John George ( ar, جون جورج; born Tufei Fatella, January 20, 1898 – August 25, 1968) was an actor who appeared in at least 130 movies from 1916 to 1960. George worked in films of all genres alongside countless stars although often for only the briefest of appearances, uncredited.

Early years

George was born in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Little is known about his early life but he immigrated to the United States around 1911 and searched for his mother and sisters who seem to have settled in the Nashville, Tennessee, area.

Film

Eventually George found his way to Los Angeles and the early silent film industry. George may have begun his career in the

Joseph De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

movie ''

Bobbie of the Ballet ''Bobbie of the Ballet'' is a 1916 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Louise Lovely, Gretchen Lederer and Jay Belasco. It was written by Ida May Park, based on a story by Grant Carpenter. ...

'' (1916) as an uncredited "tenement dweller". George may have even appeared earlier than that in the 1915 serial ''

The Broken Coin ''The Broken Coin'' is a 1915 American adventure-mystery film serial directed by Francis Ford. This serial is presumed to be lost. Cast * Grace Cunard - Kitty Gray * Francis Ford - Count Frederick * Eddie Polo - Roleau * Harry Schumm - Kin ...

'' unbilled, as an actor who strongly favors him appears in a still photo from the chapter play with Francis Ford and

Grace Cunard Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries; April 8, 1893 – January 19, 1967) was an American actress, screenwriter and film director. During the silent era, she starred in over 100 films, wrote or co-wrote at least 44 of those production ...

in Daniel Blum's ''Pictorial History of the Silent Screen''. George went on to appear in Rex Ingram's Gothic melodrama ''

Black Orchids ''Black Orchids'' is a Nero Wolfe double mystery by Rex Stout published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Stout's first short story collection, the volume is composed of two novellas that had appeared in abridged form in ''The American Magazine'' ...

'' (1917) as a character named Ali Bara. George worked in dozens of movies for Rex Ingram until 1926 when Ingram, tired of George's

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, sent him home on a bus. George became a regular in several 1920s silent films with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

both at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, including ''The Road to Mandalay'', ''The Big City'', ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', ''Outside The Law'' and ''The Unknown''. He also appeared in the

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

production ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (1926) opposite

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

, where he was the cruel dwarf Castle Keeper/Informer who delighted in exposing to Don Jose (Don Juan's father) the infidelities of his wife with another man. He also played Barnaby's minion in the 1934 '' Babes in Toyland''. George continued to appear in movie after movie until some time near his death.John George; findagrave.com
Retrieved December 16, 2016 One of his last roles was in 1956, an uncredited one as “A Barfly” in James Arness's TV Western Series ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', S1E21's “Helping Hand”.

Death

On August 25, 1968, George died from emphysema at age 70 in

Los Angeles 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' ...

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1915) * ''

'' (1916) * ''

The Chalice of Sorrow ''The Chalice of Sorrow'' is a 1916 American silent film drama written and directed by Rex Ingram and starring Cleo Madison. It was produced by the Bluebird Photoplays subsidiary of Universal Film Manufacturing Company. The film was called ''Th ...

'' (1916) * ''

'' (1917) * ''

Pay Me! ''Pay Me!'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Dorothy Phillips and William Stowell. In the United States, the film is also known as ''The Vengeance of the West''. The screenplay was written ...

'' (1917) * ''

Bound in Morocco ''Bound in Morocco'' is a 1918 American silent action romantic comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks. Fairbanks produced and wrote the film's story and screenplay (under the pseudonym Elton Thomas), and Allan Dwan directed. The film was produced ...

'' (1918) * ''Friends and Frauds'' (1918)*short * '' Outside the Law'' (1920) * ''

Turn to the Right ''Turn To The Right'' is an extant 1922 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Rex Ingram and starring Alice Terry. The film is based on a 1916 Broadway play ''Turn to the Right'' by Winchell Smith and John E. Hazzard. Plot As described ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

'' (1922) * ''

Trifling Women ''Trifling Women'' is a 1922 American silent romantic drama film directed by Rex Ingram. It is credited with boosting the careers of its leads, Barbara La Marr and Ramon Novarro. It has been described as Ingram's most personal film. The film i ...

'' (1922) * '' Where the Pavement Ends'' (1923) * ''

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; from Italian Scaramuccia , literally "little skirmisher") is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the ...

'' (1923) * '' When a Girl Loves'' (1924) * ''

Mare Nostrum ''Mare Nostrum'' (; Latin: "Our Sea") was a Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea. In Classical Latin, it would have been pronounced , and in Ecclesiastical Latin, it is pronounced . In the decades following the 1861 unification of ...

'' (1926) * '' The Volga Boatman'' (1926) * ''

The Road to Mandalay The Road to Mandalay can refer to: * "Mandalay" (poem), of 1890 by Rudyard Kipling, whose chorus begins "On the road to Mandalay" * "On the Road to Mandalay" (song), a 1907 musical setting by Oley Speaks of the Kipling poem * ''The Road to Mandal ...

'' (1926) * '' The Bells'' (1926) * ''

'' (1926) * ''

The Night of Love ''The Night of Love'' is a 1927 drama film, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, released by United Artists, and stars Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Montagu Love. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee is based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. ...

'' (1927) * '' The Unknown'' (1927) * ''

The Road to Romance ''The Road to Romance'' is a 1927 American silent action film directed by John S. Robertson, based upon the 1903 Joseph Conrad-Ford Madox Ford novel ''Romance''. A copy of the film survives at the New Zealand Film Archive. Plot Serafina (Marc ...

'' (1927) * '' The Big City'' (1928) * ''

Condemned Condemned or The Condemned may refer to: Legal * Persons awaiting execution * A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons * A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain ...

'' (1929) * '' Outside the Law'' (1930) * ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' (1932) * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934) * ''

More About Nostradamus ''More About Nostradamus'' is a 1941 American short film directed by David Miller. In 1941 it was nominated for an Academy Award at the 13th Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film, One-Reel. Cast * John Burton as Michel de Nostradam ...

'' (1941) * ''

Adventure in Iraq ''Adventure in Iraq'' is a 1943 American adventure film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring John Loder, Ruth Ford, Warren Douglas and Paul Cavanagh. The film is based on the 1921 play '' The Green Goddess'' by William Archer. Plot Thr ...

'' (1943) * '' The Devil's Playground'' (1946) * ''

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands ''Kiss the Blood Off My Hands'' is a 1948 American noir- thriller film directed by Norman Foster. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gerald Butler, it stars Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster and Robert Newton. The film faced minor ...

'' (1948) * ''

Mesa of Lost Women ''Mesa of Lost Women'' is a 1953 American low-budget black-and-white science fiction film directed by Herbert Tevos and Ron Ormond from a screenplay by Tevos and Orville H. Hampton who is given on-screen credit only for dialogue supervision. Pl ...

'' (1953) * '' Oceans 11'' (1960)

References

Classic Horror website

External links