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Eugene Pallette

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Occupation
  
Actor

Siblings
  
Beulah L. Pallette

Role
  
Actor

Name
  
Eugene Pallette

Years active
  
1913–1946


Eugene Pallette Eugene Pallette a 39Corker39 of a Silent Star and a

Born
  
July 8, 1889 (
1889-07-08
)

Died
  
September 3, 1954, Los Angeles, California, United States

Spouse
  
Marjorie Cagnacci (m. 1932–1954), Ann Slater (m. 1916–1919), Phyllis Gordon (m. 1912)

Parents
  
William Baird Pallette, Elnora Pallette

Movies
  
The Adventures of Robin, My Man Godfrey, The Lady Eve, The Mark of Zorro, Mr Smith Goes to Washington

Similar People
  
Patric Knowles, William Keighley, Gregory La Cava, Melville Cooper, Frank Tuttle

Tcm tribute to character actor eugene pallette


Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor. He appeared in over 240 silent era and sound era motion pictures between 1913 and 1946.

Contents

Eugene Pallette Eugene Pallette Brief Biography with Additional Trivia

After an early career as a slender leading man, Pallette appeared for decades as very obese with a large stomach and deep, gravelly voice, probably best-remembered for comic character roles such as Alexander Bullock, Carole Lombard's father, in My Man Godfrey (1936), as Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn, and his similar role as Fray Felipe in The Mark of Zorro (1940) starring Tyrone Power.

Eugene Pallette image1findagravecomphotos250photos201024470

Tcm what a character eugene pallette


Early life and career

Eugene Pallette The Rotund and Gravelvoiced Ol Reliable Eugene Pallette Once

He was born in Winfield, Kansas, the son of William Baird Pallette (1858–?) and Elnora "Ella" Jackson (1860–1906). His sister was Beulah L. Pallette (1880–1968).

Eugene Pallette Pallette

Pallette attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. He then began his acting career on the stage in stock company roles, appearing for a period of six years.

Silent pictures

Eugene Pallette eugene pallette Classic Film Aficionados

Pallette began his silent film career as an extra in about 1911. His first credited appearance was in the one-reel short western/drama The Fugitive (1913) which was directed by Wallace Reid for Flying "A" Studios at Santa Barbara.

Eugene Pallette Eugene Pallette Hollywood Star Walk Los Angeles Times

Quickly advancing to featured status, Pallette appeared in many westerns. He worked with D. W. Griffith on such films as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). At this time, he had a slim, athletic figure, a far cry from the portly build later in his career. He became famous long before becoming morbidly obese, starring as the slender sword-fighting swashbuckler Aramis in Douglas Fairbanks' 1921 version of The Three Musketeers, one of the great smash hits of the silent era.

After gaining a life-threatening amount of weight, he became one of the screen's most recognizable character actors. In 1927, he signed as a regular for Hal Roach Studios and was a reliable comic foil in several early Laurel and Hardy movies. In later years, Pallette's weight may have topped out at more than 300 pounds (136 kg).

Sound pictures

Eugene Pallette Eugene Pallette 1889 1954 Find A Grave Memorial

The advent of the talkies proved to be the second major career boost for Pallette. His inimitable rasping gravel voice (described as "half an octave below anyone else in the cast") made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors in the 1930s and 1940s.

The typical Pallette role was the comically exasperated head of the family (My Man Godfrey, The Lady Eve), the cynical backroom sharpy (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), or the gruff detective (The Kennel Murder Case). Pallette's best-known role may be as Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood, and his similar appearance in The Mark of Zorro.

BBC commentator Dana Gioia gave this extensive description of Pallette's onscreen appeal:

Pallette could anchor a scene just by walking downstairs. When he enters Preston Sturges's The Lady Eve (1941), trotting down to breakfast singing a merry ballad, he embodies all the small human hopes that screwball comedy exists to shatter.... The mature Pallette character is a creature of provocative contradictions—tough-minded but indulgent, earthy but epicurean, relaxed but excitable. His grit and gravel voice sounds simultaneously tough and comic. Even his corpulence is two-sided. In his best films Pallette made his fatness seem like a sign of moderation and common sense. As Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) or Fray Felipe in The Mark of Zorro (1940), he shows that a fat priest is no heartless zealot but understands the sins of the flesh. Playing a tubby millionaire like the beer baron in The Lady Eve or Alexander Bullock in My Man Godfrey (1936), Pallette uses his girth to create a common touch. Stuffed into a tuxedo that seems perpetually near bursting, he seems more down-to-earth than the stylish high society types who surround him. Even Pallette's villains, like the corrupt and cynical politico Chick McCann in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, are immensely likeable. Pushed too far, Pallette confidently uses his weight for physical force. When Bullock finally evicts the free-loading Carlo (Mischa Auer) in My Man Godfrey, we are not so much surprised as reassured by Pallette's manly strength. In battle his sword-wielding Friar Tuck is a glory to behold. Pallette may have gained weight, but he never lost his underlying virility.

Pallette was cast as the father of lead actress Jeanne Crain in Army Wives (released in 1944 as In the Meantime, Darling). Director Otto Preminger clashed with Pallette and claimed he was "an admirer of Hitler and convinced that Germany would win the war". Pallette also refused to sit down at the same table with black actor Clarence Muse in a scene set in a kitchen. "You're out of your mind, I won't sit next to a nigger", Pallette hissed at Preminger. Preminger furiously informed Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who fired Pallette. Although Pallette remains in scenes he already had filmed, the remainder of his role not yet shot was eliminated from the script.

In increasingly ill health by his late 50s, Pallette made fewer and fewer movies, and for lesser studios. His final movie, Suspense, was released in 1946.

Later life

In 1946, convinced that there was going to be a "world blow-up" by atom bombs, the hawkish Pallette received considerable publicity when he set up a "mountain fortress" on a 3,500-acre (14 km2) ranch near Imnaha, Oregon, as a hideaway from universal catastrophe. The "fortress" reportedly was stocked with a sizable herd of prize cattle, enormous supplies of food, and had its own canning plant and lumber mill.

When the "blow-up" he anticipated failed to materialize after two years, he began disposing of the Oregon ranch and returned to Los Angeles and his movie colony friends but, after working steadily from 1913 to 1946, never appeared in another movie.

Eugene Pallette died at age 65 in 1954 from throat cancer at his apartment, 10835 Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles. His wife, Marjorie, and his sister, Beulah Phelps, were at his side. Private funeral services were conducted on Saturday, September 4, 1954, at the Armstrong Family Mortuary. His cremated remains are interred in an unmarked grave behind the monument of his parents at Green Lawn Cemetery in Grenola, Kansas. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6702 Hollywood Boulevard for his contribution to motion pictures.

