Henry B. Walthall

Personal Info

Known For Actor

Gender Male

Birthday 1878-03-15

Deathday 1936-06-17 (58 years old)

Place of Birth Shelby County, Alabama, USA

Also Known As Henry B. Walthal , H. B. Walthall , H.B. Walthall, Henry Walthall, William Walthall , Henry Brazeale Walthall

Henry B. Walthall

Biography

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company. His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period. He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company. Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith. Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish. Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper. Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote. Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.

Known For

Actor

2002
London After Midnight

as Sir James Hamlin (archive footage)

1998
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists

as Col. Ben Cameron (archive footage)

1975
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

as Self (archive footage)

1942
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

as Self (archive footage)

1936
China Clipper

as Dad Brunn

1936
The Devil-Doll

as Marcel

1936
The Last Outlaw

as Cal Yates

1936
Hearts in Bondage

as Capt. Buchanan

1936
1936
1935
A Tale of Two Cities

as Dr. Manette

1935
Dante's Inferno

as Pop McWade

1935
Helldorado

as Abner Meadows

1934
Love Time

as Duke Johann von Hatzfeld

1934
1934
The Lemon Drop Kid

as Jonas Deering

1934
The Scarlet Letter

as Roger Chillingworth

1934
Judge Priest

as Reverend Ashby Brand

1934
The Murder in the Museum

as Bernard Latham Wayne, alias Prof. Mysto

1934
City Park

as Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome

1934
Viva Villa!

as Francisco Madero

1934
Men in White

as enry B. Walthall

1934
Beggars in Ermine

as Marchant the Blind Man

1934
Dark Hazard

as Schultz

1933
The Sin of Nora Moran

as Father Ryan

1933
The Wolf Dog

as Jim Courtney

1933
Her Forgotten Past

as Mr. Maynard

1933
Headline Shooter

as Judge Beacon (uncredited)

1933
The Flaming Signal

as Rev. Mr. James

1933
Hold Your Man

as Clergyman in Alternate Version (uncredited)

1933
Somewhere in Sonora

as Bob Leadly

1933
The Whispering Shadow

as J. D. Bradley

1933
42nd Street

as Stage Actor (uncredited)

