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person_profile-Walter Connolly

Walter Connolly Died at age: 53

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Walter Connolly

Date of Birth:

Apr 08, 1887

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

May 28, 1940

Biography of

Walter Connolly

    The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. While some film historians complain that a number of his performances were annoying or overbaked, he was for the most part applauded for his zesty contributions to a number of comedy classics. Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933), Broadway Bill (1934) and It Happened One Night (1934), not to mention the Carole Lombard/Fredric March screwball farce Nothing Sacred (1937) as news reporter March's hot-headed editor boss are sure-fire examples.

    The Cincinnati, Ohio native was born on April 8, 1887 and schooled there. The son of the head of the Western Union relay office, he attended St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin in Ireland before making his New York debut in 1910 in an outdoor presentation of "As You Like It". For the next year or so he was a member of E.H. Sothern's touring company and played supporting roles in a number of Shakespearean shows on the road. After a few silent pictures left him unimpressed with film-making, he turned to the Broadway stage in the 1920s and scored quite well. Somewhat short and tubby, it was not difficult for the jowly, mustachioed actor to seize laughs and he found his share in such outings as "The Talking Parrot" (1923), "Applesauce" (1925), "The Springboard" (1927), "The Happy Husband" (1928), "Stepping Out" (1929), "Your Uncle Dudley" (1930), "Anatol" (1931), "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1931), "The Good Fairy" (1932) and "The Late Christopher Bean" (1932).

    With his talents as a stage farceur firmly established, it was time to make a second attempt at a film career and Hollywood (specifically, Columbia) wisely opened their doors to him. Interestingly, his debut in a full-length talking picture came at age 45 in the form of a drama, Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), where he was third-billed as a rather benign senator. For the next seven years Connolly, often playing older than he really was, could be found everywhere giving good fluster to the greatest and glossiest of stars -- Janet Gaynor, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, and Ginger Rogers, among hordes of others.

    His hobbies were collecting old books and theatre programmes. Connolly was married to actress Nedda Harrigan from 1923 to his death. They had one daughter, Ann (1924–2006). Connolly suffered a fatal stroke on May 28, 1940, and was buried in New St. Joseph Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Photos of

Walter Connolly

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Walter Connolly

Found 46 Movies in total

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1975

The Great Victor Herbert

Victor Herbert ( Actor )

... 1939

5th Ave Girl

Mr. Borden ( Actor )

... 1939

Those High Grey Walls

Dr. MacAuley ( Actor )

... 1939

Coast Guard

Tobias Bliss ( Actor )

... 1939

Good Girls Go to Paris

Olaf Brand ( Actor )

... 1939

Bridal Suite

Dr. Theodore Grauer ( Actor )

... 1939

... 1939

The Girl Downstairs

Mr. Brown ( Actor )

... 1938

Too Hot to Handle

Gabby MacArthur ( Actor )

... 1938

Four's a Crowd

John P. Dillingwell ( Actor )

... 1938

Start Cheering

Sam Lewis ( Actor )

... 1938

Penitentiary

Dist. Atty. Thomas Mathews ( Actor )

... 1938

First Lady

Carter Hibbard ( Actor )

... 1937

Nothing Sacred

Oliver Stone ( Actor )

... 1937

The Good Earth

Uncle ( Actor )

... 1937

The League of Frightened Men

Nero Wolfe ( Actor )

... 1937

Let's Get Married

Joe Quinn ( Actor )

... 1937

Nancy Steele Is Missing!

Michael Steele ( Actor )

... 1937

Libeled Lady

James B. Allenbury ( Actor )

... 1936

The King Steps Out

Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria ( Actor )

... 1936

The Music Goes 'Round

Hector Courtney ( Actor )

... 1936

Soak the Rich

Humphrey Craig ( Actor )

... 1936

White Lies

John Mitchell ( Actor )

... 1935

So Red the Rose

Malcolm Bedford ( Actor )

... 1935

One Way Ticket

Captain Bourne ( Actor )

... 1935

She Couldn't Take It

Daniel Van Dyke ( Actor )

... 1935

Father Brown, Detective

Father Brown ( Actor )

... 1934

Broadway Bill

J.L. Higgins ( Actor )

... 1934

The Captain Hates the Sea

Captain Helquist ( Actor )

... 1934

Lady by Choice

Judge Daly ( Actor )

... 1934

Servants' Entrance

Viktor Nilsson ( Actor )

... 1934

Whom the Gods Destroy

John Forrester aka Eric Jann aka Peter Korotoff ( Actor )

... 1934

Twentieth Century

Oliver Webb ( Actor )

... 1934

Once to Every Woman

Dr. Walter Selby ( Actor )

... 1934

It Happened One Night

Alexander Andrews ( Actor )

... 1934

Eight Girls in a Boat

Storm ( Actor )

... 1934

Master of Men

Sam Parker ( Actor )

... 1933

East of Fifth Avenue

John Lawton ( Actor )

... 1933

Man's Castle

Ira ( Actor )

... 1933

Lady for a Day

Count Romero ( Actor )

... 1933

Paddy the Next Best Thing

Major Adair ( Actor )

... 1933

... 1932

No More Orchids

Bill Holt ( Actor )

... 1932

Man Against Woman

Mossie Ennis ( Actor )

... 1932

Washington Merry-Go-Round

Senator Wylie ( Actor )

... 1932