Filmography

Actor
1946
Suspense as
Harry Wheeler
1946
In Old Sacramento as
Sheriff Jim Wales
1945
The Cheaters as
James C. Pidgeon
1944
Lake Placid Serenade as
Carl Cermak
1944
Heavenly Days as
Senator Bigbee
1944
In the Meantime, Darling as
Henry B. Preston
1944
Step Lively as
Simon Jenkins
1944
Sensations of 1945 as
Gus Crane
1944
Pin Up Girl as
Barney Briggs
1943
The Gang's All Here as
Andrew Mason Sr.
1943
The Kansan as
Tom Waggoner
1943
Heaven Can Wait as
E.F. Strabel
1943
Slightly Dangerous as
Durstin
1943
It Ain't Hay as
Gregory Warner
1942
Silver Queen as
Steve Adams
1942
The Forest Rangers as
Howard Huston
1942
The Big Street as
Nicely Nicely Johnson
1942
Tales of Manhattan as
Luther
1942
Lady in a Jam as
Mr. John Billingsley
1942
Are Husbands Necessary? as
Bunker
1942
Almost Married as
Doctor Dobson
1942
The Male Animal as
Ed Keller
1941
Appointment for Love as
George Hastings
1941
Swamp Water as
Sheriff Jeb McKane
1941
Unfinished Business as
Elmer
1941
World Premiere as
Gregory Martin
1941
The Bride Came C.O.D. as
Lucius K. Winfield
1941
The Lady Eve as
Mr. Pike
1941
Ride, Kelly, Ride as
Duke Martin
1940
The Mark of Zorro as
Fray Felipe
1940
A Little Bit of Heaven as
Herrington
1940
He Stayed for Breakfast as
Maurice Duval
1940
Sandy Is a Lady as
P.J. Barnett
1940
It's a Date as
Governor Allen
1940
Young Tom Edison as
Mr. Nelson
1939
First Love as
James Clinton
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as
Chick McGann
1939
Wife, Husband and Friend as
Mike Craig
1938
There Goes My Heart as
Mr. Stevens - Editor
1938
The Adventures of Robin Hood as
Friar Tuck
1937
One Hundred Men and a Girl as
John R. Frost
1937
Topper as
Casey
1937
She Had to Eat as
Raymond Q. Nash
1937
The Crime Nobody Saw as
'Babe' Lawton
1937
Clarence as
Mr. Wheeler
1936
Stowaway as
The Colonel
1936
Easy to Take as
Dr. Reginald Kraft aka Doc
1936
The Luckiest Girl in the World as
Campbell Duncan
1936
Dishonour Bright as
Busby
1936
My Man Godfrey as
Alexander Bullock
1936
The Golden Arrow as
Mr. Meyers
1935
The Ghost Goes West as
Mr. Martin
1935
Steamboat Round the Bend as
Sheriff Rufe Jeffers
1935
Black Sheep as
Col. Upton Calhoun Belcher
1935
Baby Face Harrington as
Uncle Henry
1935
All the King's Horses as
Conrad Q. Conley
1935
Bordertown as
Charlie Roark
1934
Something Simple (Short) as
Conventionaire (uncredited)
1934
One Exciting Adventure as
Insp. Kleinsilber
1934
The Dragon Murder Case as
Sgt. Heath
1934
Friends of Mr. Sweeney as
Wynn Rixey
1934
Making the Rounds (Short)
1934
News Hounds (Short)
1934
Strictly Dynamite as
Sourwood Sam
1934
The New Dealers (Short)
1934
Caravan as
Gypsy Chief
1934
I've Got Your Number as
Flood
1934
Cross Country Cruise as
Willy Bronson
1933
Mr. Skitch as
Cliff Merriweather
1933
From Headquarters as
Sgt. Boggs
1933
The Kennel Murder Case as
Detective Heath
1933
One Awful Night (Short)
1933
Sailors Beware! (Short) as
Jonesy
1933
Shanghai Madness as
Lobo Lonergan
1933
Meet the Champ (Short)
1933
Storm at Daybreak as
Janos
1933
Made on Broadway as
Mike Terwilliger
1933
Hell Below as
Mac Dougal - Chief Torpedo Man
1933
Hip Zip Hooray (Short) as
Sheriff Bell
1932
The Half-Naked Truth as
Achilles
1932
A Hockey Hick (Short)
1932
Always Kickin' (Short)
1932
Wild Girl as
Yuba Bill
1932
Off His Base (Short) as
Jerry Minor
1932
The Night Mayor as
Hymie Shane
1932
Tom Brown of Culver as
Deaf Diner (uncredited)
1932
Thunder Below as
Bill Horner
1932
Strangers of the Evening as
Detective Brubacher
1932
Dancers in the Dark as
Gus
1932
Shanghai Express as
Sam Salt
1931
Girls About Town as
Benjamin Thomas
1931
Huckleberry Finn as
Duke of Bilgewater
1931
Dude Ranch as
Judd / Black Jed
1931
Gun Smoke as
Stub Wallack
1931
The Stolen Jools (Short) as
Reporter
1931
It Pays to Advertise as
Cyrus Martin
1931
Fighting Caravans as
Seth
1930
Sea Legs as
Hyacinth Nitouche
1930
Playboy of Paris as
Pierre Bourdin
1930
Follow Thru as
J.C. Effingham
1930
The Santa Fe Trail as
Doc Brady
1930
The Sea God as
Square Deal McCarthy
1930
Let's Go Native as
Deputy Sheriff 'Careful' Cuthbert
1930
The Border Legion as
Bunco Davis
1930
Paramount on Parade as
Sergeant Heath (Murder Will Out)
1930
The Benson Murder Case as
Sgt. Ernest Heath
1930
Men Are Like That as
Traffic Cop
1930
Slightly Scarlet as
Sylvester Corbett
1930
The Kibitzer as
Klaus
1929
Pointed Heels as
Joe Carrington
1929
The Love Parade as
War Minister
1929
The Virginian as
'Honey' Wiggin
1929
The Greene Murder Case as
Sgt. Ernest Heath
1929
The Studio Murder Mystery as
Police Lt. Dirk
1929
The Dummy as
Madison
1929
The Canary Murder Case as
Sgt. Ernest Heath
1928
His Private Life as
Henri Bérgere
1928
The Red Mark as
Sergeo
1928
Out of the Ruins as
Volange
1928
The Swell Head (Short)
1928
The Good-Bye Kiss as
