DeWitt Jennings

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DeWitt Jennings (around 1920)

DeWitt Clarke Jennings (born June 21, 1871 in Cameron , Missouri , † March 1, 1937 in Hollywood , California ) was an American film and stage actor.

life and career

DeWitt Jennings first worked as a theater usher before becoming an actor himself in the late 19th century. Initially he was active as a stage actor and appeared in over a dozen Broadway productions between 1906 and 1920 . Jennings made his debut in the film The Deep Purple in 1915 . From then on he worked regularly in Hollywood until his death in 1937 and played in a total of almost 160 films.

Even in the silent film era, Jennings was mostly committed to supporting roles as a strict authority figure. He made the transition to talkies at the end of the 1920s without any problems. In the films The Penal Code and Hell Behind Bars in 1930, he played sadistic prison guards who were later murdered in revenge by escaped prisoners. He also played the father of Harold Lloyd in the comedy Film Crazy (1932) and the sailing master (navigational officer) John Fryer in the classic film Mutiny on the Bounty alongside Clark Gable and Charles Laughton .

DeWitt Jennings died in 1937 after a brief illness at the age of 65. He was married to Ethel Conroy and they had three children.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : DeWitt Jennings  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Jennings, DeWitt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jennings, DeWitt Clarke (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Cameron , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1937
Place of death Hollywood , California