Actor, Singer. He was a short, burly, and mustachioed, comic actor best known for playing the character roles of burglars, stewards, bartenders, innkeepers, and promoters, in both silent films and sound films. He will be best remembered for playing the role of 'Old Fezziwig' in the classic holiday film, "A Christmas Carol" (1938). The film which was directed by Edwin L. Marin, which was written for the screen by Hugo Butler, which was based on the book by Charles Dickens, and which also starred Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Barry MacKay, Terry Kilburn, Lynne Carver, and Reginald Owen as the crotchety title character, the miser, 'Ebenezer Scrooge,' tells the story of an elderly miser who learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve. He was born in Cork, County Cork, Ireland, on June 27, 1884, was educated locally, and then pursued an acting career beginning with the stage first in England and then in the United States. He appeared on the stage in London, England, and in the stage production of the plays, "Beauty And The Barge" (1904-1905), and "Mrs. Winterbottom's Woes" (1922-1923). He also appeared on Broadway in New York City, New York, in the stage production of the play, as 'Biddie' in "Havoc" (September 01, 1924, to October 1924). During his time on the stage, he also made the transition to films. He made his actual film debut playing the role of 'Jock Gordon' in the romance film drama, "The Lilac Sunbonnet" (1922). The film which was directed by and written for the screen by Sidney Morgan, which was based on the novel by S.R. Crockett, and which also starred Lewis Dayton, Nell Emerald, Arthur Lennard, and Charles Levey, tells the story of a girl who wins a cleric's approval by revealing she is his daughter by a runaway marriage. Besides playing the role of playing the role of 'Jock Gordon' in the romance film drama, "The Lilac Sunbonnet" (1922), and playing the role of 'Old Fezziwig' in the classic holiday film, "A Christmas Carol" (1938), his many other film credits include, "The Man Who Liked Lemons" (1923), "Somebody's Darling" (1925), "Nell Gwyn" (1926), "If Youth But Knew" (1926), "Cash On Delivery" (1926), "The Flag Lieutenant" (1927), "The King" (1927), "King's Mate" (1928), "Moulin Rouge" (1928), "Toni" (1928), "Glorious Youth" (1928), "Spangles" (1928), "The Brute Simmons" (1928), "Ringing The Changes" (1929), "The Devil To Pay!" (1930), "A Tailor Made Man" (1931), "The Man In Possession" (1931), "Chances" (1931), "Guilty Hands" (1931), "Devotion" (1931), "Lovers Courageous" (1932), "Shanghai Express" (1932), "Sky Devils" (1932), "The Wet Parade" (1932), "Tarzan The Ape Man" (1932), "But The Flesh Is Weak" (1932), "Mystery Ranch" (1932), "Hawkins & Watkins Inc." (1932), "Those We Love" (1932), "Young Onions" (1932), "Smilin' Through" (1932), "Kongo" (1932), "Red Dust" (1932), 'Destination Unknown" (1933), "The Eagle And The Hawk" (1933), "Cocktail Hour" (1933), "Midnight Club" (1933), "Blind Adventure" (1933), "Lady For A Day" (1933), "The Invisible Man" (1933), "Many Of Two Worlds" (1934), "You Can't Buy Everything" (1934), "The Mystery Of Mr. X" (1934), "Tarzan And His Mate" (1934), "Menace" (1934), "The Painter Veil" (1934), "Broadway Bill" (1934), "Limehouse Blues" (1934), "Forsaking All Others" (1934), "The Best Man Wins" (1935), "The Gilded Lily" (1935), "The Right To Live" (1935), "Mystery Of Edwin Drood" (1935), "The Woman In Red" (1935), "Vagabond Lady" (1935), "Jalna" (1935), "China Seas" (1935), "Without Regret" (1935), "The Perfect Gentleman" (1935), "A Tale Of Two Cities" (1935), "Captain Blood" (1935), "Three Live Ghosts" (1936), "Love Before Breakfast" (1936), "Petticoat Fever" (1936), "Trouble For Two" (1936), "The Return Of Sophie Lang" (1936), "Suzy" (1936), "White Hunter" (1936), "Lloyd's Of London" (1936), "Personal Property" (1937), "The Prince And The Pauper" (1937), "Souls At Sea" (1937), "The Man Who Cried Wolf" (1937), "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back" (1937), "Fight For Your Lady" (1937), "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" (1937), "Bulldog Drummond's Peril" (1938), "Kidnapped" (1938), "Bulldog Drummond In Africa" (1938), "Mysterious Mr. Moto" (1938), "Arrest Bulldog Drummond" (1938), "Sweethearts" (1938), "I'm From Missouri" (1939), "Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police" (1939), "Let Us Live" (1939), "The Lady's From Kentucky" (1939), "The Witness Vanishes" (1939), "The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex" (1939), "Raffles" (1939), "A Chump At Oxford" (1939), "The Invisible Man Returns" (1940), "Rebecca" (1940), "On Their Own" (1940), "Tom Brown's School Days" (1940), "Earl of Puddlestone" (1940), "Little Nellie Kelly" (1940), "Free And Easy" (1941), "Meet John Doe" (1941), "Scotland Yard" (1941), "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" (1941), "Mercy Island" (1941), "The Feminine Touch" (1941, His scenes were delted), "The Wolf Man" (1941), "This Above All" (1942), "Mrs. Miniver" (1942), "Random Harvest" (1942), "The Mysterious Doctor" (1943), "The Lodger" (1944), "Secrets Of Scotland Yard" (1944), "None But The Lonely Heart" (1944), "The Man In Half Moon Street" (1945), "Confidential Agent" (1945), and "The Green Years" (1946). His last film role was playing 'Hoggs' in "Devotion" (1946). The film which was directed by Curtis Bernhardt, which was written for the screen by Keith Winter, Theodore Reeves, and Edward Chodorov, and which also starred Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, and Paul Henreid, tells the story of Genius authors Emily Bronte and Charlotte Bronte who fall in love with their curate as they seek to get their work published. He retired from acting shortly thereafter. On an interesting note, a number of reference works incorrectly identify him as having played Little Maria's father in the classic horror film, "Frankenstein" (1931), which also starred Colin Clive, John Boles, Mae Clarke, Dwight Frye, and Edward Van Sloan. Shortly, before his death, he also sued the Gotham Cafe in Hollywood, California, for $59,000, after he took a bad fall off a bar stool. The case went to trial on May 4, 1944, and he claimed that he missed work for up to 75 weeks because the cafe was so overcrowded and that the bar stool he was sitting on was defective and turned over on him resulting in multiple injuries to his body. The management of the Gotham Cafe in Hollywood, California, denied these claims. On an interesting note, he also appeared in seven Academy Award for Best Picture nominees including, "Shanghai Express" (1932), "Smilin' Through" (1932), "Lady For A Day (1933), "A Tale Of Two Cities" (1935), "Captain Blood" (1935), "Rebecca" (1940) and "Mrs. Miniver" (1942). The last two won. He also appeared in five films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant including, "Red Dust" (1932), "The Invisible Man" (1933), "Tarzan And His Mate" (1934), "Rebecca" (1940) and "Mrs. Miniver" (1942). He was cremated at Long Beach Crematory in Long Beach, California, through the Minter Laguna Beach Funeral Home in Laguna Beach, California, the mortuary records list only the crematory, long out of business. Some unclaimed cremains were eventually buried in the old Sunnyside Cemetery at Long Beach, California, in an unmarked area. Most of the crematory's ashes went to the family; in his case his widow, Helene Harvey.