George E. Stone
George E. Stone ( born May 18, 1903 in Łódź, Poland Gershon Lichtenstein, † May 26, 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA ) was a Polish- American actor.
Life and career
At the age of ten years, Stone emigrated with his family to America, where they lived in New Jersey. The lanky, dark-haired Polish immigrants made his film debut in 1927 with the Oscar- winning drama The happiness in the attic. Although he was no mention in the credits, but this film and other appearances established him as a supporting actor. Stones type of role was strengthened on the Embody shady or criminal figures, often with illustrious names. He was seen gangster film classics such as The Little Caesar and musical films such as The 42nd Street. Mid -1930s, took the quality of his films, however, noticeably. In the following years, Stone played in today largely forgotten films such as The House Keepers Daughter or during the Second World War anti-Nazi propaganda films in which he was often used as an Asian or Eastern Europeans. In larger films, he played only rarely, and if so, he was often not mentioned in the credits.
From the 1950s, Stone had an increasing again in well-known films as a character actor with, even if his performances remained small. He played for example supporting roles in the gangster film The Man with the Golden Arm (1955 ), where he leads a tough fight with Frank Sinatra and in the hit comedy Some Like It Hot (1959 ) Billy Wilder as nervous police informant " Toothpick Charlie" which is ultimately killed in the Valentine massacre. In later years he also appeared on television, such as a bailiff in 46 episodes of the series Perry Mason. In 1962, he finished his career as an actor after about 180 film and television appearances. George E. Stone has since 1960 a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Since the late 1950s, Stone had been almost blind so that he could attend film appearances only with the support of friends and family. Five years after his last film and eight days after his 64th birthday, he died in Los Angeles of a heart attack. Stone had been married twice in the 1930s and 1940s, both marriages were divorced but within two years. The writer Damon Runyon was a good friend of his.