Holmes Herbert
| Holmes Herbert | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Horace Edward Jenner 30 July 1882 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, U.K. |
| Died | 26 December 1956 (aged 74) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1915 – 1952 |
| Spouse | Elinor Ince (divorced) Beryl Mercer (19?? - 19??; 1 child) Joan Agnes Bartholomew (19??-1955; her death) |
Holmes Herbert (30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952.
Born as 'Horace Jenner', Holmes Herbert emigrated to the United States in 1912. He was the first son of Ned Herbert (born Edward Jenner), who worked as and actor/comedian in the English Theatre. He never made a film in his native country but managed to appear in 228 films during his career in the U.S., beginning with stalwart leading roles during the silent era and numerous supporting roles in many classic Hollywood movies of the sound era, including Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and Foreign Correspondent (1940).
In silent pictures Herbert, as did his contemporaries like Wyndham Standing, could play different nationalities but when sound films came in audiences were revealed to their thick British accents.
Herbert is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Jekyll's friend Dr. Lanyon in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), and made something of a career in horror films of the period, appearing in The Terror (1928), The Thirteenth Chair (1929 and 1937), The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), The Invisible Man (1933), Mark of the Vampire (1935), Tower of London (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), The Undying Monster (1942), The Mummy's Curse and The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1952).
He played in several of the Universal cycle of Sherlock Holmes movies during the 1940s.
[edit] Personal life
He retired in 1952 and died in 1956. He was married three times, including to Beryl Mercer, who bore his only child. He died at age 74 and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
[edit] Selected filmography
- His House in Order (1920)
- Lady Rose's Daughter (1920)
- Heedless Moths (1921)
- I Will Repay (1923)
- Here's Flash Casey (1938)
- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
- Everything Happens at Night (1939)
- Strictly in the Groove (1942)
- Enter Arsène Lupin (1944)
- The Pearl of Death (1944)
- Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947)
- Singapore (1947)
