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Halliwell Hobbes(1877-1962)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Halliwell Hobbes
Trailer for this strange story of a criminals love for a great beauty
Play trailer1:54
Gaslight (1944)
2713
2 Videos
36 Photos
Born at Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon, Halliwell Hobbes could perhaps not aspire to anything else but to be an actor. He made his stage debut in 1898 playing Shakespearean repertory with the famous acting company of Sir Frank Benson throughout England. Among others he played opposite Mrs. Patrick Campbell and Ellen Terry. Hobbes came to the American and Broadway as early as 1906, doing performing and some directing until early 1929 when he came to Hollywood as an elderly actor to launch a long career of memorable character roles. In those first years he seemed to be either a lord or a butler. But by 1931 he was much in demand, lending his distinctive and dignified nasal voice to nearly ten films per year through most of the 1930s. Moving from one studio to another, he was doctors, diplomats, more lords, and some very memorable clerics-especially the staid archbishop reduced to laughter in The Prince and the Pauper (1937). The roles were scarcer through the 1940s, but he was back on Broadway by mid 1940 playing Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet." Still that distinctive voice graced over 100 films by 1949. He turned to the richly diverse American TV playhouse format by 1950 and continued with roles through the decade along with a continued presence on Broadway until late 1955. Although he was sometimes uncredited in films, his roles were no less a recorded legacy of a dedicated acting talent.
BornNovember 16, 1877
DiedFebruary 20, 1962(84)
BornNovember 16, 1877
DiedFebruary 20, 1962(84)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos36

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Known for

James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, and Edward Arnold in You Can't Take It with You (1938)
You Can't Take It with You
7.8
  • DePinna
  • 1938
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
To Be or Not to Be
8.1
  • General Armstrong
  • 1942
Heather Angel, James Ellison, John Howard, and Eily Malyon in The Undying Monster (1942)
The Undying Monster
6.1
  • Walton
  • 1942
Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten in Gaslight (1944)
Gaslight
7.8
  • Mr. Mufflin
  • 1944

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • The Alcoa Hour (1955)
    The Alcoa Hour
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Doorman
    • Reverend Garland
    • 1955–1957
  • Van Johnson and Jane Wyman in Miracle in the Rain (1956)
    Miracle in the Rain
    7.1
    • Ely B. 'Windy' Windgate
    • 1956
  • Marsha Hunt and John Rodney in Studio One (1948)
    Studio One
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Father Benedict
    • 1956
  • Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
    Robert Montgomery Presents
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1951–1953
  • Lux Video Theatre (1950)
    Lux Video Theatre
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Fitz James
    • Justin
    • 1951
  • Lights Out (1946)
    Lights Out
    6.9
    TV Series
    • O'Haggis
    • Col. Killigrew (old)
    • 1950–1951
  • Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (1950)
    Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
    7.2
    TV Series
    • 1951
  • Errol Flynn, Robert Young, Greer Garson, and Walter Pidgeon in That Forsyte Woman (1949)
    That Forsyte Woman
    6.6
    • Nicholas Forsyte
    • 1949
  • Martin Kane (1949)
    Martin Kane
    6.9
    TV Series
    • John Marks
    • 1949–1954
  • Joan Fontaine, James Stewart, Eddie Albert, and Joe in You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
    You Gotta Stay Happy
    6.7
    • Martin
    • 1948
  • The Black Arrow (1948)
    The Black Arrow
    6.1
    • Bishop of Tisbury
    • 1948
  • Angela Lansbury and Janet Leigh in If Winter Comes (1947)
    If Winter Comes
    6.4
    • The Coroner
    • 1947
  • Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, and Brian Donlevy in Canyon Passage (1946)
    Canyon Passage
    6.9
    • Clenchfield
    • 1946
  • Information Please
    6.7
    Short
    • Leutnant Eberhard (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright in Casanova Brown (1944)
    Casanova Brown
    6.2
    • Charles
    • 1944

Soundtrack



  • Van Johnson and Jean Rogers in The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)
    The War Against Mrs. Hadley
    6.7
    • performer: "Happy Birthday" (1893) (uncredited)
    • 1942
  • Changing of the Guard (1936)
    Changing of the Guard
    5.7
    Short
    • performer: "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited)
    • 1936

Videos2

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
Trailer 2:03
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
21
Gaslight
Trailer 1:54
Gaslight
2713
Gaslight
Trailer 1:54
Gaslight
2713

Personal details

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  • Alternative names
    • Holliwell Hobbes
  • Height
    • 5′ 8½″ (1.74 m)
  • Born
    • November 16, 1877
    • Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • February 20, 1962
    • Santa Monica, California, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Nancie Brenda MarslandApril 1915 - February 22, 1962 (his death, 1 child)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Halliwell had his four 12-year-molars removed to increase the appearance of his sunken cheeks.

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