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Harry Allen (actor)

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Harry Allen
Born
Harry Radford Allen

(1877-07-10)10 July 1877
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died4 December 1951(1951-12-04) (aged 74)
Van Nuys, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1923–1949
Spouse(s)
Marjorie Josephine Condon
​
​
(m. 1910; div. 1915)​

Gertrude Dorothea Hyde
(m. 19??; his death 1951)
Children2

Harry Allen (born Henry Radford Allen; 10 July 1877 – 4 December 1951) was an Australian-born American character actor of the silent and sound film eras. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1] Allen's World War One registration card gives his date of birth as 10 July, 1876 and confirms his place of birth as Melbourne, although at least one obituary gives the later birth year of 1883.[2]

Career

Allen began his acting career on stage with the J. C. Williamson organisation, performing around Australia. In 1912 he left Australia for North America.[3] In the United States, Allen was a member of a touring theater company, known for their popular rendition of The Better 'Ole.[4][5][6] He appeared on Broadway in the early 1920s.[7]

Allen's first film role was in the 1923 silent film, The Last Moment, in a supporting role.[8] In his career Allen appeared in over 100 films, mostly in supporting and smaller roles. Some of the more notable films he appeared in include: Of Human Bondage (1934), starring Bette Davis and Leslie Howard;[9] the Marx Brothers' classic, A Night at the Opera;[10] the original Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable;[11] William Wyler's 1942 Academy Award-winning film, Mrs. Miniver, starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright;[12] Jane Eyre (1944), starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine;[13] the Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor version of National Velvet (1945);[14] and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), starring George Sanders.[15] His final appearance on film was in the 1949 film, Challenge to Lassie, starring Edmund Gwenn.

Personal life

In 1910, Allen married fellow actor Marjorie Josephine née Condon in Brisbane. The union was not a success and he went to North America without her, in 1912, with an Australian court granting her a divorce for abandonment in 1915.[3] Allen died on 4 December 1951, and was buried in Glen Abbey Memorial Park.[16] He was survived by his second wife, Gertrude Dorothea (née Hyde), and their two children, Harry Jr. and Paula[2]

Filmography

(Per AFI database)[17]

References

  1. ^ "Henry Allen birth certificate 914/1878". Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria. Government of Victoria. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  2. ^ a b "Obituaries: Harry Radford Allen". The Van Nuys News. December 10, 1951. p. 10. Retrieved May 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Sat 20 Feb 1915, Page 5, "Objected to Friends" Accessed May 15, 2017
  4. ^ "The Better 'Ole, Sparkling Comedy". Vancouver Daily World. April 3, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved May 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Booker Excels at Columbia in Old Bill Role". The San Francisco Chronicle. May 11, 1919. p. 4. Retrieved May 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Edwin Schallert (June 3, 1919). ""Better 'Ole" Radiates Mirth at Orpheum". The Los Angeles Times. p. 28. Retrieved May 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Broadway Internet Database - Harry Allen Accessed May 15, 2017
  8. ^ "The Last Moment". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "Of Human Bondage". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  10. ^ "A Night at the Opera". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "Mutiny on the Bounty". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  12. ^ "Mrs. Miniver". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  13. ^ "Jane Eyre". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "National Velvet". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  15. ^ "The Picture of Dorian Gray". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  16. ^ "Harry Radford Allen". Find a Grave. August 1, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  17. ^ "Harry Allen". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
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