James Finlayson (actor)

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James Henderson Finlayson (born August 27, 1887 in Larbert near Falkirk , Scotland , † October 9, 1953 in Los Angeles , California ) was a British film actor and comedian . He became world famous with his appearances as an opponent of Laurel and Hardy , in total he took part in over 190 film productions. His trademarks included the false beard as well as his explosive outbursts of anger and his intense grimacing.

Life

"Jim" or "Jimmy" Finlayson, son of the Scottish iron caster Alexander Finlayson and his wife Isabella (Henderson) Finlayson, began studying economics but soon came to acting through his friendship with the then famous Scottish actor John Clyde. As a character and comedy actor, he toured the UK and performed primarily in music halls . He traveled to America with the popular stage farce Bunty Pulls the Strings , where he appeared on Broadway in 1912 - it was his breakthrough as a comedian. He then toured the United States as a sought-after vaudeville actor.

James Finlayson (center) in Don't Weaken (1920)

In 1916 Finlayson began his film career in Hollywood , starting with minor appearances in Henry Lehrman's L-KO comedies. In 1919 he signed a three-year contract with the film producer Mack Sennett ; It is not certain whether the comedian was already active as one of the legendary Keystone Kops in Sennett's last Keystone years (until 1917) , as is often claimed. He worked in feature films such as Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919), Down on the Farm (1920) and A Small Town Idol (1921) and was seen in various short films alongside Sennett comedians such as Ben Turpin and Billy Bevan .

At the end of 1922, Finlayson switched to Hal Roach , who initially used him almost exclusively in short films by Snub Pollard and Stan Laurel and who occasionally also had him act as a team with the latter. Later (after Laurel's temporary departure from Roach) he also appeared in comedies by other stars of the studio such as The Little Rascals , Charley Chase , Glenn Tryon , Clyde Cook , Max Davidson and Mabel Normand . From 1925 he became the leading actor in a few comedies such as Yes, Yes, Nanette . The comedian's star potential was limited, however, so in 1927 Roach tried to build a comic trio consisting of Finlayson, the hardworking but hapless solo star Stan Laurel and the versatile supporting actor Oliver Hardy . Films such as Love 'Em and Weep , With Love and Hisses , Sugar Daddies and the Flying Elephants , which was released a little later, bear witness to this project. But in the same year the first Laurel & Hardy comedies came with Finlayson as their best-known supporting actor.

Finlayson's always sour expression, his portrayal of explosive outbursts of anger and his late bloomer slapstick routine (including nervous-suspicious wink and raised eyebrows) made him a suitable opponent of the comedian duo, who always marched relaxed into the next mess and at the same time inexperienced fluttering comedian duo. Another trademark of Finlayson was the exclamation "d'ohhhh!", Which was later adopted by the creators of the animated series The Simpsons for the main character Homer Simpson (German: "No!" ). In one of his outrageous attacks, Finlayson is said to have stepped into his role so much that he hit the next wall with his hairless head and passed out on the floor.

Compatriot Stan Laurel explicitly recognized Finlayson's contributions to the world's best-selling comedies as being of equal value to his and Oliver Hardy's achievements. In the silent film The Big Business , Finlayson played an annoyed homeowner who refuses to buy their fir trees from Laurel and Hardy, whereupon an orgy of destruction breaks out on both sides. As the butler in the short film Give me the hammer , he has to defend his master's house against Laurel and Hardy as burglars. In the feature-length film Hands up - or not , he played a boring nobleman whose beautiful wife ( Thelma Todd ) is unfaithful to him. As the stingy sailor Finn in Die Doppelgänger , he tries in vain to deprive the comedian duo of their wages. In 1937, as saloon owner Mickey Finn in Two Rides To Texas , the comedian gave perhaps his most memorable portrayal of the Victorian Laurel & Hardy choleric. However, his persistent health problems began that same year, which forced him to take it easy on his job.

By 1940 Finlayson had appeared in more than 30 Laurel & Hardy films, but from 1928 onwards, parallel to his work for Roach, he also worked for many other film studios, including as a supporting actor for the now forgotten comedian duo Clark & ​​McCullough. Between 1933 and 1935 he also briefly tried European film when he was shooting for the British Gaumont . Finlayson's agent Arthur Landau (who had brought " Bombshell " Jean Harlow to the film) always gave the actor new roles, so that he could continue his film work in the 1940s. He had small appearances in film classics such as Alfred Hitchcock's The Foreign Correspondent and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be and delivered his last film role in 1951 in the Fred Astaire vehicle Royal Wedding .

Finlayson was temporarily married to Emily Cora Gilbert. For the last twenty years of his life he always shared breakfast with the British actress Stephanie Insall. One morning she was amazed that Finlayson had not come to breakfast at the usual time, and she checked on him in his apartment. There she found him; he had died of a heart attack at the age of 66. At the funeral of the comedian and freemason , some colleagues from the Mack Sennett era and, among others, Snub Pollard from the Roach environment were present. Finlayson's birthplace Falkirk honors the son today with a website, but the planned installation of a plaque of honor has not yet come about.

Filmography (selection)

With Laurel & Hardy (complete)

Silent films
Sound films

Others (selection)

Silent films
  • 1919: Yankee Doodle in Berlin
  • 1920: Down on the Farm
  • 1921: A Small Town Idol
  • 1923: California or Bust
  • 1923: Sold at auction!
  • 1923: Oranges and Lemons
  • 1923: A Man About Town
  • 1923: Roughest Africa
  • 1923: Frozen Hearts
  • 1923: The Soilers
  • 1925: Yes, Yes, Nanette
  • 1925: Innocent Husbands
  • 1925: The Caretaker's Daughter
  • 1926: Thundering Fleas
  • 1926: The Nickel Hopper
  • 1927: Anything Once!
  • 1927: No Man's Law
  • 1927: Don't Tell Everything
  • 1928: Should Tall Men Marry?
Sound films

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Finlayson, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Finlayson, James Henderson (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish film actor and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Falkirk , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 1953
Place of death los Angeles