Lewis Lord Russell (born George Lewis Lord, September 10, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was an American actor of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s who starred in a number of vaudeville shows, Broadway dramas and Hollywood films, including the Academy Award winning ''

The Lost Weekend ''The Lost Weekend'' is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's The Lost Weekend (novel), 1944 novel about an Alcoholism, alcoholic writer. The film ...

'' (1945) and the Marx Brothers film, '' A Night in Casablanca'' (1946).

Early life and work

Russell was born in Farmington, Illinois to British immigrants Samuel and Martha Jane (Wood) Lord, he was the only child of nine born in the United States and, curiously, the only one who developed an English accent.Interview with Mrs. Frances Lord Robinson, niece. January 18, 2009. His father was an Illinois coal miner. After running away from home as a teenager, he began his life in the restaurant business, becoming an avid cook and eventually owning two restaurants.Lord, James L. ''The Lord Family History''. St. Louis: unpublished, 1976. Private Collection. He also designed rugs and tapestries and worked as a tailor in New York, creating elaborate costumes for the stage.

Career

As a vaudeville actor, Russell toured the U.S. and played at the Palace Theater in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, at a time when the phrase "

Will it play in Peoria? ''Will it play in Peoria?'' is an American English figure of speech that is traditionally used to ask whether a given product, person, promotional theme, or event will appeal to mainstream United States audiences or across a broad range of demo ...

" was well-known to vaudevillians who tested out their routines and sketches in front of the demanding and often difficult-to-please Peoria crowds. Billing himself as an actor from London,. Accessed January 31, 2009. Russell broke into the Broadway scene in the mid 1930s and starred as "The Squire" in the Broadway revival production of Emlyn Williams's '' The Corn is Green'' (1943) with leading lady

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

at the

Martin Beck Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish and ...

in New York. He also toured with actress Glenda Farrell for several years in the New Rochelle Circuit. According to legend, he declined the starring role in '' The Man who Came to Dinner'' (1942) with Bette Davis, and created the role of the janitor in '' My Sister Eileen'' (1942/1955). He played Pancho Villa and had several starring roles in silent pictures, acting at least once opposite Pola Negri. He also played Jane Wyman’s concerned father, Charles St. James, in ''

'',

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

’s most popular film. The playbill for the opening night of ''Bright Rebel'' (1938), a drama about the British Romantic-Era poet Lord Byron, features the following biographical note, which not only confirms Russell's adoption of an English identity but also suggests that he starred in many more plays than currently on record: "LEWIS L. RUSSELL (''Lord Melbourne'') is both an Englishman and an actor by birth. He was born in Leeds, England, shortly after his mother, a well-known English actress, gave one of those 'the show must go on' performances. With as dramatic a beginning as that he could hardly help getting back on the stage and there has been for some fifty years. A few scattered plays among the innumerable he has appeared in are 'The Rosary,' 'Lombardy, Ltd.,' 'The Bad Man,' 'Within the Law,' 'Madame X,' 'Accent on Youth,' and 'Yes My Darling Daughter.'"Lewis L. Russell at th
Playbill Vault
. Accessed September 1, 2014.

Later life

He designed his own home in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, where he kept house, Ernest Hemingway-style, with his two-dozen cats. He died in Reseda, California at the age of 72.

Roles

Broadway

* ''Dead End'' (October 28, 1935 – June 12, 1937) as Medical Examiner * '' London Assurance'' (February 18, 1937 – February 1937) as Max Harkaway * '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (October 15, 1938 – December 1939) as Judge Bowling Green * ''Bright Rebel'' (December 27, 1938 – January 1939) as Lord Melbourne * ''Return Engagement'' (November 1, 1940 – November 7, 1940) as Baldy Bemis * ''Cuckoos on the Hearth'' (September 16, 1941 – January 3, 1942) as Zadoc Grimes * '' The Corn Is Green'' (May 3, 1943 – June 19, 1943) as The Squire

Films

* '' The Affairs of Susan'' (1945) as Mr. Cusp * '' Molly and Me'' (1945) as Sir Arthur Burroughs * '' You Came Along'' (1945) as Chairman * ''

'' (1945) as Charles St. James * ''

Hold That Blonde! Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

'' (1945) as Henry Carteret * ''

She Wouldn't Say Yes ''She Wouldn't Say Yes'' is a 1945 screwball comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Rosalind Russell and Lee Bowman. Plot A psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Lane, is leaving a military hospital after spending two weeks working with patients ...

'' (1945) as Colonel Brady * '' One Way to Love'' (1946) as Roger Winthrop * '' A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, a Marx Bros. film) as Governor Galoux * '' She Wrote the Book'' (1946) as George Dixon * '' If I'm Lucky'' (1946) as P.H. Gillingwater (uncredited) * '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' (1946) as Chief Justice (uncredited) * '' Cross My Heart'' (1946) as Judge * '' Ladies Man'' (1947) as David Harmon * ''

Jewels of Brandenburg ''Jewels of Brandenburg'' is a 1947 American crime film directed by Eugene Forde and written by Irving Cummings Jr. and Robert G. North. The film stars Richard Travis (actor), Richard Travis, Micheline Cheirel, Leonard Strong (actor), Leonard Str ...

'' (1947) as Roger Hamilton * '' The Trouble with Women'' (1947) as Dr. Wilmer Dawson * '' I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now'' (1947) as T.J. Milford (uncredited) * '' The Prince of Thieves'' (1948) as Sir Fitz-Alwin (uncredited) * '' My Dog Rusty'' (1948) as Mayor Fulderwilder * '' Kiss the Blood Off My Hands'' (1948) as Tom Widgery * ''

When the Redskins Rode ''When the Redskins Rode'' is a 1951 American historical Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Jon Hall, Mary Castle and James Seay. The film is loosely based on the events leading up to the outbreak of the French and Indian War. I ...

'' (1951) as Gov. Dinwiddie * '' The Underworld Story'' (1950) as Calvin * '' Corky of Gasoline Alley'' (1951) as Hull (uncredited) * '' Les Misérables'' (1952) as Waiter (uncredited) * '' Against All Flags'' (1952) as Oxford (uncredited) * '' Sangaree'' (1953) as Capt. Bronson * '' The King's Thief'' (1955) as Gentleman (uncredited) * '' The Naked Hills'' (1956) as Baxter (uncredited) (final film role)

Television

* '' Public Prosecutor'', episode "The Case of the Missing Hour" (1947) as Jerome O. Kendrick * ''The Life of Riley'', "Egbert's Chemistry Set" (1949) as Doctor * '' China Smith'', "Shanghai Clipper" (1952) as Lord Ratcliffe * ''

Front Page Detective ''Front Page Detective'' is an American crime drama series which aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET from July 6, 1951, to September 19, 1952, and in October and November 1953. The program was then in broadcast ...

'', "Seven Seas to Danger" (1952) as Dr. Oscar Grandell * '' Adventures of Superman'', "Five Minutes to Doom" (1953) as W. T. Wayne * '' I Married Joan'', "Brad's Moustache" (1953) as a Member of the Nominating Committee

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Lewis 1889 births 1961 deaths American people of British descent People from Farmington, Illinois Male actors from Illinois American male film actors American male stage actors Vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors People from Pasadena, California