Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American
character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s.
Life and career
Born in
Plymouth, Indiana, Walburn in the early 1900s moved to
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, and began acting on stage, which was also his mother's profession. He performed in
stock theater for only four years before being cast on
Broadway, where he made his debut in ''Cordelia Blossom'' in 1914. Over a half century later, in 1965, Walburn acted in his final Broadway production, ''A Very Rich Woman''.
During his long career, he also toured extensively, performing on stages throughout the United States and in other countries.
Walburn did not make an impact in films until 1934 with the release of ''
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...
'' starring
Robert Donat
Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award for ...
. His filmography includes nearly 100 films, with his best known roles as a stereotypical bumbler and as a pompous snob. He could also be villainous, as he was when he played Baron Danglars in the 1934 film version of ''
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...
'', and was a favorite of such celebrated comedy directors as
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''The Great McGinty'' (1940), his ...
and
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...
, with whom he made several appearances.
Complete filmography
*''The Man Hunt'' (1916 short) as Captain Steadwell
*''
The Tarantula'' (1916) as Saunders
*''
The Scarlet Runner
''The Scarlet Runner'' is a 1916 American drama film serial directed by William P. S. Earle
William Pitt Striker Earle (December 28, 1882 – November 30, 1972) was an American director of the silent film era. He attended Columbia Univer ...
'' (1916 serial) as John Brown
*''Our Other Lives'' (1916 short)
*''
The Laughing Lady
''The Laughing Lady'' is a 1946 British Technicolor musical drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and Francis L. Sullivan. Based on a play by Ingram D'Abbes, its plot follows a young aristocrat who ma ...
'' (1929) as Hector Lee
*''
The Great Flirtation
''The Great Flirtation'' is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy drama film directed by Ralph Murphy and starring Elissa Landi, Adolphe Menjou, David Manners and Lynne Overman. The film was released on June 15, 1934 by Paramount Pictures. It was base ...
'' (1934) as Henry Morgan
*''
The Defense Rests'' (1934) as Austin
*''
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...
'' (1934) as Danglars
*''
Lady by Choice
''Lady by Choice'' is a 1934 American romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequ ...
'' (1934) as Front O'Malley
*''
Jealousy'' (1934) as Phil
*''
Broadway Bill
''Broadway Bill'' is a 1934 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. Screenplay by Robert Riskin and based on the short story "Strictly Confidential" by Mark Hellinger, the film is about a man' ...
'' (1934) as Col. Pettigrew
*''Mills of the Gods'' (1934) as Willard Hastings
*''
Society Doctor'' (1935) as Dr. Waverly
*''
Death Flies East'' (1935) as Evans
*''
I'll Love You Always'' (1935) as Charlie
*''
It's a Small World
"It's a Small World" is a water-based boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks worldwide, including Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California; Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida; Tokyo ...
'' (1935) as Julius Clummerhorn
*''
Welcome Home
A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person.
In some context ...
'' (1935) as Giltedge
*''
Redheads on Parade'' (1935) as Augustus Twill
*''
She Married Her Boss'' (1935) as Franklin
*''
She Couldn't Take It
''She Couldn't Take It'' is a 1935 screwball comedy film made at Columbia Pictures, directed by Tay Garnett, written by C. Graham Baker, Gene Towne and Oliver H.P. Garrett, and starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. It was one of the few comedie ...
'' (1935) as Party Guest (uncredited)
*''
Thanks a Million'' (1935) as Judge Culliman
*''
The Lone Wolf Returns'' (1935) as Jenkins
*''
The Great Ziegfeld
''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrn ...
'' (1936) as Sage
*''
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' (1936) as Walter, the butler
*''
Absolute Quiet'' (1936) as Governor Pruden
*''
The King Steps Out
''The King Steps Out'' is a 1936 American light comedy film directed by Josef von Sternberg based on the early years of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as "Sisi" or "Sissi", and her courtship and marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria, after ...
