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Roland Young

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Roland Young (11 November 1887 – 5 June 1953) was an English actor. Young made his first stage appearance in London's West End in Find the Woman in 1908, and in 1912 he made his Broadway debut in Hindle Wakes. He appeared in two comedies written for him by Clare Kummer, Good Gracious Annabelle! (1916) and A Successful Calamity (1917) before he served with the United States Army during World War I. He returned to New York when the war ended, and married Kummer's daughter, Frances. For the next few years he alternated between New York and London. He made his film debut in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Watson opposite John Barrymore as Holmes. He signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made his talkie debut in The Unholy Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. He was loaned to Warner Bros. to appear in Her Private Life, with Billie Dove and Fox Film Corporation, winning critical approval for his comedic performance as Jeanette MacDonald's husband in Don't Bet on a Woman. He was again paired with MacDonald in the film version of Good Gracious Annabelle!, titled Annabelle's Affairs. He appeared in Cecil B. de Mille's The Squaw Man, and played opposite Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Guardsman (both 1931). He appeared with Evelyn Brent in Columbia's The Pagan Lady (1932) and Pola Negri in RKO's A Woman Commands (1932). His final film under his MGM contract was Lovers Courageous (1932), opposite Robert Montgomery. In 1933 he had a starring role in the risqué comedy for Fox Film called Pleasure Cruise along side Genevieve Tobin. Young began to work as a freelance performer and found himself in constant demand. He appeared with Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin and Maurice Chevalier in One Hour With You (1932) and with Kay Francis in Street of Women (1932). Alexander Korda invited him to return to Britain to make his British film debut in Wedding Rehearsal (1932). He returned to Hollywood and appeared in a diverse group of films that included comedies, murder mysteries, and dramas, and also worked on Broadway. Among his films of this period were Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), David Copperfield (1935) (playing Uriah Heep), and the H.G. Wells fantasy The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936). In 1937, he achieved one of the most important successes of his career in Topper, as a bank president haunted by the ghosts of his clients, played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. It was one of the most successful films of the year, and Young was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Topper's wife was played by Billie Burke, who wrote in her memoir that Young "was dry and always fun to work with". They also appeared together in The Young in Heart (1938), and both of the Topper sequels, Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941). He continued working steadily through the 1940s, playing small roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard and Greta Garbo in her final film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre.


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Born:
Nov 11, 1887 In London, England, UK
Movie/TV Credits:
70
First Appeared:
In the movie Sherlock Holmes 1922-03-07
Latest Project:
Movie That's Entertainment! III 1994-07-01
Known For
Poster of That Man from Tangier
Poster of St. Benny the Dip
Poster of They Just Had to Get Married
Poster of Camille: The Fate of a Coquette
Filmography
Movie That's Entertainment! III (archive footage) 1994-07-01
Movie That Man from Tangier George 1953-05-08
Movie St. Benny the Dip Matthew 1951-08-24
Series What's My Line? Himself - Panelist 1950-02-02
Series Lux Video Theatre Unknown 1950-10-02
Movie Let's Dance Edmund Pohlwhistle 1950-11-29
Movie The Great Lover C.J. Dabney 1949-11-23
Movie Bond Street George Chester-Barrett 1948-05-12
Series The Ed Sullivan Show Unknown 1948-06-20
Movie You Gotta Stay Happy Ralph Tutwiler 1948-10-28
Series Studio One Unknown 1948-11-07
Movie And Then There Were None William Blore 1945-10-31
Movie Standing Room Only Ira Cromwell 1944-01-07
Movie Forever and a Day Henry Barringer 1943-01-21
Movie The Lady Has Plans Ronald Dean 1942-01-20
Movie They All Kissed the Bride Marsh 1942-06-11
Movie Tales of Manhattan Edgar - Wilson's butler 1942-08-05
Movie Topper Returns Cosmo Topper 1941-03-21
Movie Two-Faced Woman Oscar 'O.O.' Miller 1941-12-31
Movie The Flame of New Orleans Charles Giraud 1941-07-07
Movie Irene Mr. Smith 1940-04-23
Movie Star Dust Thomas Brooke 1940-04-06
Movie Private Affairs Amos Bullerton 1940-07-05
Movie He Married His Wife Bill Carter 1940-01-19
Movie Dulcy Roger Forbes 1940-10-04
Movie No, No, Nanette Mr. 'Happy' Jimmy Smith 1940-12-19
Movie The Philadelphia Story Uncle Willie 1940-12-05
Movie Here I Am a Stranger Professor Daniels 1939-09-29
Movie Yes, My Darling Daughter Titus Jaywood 1939-02-25
Movie The Night of Nights Barry Keith-Trimble 1939-12-01
Movie Sailing Along Anthony Gulliver 1938-04-15
Movie The Young in Heart Col. Anthony 'Sahib' Carleton 1938-07-06
Movie Topper Takes a Trip Cosmo Topper 1938-12-29
Movie King Solomon's Mines Cmdr. John Good 1937-06-17
Movie Call It a Day Frank Haines 1937-04-17
Movie Topper Cosmo Topper 1937-07-16
Movie Ali Baba Goes to Town Sultan 1937-10-29
Movie The Unguarded Hour William "Bunny" Jeffers 1936-04-10
Movie One Rainy Afternoon Maillot 1936-05-13
Movie The Man Who Could Work Miracles George McWhirter Fotheringay 1936-07-23
Movie Give Me Your Heart Edward 'Tubbs' Barrow 1936-09-17
Movie David Copperfield Uriah Heep 1935-01-18
Movie Ruggles of Red Gap Earl of Burnstead 1935-03-08
Movie Here Is My Heart Nicki 1934-12-28
Movie They Just Had to Get Married Hillary Hume 1933-01-05
Movie His Double Life Priam Farrel 1933-12-14
Movie A Lady's Profession Lord Reginald Withers 1933-03-03
Movie Pleasure Cruise Andrew Poole 1933-04-01
Movie Blind Adventure Holmes 1933-08-18
Movie A Woman Commands King Alexander 1932-02-12
Movie Lovers Courageous Jeffrey 1932-01-23
Movie One Hour with You Professor Olivier 1932-03-23
Movie This Is the Night Gerald Gray 1932-04-08
Movie Wedding Rehearsal Reggie Buckley Candysshe - Marquis of Buckminster 1932-10-01
Movie Street of Women Linkhorne 'Link' Gibson 1932-06-04
Movie The Prodigal Doc 1931-02-21
Movie Annabelle's Affairs Roland Wimbleton 1931-06-14
Movie Don't Bet on Women Herbert Drake 1931-02-15
Movie The Squaw Man Sir John Applegate 1931-07-21
Movie The Guardsman The Critic 1931-10-20
Movie The Pagan Lady Dr. Heath 1931-09-07
Movie Madam Satan Jimmy Wade 1930-09-20
Movie New Moon Count Strogoff 1930-12-23
Movie Her Private Life Charteris 1929-08-25
Movie The Unholy Night Lord Montague 1929-09-13
Movie The Bishop Murder Case Sigurd 'Erik' Arnesson 1929-12-31
Movie Wise Girls Duke Merrill 1929-09-21
Movie Camille: The Fate of a Coquette Lord Kyne 1926-01-01
Movie Grit Houdini Hart 1924-01-07
Movie Sherlock Holmes Dr. Watson 1922-03-07