Lionel Alfred William Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and screen actor. He began his acting career at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

. After coming to the U.S., he subsequently appeared in various Broadway plays and Hollywood films. Some of his more significant roles were in '' Captain Blood'' (1935), ''

Son of Frankenstein ''Son of Frankenstein'' is a 1939 American horror film that was directed by Rowland V. Lee and stars Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' ''Frankenstein'' series and is the follow-up to the ...

'' (1939) and ''

To Be or Not to Be To Be or Not to Be may refer to: * ''To be, or not to be'', the soliloquy from ''Hamlet''. Films and TV, theatre and books * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1942 film), directed by Ernst Lubitsch * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983 film), a remake produced ...

'' (1942).

Life and career

Atwill was born on 1 March 1885 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, London, England. He studied architecture before his stage debut at the

, London, in 1904. Atwill-Cornell-Outsider-1924

He became a star in Broadway theatre by 1918 and made his screen debut in 1919. His Broadway credits include ''The Lodger'' (1916), ''The Silent Witness'' (1930), ''Fioretta'' (1928), ''The Outsider'' (1924), ''Napoleon'' (1927), ''The Thief'' (1926), ''Slaves All'' (1926), ''Beau Gallant'' (1925), ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1924), ''The Outsider'' (1923), ''The Comedian'' (1922), ''The Grand Duke'' (1921), ''

Deburau ''Deburau'' is a 1918 French play by Sacha Guitry that also played on Broadway in a translation by Harley Granville-Barker at the Belasco Theatre in 1920–21 Mantle, BurnsThe Best Plays of 1920-21 and the Year Book of the Drama in America pp. 1 ...

'' (1920), ''Tiger! Tiger!'' (1918), ''Another Man's Shoes'' (1918), ''A Doll's House'' (1917), ''Hedda Gabler'' (1917), ''The Wild Duck'' (1917), ''The Indestructible Wife'' (1917), ''L'elevation'' (1917), and ''Eve's Daughter'' (1917). He acted on the stage in Australia and then became involved in U.S. horror films in the 1930s, including leading roles in '' Doctor X'' (1932), ''

The Vampire Bat ''The Vampire Bat'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye. Plot When the villagers of Kleinschloss start dying of blood loss, the town father ...

'', ''

Murders in the Zoo ''Murders in the Zoo'' is 1933 pre-Code horror film directed by A. Edward Sutherland, written by Philip Wylie and Seton I. Miller. Particularly dark, even for its time, film critic Leonard Maltin called the film "astonishingly grisly." Plot Bi ...

'' and ''

Mystery of the Wax Museum ''Mystery of the Wax Museum'' is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery- horror film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, and Frank McHugh. It was produced and released by Warner Bros. and filmed in two-col ...

'' (all 1933), and perhaps most memorably as the one-armed Inspector Krogh in ''

'' (1939), a role famously parodied by

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Youn ...

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

' 1974 satire ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor ...

''. He appeared in four subsequent Universal Frankenstein films as well as many other of the studio's beloved chillers. His other roles include a romantic lead opposite

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

in Josef von Sternberg's ''The Devil Is a Woman'' (1935), a crooked insurance investigator in ''

The Wrong Road ''The Wrong Road'' is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by James Cruze and starring Richard Cromwell, Helen Mack, and Lionel Atwill. The film is now in the public domain. Plot A young unmarried couple (Cromwell and Mack), whose plans ...

'' (1937) for

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 ...

, Dr. James Mortimer in

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

's film version of ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is se ...

'' (1939), and Professor Moriarty in the

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 Americ ...

film ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon ''Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon'' (1942) is the fourth in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films which updated the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the then present day. The film is credited as ...

'' (1943). He also had a rare comedy role in

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

's 1942 classic ''

'' and that same year menaced Abbott and Costello in ''

Pardon My Sarong ''Pardon My Sarong'' is a 1942 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello. Plot Tommy Layton, a wealthy bachelor, rents a city bus to take him from Chicago to Los Angeles to participate in a yacht race to Hawai’i. The bus drivers, Algy and Welli ...

''.

