Henry Stephenson

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Henry Stephenson (born April 16, 1871 in Grenada , Lesser Antilles , † April 24, 1956 in San Francisco , California ; actually Harry Stephenson Garraway ) was a British actor who in the 1930s and 1940s was mostly friendly and honorable in films Gentlemen played.

life and career

Harry Stephenson Garraway was born to British parents on the Atlantic island of Grenada . His family later moved back to the UK and he received his schooling in English rugby . It was only when he was over 20 years old that he began to appear as an actor in theaters in Great Britain and later in the United States under the stage name Henry Stephenson. In 1901 he had his first appearance on Broadway , and around 30 more pieces were to follow over the next few decades. In 1917 Stephenson made his film debut in the silent film The Spreading Dawn , although he was only to appear regularly in films when the talkies began.

In 1931 and 1932 he played on Broadway in the hit play Cynara , which had over 200 performances. The then 60-year-old Stephenson came to Hollywood to film the play with Ronald Colman and stayed there. The white-haired, tall actor was able to quickly establish himself there as a supporting actor, he mostly embodied the role of the wise and honorable British gentleman . He often embodied scholars, officers, judges and aristocrats. He was often used alongside Errol Flynn , for example in Unter Piratenflagge (1935) and The Prince and the Beggar Boy (1937). Stephenson played many historical figures, such as Claude van Mercy in Marie-Antoinette (1938) and Baron Burghley in a Queen's favorite the following year.

In the literary film adaptation of The Little Lord (1936), Stephenson played the role of the friendly lawyer Mr. Havisham. In another literary adaptation, Oliver Twist (1948), he played alongside Alec Guinness in the role of Mr. Brownlow, the unknown grandfather of the title character. At the end of the 1940s, he increasingly withdrew from the acting business. His last of more than 80 film and television appearances he had in 1951 in the television series Studio One . He died five years later, eight days after his 85th birthday. Stephenson had his only marriage to actress Ann Shoemaker , with whom he remained until his death. They had a daughter. He found his final resting place in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Henry Stephenson at Matinneclassics ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.matineeclassics.com
personal data
SURNAME Stephenson, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Garraway, Harry Stephenson (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British film and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH in Grenada , Lesser Antilles
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1956
Place of death San Francisco , California