Walter Huston

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Huston, Walter [né Houghston] (1884–1950), actor. The gruff‐voiced, Canadian‐born actor made his debut in Toronto in 1902, then first appeared in New York in In Convict Stripes (1905). From 1909 to 1924 he toured in vaudeville in an act that never quite reached the top, but when Huston returned to Broadway he made a pronounced impression as the unyielding old farmer Ephraim Cabot in Desire under the Elms (1924). Subsequent roles included Ponce de Leon in The Fountain (1925), the sadistic black ruler Flint in Kongo (1926), the glib pitchman Nifty Miller in The Barker (1927), and the brainless baseball pitcher Elmer Kane in Elmer the Great (1928). Huston spent time in films before returning to New York in 1934 to play the title role of the unhappy retired businessman in Dodsworth. In 1937 he offered his Othello, then turned to the musical theatre to portray Pieter Stuyvesant in Knickerbocker Holiday (1938), introducing “September Song.” The remainder of Huston's stage career offered little of note. His final appearance was as Sam Stover, an old farmer in love with a young girl, in Apple of His Eye (1946).

• Born: Apr 06, 1884 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Died: Apr 07, 1950 in Beverly Hills, California
• Occupation: Actor, Director
• Active: '30s-'40s
• Major Genres: Drama
• Career Highlights: Yankee Doodle Dandy, Dodsworth, The Prizefighter and the Lady
• First Major Screen Credit: The Virginian (1929)

Biography

Canadian-born actor Walter Huston enjoyed an early theatrical life of roller-coaster proportions which he doggedly pursued, despite a lifelong suffering of "stage fright." Taking nickel and dime performing jobs, quitting to pursue "real" work -- an engineering job came to an end when his inept attempts to fix a town's reservoir nearly resulted in a flood -- then returning to bit roles were all part of Huston's early days. Before 1910, Huston had toured in vaudeville, worked in stock companies, tried to maintain a normal married life, and fathered a son whose life was twice as tempestuous as Walter's: future director John Huston. The barnstorming days ended when Huston got his first major Broadway role in Mr. Pitt (1924), which led to several successful New York seasons for the actor in a variety of plays. His stage and vaudeville training made him an excellent candidate for talkies; Huston launched his movie career with Gentlemen of the Press (1929), and spent the 1930s playing everything from a Mexican bandit to President Lincoln. Returning to Broadway in 1938 for the musical comedy Knickerbocker Holiday, Huston, in the role of 17th century New Amsterdam governor Peter Minuit, achieved theatrical immortality with his poignant rendition of the show's top tune, "September Song," the recording of which curiously became a fixture of the Hit Parade after Huston's death in 1950. Throughout the 1940s, Huston offered a gallery of memorable screen portrayals, from the diabolical Mr. Scratch in All That Money Can Buy (1941) to George M. Cohan's father in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Still, it was only after removing his expensive false teeth and trading his fancy duds for a dusty bindlestiff's outfit that the actor would win an Academy Award, for his portrayal of the cackling old prospector Howard in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), directed by his son. At the time of his death, Huston was preparing to take on the part of the "world's oldest counterfeiter" in Mister 880, a role ultimately played by fellow Oscar winner Edmund Gwenn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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