Personal life

Atwill married four times. His first wife was Phyllis Ralph; the couple married in 1913 and divorced in 1919. In 1941, their son John Arthur Atwill (born 1914) was killed in action at age 26.Commonwealth War Graves Commission - CWGC record
Atwill married the actress

Elsie Mackay Honorable Lady Elsie Mackay (August 21, 1893–13th March 1928) was a British actress, jockey, interior decorator and pioneering aviator who died attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean with Walter G. R. Hinchliffe in a single engined Stinson ...

in 1920. He married

Louise Cromwell Brooks Louise Cromwell (born Henrietta Louise Cromwell; September 24, 1890 – May 30, 1965) was an American socialite whose four marriages included seven years as the first wife of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. She was "considered one of ...

in 1930 after her divorce from General of the Army Douglas MacArthur; they divorced in 1943. Atwill married Paula Pruter in 1944, and their marriage continued until his death. Their son, Lionel Anthony Atwill, is a retired writer. In 1942, Atwill was indicted for perjury by a jury investigating the 1941 proceeding of a grand jury relative to the alleged occurrence of a sex orgy at his home. He was given five years probation, but Hollywood producers and other executives blacklisted him for minor criminal activity. He made small film appearances afterward. Atwill died on 22 April 1946, as a result of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at his home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.

Filmography

*'' Eve's Daughter'' (1918) - Courtenay Urquhart *''

For Sale For Sale may refer to: Film * ''For Sale'' (1918 film), a silent film starring Gladys Hulette and Creighton Hale * ''For Sale'' (1924 film), a silent film starring Vera Reynolds * ''For Sale'' (1998 film), a French drama film Music * Beatles fo ...

'' (1918) - Minor Role *'' The Marriage Price'' (1919) - Kenneth Gordon *'' The Eternal Mother'' (1920) - Howard Hollister *''

The Highest Bidder ''The Highest Bidder'' is a lost 1921 American drama film directed by Wallace Worsley and written by Lloyd Lonergan. It is based on the 1920 novel ''The Trap'' by Maximilian Foster. The film stars Madge Kennedy, Lionel Atwill, Vernon Steele, Ell ...

'' (1921) - Lester *'' The Silent Witness'' (1932) - Sir Austin Howard *'' Doctor X'' (1932) - Dr. Jerry Xavier *''

'' (1933) - Dr. Otto von Niemann *'' The Secret of Madame Blanche'' (1933) - Aubrey St. John *''

'' (1933) - Ivan Igor *''

'' (1933) - Eric Gorman *''

The Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a legendary creature, mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of ...

'' (1933) - Jerome Breen *'' The Song of Songs'' (1933) - Baron von Merzbach *''

Secret of the Blue Room ''The Secret of the Blue Room'' is a 1933 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas and Edward Arnold. The film's plot concerns a group of wealthy people who stay at a Europe ...

'' (1933) - Robert von Helldorf *''

The Solitaire Man ''The Solitaire Man'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Drama (genre), drama film directed by Jack Conway (filmmaker), Jack Conway and starring Herbert Marshall and Mary Boland. Plot summary After a job in Monte Carlo, an English ...

'' (1933) - Inspector Wallace *''

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

'' (1934) - Colonel André Muffat *''

Beggars in Ermine ''Beggars in Ermine'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Phil Rosen. Plot John Dawson, a steel-mill owner loses his legs and his company in an accident engineered by his crooked secretary/treasurer, Jim Marley. After meeting a blind ...

'' (1934) - John 'Flint' Dawson aka John Daniels *''

Stamboul Quest ''Stamboul Quest'' is a 1934 American spy film set in World War I, directed by Sam Wood, starring Myrna Loy and George Brent and featuring Lionel Atwill. The screenplay was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz from a story by Leo Birinski. Plot In 1 ...

'' (1934) - Herr Von Sturm *''

One More River ''One More River'' is a 1934 American drama film mystery directed by James Whale. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and starred Colin Clive, Diana Wynyard and stage actress Mrs Patrick Campbell in one of her very few films. T ...

'' (1934) - Brough *''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine ''Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Apple ...

'' (1934) - Julius Beaufort *''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...

'' (1934) - John Pointer *''

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head ''The Man Who Reclaimed His Head'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by Edward Ludwig and written by Jean Bart and Samuel Ornitz. The film stars Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, Lionel Atwill, Juanita Quigley, Henry O'Neill and Henry Armetta. T ...

