Jump to content

H. C. Potter: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
 
(6 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name=H. C. Potter
|name=H. C. Potter
|image=H. C. Potter.webp
|birth_date=November 13, 1904
|birth_date=November 13, 1904
|birth_place=[[New York City]], New York, U.S.
|birth_place=[[New York City]], New York, U.S.
Line 10: Line 11:
|occupation=[[Film director]], theatre director, theatre producer
|occupation=[[Film director]], theatre director, theatre producer
}}
}}
'''Henry Codman Potter''' (sometimes II or Jr.; November 13, 1904 – August 31, 1977) was an American theatrical producer and director as well as movie director.
'''Henry Codman Potter''' (sometimes II or Jr.; November 13, 1904 – August 31, 1977) was an American theatrical producer and director as well as film director.


==Biography==
==Biography==
H.C. Potter was born in New York City, the grandson of the Right Rev. [[Henry Codman Potter]], Episcopal bishop of New York, and son of Alonzo Potter, New York investment banker. He attended [[St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)|St. Marks School]] and graduated from Yale University in 1926, where he was a member of the [[Yale Dramatic Association]] and [[Scroll and Key]]. He attended the Yale School of Drama in the era of [[George Pierce Baker]], and with George Haight founded the Hampton Players, one of the early summer theaters in America, based in Southampton, Long Island from 1927 to 1933. With Haight as producer, he directed numerous Broadway productions, then moved to Hollywood, where he directed over 20 feature films, earning a reputation as a specialist in "gag" comedy.
H.C. Potter was born in New York City, the grandson of the Right Rev. [[Henry Codman Potter]], Episcopal bishop of New York, and great-grandson of [[Alonzo Potter]]. He attended [[St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)|St. Marks School]] and graduated from Yale University in 1926, where he was a member of the [[Yale Dramatic Association]] and [[Scroll and Key]]. He attended the Yale School of Drama in the era of [[George Pierce Baker]], and with George Haight founded the Hampton Players, one of the early summer theaters in America, based in Southampton, Long Island from 1927 to 1933. With Haight as producer, he directed numerous Broadway productions, then moved to Hollywood, where he directed over 20 feature films, earning a reputation as a specialist in "gag" comedy.


The films he directed include ''[[Beloved Enemy]]'' (1936), ''[[Wings Over Honolulu]]'' (1937), ''[[Romance in the Dark]]'', ''[[The Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)|The Cowboy and the Lady]]'', and ''[[The Shopworn Angel]]'' (1938), ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' (1938), ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' and ''[[Blackmail (1939 film)|Blackmail]]'' (1939), ''[[Congo Maisie]]'' and ''[[Second Chorus]]'' (1940), ''[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin']]'' (1941), ''[[Victory Through Air Power (film)|Victory Through Air Power]]'' (documentary) and ''[[Mr. Lucky (film)|Mr. Lucky]]'' (1943), ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (1947 film)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' and ''[[A Likely Story]]'' (1947), ''[[You Gotta Stay Happy]]'', ''[[Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House]]'' and ''[[The Time of Your Life (film)|The Time of Your Life]]'' (1948), ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (1950), ''[[Three for the Show]]'' (1955) and ''[[Top Secret Affair]]'' (1957).
The films he directed include ''[[Beloved Enemy]]'' (1936), ''[[Wings Over Honolulu]]'' (1937), ''[[Romance in the Dark]]'', ''[[The Cowboy and the Lady (1938 film)|The Cowboy and the Lady]]'', and ''[[The Shopworn Angel]]'' (1938), ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)|The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' (1938), ''[[The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle]]'' and ''[[Blackmail (1939 film)|Blackmail]]'' (1939), ''[[Congo Maisie]]'' and ''[[Second Chorus]]'' (1940), ''[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin']]'' (1941), ''[[Victory Through Air Power (film)|Victory Through Air Power]]'' (documentary) and ''[[Mr. Lucky (film)|Mr. Lucky]]'' (1943), ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (1947 film)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' and ''[[A Likely Story]]'' (1947), ''[[You Gotta Stay Happy]]'', ''[[Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House]]'' and ''[[The Time of Your Life (film)|The Time of Your Life]]'' (1948), ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (1950), ''[[Three for the Show]]'' (1955) and ''[[Top Secret Affair]]'' (1957).
Line 19: Line 20:
An avid private pilot, he served during World War II as superintendent of operations at [[Falcon Field (Arizona)|Falcon Field]] near Phoenix, Arizona, training [[Royal Air Force]] pilots, and later as captain in the Air Transport Command, ferrying cargo in small planes to military bases throughout California. His postwar film career was impeded by a contract with [[RKO]], then controlled and virtually brought to a halt by the eccentric policies of its owner [[Howard Hughes]].
An avid private pilot, he served during World War II as superintendent of operations at [[Falcon Field (Arizona)|Falcon Field]] near Phoenix, Arizona, training [[Royal Air Force]] pilots, and later as captain in the Air Transport Command, ferrying cargo in small planes to military bases throughout California. His postwar film career was impeded by a contract with [[RKO]], then controlled and virtually brought to a halt by the eccentric policies of its owner [[Howard Hughes]].


