Reginald Owen

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Reginald Owen
from the trailer for The Miniver Story (1950)
Born	August 5, 1887 Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Died	November 5, 1972 (age 85) Boise, Idaho, United States
Years active	1933–1977
Spouse(s)	Haveman, Barbara (1956-1972) (his death) Lydia Bilbrook (1908-1923) (divorced) Mrs. Harold Austin (stage actress) (?-1956) 2 children

Reginald Owen, or John Reginald Owen, (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British character actor (of Welsh ancestry) known for playing in many film roles in British and American movies and later in television programs. He was born in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England.

Career

Owen studied at Sir Herbert Tree's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his professional debut in 1905. He came to the United States in 1920 and worked originally on Broadway in New York City, but later moved to Hollywood, where he began a lengthy film career. He was always a familiar face in many MGM productions.

in Petticoat Fever (1936)

Owen is perhaps best known today for his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1938 film version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a role he inherited from Lionel Barrymore, who had played the part of Scrooge on the radio every Christmas for years, after Barrymore had broken his hip in an accident.^[1]

Owen was also one of only three actors (Patrick Macnee and Jeremy Brett are the others) who played both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in film and/or television. Owen first played Watson in the 1932 film Sherlock Holmes, and then Holmes himself in 1933's A Study in Scarlet.

as Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet (1933)

Later in his career, Owen appeared opposite James Garner in the television series Maverick in the episodes "The Belcastle Brand" (1957) and "Gun-Shy" (1958), and also in the Walt Disney movies Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Owen died in Boise, Idaho from a heart attack. His interment was located in Boise's Morris Hill Cemetery.

Partial filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reginald Owen

• Reginald Owen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Reginald Owen at the Internet Movie Database