'' (1934) - Henry Dumont *'' The Devil Is a Woman'' (1935) - Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar *'' Mark of the Vampire'' (1935) - Inspector Neumann *''

The Murder Man ''The Murder Man'' is a 1935 American crime-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, and Lionel Atwill, and directed by Tim Whelan. The picture was Tracy's first film in what would be a twenty-year career with MGM. Tracy plays an inves ...

'' (1935) - Captain Cole *'' Rendezvous'' (1935) - Major William Brennan *'' Captain Blood'' (1935) - Colonel Bishop *''

Lady of Secrets ''Lady of Secrets'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Marion Gering and starring Ruth Chatterton, Otto Kruger and Lionel Atwill.Monaco p.111 Plot Celia Whittaker, a reclusive socialite who has long eschewed romantic opportunities, learns ...

'' (1936) - Mr. Whittaker *'' Till We Meet Again'' (1936) - Ludwig *''

Absolute Quiet ''Absolute Quiet'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by George B. Seitz and written by Harry Clork. The film stars Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Raymond Walburn, Stuart Erwin, Ann Loring and Louis Hayward. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture, it ...

'' (1936) - G.A. Axton *''

The High Command ''The High Command'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Lionel Atwill, Lucie Mannheim and James Mason. It was shot at Ealing Studios and on location on the Gold Coast. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1937) - Maj. Gen. Sir John Sangye, VC *''

The Road Back ''The Road Back'', also translated as ''The Way Back'', (german: Der Weg zurück) is a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque, commonly regarded as a sequel to his 1929 novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. It was first serialized in the ...

'' (1937) - Prosecutor *''

The Last Train from Madrid ''The Last Train from Madrid'' is a 1937 American war drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland. It is set during the Spanish Civil War. The film was one of the few contemporary Hollywood film ...

'' (1937) - Col. Vigo *''

Lancer Spy ''Lancer Spy'' is a 1937 American thriller film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Dolores Del Rio and George Sanders. Its plot concerns an Englishman who impersonates a German officer and a female German spy who falls in love with him. Plo ...

'' (1937) - Col. Fenwick *''

'' (1937) - Mike Roberts *''

The Great Garrick ''The Great Garrick'' is a 1937 American historical comedy film directed by James Whale and starring Brian Aherne, Olivia de Havilland, and Edward Everett Horton. The film also features Lionel Atwill, Luis Alberni, Melville Cooper, and future sta ...

'' (1937) - Beaumarchais *'' Three Comrades'' (1938) - Breuer *'' The Great Waltz'' (1938) - Count Hohenfried *''

'' (1939) - Inspector Krogh *''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1939) - De Rochefort *''

'' (1939) - James Mortimer M.D. *'' The Gorilla'' (1939) - Walter Stevens *'' The Sun Never Sets'' (1939) - Zurof *'' Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation'' (1939) - Prof. Roger Chauncey Hildebrand *''

The Secret of Dr. Kildare ''The Secret of Dr. Kildare'' is a 1939 American film directed by Harold S. Bucquet and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the fourth of a total of ten Dr. Kildare pictures, Lew Ayres starred all but the first. Plot summary Dr. Leonard ...

'' (1939) - Paul Messenger *''

Balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

'' (1939) - Prof. Marakov *'' The Mad Empress'' (1939) - General Bazaine *'' Charlie Chan in Panama'' (1940) - Cliveden Compton *'' Johnny Apollo'' (1940) - Jim McLaughlin *''

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise ''Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise'' is a 1940 murder mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fifth of many performances as Charlie Chan. It is based on the Earl Derr Biggers 1930 novel '' Charlie Chan Carries On''. Plot The famed detective seeks ...

'' (1940) - Dr. Suderman *''

Girl in 313 ''Girl in 313'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Ricardo Cortez and written by Barry Trivers and M. Clay Adams. The film stars Florence Rice, Kent Taylor, Lionel Atwill, Kay Aldridge, Mary Treen and Jack Carson. The film was released o ...

'' (1940) - Russell aka Henry Woodruff *''

The Great Profile ''The Great Profile'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff and John Payne. Synopsis Barrymore lampoons himself. A famous actor, given to drink, nearly destroys the ...

