![Henry B. Walthall](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w300//v8G0OotHtSpp4iB2CBwWl9LFVkW.jpg)
Henry B. Walthall
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
Credits
- 2020 · Disclosure as Holofernes (archive footage)
- 2002 · London After Midnight as Sir James Hamlin (archive footage)
- 1975 · Black Shadows on a Silver Screen as Self (archive footage)
- 1936 · China Clipper as Dad Brunn
- 1936 · The Devil-Doll as Marcel
- 1936 · Hearts in Bondage as Capt. Buchanan
- 1936 · The Mine with the Iron Door as David Burton
- 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 · 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 · Hold Your Man as Clergyman in Alternate Version (uncredited)
- 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 · Central Park as Eby
- 1932 · Me and My Gal as John Collins
- 1932 · The Cabin in the Cotton as Eph Clinton
- 1932 · Ride Him, Cowboy as John Gaunt
- 1932 · Chandu the Magician as Robert Regent
- 1932 · Hotel Continental as Winthrop
- 1932 · Police Court as Nathaniel "Nat" Barry
- 1930 · Abraham Lincoln as Colonel Marshall
- 1930 · Temple Tower as Blackton
- 1929 · The Trespasser as Fuller
- 1929 · The Phantom in the House as Boyd Milburn
- 1929 · Black Magic as Dr. Bradbroke
- 1929 · From Headquarters as Buffalo Bill Ryan
- 1929 · Speakeasy as Piano player
- 1929 · Stark Mad as Capt. Rhodes - Yacht Commander
- 1928 · Retribution as Henry / Tommy Mooney
- 1927 · London After Midnight as Sir James Hamlin
- 1927 · Wings as Mr. Armstrong
- 1927 · Fighting Love as
- 1927 · The Scarlet Letter as Roger Prynne aka Roger Chillingworth
- 1926 · Everybody's Acting as Thorpe
- 1926 · The Barrier as Gale Gaylord
- 1925 · The Plastic Age as Henry Carver
- 1925 · Kentucky Pride as Mr. Beaumont
- 1923 · Gimme as John McGimsey
- 1922 · The Kickback as Aaron Price
- 1920 · Parted Curtains as Joe Jenkins
- 1920 · The Confession as Father Bartlett
- 1919 · Modern Husbands as Stephen Duane
- 1918 · Humdrum Brown as Hector 'Humdrum' Brown
- 1915 · The Raven as Edgar Allan Poe
- 1915 · Ghosts as Captain Alving / Oswald
- 1915 · The Birth of a Nation as Col. Ben Cameron
- 1914 · The Odalisque as Joe, in love with May
- 1914 · The Avenging Conscience as The Nephew
- 1914 · Lord Chumley as Lord Chumley
- 1914 · Home, Sweet Home as John Howard Payne
- 1914 · The Old Man as The Old Man
- 1914 · Strongheart as Soangataha / Strongheart
- 1914 · Judith of Bethulia as Holofernes
- 1914 · The Gangsters of New York as Porky Dugan
- 1913 · The Battle at Elderbush Gulch as The Indian Chief's Son
- 1913 · The Mirror as The Station Agent
- 1913 · Her Mother's Oath as The Actor
- 1913 · The Switchtower as The Switchman
- 1913 · Death's Marathon as The Husband
- 1913 · Love in an Apartment Hotel as The Young Woman's Fiance
- 1912 · The Burglar’s Dilemma as The Householder's Weakling Brother
- 1912 · Brutality as Actor In Oliver Twist
- 1912 · The Informer as The False Brother
- 1912 · My Baby as The Husband
- 1912 · So Near, Yet So Far as In Club
- 1912 · Friends as Dandy Jack
- 1911 · Souls Courageous as
- 1910 · The Iconoclast as
- 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 · A Child of the Ghetto as The Farmer
- 1910 · Ramona as Alessandro
- 1910 · Love Among the Roses as The Lord
- 1910 · The Kid as Walter Holden
- 1910 · The Thread of Destiny as Estrada
- 1910 · The Converts as
- 1910 · The Honor of His Family as George Pickett Jr.
