H. B. Warner

H. B. Warner (26 October 1875 – 21 December 1958) was an English actor.

Early life

He was born Henry Byron Charles Stewart Warner-Lickford^[1] in St John's Wood, London, England in 1875. His father, Charles Warner, was an actor, and, although young Henry had initially thought about studying medicine, he eventually followed in his father's footsteps and performed on the stage.

Career

Warner began his film career in silent films in 1914, when he debuted in The Lost Paradise. He played lead roles, culminating in the role of Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's silent film epic, The King of Kings in 1927. Following that film, he was usually cast in dignified roles, in such movies as the 1930 version of Liliom (as the Heavenly Magistrate), Grand Canary (1934, as Dr. Ismay), the 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities (as Charles Darnay's servant), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) (as the judge), the original 1937 version of Lost Horizon (as Chang, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Rains Came (1939), and The Corsican Brothers. In It's a Wonderful Life (1946) he played what was for him, an atypical role, as the drunken druggist. He also appeared in Sunset Boulevard (1950) (in which he played himself) and The Ten Commandments (1956). Occasionally, Warner was seen in a sinister role, as in the 1941 film version of The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), in which he played the ghost of John Hathorne as well as Topper Returns from the same year.

Personal life

Warner was married twice, to Rita Stanwood in 1919 and to F.R. Hamlin.

In December 1959 Warner died in Los Angeles, California of cardiac arrest, and he is buried in Chapel of Pines crematory in Los Angeles, California. Warner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6600 Hollywood Blvd.

Partial filmography

References

External links

• H.B. Warner at the Internet Movie Database