Alan Mowbray
(1896 - 1969)The three Alans couldn't be more unlike in demeanor, personality and character type. Alan Mowbray was of the stiff-upper-lip school of British actors. He was tall, of rigid posture, well groomed with an aristocratic air about him and excellent diction. He was often cast as British or European gentlemen, butlers, doctors, aristocrats and Royalty. He was born Ernest Allen on August 18, 1896 in London, England. He changed his name after serving in the British army in World War I. He'd seen a letter written by Robert Louis Stevenson to his cousin Robert Alan Mowbray Stevenson and had liked the look and sound of Alan Mowbray as a stage name. He started acting on the English stage and eventually toured the U.S. with his company the Theatre Guild from 1923-29. He was an occasional screen writer but gave it up for acting. He met and married Lorayne Carpenter, also an accomplished actor, while they worked in a play together. They had two children and Lorayne retired from acting to become a wife and homemaker. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. His film credits include: "The Big Irons" (1931) as Mr. Mowbray; "God's Gift to Women" (1931) his film debut, as Auguste, Toto's Butler; "The Man in Possession" (1931) as Sir Charles Cartwright; "Guilty Hands" (1931) as Gordon Rich; "Alexander Hamilton" (1931) as George Washington; "Leftover Ladies" (1931) as Jerry; "Honor of the Family" (1931) as Tony Revere; "Lovers Courageous" (1932) as Lamone; "Nice Women" (1932) as Mark Chandler; Silent Witness" (1932) as Arthur Drinton; "Hotel Continental" (1932) as Walter Underwood; "The World and the Flesh" (1932) as Dimitri; Man About Town" (1932) as Ivan Boris; "The Man from Yesterday" (1932) as Dr. Waite; "Two Lips and Juleps" (1932); "Our Betters" (1933) as Lord George Grayston; "Winner Take All" (1932) as Forbes; "Sherlock Holmes" (1932) with Clive Brook in the title role, as Col. Gore-King; "The Man Called Back" (1932) as King's Counsel; "Jewel Robbery" (1932) as Fritz; "Two Against the World" (1932) as George 'Georgie' Walton; "A Study in Scarlet" (1933) as Inspector Lastrade; "Voltaire" (1933) as Count de Sarnac; "Peg o' My Heart" (1933) as Capt. Christopher Brent; "The Midnight Club" (1933) as Arthur Bradley; "Berkeley Square" (1933) as Maj. Clinton; "The World Changes" (1933) as Sir Phillip Ivor; "Her Secret" (1933) as Nils; "Roman Scandals" (1933) as Majordomo; "Long Lost Father" (1934) as Sir Anthony Gelding; "House of Rothschild" (1934) as Metternich; "Where Sinners Meet" (1934) as Nicholas; "Little Man, What Now?" (1934) as Franz Schluter; "Cheaters" (1934) as Paul Southern; "The Girl from Missouri" (1934) Lord Douglas; "One More River" (1934) as Forsythe; "Embarassing Moments" (1934) as Aheam; "Charlie Chan in London" (1934) as Geoffrey Richmond; "Night Life of the Gods" (1935) as Hunter Hawk; "Becky Sharp" (1935) as Rawdon Crawley; "Lady Tubbs" (1935) as Elyot Wembsleigh; "The Gay Deception" (1935) as Lord Clewe; "She Couldn't Take It" (1935) as Alan Hamilton; "In Person" (1935) as Jay Holmes; "Rose-Marie" (1936) as Premier; "Muss 'em Up" (1936) as Paul Harding; "Give Us This Night" (1936) as Forcellini; "Mary of Scotland" (1936) with Katharine Hepburn, as Throckmorton; "My Man Godfrey" (1936) as Tommy Gray; "Desire" (1936) as Dr. Maurice Pauquet; "The Case Against Mrs. Ames" (1936) as Lawrence Waterson; "Fatal Lady" (1936) as Uberto Malla; "Ladies in Love" (1936) as Paul Sandor aka Sandor the Great; "Four Days' Wonder" (1936) as Archibald Fenton; "Rainbow on the River" (1936) as Ralph Layton; "On the Avenue" (1937) as Frederick Sims; "The King and the Chorus Girl" (1937) as Donald Taylor; "Topper" (1937) as Wilkins; "As Good as Married" (1937) as Wally; "Marry the Girl" (1937) as Dr. Hayden Stryker; "Vogues of 1938" (1937) as Henry Morgan;
