Connolly, Walter (1887–1940), character actor. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Connolly was educated in his hometown and at the University of Dublin and made his New York debut in 1910 in an outdoor production of As You Like It. He joined E. H. Sothern's company the next year and played supporting roles in Shakespeare productions on the road. The short, chubby Connolly first got noticed as the penny‐pinching Rollo in Applesause (1925) then went on to portray a wide range of characters, most memorably the hot‐blooded Cuban Luis in The Behavior of Mrs. Crane (1928), the wily confirmed bachelor Dudley in Your Uncle Dudley (1929), the greedy Dr. Haggett in The Late Christopher Bean (1932), and the clergyman who loves mystery novels in The Bishop Misbehaves (1935).

• Born: Apr 08, 1887 in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Died: May 28, 1940 in Beverly Hills, California
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '30s
• Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
• Career Highlights: It Happened One Night, The Good Earth, Twentieth Century
• First Major Screen Credit: Man Against Woman (1932)

Biography

Rotund American character actor Walter Connolly cornered the market on film portrayals of exasperated businessmen and newspaper men in the 1930s. A successful stage actor, Connolly refused all entreaties by Hollywood producers to enter films. His resistance was broken down a little by an appearance in the 1930 short Many Happy Returns, then he gave in altogether to Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn. Connolly made his feature-film debut in Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), then appeared in The Bitter Tea of General Yen(1933), wherein he worked for Columbia's premiere director, Frank Capra. Connolly was featured in Capra's next two films, Broadway Bill (1934) and the Award-winning It Happened One Night (1934), then spent the rest of the 1930s bouncing between Columbia and the other major studios in meaty supporting roles--most enjoyably as the volcanic newspaper editor in David O. Selznick's Nothing Sacred (1937). Generally billed just below the title, Connolly was awarded star status when he essayed the title role in his final film, The Great Victor Herbert (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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