In 1958, he retired from film work and moved to New York City, where he opened a stage production office with Richard Meyers, and pursued his hobby of training labrador retrievers for field trials.
In 1958, he retired from film work and moved to New York City, where he opened a stage production office with Richard Meyers, and pursued his hobby of training Labrador retrievers for field trials.


On February 8, 1960, H.C. Potter's name was placed in the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. His star is located at 6633 Hollywood Blvd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/h-c-potter |title=H. C. Potter &#124; Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Walkoffame.com |date=1960-02-08 |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>
On February 8, 1960, H.C. Potter's name was placed in the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. His star is located at 6633 Hollywood Blvd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/h-c-potter |title=H. C. Potter &#124; Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Walkoffame.com |date=1960-02-08 |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>


Retirement afforded Potter the opportunity to indulge his passion for writing scholarly monographs about [[Sherlock Holmes]] for ''[[The Baker Street Journal]]''. In 1971 he was awarded membership in [[The Baker Street Irregulars]], the New York-based organization that keeps green the memory of Sherlock Holmes. Potter was granted the investiture "The Final Problem".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sherlocktron.com/invest.pdf |format=PDF |title=The Investitured (Or Invested) Irregulars |publisher=Sherlocktron.com |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>
Retirement afforded Potter the opportunity to indulge his passion for writing scholarly monographs about [[Sherlock Holmes]] for ''[[The Baker Street Journal]]''. In 1971 he was awarded membership in [[The Baker Street Irregulars]], the New York-based organization that keeps green the memory of Sherlock Holmes. Potter was granted the investiture "The Final Problem".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sherlocktron.com/invest.pdf |title=The Investitured (Or Invested) Irregulars |publisher=Sherlocktron.com |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>


In addition, Potter twice won the Morley-Montgomery Award, one of the highest distinctions given by the BSI, for his articles "Reflections on Canonical Vehicles and Something of the Horse" (1971) and '"John H. Watson, Word Painter" (1976).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/morleymontgomeryaward.html |title=The Baker Street Journal |publisher=[[The Baker Street Journal]] |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>
In addition, Potter twice won the Morley-Montgomery Award, one of the highest distinctions given by the BSI, for his articles "Reflections on Canonical Vehicles and Something of the Horse" (1971) and '"John H. Watson, Word Painter" (1976).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/morleymontgomeryaward.html |title=The Baker Street Journal |date=2 May 2001 |publisher=[[The Baker Street Journal]] |access-date=2015-09-20}}</ref>