- 1910 · The Call as Billy Harvey
- 1909 · A Corner in Wheat as Wheat King's Assistant
- 1909 · Pippa Passes as
- 1909 · Getting Even as Miner
- 1909 · The Sealed Room as The Minstrel
- 1909 · Pranks as Sunbather
- 1909 · The Mended Lute as Indian
- 1909 · The Slave as Alachus' Friend
- 1908 · Rescued from an Eagle's Nest as Woodsman
- Future · I Am Not a Racist as Ben
- 1998 · Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists as Col. Ben Cameron (archive footage)
- 1942 · Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) as Self (archive footage)
- 1936 · The Last Outlaw as Cal Yates
- 1936 · The Garden Murder Case as Dr. Garden
- 1934 · A Girl of the Limberlost as Dr. Amon
- 1934 · The Lemon Drop Kid as Jonas Deering
- 1933 · The Flaming Signal as Rev. Mr. James
- 1933 · Somewhere in Sonora as Bob Leadly
- 1932 · Klondike as Mark Armstrong
- 1932 · Alias Mary Smith as Atwell
- 1931 · Anybody's Blonde as Mr. Evans
- 1930 · Tol'able David as Amos Hatburn
- 1930 · The Love Trader as Captain Adams
- 1929 · Blaze o' Glory as Burke
- 1929 · River of Romance as General Jeff Rumford
- 1929 · The Bridge of San Luis Rey as Father Juniper
- 1928 · Freedom of the Press as John Ballard
- 1927 · A Light in the Window as Johann Graff
- 1927 · Love Me and the World is Mine as Van Denbosch
- 1926 · The Road to Mandalay as Father James
- 1926 · The Unknown Soldier as John Phillips
- 1926 · Three Faces East as George Bennett
- 1925 · Kit Carson Over the Great Divide as Dr. Samuel Webb
- 1925 · The Girl Who Wouldn't Work as William Hale
- 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 · The Face on the Barroom Floor as Robert Stevens
- 1922 · The Long Chance as Harley P. Hennage
- 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
- 1919 · The Long Arm of Mannister as George Mannister
- 1919 · The False Faces as Michael Lanyard
- 1919 · The Long Lane's Turning as
- 1918 · The Great Love as Sir Roger Brighton
- 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
- 1914 · The Mountain Rat as Douglas Williams
- 1914 · The Mysterious Shot as The Gopher
- 1914 · The Floor Above as Stephen Pryde
- 1914 · The Green-Eyed Devil as
- 1914 · Classmates as Duncan Irving
- 1914 · The Awakening of Donna Isolla as The President of the Republic
- 1913 · A Woman in the Ultimate as Badger Gang Member
- 1913 · Two Men of the Desert as First Partner
- 1913 · During the Round-Up as The Stranger
- 1913 · A Gambler's Honor as Beth's Brother
- 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 · The Perfidy of Mary as The Poet
- 1913 · The Sheriff's Baby as First Bandit
- 1913 · Broken Ways as The Road Agent
- 1913 · Oil and Water as The Idealist
- 1913 · Three Friends as The Husband
- 1912 · The God Within as The Woodsman
- 1912 · My Hero as Indian Charlie
- 1912 · The One She Loved as The Husband
- 1912 · In the Aisles of the Wild as Jim Watson
- 1912 · A Feud in the Kentucky Hills as A Psalm Singer
- 1912 · Two Daughters of Eve as The Father
- 1911 · For His Sake as
- 1911 · The Command from Galilee as The Lover
- 1910 · Where the Sea and the Shore Doth Meet as
- 1910 · The Armorer’s Daughter as
- 1910 · The Gray of the Dawn as
- 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 · A Summer Idyll as
- 1910 · The Sorrows of the Unfaithful as Bill
- 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 · The Two Brothers as Pedro
- 1910 · The Face at the Window as
- 1910 · The Gold Seekers as
- 1910 · The Way of the World as
- 1910 · In Old California as Perdita's Son
- 1910 · Thou Shalt Not as
- 1910 · The Cloister’s Touch as The Father
- 1910 · On the Reef as Mr. Wilson
- 1910 · His Last Burglary as
- 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 · Fools of Fate as
- 1909 · In Old Kentucky as Robert, the Confederate son
- 1909 · The Broken Locket as Mexican Man
- 1909 · 1776, or The Hessian Renegades as
- 1909 · The Little Darling as In Boarding House
- 1909 · They Would Elope as
- 1909 · A Strange Meeting as A Thief