Hampden [Dougherty], Walter (1879–1955), actor. Although born in Brooklyn and educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and at Harvard, he served his theatrical apprenticeship with F. R. Benson's company in England, learning a wide range of Shakespearean parts. His American debut came in 1907 when he played opposite Alla Nazimova as Comte Silvio in The Comtesse Coquette, Halvard Solness in The Master Builder, and Dr. Rank in A Doll's House. Success then followed in more commercial ventures, notably as Manson, the reincarnation of Jesus, in The Servant in the House (1908); as gubernatorial hopeful George Rand Jr. in The City (1909); and as miner John Rawson in Good Gracious Annabelle (1916). In the 1920s Hampden starred in a number of Shakespearean revivals, offering his Marc Antony, Hamlet, Romeo, Macbeth, Shylock, and Othello, but had even greater success with two 19th‐century classics, Cyrano de Bergerac and Richelieu, two roles he continued to revive for many years. He was an important member of the American Repertory Theatre in the mid‐1940s, playing Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII and Charles Venable in What Every Woman Knows. His last Broadway appearance was as the bigoted Deputy‐Governor Danforth in The Crucible (1953). A tall, slim, handsome man, he was an advocate of the older, romantic school of acting and fortunate that in his prime years an audience still existed for his style of play and performance.

• Born: Jun 30, 1879 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
• Died: Jun 11, 1955 in Hollywood, California
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '40s-'50s
• Major Genres: Drama, Epic
• Career Highlights: Sabrina, 5 Fingers, The Silver Chalice
• First Major Screen Credit: 5 Fingers (1952)

Biography

Brooklyn-born actor Walter Hampden launched his acting career in England, starting with the Frank Benson Stock Company. In 1907, Hampden returned to the US, where his classical training and orotund voice enabled him to tour with the famed Russian actress Nazimova. Hampden's greatest American triumph was as Cyrano de Bergerac in the Edmond Rostand play of the same name; the actor first interpreted Cyrano in 1923, reviving the play periodically throughout his career. In 1925, Hampden established his own acting company at New York City's Colonial Theatre, where he acted and directed until 1930. Later on, Hampden was on hand for the opening of the American Repertory Theatre, playing Cardinal Wolsey in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Hollywood, in its typical pigeonholing fashion, regarded Hampden as a caricature of the string-tied declamatory "grrreat ac-tor" usually treated contemptuously by more "realistic" performers. Such was not truly the case, but Hampden found himself often as not cast in films as distinguished old blowhards, notably in the opening scenes of All About Eve (1950), wherein Hampden's on-screen pomposity is the target of George Sanders' first insulting remark. The actor was better treated in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) as the kindly archbishop who offers Maureen O'Hara sanctuary, and in Five Fingers (1952) as the unwitting British ambassador whose valet (James Mason) is a spy for the Nazis. For reasons that defy comprehension, Cecil B. DeMille cast both Hampden and Boris Karloff as American Indians in Unconquered (1947)! While his movie roles weren't terribly compelling, Walter Hampden rounded out his stage career with distinction in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Prodigal Buy this Movie	Sabrina Buy this Movie	The Silver Chalice Buy this Movie	5 Fingers Buy this Movie
All About Eve Buy this Movie	The Adventures of Mark Twain Buy this Movie	Reap the Wild Wind Buy this Movie	They Died With Their Boots On Buy this Movie

Show More Movies Show Fewer Movies

(hăm'dən) , 1879–1955, American actor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., whose original name was Walter Hampden Dougherty. He made his first appearance in London in 1901. Returning to the United States in 1907, he supported Nazimova in an Ibsen series and later appeared in Kennedy's Servant in the House and in Shakespearean drama. In 1923 he was first seen as Cyrano de Bergerac, a role that he often repeated. After assuming management of the Colonial Theatre, he renamed it Hampden's and appeared there (1925–30) with his own company. A revered figure of the American theater, Hampden was president of the Players' Club for 27 years.