"On Such a Night" (1937) as Prof. Ricardo Montrose Candle; "Music for Madame" (1937) as Leon Rodowsky; "Stand-In" (1937) as Koslofski; "Hollywood Hotel" (1937) as Alexander Dupre; "Merrily We Live" (1938) as Grosvenor, the Butler; "There Goes My Heart" (1938) as Penny E. Pennypepper; "Topper Takes a Trip" (1938) as Wilkins, the Butler; "Never Say Die" (1939) as Prince Smirnov; "Way Down South" (1939) as Jacques Bouton; "The Llano Kid" (1939) as John Travers; "Music in My Heart" (1940) as Charles Spencer Gardner III; "Curtain Call" (1940) as Donald Avery; "Scatterbrain" (1940) as J.R. Russell; "The Boys from Syracuse" (1940) as Angelo; "The Villain Still Pursued Her" (1940) as Silas Cribbs; "The Quarterback" (1940) as Prof. Hobbs; "Footlight Fever" (1941) as Mr. Don Avery; "That Hamilton Woman" (1941) as Sir William Hamilton; "That Uncertain Feeling" (1941) as Dr. Vengard; "The Cowboy and the Blonde" (1941) as Phineas Johnson; "Ice Capades" (1941) as Pete Ellis; "Moon Over Her Shoulder" (1941) as Grover Sloan; "I Wake Up Screaming" (1941) as Robin Ray; "The Perfect Snob" (1941) as Freddie Browning; "Yokel Boy" (1942) as R.B. Harris; "We Were Dancing" (1942) as Grand Duke Basil; "The Mad Martindales" (1942) as Hugo Martindale; "Isle of Missing Men" (1942) as Dr. Henry Brown; "Panama Hattie" (1942) as Jay Jerkins, Dick's Butler; "A Yank at Eton" (1942) as Mr. Duncan; "The Devil with Hitler" (1942) as The Devil/Gesatan; "The Powers Girl" (1943) as John Robert Powers; "Slightly Dangerous" (1943) as English Gentleman; "So This Is Washington" (1943) as Chester W. Marshall; "Holy Matrimony" (1943) as Mr. Pennington; "His Butler's Sister" (1943) as Jenkins; "The Doughgirls" (1944) as Breckenridge Drake; "Ever Since Venus" (1944) as J. Webster Hackett; "My Gal Loves Music" (1944) as Rodney Spoonyer; "Bring On the Girls" (1945) as August; "Earl Carroll Vanities" (1945) as Grand Duke Paul; "The Phantom of 42nd Street" (1945) as Ceil Moore; "Where Do We Go from Here?" (1945) as Gen. George Washington; "Tell It to a Star" (1945) as Col. Ambrose Morgan; "Men in Her Diary" (1945) as Douglas Crane; "Sunbonnet Sue" (1945) as Jonathan; "Terror by Night" (1946) as Major Duncan-Bleek; "My Darling Clementine" (1946) with Victor Mature and Henry Fonda, as Granville Thorndyke, one of my favorite of his roles; "Idea Girl" (1946) as J.C. Crow; "Pilgrim Lady" (1947) as Clifford Lattimer; "Lured" (1947) as Lyle Maxwell alias Maxim Duval; "Merton of the Movies" (1947) as Frank Mulvaney; "Captain from Castille" (1947) as Professor Botello; "The Main Street Kid" (1948) as The Great Martine; "The Prince of Thieves" (1948) as The Friar; "An Innocent Affair" (1948) as Ken St. Clair; "Every Girl Should Be Married" (1948) as Mr. Spitzer; "My Dear Secretary" (1949) as Deveny; "The Lone Wolf and His Lady" (1949) as Jamison, Lanyard's Valet; "The Lovable Cheat" (1949) as Justin; "You're My Everything" (1949) as Joe Blanton; "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer" (1949) as Melton; "Wagon Master" (1950) as Dr. A. Locksley Hall; "The Jackpot" (1950) as Leslie; "The Lady and the Bandit" (1951) as Lord Charles Willoughby; "Crosswinds" (1951) as The Hon. Cecil Daubrey; "Just Across the Street" (1952) as Davis; "Blackbeard the Pirate" (1952) as Noll; "Androcles and the Lion" (1952) as Editor of Gladiators; "Ma and Pa Kettle at Home" (1954) as Alphonsus Mannering; "The Steel Cage" (1954) as Gilbert Lee; "The King's Thief" (1955) as Sir Gilbert Talbot; "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (1956) as Gordon; "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956) as Val Parnell; "The King and I" (1956) with Yul Brynner, as British Ambassador Sir John Hay; "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956) as Consul and "A Majority of One" (1961) as Norcross, his final film role. On TV he was a regular on "Colonel Humphrey Flack" (1953-54) as Col. Humphrey Flack; "The Mickey Rooney Show" (1954-55) as Drama Instructor; "The Best in Mystery" (1956) as Jackson and "Dante" (1960-61) as Stewart Styles. He also guested on such series as: "Maverick"; "Whispering Smith"; "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."; "Petticoat Junction" and "The Beverly Hillbillies." He served in the Royal Artillery during World War I and was twice wounded, receiving the Military Medal for bravery. In "My Darling Clementine", while boarding the stagecoach, he ad-libbed the line "Good night sweet prince!" while tipping his hat to Patrick Ford, director John Ford's brother. Ford liked the line so much he left it in the film. He died of a heart attack on March 25, 1969 in Hollywood, California at age 73.
From Great Character Actors, Page 6.
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