Harry Bannister (September 29, 1889 – February 26, 1961) was an American stage, film and television actor, and theater producer and director.

Biography

Born in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...

, Bannister began acting in movies and on Broadway in the 1920s. He married the actress

Ann Harding Ann Harding (born Dorothy Walton Gatley; August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was ...

in 1926, and appeared with her in two films, ''Her Private Affair'' (1929) and '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1930). The two of them also were prominent actors in Pittsburgh theatre, appearing in productions with the Sharp Company and later starting the Nixon Players.Conner, Lynne (2007). Pittsburgh In Stages: Two Hundred Years of Theater. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 105-106. . Retrieved 2011-06-06. They were divorced in 1932. Bannister founded the American Music Hall Theatre Group in New York City. Its first production, a melodrama entitled ''

The Drunkard ''The Drunkard; or, The Fallen Saved'' is an American temperance play first performed on February 12, 1844.

'', ran for 277 performances. He appeared regularly on Broadway in the 1950s, starring, opposite

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to ...

, in ''

Affairs of State ''Affairs of State'' is a 1950 Broadway comedy written and directed by Louis Verneuil. It opened at the Royale Theatre, then moved to the Music Box Theatre and played for a total of 610 performances. It was the first play Verneuil wrote in Engli ...

'' and in ''Love Me Long'' with Shirley Booth. On television Bannister played one of the fathers in the 1953

Russel Crouse Russel Crouse (20 February 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio, Crouse was the son of Sarah ...

TV series ''

Life with Father ''Life with Father'' is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the ...

''. He died in Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 71.

Filmography

Sources

*''The New York Times'', February 27, 1961: "Harry Bannister Is Dead at 72"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bannister, Harry 1889 births 1961 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American theatre managers and producers American theatre directors 20th-century American male actors