Cyril Delevanti

Harry Cyril Delevanti (23 February 1889 – 13 December 1975) was an English character actor with a long career in American films. He was sometimes credited as Syril Delevanti.

Early years

Delevanti was born in London to the Anglo-Italian music professor, Edward Prospero Richard Delevanti and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (née Rowbotham).

Career

Delevanti had a career as an actor on the English stage and, after his emigration to the United States in 1921, performed on the American stage throughout the 1920s. His first film appearance was in ''Devotion'' (1931). In 1938 he appeared in '' Red Barry'' for director Ford Beebe, who would later marry Delevanti's daughter, Kitty, thus becoming the actor's son-in-law. From the 1940s, he appeared in many small roles, frequently uncredited, in such films as ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), '' Confidential Agent'' (1945), '' Deception'' (1946), ''Monsieur Verdoux'' (1947), '' Forever Amber'' (1947), '' David and Bathsheba'' (1951), '' Limelight'' (1952), '' Les Girls'' (1957), ''Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963), and '' Mary Poppins'' (1964).

In 1958, Delevanti was cast as the printer Lucius Coin in all twenty-six episodes of the NBC western television series, ''Jefferson Drum'', starring Jeff Richards. He made two guest appearances on ''Perry Mason'' during the first and final (ninth) seasons of the series. In 1957 he played florist Mr. Tulloch in "The Case of the Silent Partner". In 1965, he played bookie Craig Jefferson in "The Case of the Silent Six".

Delevanti made guest-starring appearances on '' Dennis the Menace''; ''US Marshal''; '' The Fugitive''; '' Gunsmoke''; '' Have Gun, Will Travel''; '' The Tall Man''; '' Bourbon Street Beat''; ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea''; '' The Virginian''; ''Daniel Boone''; '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents''; '' Mission: Impossible''; '' Ironside''; ''The Untouchables''; ''Science Fiction Theater''; '' Adventures of Superman''; ''The Twilight Zone'' (in the episodes " A Penny for Your Thoughts"; " The Silence"; " Passage on the Lady Anne"; and "A Piano in the House"); ''Dundee and the Culhane''; ''Peter Gunn''; and '' Dragnet''.

He continued to act in films, such as ''The Night of the Iguana'' (1964, nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor), '' Mary Poppins'' (1964), ''The Killing of Sister George'' (1968), and ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' (1971).

Personal life

In 1913, Delevanti married Eva Kitty Peel; they had three children: Kitty, Cyril, and Harry. In the early 1950s, they operated a toy shop in the Los Angeles area.

Death

On 13 December 1975, Delevanti died in Hollywood of lung cancer. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Credited filmography

