Henry B. Walthall

Henry B. Walthall

actor, second unit director or assistant director

Henry B. Walthall was born on Mar 16, 1878 in USA. Henry B. Walthall's big-screen debut came with The Hessian Renegades directed by D.W. Griffith in 1909, strarring . Henry B. Walthall is known for A Tale of Two Cities directed by Jack Conway, Ronald Colman stars as Sydney Carton and Elizabeth Allan as Lucie Manette. The most recent award Henry B. Walthall achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie Henry B. Walthall plays is China Clipper which will be released on Aug 22, 1936.

Henry B. Walthall was a respected stage actor who became a favorite of pioneering film director D.W. Griffith. Born in 1878 in Alabama, Walthall embarked on a law career but quit law school in 1898 to enlist in the US Army in order to fight in the Spanish-American War. Returning from the war he decided to take up an acting career instead of the law, and traveled to New York City to make his mark on Broadway. He debuted on the Great White Way in 1901. His friend and fellow actor James Kirkwood introduced him to Griffith, who already knew of Walthall's reputation as a stage actor. He hired Walthall to appear in his A Convict's Sacrifice (1909), the first of many films they would make together. Griffith, like Walthall a Southerner, cast him as "the little colonel" in his epic Naissance d'une nation (1915).Shortly afterward Walthall left Biograph and Griffith for Balboa Pictures in Long Beach, CA. In 1917 he and his wife formed their own production company, but after a few films he went back to work for Griffith at Biograph. However, his career went on a downward spiral, and by the 1920s he was appearing in mostly low-budget "B" fare, with only a few side journeys into more quality "A" pictures--Tod Browning's Londres après minuit (1927) among them.The sound period rejuvenated Walthall's career somewhat. He had a distinguished bearing and his voice, unlike those of many bigger silent-screen stars, was perfectly acceptable for talkies. He appeared in such productions as John Ford's Judge Priest (1934) and Browning's Les poupées du diable (1936). He was hired by director Frank Capra to play the High Lama in Capra's production of Horizons perdus (1937), but before the film began production he died of influenza, on June 7, 1936.

  • Birthday

    Mar 16, 1878

  • Place of Birth

    Shelby City, Alabama, USA

Known For

A Tale of Two Cities
Movie
A Tale of Two Cities

19357.8

42nd Street
Movie
42nd Street

19337.3

The Jazz Age
Movie
The Jazz Age

19297.9

Wings
Movie
Wings

19297.6

The Scarlet Letter
Movie
The Scarlet Letter

19277.6

The Golden Bed
Movie
The Golden Bed

19257.2

Awards

1 wins & 0 nominations

Walk of Fame
1960
Motion Picture
Winner - Star on the Walk of Fame

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies