Loyal Underwood (August 6, 1893 - September 30, 1966) was an American stock
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
for
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
's
film studio
A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...
.
Biography
Born in 1893 in
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
, Underwood's movie debut was in ''
The Count'', a 1916 Chaplin
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
created for the
Mutual Film Corporation
Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures.
Founding
Mutual's ...
. Underwood is uncredited as he was for the four other Mutual shorts in which he appeared.
In 1918, Chaplin started work for
First National and Loyal Underwood was on hand. He was credited and appeared in all seven First National Shorts which Chaplin directed.
Underwood was a short man. Next to the short Chaplin at , he appeared puny and weak. Hence, the comedy of a situation in which such a man is the antagonist; Chaplin's character routinely shrugged him off.
Between 1921 and 1927, Underwood appeared in several other lesser known films. In the next twenty years, he was again appearing uncredited in films, such as ''
Arizona Bad Man
''Arizona Bad Man'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and starring Reb Russell, Lois January and Edmund Cobb.Rainey p.349
Cast
* Reb Russell as Steve Donovan
* Lois January as Lucy Dunston
* Slim Whitaker as Black Bart D ...
'', ''
Let's Dance'' and ''
The Paleface''.
In 1928, Underwood worked as a writer and director at radio station
KNX in Los Angeles.
Underwood's final film was a credited role, albeit a small one, as a Street Musician in Chaplin's final American film ''
Limelight
Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when ...
'' in 1952.
Underwood died 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' ...
on September 30, 1966 in Southern California, and is buried in the Sheltering Hills section at
Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery 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' ...
. He was 73. Decades after his death, he lies in a still-unmarked curbside grave.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Loyal
1893 births
1966 deaths
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
20th-century American male actors