'' (1940) - Dr. Bruce *''

Boom Town A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'' (1940) - Harry Compton *''

Man Made Monster ''Man-Made Monster'' is a 1941 American Science fiction film, science-fiction horror film directed by George Waggner and produced by Jack Bernhard for Universal Pictures. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Lon Chaney, Jr. (in his horror film deb ...

'' (1941, re-released as ''The Atomic Monster'') - Dr. Paul Rigas *''

'' (1942) - Rawitch *''

The Mad Doctor of Market Street ''The Mad Doctor of Market Street'' is a 1942 American horror film produced by Universal Pictures starring Lionel Atwill. The film was a low-budget project that utilized the studio's contract players and gave rising director Joseph H. Lewis an ...

'' (1942) - Graham / Dr. Ralph Benson *''

The Ghost of Frankenstein ''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' is a 1942 American horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It is the fourth film in the ''Frankenstein'' series by Universal Pictures, and the follow-up ...

'' (1942) - Doctor Theodore Bohmer *''

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx ''The Strange Case of Doctor Rx'' is a 1942 black-and-white murder mystery/ horror B film by Universal Studios directed by William Nigh and starring Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Anne Gwynne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Samuel S. Hinds. Although ...

'' (1942) - Dr. Fish *''

Junior G-Men of the Air ''Junior G-Men of the Air'' is a 1942 Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys. A group of youthful flying enthusiasts join the "Junior G-Men" to help break up a planned attack on the United States. Plot During ...

'' (1942, Serial) - The Baron *''

'' (1942) - Varnoff *''

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

'' (1942) - Teutonic Gentleman *''

Night Monster ''Night Monster'' is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and was produced and direc ...

'' (1942) - Dr. King *''

'' (1943) - Moriarty *''

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ''Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. This was the first of a series of later called "monster rallie ...

'' (1943) - Mayor *''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' (1944, Serial) - Cyrus Maldor *''

Lady in the Death House ''Lady in the Death House'' is a 1944 American film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Jean Parker and Lionel Atwill. Plot Mary Kirk Logan is led from her cell to the electric chair, to be "killed by the hand of the man I love." A psychol ...

'' (1944) - Charles Finch *''

Raiders of Ghost City ''Raiders of Ghost City'' is a 1944 American Western film serial from Universal Pictures set in California during the American Civil War. Plot At the height of the Civil War, a gang of supposed Confederates, headed by Alex Morel, raid all gold ...

'' (1944, Serial) - Erich von Rugen, alias Alex Morel *''

Secrets of Scotland Yard ''Secrets of Scotland Yard'' is a 1944 American thriller film directed by George Blair and starring Edgar Barrier, Stephanie Bachelor and C. Aubrey Smith. The screenplay was by Denison Clift, adapting one of his own stories "Room 40, O.B." from ...

'' (1944) - Waterlow *'' House of Frankenstein'' (1944) - Inspector Arnz *''

Fog Island ''Fog Island'' is a 1945 American mystery-suspense film directed by Terry O. Morse. The film stars B movie horror film regulars George Zucco and Lionel Atwill. It was based on the 1937 play ''Angel Island'' by Bernadine "Bernie" Angus. Plot ...

'' (1945) - Alec Ritchfield *''

Crime, Inc. ''Crime, Inc.'' is a 1945 American film noir crime film directed by Lew Landers starring Leo Carrillo, Tom Neal and Martha Tilton. Plot summary The film, based on a story by former crime reporter Martin Mooney, is about a newspaper journalist ...

'' (1945) - Pat Coyle *''

House of Dracula ''House of Dracula'' is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures Company, Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 19 ...

'' (1945) - Police Inspector Holtz *''

Lost City of the Jungle ''Lost City of the Jungle'' is a 1946 Universal movie serial. Plot Recent atom tests show a certain element - Meteorium 245 - as a defense against the atomic bomb. The evil Eric Hazarias (Lionel Atwill) has traced a Meteorium deposit to the Him ...

'' (1946, Serial) - Sir Eric Hazarias *'' Genius at Work'' (1946) - Latimer Marsh / The Cobra (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atwill, Lionel 1885 births 1946 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in California English male film actors English male silent film actors English male stage actors People from Croydon 20th-century English male actors British expatriate male actors in the United States Deaths from lung cancer in California

Life and career

Personal life

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links