HW
Henry B. Walthall
Actor, Additional Credits
Born March 15, 1878Died June 17, 1936 (58 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company.
His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period.
He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company.
Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith.
Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish.
Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper.
Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote.
Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.
Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company.
His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period.
He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company.
Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith.
Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish.
Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper.
Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote.
Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2020 | Disclosure · as Holofernes |
| 2011 | These Amazing Shadows · as Col. Ben Cameron (clip From The Birth Of A Nation (1915)) |
| 2002 | London After Midnight · as Sir James Hamlin (archive Footage) |
| 1998 | Star Power: The Creation of United Artists · as Col. Ben Cameron (archive Footage) |
| 1997 | Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years · as Actor 'steamboat Round The Bend' |
| 1990 | Hollywood Mavericks · as Col. Ben Cameron |
| 1961 | Hollywood: The Golden Years · as Col. Ben Cameron |
| 1939 | Land of Liberty · as Captain Buchanan (edited From 'hearts In Bondage') |
| 1936 | China Clipper · as Dad Brunn |
| 1936 | The Devil-Doll · as Marcel |
| 1936 | The Last Outlaw · as Cal Yates |
| 1936 | Hearts in Bondage · as Capt. Buchanan |
| 1936 | The Garden Murder Case · as Dr. Garden |
| 1935 | A Tale of Two Cities · as Dr. Manette |
| 1935 | Dante's Inferno · as Pop Mcwade |
| 1934 | A Girl of the Limberlost · as Dr. Amon |
| 1934 | Judge Priest · as Reverend Ashby Brand |
| 1934 | The Lemon Drop Kid · as Jonas Deering |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Letter · as Roger Chillingworth |
| 1934 | The Murder in the Museum · as Bernard Latham Wayne, Alias Prof. Mysto |
| 1934 | City Park · as Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome |
| 1934 | Viva Villa! · as Francisco Madero |
| 1934 | Men in White · as Enry B. Walthall |
| 1934 | Beggars in Ermine · as Marchant The Blind Man |
| 1934 | Dark Hazard · as Schultz |
| 1933 | The Sin of Nora Moran · as Father Ryan |
| 1933 | The Wolf Dog · as Jim Courtney |
| 1933 | Headline Shooter · as Judge Beacon (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Laughing at Life · as President Valenzuela |
| 1933 | Hold Your Man · as Clergyman In Alternate Version (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Somewhere in Sonora · as Bob Leadly |
| 1933 | The Whispering Shadow · as J. D. Bradley |
| 1933 | 42nd Street · as Stage Actor (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Strange Interlude · as Professor Leeds |
| 1932 | The Flaming Signal · as Rev. Mr. James |
| 1932 | Central Park · as Eby |
| 1932 | Me and My Gal · as Sarge |
| 1932 | The Cabin in the Cotton · as Eph Clinton |
| 1932 | Chandu the Magician · as Robert Regent |
| 1932 | Klondike · as Mark Armstrong |
| 1932 | Ride Him, Cowboy · as John Gaunt |
| 1932 | Alias Mary Smith · as Atwell |
| 1932 | Hotel Continental · as Winthrop |
| 1932 | Police Court · as Nathaniel "nat" Barry |
| 1930 | Abraham Lincoln · as Colonel Marshall |
| 1929 | The Trespasser · as Fuller |
| 1929 | The Phantom in the House · as Boyd Milburn |
| 1929 | The River of Romance · as General Jeff Rumford |
| 1929 | The Bridge of San Luis Rey · as Father Juniper |
| 1929 | Speakeasy · as Piano Player |
| 1927 | London After Midnight · as Sir James Hamlin |
| 1927 | Wings · as Mr. Armstrong |
| 1926 | The Scarlet Letter · as Roger Prynne Aka Roger Chillingworth |
| 1926 | The Road to Mandalay · as Father James |
| 1925 | The Plastic Age · as Henry Carver |
| 1925 | Kentucky Pride · as Mr. Beaumont |
| 1925 | The Golden Bed · as Col. Peake |
| 1923 | The Face on the Bar-Room Floor · as Robert Stevens |
| 1919 | The False Faces · as Michael Lanyard |
| 1918 | The Great Love · as Sir Roger Brighton |
| 1915 | The Raven · as Edgar Allan Poe |
| 1915 | Ghosts · as Captain Alving / Oswald |
| 1915 | Beulah · as Dr. Guy Hartwell |
| 1915 | The Birth of a Nation · as Col. Ben Cameron |
| 1914 | The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' · as The Nephew |
| 1914 | Home, Sweet Home · as John Howard Payne |
| 1914 | Judith of Bethulia · as Holofernes |
| 1913 | Her Wedding Bell · as Pedro |
| 1913 | The Fly Leaf of Fate · as Ralph Cummings |
| 1913 | The Battle of Elderbush Gulch · as The Indian Chief's Son |
| 1913 | Diversion · as Mr. Wilson |
| 1913 | The Mothering Heart · as Club Patron |
| 1913 | Death's Marathon · as The Husband |
| 1913 | A Horse on Bill · as In Audience |
| 1912 | The Painted Lady · as At Ice Cream Festival |
| 1910 | The House with Closed Shutters · as Charles Randolph - The Confederate Soldier |
| 1910 | A Flash of Light · as Younger John Rogers |
| 1910 | In the Border States · as Confederate Corporal |
| 1910 | A Child of the Ghetto · as The Farmer |
| 1910 | |
| 1909 | A Corner in Wheat · as Wheat King's Assistant |
| 1909 | The Sealed Room · as The Minstrel |
| 1908 | Rescued from an Eagle's Nest · as Woodsman |