Harry Beresford

Harry Beresford
Harry Beresford
	Beresford in 1909
Born	Henry William Walter Horseley Beresford; 4 November 1863; London, England
Died	4 October 1944 (aged 80); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Other names	Harry J. Morgan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1880–1938
Spouses	; Emma Dunn (m. 1897; div. 1909) Edith Wylie (m. 19??);
Children	1

Harry J. Beresford (4 November 1863 – 4 October 1944) was an English-born actor on the American stage and in motion pictures. He used the professional name Harry J. Morgan early in his career.

Career

Harry Beresford began his acting career in 1885, as a member of the chorus of Little Jack Sheppard at the Gaiety Theatre, London. After moving to the United States in 1886, he performed throughout the country in repertory theatre and with various touring companies—including his own—for the next 30 years. His first major Broadway theatre success was in 1919, in Boys Will Be Boys, which was soon followed by a starring role in Shavings (1920). In August 1922, he created the role of the alcoholic Clem Hawley in Don Marquis's comedy The Old Soak, a character Beresford made famous and played for two years. He won praise for his character performances in the Broadway productions of Stolen Fruit (1925) and The Perfect Alibi (1928).^[1]

Between 1926 and 1938, Beresford appeared as a supporting actor in more than 50 Hollywood films, including Doctor X (1932), The Sign of the Cross (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), I Cover the Waterfront (1933), David Copperfield (1935) and Follow the Fleet (1936). He made his final film appearance in 1938, and received original story credit for the 1939 horse racing film, Long Shot.^[2]

Personal life

Beresford was born in London 4 November 1863, to Henry George and Sarah Christie.^[3] His professional name was Harry J. Morgan at the time of his first marriage, to actress Emma Dunn, on 4 October 1897, in Chicago.^[4] They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City, and Dunn was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy.^[5]^[6] Beresford married actress Edith D. Wylie,^[7]^[8] who had appeared opposite him in the play, The Other House. They were married for the remainder of his life.^[1]

Dunn, who likewise worked in Hollywood pictures in her later years, recalled testing for the role of a bullied wife in a 1935 film. When the casting director said she was too small for the part, she asked to be seen beside the actor who would play her husband—and discovered it was Harry Beresford.^[9] In 1936, columnist Jimmie Fidler reported that Beresford, then aged 72, had collapsed while working on an RKO Pictures soundstage. Unconscious for two hours, he was cared for by Dunn, who happened to be working on a set nearby.^[6]

Beresford died 4 October 1944, at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, of a heart ailment.^[1] He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.^[10]

Theatre credits

Theatrical poster for Harry Beresford in *Our New Man* (c. 1904)