Potter married Lucilla Annie Wylie in 1926. Their three sons were Daniel J. Potter, M.D., Robert A. Potter, Ph.D., and Earl Wylie Potter, Esq. H.C. Potter died in Southampton, New York on August 31, 1977.
Potter married Lucilla Annie Wylie in 1926. Their three sons were Daniel J. Potter, M.D., Robert A. Potter, Ph.D., and Earl Wylie Potter, Esq. H.C. Potter died in Southampton, New York on August 31, 1977.
Line 62: Line 63:
[[Category:American theatre managers and producers]]
[[Category:American theatre managers and producers]]
[[Category:Film directors from New York City]]
[[Category:Film directors from New York City]]
[[Category:Yale School of Drama alumni]]
[[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]

Latest revision as of 20:26, 2 May 2024

For the Episcopal bishop, see Henry C. Potter.
H. C. Potter
BornNovember 13, 1904
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 31, 1977(1977-08-31) (aged 72)
Southampton, New York, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA, MFA)
Occupation(s)Film director, theatre director, theatre producer

Henry Codman Potter (sometimes II or Jr.; November 13, 1904 – August 31, 1977) was an American theatrical producer and director as well as film director.

Biography

[edit]

H.C. Potter was born in New York City, the grandson of the Right Rev. Henry Codman Potter, Episcopal bishop of New York, and great-grandson of Alonzo Potter. He attended St. Marks School and graduated from Yale University in 1926, where he was a member of the Yale Dramatic Association and Scroll and Key. He attended the Yale School of Drama in the era of George Pierce Baker, and with George Haight founded the Hampton Players, one of the early summer theaters in America, based in Southampton, Long Island from 1927 to 1933. With Haight as producer, he directed numerous Broadway productions, then moved to Hollywood, where he directed over 20 feature films, earning a reputation as a specialist in "gag" comedy.

The films he directed include Beloved Enemy (1936), Wings Over Honolulu (1937), Romance in the Dark, The Cowboy and the Lady, and The Shopworn Angel (1938), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle and Blackmail (1939), Congo Maisie and Second Chorus (1940), Hellzapoppin' (1941), Victory Through Air Power (documentary) and Mr. Lucky (1943), The Farmer's Daughter and A Likely Story (1947), You Gotta Stay Happy, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and The Time of Your Life (1948), The Miniver Story (1950), Three for the Show (1955) and Top Secret Affair (1957).

An avid private pilot, he served during World War II as superintendent of operations at Falcon Field near Phoenix, Arizona, training Royal Air Force pilots, and later as captain in the Air Transport Command, ferrying cargo in small planes to military bases throughout California. His postwar film career was impeded by a contract with RKO, then controlled and virtually brought to a halt by the eccentric policies of its owner Howard Hughes.

In 1958, he retired from film work and moved to New York City, where he opened a stage production office with Richard Meyers, and pursued his hobby of training Labrador retrievers for field trials.

On February 8, 1960, H.C. Potter's name was placed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6633 Hollywood Blvd.[1]

Retirement afforded Potter the opportunity to indulge his passion for writing scholarly monographs about Sherlock Holmes for The Baker Street Journal. In 1971 he was awarded membership in The Baker Street Irregulars, the New York-based organization that keeps green the memory of Sherlock Holmes. Potter was granted the investiture "The Final Problem".[2]

In addition, Potter twice won the Morley-Montgomery Award, one of the highest distinctions given by the BSI, for his articles "Reflections on Canonical Vehicles and Something of the Horse" (1971) and '"John H. Watson, Word Painter" (1976).[3]

Potter married Lucilla Annie Wylie in 1926. Their three sons were Daniel J. Potter, M.D., Robert A. Potter, Ph.D., and Earl Wylie Potter, Esq. H.C. Potter died in Southampton, New York on August 31, 1977.

Selected filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "H. C. Potter | Hollywood Walk of Fame". Walkoffame.com. 1960-02-08. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  2. ^ "The Investitured (Or Invested) Irregulars" (PDF). Sherlocktron.com. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  3. ^ "The Baker Street Journal". The Baker Street Journal. 2 May 2001. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to H. C. Potter.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=H._C._Potter&oldid=1221924990"