*''Devotion'' (1931) – Reporter (uncredited)
*'' Arrowsmith'' (1931) – committee member (uncredited)
*'' Red Barry'' (1938, Serial) – Wing Fu
*'' A Dispatch from Reuter's'' (1940) – Cockney News Vendor (uncredited)
*'' Man Hunt'' (1941) – Cab Driver (uncredited)
*'' Confirm or Deny'' (1941) – Bellhop (scenes deleted)
*''Night Monster'' (1942) – Torque
*'' Journey for Margaret'' (1942) – Stage Manager (uncredited)
*'' When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' (1942) – Professor (uncredited)
*''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' (1943, Serial) – Mah Ling / Han Po
*''Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' (1943) – Freddy Jolly—Graverobber (uncredited)
*''All by Myself'' (1943) – Mr. Vincent (uncredited)
*''Two Tickets to London'' (1943) – Scottish Man (uncredited)
*''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943) – Bookkeeper (uncredited)
*'' Holy Matrimony'' (1943) – Townsman (uncredited)
*'' Son of Dracula'' (1943) – Dr. Peters, the Coroner (uncredited)
*'' The Lodger'' (1944) – Stagehand (uncredited)
*'' The Impostor'' (1944) – Bartender (uncredited)
*''Phantom Lady'' (1944) – Claude (uncredited)
*''Her Primitive Man'' (1944) – Scientist (uncredited)
*'' The Invisible Man's Revenge'' (1944) – Malty Bill – Shopkeeper (uncredited)
*'' Shadow of Suspicion'' (1944) – Mr. Lewis (uncredited)
*''Ministry of Fear'' (1944) – Railroad Agent (uncredited)
*'' Enter Arsène Lupin'' (1944) – Wine Expert (uncredited)
*'' Double Exposure'' (1944) – Henry – Waiter (uncredited)
*'' Jungle Queen'' (1945) – Rogers (uncredited)
*''The Jade Mask'' (1945) – Roth
*''Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear'' (1945) – Stanley Raeburn (uncredited)
*'' The Phantom of 42nd Street'' (1945) – Roberts
*'' The Shanghai Cobra'' (1945) – Detective Larkin (uncredited)
*'' The Fatal Witness'' (1945) – Second Coroner (uncredited)
*''Scotland Yard Investigator'' (1945) – Police Surgeon (uncredited)
*'' Kitty'' (1945) – All Hot Hawker (uncredited)
*''This Love of Ours'' (1945) – Secretary (uncredited)
*'' Confidential Agent'' (1945) – Businessman (uncredited)
*'' Captain Tugboat Annie'' (1945) – Fred
*'' The Daltons Ride Again'' (1945) – Jennings (uncredited)
*''Three Strangers'' (1946) – Stockbroker (voice, uncredited)
*''The Shadow Returns'' (1946) – John Adams
*''Lost City of the Jungle'' (1946, Serial) – Representative to Peace Foundation h. 1(uncredited)
*'' Dressed to Kill'' (1946) – Convict at Dartmoor Prison (uncredited)
*'' The Mysterious Mr. M'' (1946) – Prof. Jackson Parker (uncredited)
*'' Deception'' (1946) – Beggar (uncredited)
*'' I'll Be Yours'' (1947) – Businessman (uncredited)
*''Monsieur Verdoux'' (1947) – Postman (uncredited)
*''Lured'' (1947) – Medical Examiner (uncredited)
*'' Forever Amber'' (1947) – Cobbler (uncredited)
*'' The Emperor Waltz'' (1948) – Diplomat (uncredited)
*'' David and Bathsheba'' (1951) – Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)
*'' Limelight'' (1952) – Griffin – a Clown (uncredited)
*''D-Day the Sixth of June'' (1956) – Coat Room Attendant (uncredited)
*'' Johnny Tremain'' (1957) – Mr. Robert Newman (uncredited)
*'' Trooper Hook'' (1957) – Junius
*'' Les Girls'' (1957) – Fanatic with 'What Is Truth' Sign (uncredited)
*''Ride Out for Revenge'' (1957) – Preacher
*'' Sabu and the Magic Ring'' (1957) – Abdul
*'' Gun Fever'' (1958) – Jerry
*''Teacher's Pet'' (1958) – Copy Man (uncredited)
*'' Kings Go Forth'' (1958) – Blairs' Butler (uncredited)
*'' I Bury the Living'' (1958) – William Isham (uncredited)
*''From the Terrace'' (1960) – MacHardie's Secretary (uncredited)
*''Paradise Alley'' (1962) – Grandpa
*'' Dead Ringer'' (1964) – Henry, the Butler
*''The Night of the Iguana'' (1964) – Nonno
*'' Mary Poppins'' (1964) – Mr. Grubbs (uncredited)
*''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965) – Melchior
*'' Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad'' (1967) – Hawkins
*'' Counterpoint'' (1968) – Tartzoff
*''The Killing of Sister George'' (1968) – Ted Baker
*'' Macho Callahan'' (1970) – Old man
*''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' (1971) – Elderly Farmer
*'' Soylent Green'' (1973) – Book # 4
*'' The Girl Most Likely to...'' (1973) – Chaplain
*''Black Eye'' (1974) – Talbot (final film role)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Delevanti, Cyril
1889 births
1975 deaths
Deaths from lung cancer in California
English male film actors
English male television actors
Male actors from London
English people of Italian descent
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
British expatriate male actors in the United States
20th-century English male actors
English emigrants to the United States