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IMDbPro

Harry Langdon(1884-1944)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Harry Langdon
Langdon first performed when he ran away from home at the age of 12-13 to join a travelling medicine show. In 1903 he scored a lasting success in vaudeville with an act called "Johnny's New Car" which he performed for twenty years. In 1923, he signed with Principal Pictures as a series star, but transferred to the Mack Sennett Studio when Mack Sennett bought the contract. Early in his film career, he had the good fortune to work regularly with the young Frank Capra. The two developed a unique character of an innocent man-child who found himself in dramatic and hazardous circumstances with only providence and good luck making him come out on top. This character clicked with the public and Langdon enjoyed a streak of artistic and commercial successes using it with Capra's direction. Unfortunately, he began to take the praise of his talent too seriously and broke with Capra so he could hog all the glory himself with his films. This proved to be a disastrous mistake as his first film "Three's a Crowd", a sickeningly sentimental film that plainly showed that he did not even approach the talent and skill of Capra which was needed to keep his character style viable. It has been also speculated the public was getting tired of Langdon's character, which contributed to Langdon's first solo film being an artistic and commercial failure. That film was the first in a series of bombs that ruined Langdon's career and relegated him to minor films from third string companies for the rest of his life.
BornJune 15, 1884
DiedDecember 22, 1944(60)
BornJune 15, 1884
DiedDecember 22, 1944(60)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos75

Harry Langdon and Edgar Kennedy in Hotter Than Hot (1929)
Harry Langdon and Lotti Loder in A Soldier's Plaything (1930)
Harry Langdon in Heart Trouble (1928)
Harry Langdon and Thelma Todd in Hotter Than Hot (1929)
Harry Langdon, Marie Astaire, Lotti Loder, and Ben Lyon in A Soldier's Plaything (1930)
Harry Langdon, Alice Day, Dorothy Dorr, Toy Gallagher, Eugenia Gilbert, Grace Gordon, Thelma Hill, Elsie Tarron, and Hazel Williams in The Sea Squawk (1925)
Harry Langdon and Thelma Todd in The Shrimp (1930)
Harry Langdon and Lotti Loder in A Soldier's Plaything (1930)
Harry Langdon, Alice Day, Kalla Pasha, and Tiny Ward in Shanghaied Lovers (1924)
Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel, and Charley Rogers in A Chump at Oxford (1940)
Harry Langdon in Heart Trouble (1928)
Moe Howard, Harry Langdon, Larry Fine, Monte Collins, and Curly Howard

Known for

Harry Langdon in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926)
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
6.3
  • Harry Logan
  • 1926
Harry Langdon, Marian Marsh, Charley Rogers, and Ray Walker in House of Errors (1942)
House of Errors
5.2
  • Bert
  • 1942
Harry Langdon in Long Pants (1927)
Long Pants
6.3
  • Harry Shelby
  • 1927
Harry Langdon in The Strong Man (1926)
The Strong Man
6.6
  • Paul Bergot
  • 1926

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Stanley Brown, Jane Frazee, and Amelita Ward in Swingin' on a Rainbow (1945)
    Swingin' on a Rainbow
    • Chester Willouby
    • 1945
  • Pistol Packin' Nitwits
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 1945
  • Rebel Randall, El Brendel, and Vernon Dent in Snooper Service (1945)
    Snooper Service
    • Short
    • 1945
  • Gabriel Dell, Kay Marvis, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, and Charles Murray Jr. in Block Busters (1944)
    Block Busters
    • Higgins
    • 1944
  • Harry Langdon, Christine McIntyre, and Al Thompson in Mopey Dope (1944)
    Mopey Dope
    • Short
    • 1944
  • Harry Langdon, Jerry Cooper, Joan Curtis, Dona Drake, Robert Lowery, Irene Ryan, and Tim Ryan in Hot Rhythm (1944)
    Hot Rhythm
    • Mr. Whiffle
    • 1944
  • Harry Langdon, El Brendel, and Christine McIntyre in Defective Detectives (1944)
    Defective Detectives
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 1944
  • Harry Langdon and Una Merkel in To Heir Is Human (1944)
    To Heir Is Human
    • Harry Fenner
    • Short
    • 1944
  • Harry Langdon, Iris Adrian, Bonnie Baker, Eddie Bartell, Kenneth Brown, Sydney Chatton, Frank Fay, Billy Gilbert, Jimmy Hollywood, Henry King, and Billy Lenhart in Spotlight Scandals (1943)
    Spotlight Scandals
    • Oscar Martin
    • 1943
  • Harry Langdon and John T. Murray in Here Comes Mr. Zerk (1943)
    Here Comes Mr. Zerk
    • Egbert Slipp
    • Short
    • 1943
  • Blonde and Groom
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 1943
  • Harry Langdon, Beatrice Blinn, Louise Currie, and Blanche Payson in A Blitz on the Fritz (1943)
    A Blitz on the Fritz
    • Egbert Slipp
    • Short
    • 1943
  • Harry Langdon, Betty Blythe, Fifi D'Orsay, and Gwen Kenyon in Piano Mooner (1942)
    Piano Mooner
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 1942
  • Carry Harry
    • Harry
    • Short
    • 1942
  • Beautiful Clothes (Make Beautiful Girls)
    • Performer
    • Short
    • 1942

