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Henry B. Walthall

Henry B. Walthall

Birthday: 1878-03-16 | Place of Birth: Shelby County, Alabama, USA

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company. His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period. He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company. Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith. Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish. Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper. Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote. Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1936
The Last Outlaw

as    Cal Yates

1936
Hearts in Bondage

as    Capt. Buchanan

1936
The Devil-Doll

as    Marcel

1935
A Tale of Two Cities

as    Dr. Manette

1934
City Park

as    Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome

1934
Viva Villa!

as    Francisco Madero

1934
Judge Priest

as    Reverend Ashby Brand

1934
Men in White

as    enry B. Walthall

1933
Somewhere in Sonora

as    Bob Leadly

1933
The Sin of Nora Moran

as    Father Ryan

1933
The Whispering Shadow

as    J. D. Bradley

1933
The Wolf Dog

as    Jim Courtney

1932
Central Park

as    Eby

1932
The Cabin in the Cotton

as    Eph Clinton

1932
Me and My Gal

as    John Collins

1932
Ride Him, Cowboy

as    John Gaunt

1932
Klondike

as    Mark Armstrong

1932
Hotel Continental

as    Winthrop

1929
The Phantom in the House

as    Boyd Milburn

1929
River of Romance

as    General Jeff Rumford

1919
The False Faces

as    Michael Lanyard

1918
The Great Love

as    Sir Roger Brighton

1915
The Birth of a Nation

as    Col. Ben Cameron

1914
Judith of Bethulia

as    Holofernes

1914
Strongheart

as    Soangataha / Strongheart

1914
The Avenging Conscience

as    The Nephew

1912
Friends

as    Dandy Jack

1910
1909
The Mended Lute

as    Indian

1909
The Sealed Room

as    The Minstrel