Charles Halton

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Charles Halton in the film Nancy Drew ... Reporter (1939)

Charles Halton (born March 16, 1876 in Washington, DC , † April 16, 1959 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American film and stage actor.

Life

Charles Halton attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York . In 1901 he made his Broadway debut, where he appeared in over 35 productions over a period of almost 50 years. Halton made his first film The Adventurer in 1917, but during the silent film era his film appearances were only occasional. It wasn't until the mid-1930s, when he was almost 60, that he moved to Hollywood and was a busy supporting actor from then on. In the 1940s in particular, he played both major and minor supporting roles in numerous well-known films. Most of the time, the thin bald actor embodied authority figures such as lawyers, judges, officials, businessmen of the bankers; who often have to make unpleasant decisions. Many of his cunning, strict or pragmatic characters acted on the principle "I'm sorry, but it's my job".

He had one of his best-known roles as the Warsaw theater producer Dobosh in Ernst Lubitsch's turbulent comedy To Be or Not to Be from 1942. In the early 1940s, Halton was cast in three films by Alfred Hitchcock , including as a civil servant in the comedy Mr. and Mrs. Smith , who invalidates the marriage between Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery . While he held major supporting roles in some films, many of his shorter film appearances were not mentioned in the credits . This also applies to one of his most famous roles today, namely as the fateful bank auditor Mr. Carter in the Christmas classic Isn't Life Beautiful? . A departure from his usual roles was his appearance in the anti-Nazi propaganda film Enemy of Women (1944), where he played a friendly storyteller on the children's radio program, who was imprisoned by the National Socialists for his honorable attitude.

From the 1950s he was seen in guest roles in several television programs, at the same time he increasingly withdrew from the acting business. His last of around 175 films was High School Confidential! from 1958. Charles Halton died of hepatitis one month after his 83rd birthday . All that is known about his private life is that he was married to Lelah Halton.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Charles Halton  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charles Halton in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
personal data
SURNAME Halton, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1959
Place of death Los Angeles , California