'' (1936) as Col. Von Kempen
*''
The Three Wise Guys'' (1936) as Doc Brown
*''
They Met in a Taxi'' (1936) as Mr. Roger Clifton
*''
Craig's Wife'' (1936) as Billy Birkmire
*''
Mr. Cinderella
''Mr. Cinderella'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and written by Richard Flournoy and Arthur V. Jones. The film stars Jack Haley, Betty Furness, Arthur Treacher, Raymond Walburn, Robert McWade and Rosina Lawrence. The ...
'' (1936) as Peter Randolph
*''
Born to Dance
''Born to Dance'' is an American musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart, directed by Roy Del Ruth and released in 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter.
Plot summary
While on leave, sailor Ted B ...
'' (1936) as Captain Dingby
*''
Breezing Home'' (1937) as Clint Evans
*''
Let's Get Married'' (1937) as B.B. Harrington
*''
Thin Ice'' (1937) as Uncle Dornik
*''
It Can't Last Forever'' (1937) as Dr. Fothergill
*''
High, Wide, and Handsome'' (1937) as Doc Watterson
*''
Broadway Melody of 1938'' (1937) as Herman Whipple
*''
Murder in Greenwich Village'' (1937) as The Senator
*''
Start Cheering
''Start Cheering'' is a 1938 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Jimmy Durante, Charles Starrett, Joan Perry, and Walter Connolly. It is best remembered today for guest appearances throughout the film by The Three ...
'' (1938) as Dean Worthington
*''
Battle of Broadway
''Battle of Broadway'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by George Marshall and written by Lou Breslow and John Patrick. The film stars Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Gypsy Rose Lee, Raymond Walburn, Lynn Bari and Jane Darwell. The film wa ...
'' (1938) as Homer C. Bundy
*''
Professor Beware
''Professor Beware'' is a 1938 comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and directed by Elliott Nugent. It was Phyllis Welch MacDonald's first and only film.
Plot
Three thousand years after ancient Egyptian Neferus's death, Professor Dean Lambert (who ...
'' (1938) as Judge James G. Parkhouse Marshall
*''
Gateway'' (1938) as Mr. Benjamin McNutt
*''
Sweethearts'' (1938) as Orlando
*''
Let Freedom Ring'' (1939) as Underwood
*''
It Could Happen to You'' (1939) as J. Hadden Quigley
*''
The Under-Pup'' (1939) as Mr. Layton
*''
Eternally Yours'' (1939) as Mr. Harley Bingham
*''
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence'' (1939) as Professor B. Townsend Thayer
*''
Dark Command
''Dark Command'' is a 1940 Western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W. R. Burnett, ''Dark Command'' is th ...
'' (1940) as Judge Buckner
*''
Millionaires in Prison'' (1940) as Bruce Vander
*''
Flowing Gold'' (1940) as Ellery Q. 'Wildcat' Chalmers
*''
Third Finger, Left Hand "Third Finger, Left Hand" may refer to:
* ''Third Finger, Left Hand'' (film), 1940 American romantic comedy film
* "Third Finger, Left Hand" (song), 1972 song by The Pearls
{{disambiguation ...
'' (1940) as Mr. Sherwood
*''
Christmas in July
Christmas in July, Christmas in Summer or Christmas in Winter is a second Christmas celebration held around the summer season, mainly during July. It is centered around Christmas-themed activities and entertainment, including small gatherings, se ...
'' (1940) as Dr. Maxford
*''
The San Francisco Docks'' (1940) as Adm. Andy Tracy
*''
Bachelor Daddy'' (1941) as George Smith
*''
Puddin' Head'' (1941) as Harold Montgomery Sr.
*''
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
''Kiss the Boys Goodbye'' is a 1941 comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Mary Martin, Don Ameche and Oscar Levant. It is based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce which was inspired by the search for an actress to play Scarlett O'H ...
'' (1941) as Top Rumson
*''
Confirm or Deny
''Confirm or Deny'' is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Archie Mayo and Fritz Lang (uncredited), and starring by Don Ameche and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling, based on a story by Samuel Fuller and Henry ...
'' (1941) as H. Cyrus Stuyvesant
*''