops during World War I, she was named as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King George V.
After a string of 1930s Broadway successes, she went to Hollywood, following the example of many of her British contemporaries. She found herself usually cast in highborn roles, sometimes crotchety, sometimes imperious, however often warmhearted. Classic examples of these were the crotchety Mrs. Bramson, an invalid who falls for the homicidal Robert Montgomery, in Night Must Fall (1937); Miss Froy\ in The Lady Vanishes (1938), wherein she plays the title character, enduring great physical exertion while maintaining her poise and dignity; and Lady Beldon in Mrs. Miniver (1942), a role which garnered her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She proved herself equally capable of playing working-class roles, such as the dowdy phony psychic in The Thirteenth Chair (1937). Besides two Oscar nominations, she also won the National Board of Review best acting award for the 1937 film Night Must Fall (1937).
In 1892, she married London producer Ben Webster. They were the parents of a daughter, Margaret Webster, who became a playwright and actress in her own right. Margaret penned her mother's biography, The Same Only Different, published in 1969.
Whitty died at the age of 82 as the result of cancer in Beverly Hills shortly after completing her scenes in the film The Sign of the Ram (1948).
She once said, "I've got everything Betty Grable has ... only I've had it longer."