1887-04-08 ( 137 years old ) in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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.
Movies
Black Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975-04-19
The Great Victor Herbert
1939-12-29
Fifth Avenue Girl
1939-09-22
Those High Grey Walls
1939-09-21
Coast Guard
1939-08-04
Good Girls Go to Paris
1939-06-20
Bridal Suite
1939-05-26
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939-02-10
Breakdowns of 1938
1938-12-31
The Girl Downstairs
1938-12-23
Too Hot to Handle
1938-09-16
Four's a Crowd
1938-08-04
Start Cheering
1938-03-03
Penitentiary
1938-02-05
First Lady
1937-12-04
Nothing Sacred
1937-11-25
The Good Earth
1937-06-02
The League of Frightened Men
1937-05-25
Let's Get Married
1937-04-14
Nancy Steele Is Missing!
1937-03-12
Libeled Lady
1936-10-09
The King Steps Out
1936-05-27
The Music Goes 'Round
1936-02-27
Soak the Rich
1936-01-17
White Lies
1935-12-27
So Red the Rose
1935-12-20
One Way Ticket
1935-11-25
She Couldn't Take It
1935-10-08
Father Brown, Detective
1934-12-14
Broadway Bill
1934-11-30
The Captain Hates the Sea
1934-11-02
Lady by Choice
1934-10-15
Servants' Entrance
1934-09-25
Whom the Gods Destroy
1934-07-12
Twentieth Century
1934-05-11
Once to Every Woman
1934-03-24
Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
1934-03-02
It Happened One Night
1934-02-22
Eight Girls in a Boat
1934-01-05
East of Fifth Avenue
1933-11-28
Master of Men
1933-11-28
Man's Castle
1933-11-20
Lady for a Day
1933-09-13
Paddy the Next Best Thing
1933-09-01
The Bitter Tea of General Yen
1932-12-25
No More Orchids
1932-11-25
Man Against Woman
1932-11-15
Washington Merry-Go-Round
1932-10-15
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