Douglass Dumbrille
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor and one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood.
In 1913, the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film What Eighty Million Women Want, but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again.
In 1924, he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories, tea, insurance, real estate, and books.
During the Great Depression, Dumbrille moved to the West Coast of the U.S., where he specialized in playing secondary character roles alongside the great stars of the day. His physical appearance and suave voice equipped him for roles as slick politician, corrupt businessman, crooked sheriff, or unscrupulous lawyer.
He was highly regarded by the studios and was sought out by Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Hal Roach and other prominent Hollywood filmmakers. A friend of fellow Canadian-born director Allan Dwan, Dumbrille played Athos in Dwan’s 1939 adaptation of The Three Musketeers.
Dumbrille had roles in more than 200 motion pictures and, with the advent of television, made numerous appearances in the 1950s and 1960s. He had the ability to project a balance of menace and pomposity in roles as the "heavy" in comedy films, such as those of the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello.
Acting
Movie
The Ten Commandments
as Jannes
1956
TV
The Twilight Zone
as Mr. Halpert
1959
TV
Batman
as The Doctor
1966
Movie
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as John Cedar
1936
Movie
Julius Caesar
as Lepidus
1953
Movie
A Day at the Races
as Morgan
1937
Movie
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
as District Attorney (uncredited)
1932
Movie
Baby Face
as Brody
1933
TV
Perry Mason
as Judge Robert Adler
1957
TV
Perry Mason
as Judge
1957
TV
The Untouchables
as Judge Ben Harlow
1959
TV
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
Movie
Scaramouche
as Assembly President
1952
Movie
Treasure Island
as Pirate of the Spanish Main
1934
Movie
The Big Store
as Mr. Grover
1941
Movie
Peter Ibbetson
as Colonel Forsythe
1935
Movie
Crime and Punishment
as Grilov
1935
Movie
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
as Mohammed Khan
1935
Movie
The Buccaneer
as Collector of the Port
1958
Movie
Road to Utopia
as Ace Larson
1946
TV
Petticoat Junction
as Dave La Salle
1963
Movie
Lady Killer
as Spade
1933
Movie
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion
as Sheik Hamud El Khalid
1950
Movie
Son of Paleface
as Sheriff McIntyre
1952