Writer

  • Pistol Packin' Nitwits
    • story
    • Short
    • 1945
  • Blonde and Groom
    • story and screenplay
    • Short
    • 1943
  • Harry Langdon, Betty Blythe, Fifi D'Orsay, and Gwen Kenyon in Piano Mooner (1942)
    Piano Mooner
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1942
  • Harry Langdon, Marian Marsh, Charley Rogers, and Ray Walker in House of Errors (1942)
    House of Errors
    • original story
    • 1942
  • John Hubbard, Carole Landis, and Adolphe Menjou in Road Show (1941)
    Road Show
    • screenplay
    • 1941
  • Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in Saps at Sea (1940)
    Saps at Sea
    • original story by
    • screen play by
    • 1940
  • Harry Langdon in Goodness! A Ghost (1940)
    Goodness! A Ghost
    • screen play
    • Short
    • 1940
  • Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in A Chump at Oxford (1940)
    A Chump at Oxford
    • original story
    • screenplay
    • 1940
  • Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel in The Flying Deuces (1939)
    The Flying Deuces
    • original story
    • screenplay
    • 1939
  • Harry Langdon in Sue My Lawyer (1938)
    Sue My Lawyer
    • story
    • Short
    • 1938
  • Oliver Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Billy Gilbert, Minna Gombell, and Stan Laurel in Block-Heads (1938)
    Block-Heads
    • original story and screen play
    • 1938
  • Harry Langdon in The Stage Hand (1933)
    The Stage Hand
    • story
    • Short
    • 1933
  • Harry Langdon and Doris Dawson in Heart Trouble (1928)
    Heart Trouble
    • Writer
    • 1928
  • Harry Langdon in The Chaser (1928)
    The Chaser
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1928
  • Three's a Crowd (1927)
    Three's a Crowd
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1927

Director

  • Jimmy Gold and Charlie Naughton in Wise Guys (1937)
    Wise Guys
    • Director
    • 1937
  • Harry Langdon in The Stage Hand (1933)
    The Stage Hand
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1933
  • Harry Langdon and Doris Dawson in Heart Trouble (1928)
    Heart Trouble
    • Director
    • 1928
  • Harry Langdon in The Chaser (1928)
    The Chaser
    • Director
    • 1928
  • Three's a Crowd (1927)
    Three's a Crowd
    • Director
    • 1927

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
  • Born
    • June 15, 1884
    • Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA
  • Died
    • December 22, 1944
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(cerebral hemorrhage)
  • Spouses
      Mabel Sheldon1938 - December 22, 1944 (his death)
  • Children
    • Harry Langdon
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 1 Interview
    • 16 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Langdon died of a cerebral hemorrhage after working all day on a strenuous dance routine for a Columbia two-reeler.
  • Quotes
    A comedian should establish a character with human appeal. Then he'll be pretty indestructible. For instance, in developing my character I use little childish gestures - and children are always appealing. Such a comedian isn't a machine. I know the limits of my character - a little too aggressive, for instance, and he's gone. I've tried to inject this character into parts offered me, but if the director interfered the character would be lost.
  • Nicknames
    • The Sad Clown
    • The Little Elf

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