1932
Strange Interlude

as Professor Leeds

1932
Self Defense

as Doctor Borden

1932
1932
Me and My Gal

as John Collins

1932
1932
Klondike

as Mark Armstrong

1932
Ride Him, Cowboy

as John Gaunt

1932
Chandu the Magician

as Robert Regent

1932
1932
Hotel Continental

as Winthrop

1932
Police Court

as Nathaniel "Nat" Barry

1931
Anybody's Blonde

as Mr. Evans

1930
Tol'able David

as Amos Hatburn

1930
Abraham Lincoln

as Colonel Marshall

1930
The Love Trader

as Captain Adams

1930
Temple Tower

as Blackton

1929
1929
The Trespasser

as Fuller

1929
The Phantom in the House

as Boyd Milburn

1929
Black Magic

as Dr. Bradbroke

1929
River of Romance

as General Jeff Rumford

1929
From Headquarters

as Buffalo Bill Ryan

1929
The Bridge of San Luis Rey

as Father Juniper

1929
Speakeasy

as Piano player

1929
Stark Mad

as Capt. Rhodes - Yacht Commander

1928
Freedom of the Press

as John Ballard

1928
Retribution

as Henry / Tommy Mooney

1927
London After Midnight

as Sir James Hamlin

1927
A Light in the Window

as Johann Graff

1927
1927
Wings

as Mr. Armstrong

1927
The Scarlet Letter

as Roger Prynne aka Roger Chillingworth

1926
1926
The Road to Mandalay

as Father James

1926
The Unknown Soldier

as John Phillips

1926
The Barrier

as Gale Gaylord

1926
Three Faces East

as George Bennett

1925
The Plastic Age

as Henry Carver

1925
Kentucky Pride

as Mr. Beaumont

1925
1925
1925
The Golden Bed

as Col. Peake

1924
The Woman on the Jury

as Prosecuting Attorney

1923
Boy of Mine

as William Latimer

1923
The Unknown Purple

as Peter Marchmont / Victor Cromport

1923
Gimme

as John McGimsey

1923
1922
The Long Chance

as Harley P. Hennage

1922
The Kickback

as Aaron Price

1922
One Clear Call

as Henry Garnett

1922
The Able-Minded Lady

as Breezy Bright

1921
Flower of the North

as Philip Whitemore

1920
A Splendid Hazard

as Karl Breitman

1920
Parted Curtains

as Joe Jenkins

1920
The Confession

as Father Bartlett

1919
The Long Arm of Mannister

as George Mannister

1919
Modern Husbands

as Stephen Duane

1919
The False Faces

as Michael Lanyard

1918
The Great Love

as Sir Roger Brighton

1918
Humdrum Brown

as Hector 'Humdrum' Brown

1916
Pillars of Society

as Karsten Bernick

1916
The Strange Case of Mary Page

as Phil Langdon, Attorney

1916
The Misleading Lady

as Jack Craiger

1915
The Raven

as Edgar Allan Poe

1915
Ghosts

as Captain Alving / Oswald

1915
The Birth of a Nation

as Col. Ben Cameron

1915
Rod of Wrath

as Erickson's Son

1914
The Odalisque

as Joe, in love with May

1914
1914
Lord Chumley

as Lord Chumley

1914
Home, Sweet Home

as John Howard Payne

1914
The Mountain Rat

as Douglas Williams

1914
The Old Man

as The Old Man

1914
The Mysterious Shot

as The Gopher

1914
The Floor Above

as Stephen Pryde

1914
Judith of Bethulia

as Holofernes

1914
Strongheart

as Soangataha / Strongheart

1914
Classmates

as Duncan Irving

1914
1914
The Awakening of Donna Isolla

as The President of the Republic

1913
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

as The Indian Chief's Son

1913
A Woman in the Ultimate

as Badger Gang Member

1913
Two Men of the Desert

as First Partner

1913
The Mirror

as The Station Agent

1913
During the Round-Up

as The Stranger

1913
A Gambler's Honor

as Beth's Brother

1913
Her Mother's Oath

as The Actor

1913
The Switchtower

as The Switchman

1913
Death's Marathon

as The Husband

1913
The Stolen Loaf

as The Poor Man

1913
The Tenderfoot's Money

as The Prospector

1913
The Wanderer

as The Wanderer

1913
If We Only Knew

as The Father

1913
The Lady and the Mouse

as The First Rival

1913
The Little Tease

as The Valley Man

1913
1913
The Sheriff's Baby

as First Bandit

1913
Broken Ways

as The Road Agent

1913
Love in an Apartment Hotel

as The Young Woman's Fiance

1913
Oil and Water

as The Idealist

1913
Three Friends

as The Husband

1912
The God Within

as The Woodsman

1912
The Burglar’s Dilemma

as The Householder's Weakling Brother

1912
My Hero

as Indian Charlie

1912
Brutality

as Actor In Oliver Twist

1912
The Informer

as The False Brother

1912
My Baby

as The Husband

1912
The One She Loved

as The Husband

1912
1912
1912
1912
Friends

as Dandy Jack

1912
Two Daughters of Eve

as The Father

1911
1910
1910
Rose o' Salem Town

as The Trapper

1910
The Oath and the Man

as Henri Prevost

1910
In Life's Cycle

as Vincent, as an Adult

1910
Wilful Peggy

as The Lord

1910
The Usurer

as One of the Second Debtors

1910
The House with Closed Shutters

as Charles Randolph - The Confederate Soldier

1910
The Call to Arms

as The Lord

1910
A Flash of Light

as Younger John Rogers

1910
In the Border States

as Confederate Corporal

1910
A Child of the Ghetto

as The Farmer

1910
Ramona

as Alessandro

1910
1910
1910
The Kid

as Walter Holden

1910
In Old California

as Perdita's Son

1910
1910
1910
The Honor of His Family

as George Pickett Jr.

1910
The Call

as Billy Harvey

1910
On the Reef

as Mr. Wilson

1909
The Heart of an Outlaw

as The Mexican Lover

1909
The Day After

as Party Guest

1909
In Little Italy

as Victor Ratazzi

1909
A Trap for Santa Claus

as Arthur Rogers (uncredited)

1909
A Corner in Wheat

as Wheat King's Assistant

1909
In Old Kentucky

as Robert, the Confederate son

1909
The Broken Locket

as Mexican Man

1909
Getting Even

as Miner

1909
The Sealed Room

as The Minstrel

1909
The Little Darling

as In Boarding House

1909
Pranks

as Sunbather

1909
The Mended Lute

as Indian

1909
1909
The Slave

as Alachus' Friend

Director

1915
The Birth of a Nation

as Assistant Director