1887-04-08 Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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.
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Black Shadows on a Silver Screen | Self (archive footage) | 1975-04-19 |
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | The 'King' | 1939-02-10 |
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Good Girls Go to Paris | Olaf Brand | 1939-06-20 |
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Coast Guard | Tobias Bliss | 1939-08-04 |
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Bridal Suite | Dr. Theodore Grauer | 1939-05-26 |
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The Great Victor Herbert | Victor Herbert | 1939-12-29 |
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Fifth Avenue Girl | Mr. Borden | 1939-09-22 |
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Those High Grey Walls | Dr. MacAuley | 1939-09-21 |
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Too Hot to Handle | Gabby MacArthur | 1938-09-16 |
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Start Cheering | Sam Lewis | 1938-03-03 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Carter Hibbard (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
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Penitentiary | Dist. Atty. Thomas Mathews | 1938-02-05 |
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The Girl Downstairs | Mr. Brown | 1938-12-23 |
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Four's a Crowd | John P. Dillingwell | 1938-08-04 |
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Let's Get Married | Joe Quinn | 1937-04-14 |
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The League of Frightened Men | Nero Wolfe | 1937-05-25 |
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Nothing Sacred | Oliver Stone | 1937-11-25 |
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The Good Earth | Uncle | 1937-06-02 |
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Nancy Steele Is Missing! | Michael Steele | 1937-03-12 |
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First Lady | Carter Hibbard | 1937-12-04 |
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Libeled Lady | James B. Allenbury | 1936-10-09 |
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Soak the Rich | Humphrey Craig | 1936-01-17 |
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The King Steps Out | Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria | 1936-05-27 |
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The Music Goes 'Round | Hector Courtney | 1936-02-27 |
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So Red the Rose | Malcolm Bedford | 1935-12-20 |
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She Couldn't Take It | Daniel Van Dyke | 1935-10-08 |
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White Lies | John Mitchell | 1935-12-27 |
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One Way Ticket | Captain Bourne | 1935-11-25 |
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The Captain Hates the Sea | Captain Helquist | 1934-11-02 |
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Twentieth Century | Oliver Webb | 1934-05-11 |
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Eight Girls in a Boat | Storm | 1934-01-05 |
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Servants' Entrance | Viktor Nilsson | 1934-09-25 |
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Once to Every Woman | Dr. Walter Selby | 1934-03-24 |
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Father Brown, Detective | Father Brown | 1934-12-14 |
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Whom the Gods Destroy | John Forrester aka Eric Jann aka Peter Korotoff | 1934-07-12 |
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Hollywood on Parade No. B-1 | 1934-03-02 | |
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Broadway Bill | J.L. Higgins | 1934-11-30 |
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Lady by Choice | Judge Daly | 1934-10-15 |
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It Happened One Night | Alexander Andrews | 1934-02-22 |
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Lady for a Day | Count Romero | 1933-09-13 |
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Paddy the Next Best Thing | Major Adair | 1933-09-01 |
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East of Fifth Avenue | John Lawton | 1933-11-28 |
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Man's Castle | Ira | 1933-11-20 |
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Master of Men | Sam Parker | 1933-11-28 |
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No More Orchids | Bill Holt | 1932-11-25 |
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen | Jones | 1932-12-25 |
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Man Against Woman | Mossie Ennis | 1932-11-15 |
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Washington Merry-Go-Round | Senator Wylie | 1932-10-15 |
