Harry Peter Gribbon (June 9, 1885 – July 28, 1961) was an American film actor, comedian and director known for ''

The Cameraman ''The Cameraman'' is a 1928 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and an uncredited Buster Keaton. The picture stars Keaton and Marceline Day. ''The Cameraman'' was Keaton's first film with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It ...

'' (1928), ''

Show People ''Show People'' is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by King Vidor. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the da ...

'' (1928) and ''

Art Trouble ''Art Trouble'' is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy short directed by Ralph Staub and starring Harry Gribbon and Shemp Howard. The film is notable for featuring an uncredited James Stewart in his first screen role. Gribbon was one of several c ...

'' (1934). He appeared in more than 140 films between 1915 and 1938. Many of his films from this era have been lost.

Early life

Harry Peter Gribbon was born on June 9, 1885 in New York City. He was the brother of actor

Eddie Gribbon Eddie Gribbon (January 3, 1890 – September 29, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films from the 1910s to the 1950s. Gribbon began working in Mack Sennett films in 1916 and continued through the 1920s. He usuall ...

Career

Gribbon started in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, performing on the Keith, Orpheum, and Pantages circuits, and in 1913 he became the leading man in the ''Ziegfeld Follies.'' He performed on stage in approximately 200 productions, including ''Buster Brown'', ''The Man Who Owned Broadway'', and ''The Red Widow'', after which

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

signed him to make films. Gribbon's Broadway credits included ''Meet a Body'' (1944), ''Mr. Big'' (1941), ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944), ''Delicate Story'' (1940), and ''Alley Cat'' (1934). Gribbon worked for the

L-KO Kompany The L-KO Kompany, or L-KO Komedies, was an American motion picture company founded by Henry Lehrman that produced silent one-, two- and very occasionally three-reel comedy shorts between 1914 and 1919. The initials L-KO stand for "Lehrman KnockOu ...

. From 1915, Gribbon worked in silent cinema, first at Lubin under the sobriquet 'Rubber-faced Harry', which became 'Silk Hat Harry', when he joined Keystone later that year as top-hatted, amply moustachioed comic villain. During the sound era, acted in several

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

Pathe Pathe or Pathé may refer to: * Pathé, a French company established in 1896 * Pathé Exchange, U.S. division of the French film company that was spun off into an independent entity * Pathé News, a French and British distributor of cinema news ...

short comediesar.

Personal life and death

Gribbon was married to actress May Emory. He died on July 28, 1961, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at the Motion Picture Country Home. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California next to his wife.

Selected filmography

Still_from_silent_film_A_Dash_of_Courage_ (1916)

* ''

Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition ''Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition'' is a 1915 American silent black-and-white short comedy film, directed by Fatty Arbuckle and starring Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. It was produced by Keystone Studios. Plot Fatty (Roscoe Arbuckle ...

'' (1915) * ''

Mabel, Fatty and the Law ''Mabel, Fatty and the Law'' is a 1915 American short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, and directed by Fatty Arbuckle. The film is also known as ''Fatty, Mabel and the Law'' (American alternative title) and ''Fatty's Spoon ...

'' (1915) * ''

Fatty and the Broadway Stars ''Fatty and the Broadway Stars'' is a 1915 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. Cast * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle * Ivy Crosthwaite * Mack Sennett * Joe Weber * Lew Fields * Sam Bernard * William Collier Sr. * Joe ...

'' (1915) * ''

Their Social Splash ''Their Social Splash'' is a 1915 short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. Cast * Slim Summerville - Harold * Dixie Chene - Gladys * Charles Murray - Hogan * Polly Moran - Polly * Frank Hayes - The Father * Harold Lloyd - The Minister * Har ...

'' (1915) * ''

A Social Cub ''A Social Cub'' is a 1916 short silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Gloria Swanson. Cast * Elizabeth De Witt * Gonda Durand * Harry Gribbon * Reggie Morris * Blanche Payson * Della Pringle * Gloria Swanson * Jos ...

'' (1916) * '' A Dash of Courage'' (1916) * ''

The King of the Kitchen ''The King of the Kitchen'' is a 1918 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. Cast * Harry Gribbon as The chef * Rosa Gore as Owner of the house (as Rose Gore) * Eva Novak as Gore's niece * May Emory as A crooked lady (as Mae Emo ...

'' (1918) * '' Business Before Honesty'' (1918) * ''

Salome vs. Shenandoah ''Salome vs. Shenandoah'' is a 1919 American silent film comedy short directed by Ray Grey, Erle C. Kenton, and Ray Hunt. It starred Ben Turpin, Charles Murray, and Phyllis Haver. It was produced by Mack Sennett and distributed by Famous Player ...

'' (1919) * '' Down on the Farm'' (1920) * ''

A Small Town Idol ''A Small Town Idol'' is a 1921 American silent feature comedy film produced by Mack Sennett and released through Associated First National. The film stars Ben Turpin and was made and acted by many of the same Sennett personnel from his previo ...

'' (1921) * ''The Half-Back of Notre Dame'' (1924) * ''

Knockout Reilly ''Knockout Reilly'' is a lost 1927 American silent drama film directed by Malcolm St. Clair and written by Pierre Collings, John W. Conway, and Kenneth Raisbeck based upon a story by Albert Payson Terhune. The film stars Richard Dix, Mary Bria ...

'' (1927) * ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a ...

'' (1928) * ''

Chinatown Charlie ''Chinatown Charlie'' is a 1928 silent film comedy directed by Charles Hines for release by First National Pictures. It stars actor Johnny Hines. Status One source states that a fragment and/or video copy survives of this picture at UCLA Fil ...

'' (1928) * ''

'' (1928) * '' The Shakedown'' (1929) * ''

Tide of Empire ''Tide of Empire '' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Renée Adorée and Tom Keene. The film was originally slated to star Joan Crawford in the female lead, but the final filming had Renée Adorée ins ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Bees' Buzz ''The Bees' Buzz'' is a 1929 American film directed by Mack Sennett. Cast * Harry Gribbon as Homer Ashcraft * Andy Clyde as Peggy's father * Barbara Leonard as Peggy *Tyler Brooke as Peggy's suitor *Vernon Dent as Jim *Ruth Kane as A party gues ...

'' (1929) * '' On with the Show'' (1929) * ''

The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's f ...

'' (1929) * '' So Long Letty'' (1929) * ''

Midnight Daddies ''Midnight Daddies'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Andy Clyde, Harry Gribbon, and Rosemary Theby.Balducci, p. 99 It was the last feature film that Sennett directed: his remaining six films were B ...

'' (1930) * '' Dumb Dicks'' (1931) * ''

Ride Him, Cowboy ''Ride Him, Cowboy'' is a 1932 pre-Code Western film directed by Fred Allen for Warner Brothers, starring a 25-year-old John Wayne. Based on the 1923 novel of the same name by Kenneth Perkins, the film is a remake of '' The Unknown Cavalier' ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Kid from Spain ''The Kid from Spain'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Leo McCarey. Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar composed the songs, and Busby Berkeley is credited with creating and directing the film's musical scenes. It was Jane Wyman's film debut ...

'' (1932) * ''

'' (1934)

References

External links

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portrait 1910s
Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gribbon, Harry 1885 births 1961 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from New York (state) 20th-century American male actors Vaudeville performers American male stage actors Broadway theatre people