Walter Connolly
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.
Known For
Credits
- 1975 · Black Shadows on a Silver Screen as Self (archive footage)
- 1939 · The Great Victor Herbert as Victor Herbert
- 1939 · 5th Ave Girl as Mr. Borden
- 1939 · Those High Grey Walls as Dr. MacAuley
- 1939 · Coast Guard as Tobias Bliss
- 1939 · Good Girls Go to Paris as Olaf Brand
- 1939 · Bridal Suite as Dr. Theodore Grauer
- 1939 · The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as The 'King'
- 1938 · Breakdowns of 1938 as Carter Hibbard (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938 · The Girl Downstairs as Mr. Brown
- 1938 · Too Hot to Handle as Gabby MacArthur
- 1938 · Four's a Crowd as John P. Dillingwell
- 1938 · Start Cheering as Sam Lewis
- 1938 · Penitentiary as Dist. Atty. Thomas Mathews
- 1937 · First Lady as Carter Hibbard
- 1937 · Nothing Sacred as Oliver Stone
- 1937 · The Good Earth as Uncle
- 1937 · The League of Frightened Men as Nero Wolfe
- 1937 · Let's Get Married as Joe Quinn
- 1937 · Nancy Steele Is Missing! as Michael Steele
- 1936 · Libeled Lady as James B. Allenbury
- 1936 · The King Steps Out as Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
- 1936 · The Music Goes 'Round as Hector Courtney
- 1936 · Soak the Rich as Humphrey Craig
- 1935 · White Lies as John Mitchell
- 1935 · So Red the Rose as Malcolm Bedford
- 1935 · One Way Ticket as Captain Bourne
- 1935 · She Couldn't Take It as Daniel Van Dyke
- 1934 · Father Brown, Detective as Father Brown
- 1934 · Broadway Bill as J.L. Higgins
- 1934 · The Captain Hates the Sea as Captain Helquist
- 1934 · Lady by Choice as Judge Daly
- 1934 · Servants' Entrance as Viktor Nilsson
- 1934 · Whom the Gods Destroy as John Forrester aka Eric Jann aka Peter Korotoff
- 1934 · Twentieth Century as Oliver Webb
- 1934 · Once to Every Woman as Dr. Walter Selby
- 1934 · Hollywood on Parade No. B-1 as
- 1934 · It Happened One Night as Alexander Andrews
- 1934 · Eight Girls in a Boat as Storm
- 1933 · East of Fifth Avenue as John Lawton
- 1933 · Master of Men as Sam Parker
- 1933 · Man's Castle as Ira
- 1933 · Lady for a Day as Count Romero
- 1933 · Paddy the Next Best Thing as Major Adair
- 1932 · The Bitter Tea of General Yen as Jones
- 1932 · No More Orchids as Bill Holt
- 1932 · Man Against Woman as Mossie Ennis
- 1932 · Washington Merry-Go-Round as Senator Wylie