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Dell Henderson

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Dell Henderson
From a 1920 magazine ad
Born
George Delbert Henderson

(1877-07-05)July 5, 1877
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
DiedDecember 2, 1956(1956-12-02) (aged 79)
Hollywood, California, United States
Other namesDel Henderson
Arthur Buchanan
Years active1908-1950
SpouseFlorence Lee (?-1956) (his death)

George Delbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 — December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film.[1]

Biography

Born in the Southwestern Ontario city of St. Thomas, Dell Henderson started his acting career on the stage, but appeared in his first movie Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court already in 1908. Henderson was a frequent associate of film pioneer D.W. Griffith since 1909 and appeared in numerous of his early shorts in Hollywood. He also acted on a less prolific basis in the movies of producer Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studios. In addition to acting, Henderson also directed nearly 200 silent films between 1911 and 1928.[2] Most of those films are forgotten or lost, but he also directed movies with silent stars like Harry Carey and Roscoe Arbuckle. Henderson also worked as a writer on numerous screenplays.

After retiring from directing in 1927, Henderson turned to acting full-time and played important supporting roles in King Vidor's The Crowd (1928) and as General Marmaduke Pepper in Show People (1928). The advent of sound film damaged his acting career and he often had to play smaller roles. In the 1930s, the comedic character actor appeared on several occasions as a comic foil for such comedians as The Three Stooges, W. C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy. He often played somewhat pompous figures like judges, businessmans, detectives or mayors. Modern audiences will remember Henderson as annoyed hospital president Dr. Graves in The Three Stooges film Men in Black and the put-upon chaperone in the Little Rascals film Choo-Choo!. He also appeared as a Night Court Judge in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations (1936) and as a friendly Car salesman in Leo McCarey's drama Make Way for Tomorrow (1937). Henderson ended his film career after numerous small roles in 1950.

Henderson died of a heart attack in Hollywood at the age of 79.[3][4] He was married with actress Florence Lee until his death, they made several silent films together.

Partial filmography

References

  1. ^ Screen captures of Dell Henderson in various screen appearances
  2. ^ Pickford, Mary {copyright, 1916, by The McClure Newspaper Syndicate}. "Daily Talks by Mary Pickford" (The Day {New London, Connecticut}, November 1, 1916, page 11)
  3. ^ "Del Henderson, 79, Former Film Actor". New York Times. December 5, 1956. Retrieved 2010-03-09. Del Henderson, early motion-picture actor and director, died Sunday at the Motion Picture Country House after a heart attack, ... {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Howard Maurer, Joan; (1984). The Three Stooges Book of Scripts, Citadel Press.
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