Henry Brandon (actor)
Henry Brandon | |
---|---|
Born | Heinrich von Kleinbach 8 June 1912 Berlin, Germany |
Died | 15 February 1990 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 77)
Nationality | American |
Other names | Harry Brandon Harry Kleinbach Henry Kleinbach |
Alma mater | Stanford University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1932–1989 |
Partner | Mark Herron (1969-1990; Brandon's death) |
Children | 1 |
Henry Brandon (born Heinrich von Kleinbach; 8 June 1912 – 15 February 1990) was an American film and stage character actor with a career spanning almost 60 years, involving more than 100 films; he specialized in playing a wide diversity of ethnic roles.
Early life
Brandon was born in 1912 in Berlin, German Empire, the son of Hildegard and Hugo R. von Kleinbach, a merchant.
Film career
He made his motion picture debut in 1932 as an uncredited spectator at the Colosseum in
In the late 1930s Brandon became a familiar face in adventure serials, almost always in villainous roles. In 1940, he had his only starring film role, as the imperious
Character actor
Henry Brandon was a versatile character player, often called upon to portray various ethnic types. He played the character of Renouf, a deserter from the
In 1956, in one of his most famous credits, he played the chief villain, a Comanche chieftain called Scar, in
In 1960, he played a Native American character again as Running Wolf in the episode "Gold Seeker" in the television series The Rebel. He played Asian characters in two 1961 episodes, viz. "Angel of Death" and "The Assassins", of the television series Adventures in Paradise and played an American Indian chieftain again in John Ford's Two Rode Together. In 1965, he played the Shug chief in the pilot episode of F Troop and made a guest appearance on the TV programme Honey West "A Matter of Wife and Death" (episode 4). Brandon once again played Squire Cribbs at long-running revivals of The Drunkard in the late 1950s through the mid-'60s at the Los Angeles Press Club theatre and, again, in the 1980s at the Hollywood Masquers Club theatre.
Personal life
Brandon married in 1941; the marriage produced one son before ending in 1946.[1] He subsequently had a long relationship with the actor Mark Herron.[3] Herron left Brandon in the mid-1960s, and was briefly the fourth husband of Judy Garland. Herron and Garland separated after five months of marriage, after which Herron returned to Brandon and remained with him until Brandon's death.
Death
Brandon lived in West Hollywood in his final years. He suffered a heart attack and died on 15 February 1990, at the age of 77, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. His body was cremated, and the ashes were reportedly scattered at an undisclosed theatre location.[4][5]
Selected filmography
- The Sign of the Cross (1932) as Colosseum Spectator (uncredited)
- Babes in Toyland (1934) as Silas Barnaby
- The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) as Wade Falin
- The Preview Murder Mystery (1936) as The Bat Man (uncredited)
- Big Brown Eyes (1936) as Don Butler
- The Garden of Allah (1936) as Hadj
- Killer at Large (1936) as Mr. Zero
- Black Legion (1937) as Joe Dombrowski
- Jungle Jim (1937, Serial) as The Cobra
- Secret Agent X-9 (1937, Serial) as Blackstone
- I Promise to Pay (1937) as Henchman Fancyface
- Island Captives (1937) as Dick Bannister
- The Last Train from Madrid (1937) as Radio Announcer (uncredited)
- West Bound Limited (1937) as Joe Forbes
- Conquest (1937) as Staff Officer (uncredited)
- Wells Fargo (1937) as Larry (uncredited)
- I Met My Love Again (1938) as Bruno - the Painter (uncredited)
- Three Comrades (1938) as Valentin - Man with Eye Patch (uncredited)
- Spawn of the North (1938) as Davis (uncredited)
- If I Were King (1938) as Soldier (uncredited)
- The Last Express (1938) as Henchman Pinky
- The Last Warning (1938) as Willie the Creep (uncredited)
- Pirates of the Skies (1939) as Gang Pilot (uncredited)
- Buck Rogers (1939, Serial) as Captain Laska
- Beau Geste (1939) as Renouf - Another Deserter
- Conspiracy (1939) as Carlson - Crewman
- Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) as Lt. Schultz
- The Marshal of Mesa City (1939) as Duke Allison
- Geronimo (1939) (scenes deleted)
- Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) as Dr. Fu Manchu
- Half a Sinner (1940) as Handsome
- Ski Patrol (1940) as Jan Sikorsky
- Florian (1940) as Groom (uncredited)
- The Ranger and the Lady (1940) as General Augustus Larue
- Doomed to Die (1940) as Attorney Victor Martin
- Under Texas Skies (1940) as Tom Blackton
- Dark Streets of Cairo (1940) as Hussien
- The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) as Lt. Schultz
- Underground (1941) as Rolf
- Two in a Taxi (1941) as Professor
- The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) as Bald Knobber (uncredited)
- Hurricane Smith (1941) as Sam Carson
- Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) as Ted Carver
- The Corsican Brothers (1941) as Marquis de Raveneau (uncredited)
- Night in New Orleans (1942) as Croupier (uncredited)
- Edge of Darkness (1943) as Maj. Ruck (uncredited)
- Northwest Outpost (1947) as Chinese Junk Captain (uncredited)
- Old Los Angeles (1948) as Larry Stockton
- Canon City (1948) as Freeman
- Hollow Triumph (1948) as Big Boy (uncredited)
- Joan of Arc (1948) as Captain Gilles de Rais
- The Paleface (1948) as Wapato (medicine man)
- Wake of the Red Witch (1948) as Kurinua (uncredited)
- The Fighting O'Flynn (1949) as Lt. Corpe
- Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949) as Siko
- Cattle Drive (1951) as Jim Currie
- The Golden Horde (1951) as Juchi, Son of Genghis Khan
- Flame of Araby (1951) as Malik
- Harem Girl (1952) as Hassan Ali
- Scarlet Angel (1952) as Pierre
- Wagons West (1952) as Clay Cook
- Hurricane Smith (1952) as Sam
- The War of the Worlds (1953) as Cop at Crash Site
- Scared Stiff (1953) as Pierre
- Pony Express (1953) as Joe Cooper
- Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953) as Captain Goiti
- Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) as M'Tara, Locopo Chief
- The Caddy (1953) as Mr. Preen
- War Arrow (1953) as Maygro
- Knock on Wood (1954) as Second Trenchcoat Man
- Casanova's Big Night (1954) as Capt. Rugello
- Vera Cruz (1954) as Capt. Danette
- Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) as Bejac
- Silent Fear (1956) as Cliff Sutton
- Comanche (1956) as Black Cloud
- The Searchers(1956) as Chief Cicatriz (Scar)
- Bandido (1956) as Gunther
- The Ten Commandments (1956) as Commander of the Hosts
- Hell's Crossroads (1957) as Jesse James
- The Land Unknown (1957) as Dr. Carl Hunter
- Omar Khayyam (1957) as Commander
- The Buccaneer (1958) as British Major
- Auntie Mame (1958) as Acacius Page
- Okefenokee (1959) as Joe Kalhari
- The Big Fisherman (1959) as Menicus
- Two Rode Together (1961) as Chief Quanah Parker
- Captain Sindbad (1963) as Colonel Kabar
- So Long, Blue Boy (1973) as Buck
- The Manhandlers (1974) as Carlo
- When the North Wind Blows (1974) as Avakum
- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) as Sgt. Chaney
- Run for the Roses (1977) as Jeff
- Mission to Glory: A True Story (1977) as Father Canion
- Bud and Lou (1978, TV Movie) as Bernie
- Hollywood Knight (1979) as Curley
- Evita Peron (1981, TV Movie) as General Ramirez
- To Be or Not to Be (1983) as Nazi Officer
- Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989) as Zarz (final film role)
Selected theatre performances
- Ramona (California, 1946 & 1947)
- Medea (New York, 1949)
- Twelfth Night (Broadway, 1949)
- The Lady's Not For Burning(New York, 1957)
- Arsenic and Old Lace (Florida, 1985)
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-6293-3335-9.
- ^ "Photograph of Kleinbach 1929/30 Photo ID:15352". Stanford University Library.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5468-6. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Henry Brandon, 77, Stage and Film Actor". The New York Times. 22 February 1990.
- )
Sources
- Theatre appearances taken from a New York Timesobituary, February 22, 1990.
- Other information compiled from Classic Move Hub and IMDb
Further reading
- Cassara, B. & Greene, R., "Henry Brandon: King of the Bogeymen" (Pub. BearManor Media, 2018).
- Scapperotti, Dan. "Memories of Fu Manchu". Starlog (Jan 1987), 60-64. Article about Brandon's movie career.
External links
- Henry Brandon at IMDb
- Henry Brandon at AllMovie
- Henry Brandon at the Internet Broadway Database
- Henry Brandon at the Internet Off-Broadway Database