H. B. Warner
Henry Byron " H. B. " Warner ( born October 26, 1875 in London, England; † December 21, 1958 in Woodland Hills, California ) was an American film and theater actor of British origin.
Childhood and education
Henry Warner was born as the eldest of two sons of Charles Warner, a British stage actor in London; his younger brother James died at the age of 24 from tuberculosis. First, Warner should be a doctor, by the will of his parents, so he enrolled in his school education at London University. But he abandoned his studies quickly, because the acting was his true passion. Warner studied both in Paris and in Italy before he became a member of the theater company of his father.
Professional career
Around the turn of the century drew Warner to the U.S. and changed his British -sounding name Henry in the U.S. counterpart Harry. In 1902 he stood for the first time in the drama Audrey on Broadway on stage. By about 1925 was followed by 13 more pieces, including Susan in Search of a Husband and A Tenement Tragedy - both in 1906 brought to the stage. 1914 Warner debuted as an actor before the camera, in The Harp of Tara by director Raymond B. West. Warner was in the course of his career to those actors who witnessed the transition from silent films to talkies, although the phase in which he was offered leading roles, are to be found in the era of silent films.
And it should be a silent film, with the 1, 84-meter tall man still enjoys a certain reputation even today. 1927 Warner was hired for the role of Jesus of Nazareth in Cecil B. DeMille's Biblical film King of Kings, and was for a long time among believers as " the" Jesus performer par excellence. In the 1930s and 1940s Warner was promoted despite the fame he enjoyed by the King of kings, quickly became the supporting cast, although still in many movies and almost always mentioned in the credits. In 1937 he was in In of Shangri -La (Lost Horizon) by director Frank Capra in front of the camera, and in 1938 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
1956 was Warner of DeMille again for a film that will be committed this time in a supporting role in The Ten Commandments; it should be his last film Warners. One of his well even today known films as a supporting actor is the role of the pharmacist, Mr. Gower in the Christmas classic Is not life beautiful?, In which he loses his son by a pneumonia, but finds comfort in George Bailey, who for him, in throughout history, almost like having your own son.
He was married twice during his life. In 1919 he married actress Rita Stanwood, with whom he had two children, a son and a daughter. After the divorce of Stanwood, in 1933, he was a short time with a woman named FR Hamlin married.
Today, a star on the Walk of Fame to the actor.