Walter Connolly, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Walter Connolly
Acting

Walter Connolly
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1887-04-08,Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
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.

Filmography

It Happened One Night

7.823

It Happened One Night
1934-02-22

Twentieth Century

6.8

Twentieth Century
1934-05-11

7.3

Libeled Lady
1936-10-09

Too Hot to Handle

5.8

Too Hot to Handle
1938-09-16

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

6.1

The Bitter Tea of General Yen
1932-12-25

Man Against Woman

3.5

Man Against Woman
1932-11-15

6.2

The Good Earth
1937-06-02

7.051

Lady for a Day
1933-09-13

6.2

Nothing Sacred
1937-11-25

7

5th Ave Girl
1939-09-22

5.1

Four's a Crowd
1938-08-04

6

Lady by Choice
1934-10-15

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

6.5

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939-02-10

6

Broadway Bill
1934-11-30

Nancy Steele Is Missing!

0

Nancy Steele Is Missing!
1937-03-12

6.2

First Lady
1937-12-04

Good Girls Go to Paris

7.1

Good Girls Go to Paris
1939-06-20

The Music Goes 'Round

0

The Music Goes 'Round
1936-02-27

5

Coast Guard
1939-08-04

7

Start Cheering
1938-03-03

The League of Frightened Men

6

The League of Frightened Men
1937-05-25

Those High Grey Walls

6.2

Those High Grey Walls
1939-09-21

The King Steps Out

5.7

The King Steps Out
1936-05-27

No More Orchids

6.8

No More Orchids
1932-11-25

Paddy the Next Best Thing

1

Paddy the Next Best Thing
1933-09-01

The Girl Downstairs

4.5

The Girl Downstairs
1938-12-23

The Great Victor Herbert

5

The Great Victor Herbert
1939-12-29

Let's Get Married

5

Let's Get Married
1937-04-14

Father Brown, Detective

6.5

Father Brown, Detective
1934-12-14

She Couldn't Take It

4.5

She Couldn't Take It
1935-10-08

So Red the Rose

6

So Red the Rose
1935-12-20

East of Fifth Avenue

6

East of Fifth Avenue
1933-11-28

Washington Merry-Go-Round

6.7

Washington Merry-Go-Round
1932-10-15

Whom the Gods Destroy

5.5

Whom the Gods Destroy
1934-07-12

5.1

Bridal Suite
1939-05-26

The Captain Hates the Sea

6.5

The Captain Hates the Sea
1934-11-02

6.867

Man's Castle
1933-11-20

Servants' Entrance

0

Servants' Entrance
1934-09-25

5

One Way Ticket
1935-11-25

0

Master of Men
1933-11-28

Once to Every Woman

5.8

Once to Every Woman
1934-03-24

Eight Girls in a Boat

0

Eight Girls in a Boat
1934-01-05

6

White Lies
1935-12-27

Breakdowns of 1938

5

Breakdowns of 1938
1938-12-31

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1

6

Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
1934-03-02

0

Soak the Rich
1936-01-17

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

0

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975-04-19

0

Penitentiary
1938-02-05