Harold Vermilyea (October 10, 1889 – January 7, 1958) was an American actor who had a long and prolific career on Broadway, performing in 32 plays over the course of his career. He made notable appearances in several films of the post-war era, particularly film noirs, and ended his career moving into television.

Life and career

Vermilyea was born October 10, 1889, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He made his first stage appearance in 1914 in "The Lion and the Mouse." Subsequent appearances included " It Pays to Advertise" (1914-1915) and a revival of " Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford" (1917), after which he served with the Army Ambulance Service in France during the First World War. After WWI came to a close, Vermilyea returned to the Broadway stage and performed in twenty-nine further plays. These were: " A Tailor-Made Man" (1917-1918), "

Hobohemia Hobohemia is a low-rent district in a city where artistic Bohemianism, bohemians and the down-and-outs or hobos mix. In Chicago from the turn of the century to circa 1940s this was Tower Town and the area often known as "The West Madison Stem" (Mad ...

" (1919), "Pagans" (1921), " Captain Applejack" (1921-1922), "The Alarm Clock" (1923-1924), "The Lady Killer" (1924), "The Haunted House" (1924), "The Youngest" (1924-1925), "The Enemy" (1925-1926), "Loose Ankles" (1926-1927), "Los Angeles" (1927-1928), "Killers" (1928), "Anna" (1928), "A Man With Red Hair" (1928), "Midnight" (1930-1931), "We Are No Longer Children" (1932), "Bad Manners" (1933), "The Pure in Heart" (1934), " Boy Meets Girl" (1935-1937), "Fulton of Oak Falls" (1937), "Madame Bovary" (1937), "If I Were You" (1938), "Gloriana" (1938), "Gabrielle" (1941), "Sun-Up" (presumably a revival of the Lula Vollmer play; date unknown), "The Acquittal" (presumably a revival of the

Rita Weiman Rita Weiman (1885–1954) was a playwright, journalist, author, and screenwriter. Biography Beginnings Rita was born in Philadelphia in 1885 and raised in a Quaker community. She later recounted that she felt lucky her parents supported her a ...

play; date unknown), "Jacobowsky and the Colonel" (1944-1945), " Deep Are the Roots" (1945-1946), and "Deadfall" (1955). Vermilyea had substantial roles in 1930s radio, supporting

Maude Adams Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden (November 11, 1872 – July 17, 1953), known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American actress and stage designer who achieved her greatest success as the character Peter Pan, first playing the role in the 190 ...

in a series and playing a leading role on the Rudy Vallée Show. During the World War II years, he served as Director of the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

's Victory Players. Vermilyea devoted his time in the post-war era to motion pictures and then to television. Ultimately, he died of an apparent heart attack at his apartment in Manhattan on January 8, 1958.

Selected filmography

Film

* ''

The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century. In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...

'' (1914) - Undetermined * '' Pride and the Devil'' (1917) - Undetermined * '' The Law That Failed'' (1917) - Jack Thorpe * '' O.S.S.'' (1946) - Amadeus Brink * ''

Gentleman's Agreement ''Gentleman's Agreement'' is a 1947 American drama film based on Laura Z. Hobson's best-selling 1947 novel of the same title. The film is about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who pretends to be Jewish to research an exposé on the wid ...

'' (1947) - Lou Jordan * ''

The Miracle of the Bells ''The Miracle of the Bells'' is a 1948 American drama film directed by Irving Pichel, written by Quentin Reynolds and Ben Hecht, and produced by RKO. It stars Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Frank Sinatra and Lee J. Cobb. The film is based on the 1 ...

'' (1948) - Orloff * '' The Big Clock'' (1948) - Don Klausmeyer * '' The Sainted Sisters'' (1948) - Lederer * ''

The Emperor Waltz ''The Emperor Waltz'' () is a 1948 American musical film directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine.Bookbinder 1977, p. 179. Written by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film is about a brash American gramophone salesma ...

'' (1948) - Chamberlain * '' Beyond Glory'' (1948) - Raymond Denmore, Sr. * '' Sorry, Wrong Number'' (1948) - Waldo Evans * '' California's Golden Beginning''

hort Hort may refer to: * Hort, Hungary, a settlement in Heves county * Hort., an abbreviation which indicates that a name for a plant saw significant use in the horticultural literature but was never properly published * Hort (surname) See also

...

(1948) * '' Alias Nick Beal'' (1949) - Chief Justice (uncredited) * '' Manhandled'' (1949) - Dr. Redman * '' Chicago Deadline'' (1949) - Jack Anstruder * '' Edge of Doom'' (1950) - Father Kirkman * '' Born to Be Bad'' (1950) - John Caine * ''

Katie Did It ''Katie Did It'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy film directed by Frederick De Cordova and starring Ann Blyth, Mark Stevens and Cecil Kellaway.Stephens p.63 A small town girl falls in love with a big city artist, but mistakenly believes he ...

'' (1950) - Merill T. Grumby * '' Finders Keepers'' (1952) - Mr. Fitzpatrick

Television

* ''Danger'' * ''Man Against Crime'' * ''Studio One'' * ''The Philco Playhouse''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vermilyea, Harold 1889 births 1958 deaths American male stage actors American male television actors