Donald MacBride

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Donald Hugh MacBride (born June 23, 1889 in Brooklyn , New York - † June 21, 1957 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor.

life and career

Donald MacBride worked for decades as an actor in vaudeville shows and Broadway plays, including George White's Scandals . In his youth he was also active as a singer and even recorded a record. Since 1914, MacBride has also worked as an actor in mostly comedic silent films , including starring in the Vitagraph films with Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew on the American West Coast . In the early 1930s he starred in short film comedies alongside stars such as George Burns , Gracie Allen , Bob Hope and Shemp Howard .

After Hollywood , MacBride however, came only in 1938: On the side of the Marx Brothers , he played in room service an excited hotel manager, he had already played before on Broadway from 1937 this role. With Room Service , the " bulldog- faced" MacBride was able to establish himself as a supporting actor in Hollywood. In the following years he often played confused, frustrated and funny characters - often detectives, officers, hotel managers or lawyers. He starred in four comedies alongside the comedian duo Abbott and Costello . In crime films such as Decision in the Sierra (1941, as a gang boss ), The glass key (1942, as a public prosecutor) and Avengers of the Underworld (1946, as an insurance manager), he also took on more serious roles.

With the beginning of the 1950s he played in fewer films, instead he was more active in US television. MacBride took his last film role in 1955 as the jovial boss of Tom Ewell in Billy Wilder's comedy The Seven Year Itch . Between 1914 and 1956 he made more than 160 film and television appearances. Donald MacBride died in 1957 after a year of illness, leaving behind his longtime wife Esther and a stepson.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Donald MacBride at Find A Grave
  2. Donald MacBride at Allmovie
  3. Donald MacBride at Allmovie
  4. ^ Donald MacBride at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. Donald MacBride at Allmovie
  6. ^ Contemporary obituary in The Corpus Christi Caller-Times