Date	Title	Role	Notes
December 1885 –	Little Jack Sheppard	Chorus member	Gaiety Theatre, London; debut^[1]
November 1893 –	Walker, London	Andrew McPhail	National tour including several weeks at the Grand Opera House, Chicago^[11]^[12]
30 November – 6 December 1902	The Wrong Mr. Wright	Mr. Sites	National tour beginning at Morosco's Burbank Theatre, Los Angeles^[13]^[14]
13 October – November 1919	Boys Will Be Boys	Peep O'Day	Belmont Theatre, New York City^[15]
16 February – June 1920	Shavings	J. Edward Winslow	Knickerbocker Theatre, New York City^[16]
22 August 1922 – August 1923	The Old Soak	Clem Hawley	Plymouth Theatre, New York City^[17]
June 1924	She Stoops to Conquer	Aminadab	Empire Theatre, New York City^[18]
1924	Out-a-Luck		Touring production^[1]^[19]
February 3 – February 1925	The Undercurrent	Jason Mills	Cort Theatre, New York City^[20]
7 October – December 1925	Stolen Fruit	Ballou	Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre, New York City^[21]
27 November 1928 – July 1929	The Perfect Alibi	P. C. Ballet	Charles Hopkins Theatre, New York City^[22]
3 December 1929 – July 1930	Michael and Mary	P. C. Tuff	Charles Hopkins Theatre, New York City^[23]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1926	The Quarterback	Elmer Stone	Film debut ^[2]
1931	Charlie Chan Carries On	Kent	^[2]
	Finn and Hattie	Street cleaner	^[2]
	Heaven on Earth	Captain Lilly	^[2]
	Scandal Sheet	Arnold	^[2]
	The Secret Call	Frank Kelly	^[2]
	Sob Sister	Pa Stevens	^[2]
	Sooky	Mr. Willoughby	^[2]
	Up Pops the Devil	Mr. Platt	^[2]
1932	Dance Team	Herbert Wilson	^[2]
	Doctor X	Dr. Duke	^[2]
	Forgotten Commandments	Priest	^[2]
	High Pressure	Dr. Rudolph	^[2]
	The Match King	Christian Hobe	^[2]
	Scandal for Sale	Brownie	^[2]
	The Sign of the Cross	Flavius	^[2]
	So Big	Adam Ooms	^[2]
	The Strange Love of Molly Louvain	Taxi driver	^[2]
	Two Seconds		^[2]
1933	Bondage		^[2]
	Bureau of Missing Persons	The Man	^[2]
	College Coach	Professor	^[2]
	Dinner at Eight	Fosdick	^[2]
	Ever in My Heart	Eli	^[2]
	I Cover the Waterfront	Old Chris	^[2]
	Little Women	Doctor Bangs	^[2]
	The Mind Reader	Blaney	^[2]
	Murders in the Zoo	Professor Evans	^[2]
	Night Flight	Roblet	^[2]
1934	Cleopatra	Soothsayer	^[2]
	Fashions of 1934	Bookseller	^[2]
	The Friends of Mr. Sweeney	Claude	^[2]
	The Little Minister	John Spens	^[2]
	The Merry Frinks	Mr. Brumby	^[2]
1935	Anna Karenina	Matve	^[2]
	David Copperfield	Dr. Chillip	^[2]
	A Dog of Flanders	Sacristan	^[2]
	I Found Stella Parish	James	^[2]
	I'll Love You Always	Henry Irving Clegg	^[2]
	Page Miss Glory	Kimball	^[2]
	Seven Keys to Baldpate	Lige Quimby	^[2]
1936	Follow the Fleet	Captain Hickey	^[2]
	Grand Jury	Tom Evans	^[2]
	In His Steps	Davidson	^[2]
	Klondike Annie	Brother Bowser	^[2]
	Postal Inspector	Ritter	^[2]
1937	The Go Getter	M. M. Baker	^[2]
	The Prince and the Pauper	The Watch	^[2]
	She Asked for It	Mr. Switch	^[2]
	She's No Lady	Uncle John	^[2]
	They Won't Forget	Confederate Soldier	^[2]
1938	Newsboys' Home	O'Dowd	Final film ^[2]
1939	Long Shot	—	Original story^[2]^[24]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Harry Beresford, Stage, Film Actor". The New York Times. 5 October 1944. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb "Harry Beresford". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Harry Beresford". Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, US; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015; retrieved 2016-04-19.
^ "Harry J. Morgan". Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
^ "Emma Dunn Stokes". National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, 2 January 1906 – 31 March 1925; Roll #: 2321; Volume #: Roll 2321 - Certificates: 317850-318349, 29 Jun 1923 – 30 Jun 1923. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
^ ^a ^b Fidler, Jimmie (10 August 1936). "Hollywood Shots". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "Actors' Society Notes". The Billboard. 26 December 1908. p. 19. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
^ "Edith Wylie, stage actress". J. Willis Sayre Photographs. University Libraries, University of Washington. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
^ Fidler, Jimmie (10 January 1939). "Hollywood Shots". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
^ Resting Places
^ "'Walker, London' in the City". Chicago Tribune. 12 November 1893. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Plays and Players". The Illustrated American. New York. 17 March 1894. p. 297. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "At the Theatres". The Capital. Los Angeles: The Capital Publishing Company. 29 November 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "In the Theatres". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 22 January 1903. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "Boys Will Be Boys". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Shavings". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "The Old Soak". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "She Stoops to Conquer". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Stage-News". Chicago Tribune. 28 September 1924. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "The Undercurrent". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Stolen Fruit". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "The Perfect Alibi". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Michael and Mary". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
^ "Long Shot". Internet Archive. Retrieved 19 April 2016.