HB Warner

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HB Warner (1919)

Henry Byron "HB" Warner (born October 26, 1875 in London , England , † December 21, 1958 in Woodland Hills , California ) was a British - American film and theater actor. In the silent film era he achieved great fame, for example as Jesus in the film epic King of Kings (1927). In the sound film era, he successfully turned to supporting roles.

life and career

Youth and education

Henry Warner was born in London, the elder of two sons of Charles Warner, a British stage actor. His younger brother James died of tuberculosis at the age of 24 . First, Warner was to become a doctor according to his parents' wishes , so that he enrolled at London University after completing school . But he quickly dropped out of college because acting was his real passion. Warner studied in both Paris and Italy before joining his father's theater company.

Professional background

At the turn of the century Warner moved to the USA and changed his British-sounding first name Henry to its US counterpart Harry. In 1902 he appeared for the first time in the drama Audrey on Broadway . By about 1925, 13 more pieces followed, including Susan in Search of a Husband and A Tenement Tragedy (both performed in 1906). 1914 Warner debuted as a film actor in The Harp of Tara directed by Raymond B. West. In the course of his career, Warner was one of the actors who witnessed the transition from silent film to sound film , although the phase in which he was offered leading roles can be found in the era of silent films.

And it should be a silent film, with which the 1.84 meter tall Warner still enjoys a certain degree of popularity today. In 1927 Warner was hired for the role of Jesus of Nazareth in Cecil B. DeMille's Bible film King of Kings . To this day he is considered to be the best and most famous actor of Jesus among many believers.

After the sound film era began in the late 1920s, Warner had to be content with supporting roles, also because of his age of over 50. With his steady career as a supporting actor, however, he fared better than other silent film actors who had to withdraw from the acting business with the beginning of the sound film or were only given minor roles. In the 1930s and 1940s Warner was used as a character actor mostly in dignified roles, such as a doctor, judge, scholar or priest.

1937 Warner was in Lost Horizon (Eng. In the Shackles of Shangri-La ) directed by Frank Capra in front of the camera, for which he was nominated in 1938 for the Oscar in the category Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Capra's favorite actors and was featured regularly in his films. In the Christmas classic Isn't life beautiful? under Capra's direction, Warner played the pharmacist Mr. Gower, who loses his son and then drowns his grief in alcohol. In 1950, Warner, over 70 years old, was one of the forgotten silent film stars in Billy Wilder's drama Boulevard of the Twilight , who regularly meet to play cards.

After he had retired from the acting business in 1951, Cecil B. DeMille could win him in 1956 for a supporting role in the Bible film The Ten Commandments .

Private life

Warner was married twice in his life. In 1919 he married the actress Rita Stanwood (1888-1961), with whom he had two children, a son and a daughter. After his divorce from Stanwood in 1933, he was briefly married to a woman named FR Hamlin. HB Warner died in Woodland Hills in 1958 at the age of 83. He was buried in the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

Today a star on the Walk of Fame commemorates the actor.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Warner, HB
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Warner, Henry Byron (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film and stage actor of British descent
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1958
Place of death Woodland Hills , California , USA