Taylor Holmes

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Taylor Holmes (1919)

Taylor Holmes (born May 16, 1878 in Newark , New Jersey , † September 30, 1959 in Hollywood , California ) was an American theater and film actor.

life and career

Taylor Holmes appeared as a stage actor before the turn of the century. In February 1900 he made his debut on Broadway in the scandalous play Sapho - which was temporarily revoked because of alleged immorality . Holmes was a constant there until his last play in 1946, especially light comedies made him a popular theater star of his time. He also directed some of his plays. He married his stage colleague Edna Phillips (1878–1952), with whom he was married until her death. They had three children together, Phillips Holmes, Ralph Holmes and Madeleine Taylor Holmes, who all also became actors. The sons Phillips Holmes (1907–1942, plane crash) andRalph Holmes (1915–1945, suicide) died before her father.

Taylor Holmes made his cinema debut in 1917 in the silent film Efficiency Edgar's Courtship . Other leading roles followed until the mid-1920s, including as a devoted butler in Ruggles of Red Gap , which was later remake in 1935 with Charles Laughton . At times, Holmes had largely said goodbye to the film business, but from 1947 he stood regularly in front of the camera for the last twelve years of his life, now mostly in supporting roles as a dignified authority figure. He played among other things a lawyer in the film noir The Kiss of Death (1947) by Henry Hathaway and the future father-in-law of Marilyn Monroe in the comedy Blondes Preferred (1953). Towards the end of his life, he also appeared in several television series as a guest actor. In 1959 he lent his voice to King Stefan in the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty . Taylor Holmes died just months after the cartoon was released at the age of 81.

For his film work, Holmes received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6821 Hollywood Boulevard).

Filmography (selection)

Taylor Holmes on a 1917 advertising poster ("Thousands of spectators wait to see Mr. Holmes' masterful performance ...")
Taylor Holmes on a poster for the film Taxi (1919)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Taylor Holmes at Allmovie
personal data
SURNAME Holmes, Taylor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Newark , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH September 30, 1959
Place of death Hollywood , California