The Captain
1928
Lights of New York as
Gene
1928
Should Women Drive? (Short)
1928
Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (Short) as
Hotel Detective (uncredited)
1928
Aching Youth (Short)
1927
Chicago as
Rodney Casley
1927
The Battle of the Century (Short) as
Insurance Agent (uncredited)
1927
Assistant Wives (Short) as
Charley's Boss
1927
The Lighter That Failed (Short) as
Charley's Brother-in-Law
1927
The Second 100 Years (Short) as
Dinner Host (uncredited)
1927
What Every Iceman Knows (Short) as
Iceman
1927
Sugar Daddies (Short) as
Hardy Look-alike
1927
Fluttering Hearts (Short) as
Motorcycle Cop
1927
Jewish Prudence (Short) as
Rent Collector (uncredited)
1927
Moulders of Men as
Barney Mulholland
1927
Should Men Walk Home? (Short) as
Detective - Intelligence Bureau
1927
Many Scrappy Returns (Short) as
Wellington - Charley's Brother
1926
Desert Valley as
Deputy
1926
You Never Know Women as
Party Guest (uncredited)
1926
Mantrap as
E. Wesson Woodbury
1926
Whispering Canyon as
Harvey Hawes
1926
The Volga Boatman as
Revolutionary (uncredited)
1926
Whispering Smith as
Bill Dancing
1926
Rocking Moon as
Side Money
1926
The Fighting Edge as
Simpson
1925
Without Mercy as
Simon Linke
1925
Wild Horse Mesa as
Melberne Townsman (uncredited)
1925
Ranger of the Big Pines as
Edwards
1925
The Light of Western Stars as
Stub (as Gene Pallette)
1924
Stupid, But Brave (Short) as
Richard Peeling - Banana King
1924
The Cyclone Rider as
Eddie
1924
Wandering Husbands as
Percy
1924
The Galloping Fish as
Anti-Volstead Esquire (uncredited)
1923
The Wolf Man as
Pierre
1923
The Ten Commandments as
Israelite Slave (uncredited)
1923
North of Hudson Bay as
Peter Dane
1923
Hell's Hole as
Pablo
1923
To the Last Man as
Simm Bruce
1922
Without Compromise as
Tommy Ainsworth
1922
Two Kinds of Women as
Old Carson
1921
The Three Musketeers as
Aramis
1921
Fine Feathers as
Bob Reynolds
1920
Twin Beds as
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
1920
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath as
Reggie Irving
1920
Terror Island as
Guy Mourdant
1920
Alias Jimmy Valentine as
'Red' Jocelyn
1919
Fair and Warmer as
Billy Bartlett
1919
Be a Little Sport as
Dick Nevins
1919
Words and Music by - as
Gene Harris
1919
The Amateur Adventuress as
George Goodie
1918
No Man's Land as
Sidney Dundas
1918
Viviette as
Dick Ware
1918
Breakers Ahead as
Jim Hawley
1918
The Turn of a Card as
Eddie Barrett
1918
Tarzan of the Apes
1918
His Robe of Honor as
Clifford Nordhoff
1918
Madam Who? as
Lieutenant Conroy
1917
A Man's Man as
Capt. Benevido
1917
The Ghost House as
Spud Foster
1917
Heir of the Ages as
Larry Payne
1917
The World Apart as
Clyde Holt
1917
The Purple Scar (Short) as
The Grip
1917
The Marcellini Millions as
Mr. Murray
1917
The Lonesome Chap as
George Rothwell
1917
The Bond Between as
Raoul Vaux
1917
The Winning of Sally Temple as
Sir John Gorham
1917
Each to His Kind as
Dick Larimer
1916
His Guardian Angel (Short) as
Rodney Bradley
1916
Intolerance as
Prosper Latour
1916
Gretchen the Greenhorn as
Rodgers
1916
Hell-to-Pay Austin as
Harry Tracey
1916
Going Straight as
Jimmy Briggs
1916
The Children in the House as
Arthur Vincent
1916
Sunshine Dad as
Alfred Evergreen
1916
Live Wires and Love Sparks (Short) as
Man with Envelope for Billie Ritchie
1915
The Penalty (Short) as
The Boy
1915
The Ever Living Isles (Short) as
Carlos
1915
When Love Is Mocked (Short) as
The Fisherman
1915
The Scarlet Lady (Short) as
Jim Courtney (as Gene Pallette)
1915
The Isle of Content (Short) as
Ralph Ashton
1915
The Adventure Hunter (Short) as
Allen Darrell
1915
The Spell of the Poppy (Short) as
Manfredi
1915
The Victim (Short) as
James Darrell
1915
The Story of a Story (Short) as
John Penhallow - The Author
1915
The Highbinders (Short) as
Hop Woo
1915
The Emerald Brooch (Short) as
Slick Charley
1915
A Day That Is Gone (Short) as
Elaine's Brother
1915
How Hazel Got Even (Short) as
Patsy
1915
The Death Dice (Short) as
Lafe Johnson
1915
The Birth of a Nation as
Union Soldier (uncredited)
1915
After Twenty Years (Short) as
Tom's Grown Son
1915
The Terror of the Mountains (Short) as
Soapy Smith
1915
The Lost Receipt (Short) as
John Powers
1914
The Beat of the Year (Short) as
John Joyce
1914
Who Shot Bud Walton? (Short) as
Jeff Hardin
1914
The Kaffir's Skull (Short) as
Jack Dwyer
1914
A Woman Scorned (Short) as
'George Williams'
1914
Detective Burton's Triumph (Short)
1914
The Tardy Cannon Ball (Short) as
Dink
1914
The Runaway Freight (Short) as
Boston Blackie
1914
Broken Nose Bailey (Short) as
Broken Nose Bailey
1914
Turned Back (Short) as
Tom Johnston
1914
Through the Dark (Short) as
Kane - The Crook
1914
The Stolen Ore (Short) as
Dick Raleigh
1914
The Bank Burglar's Fate (Short) as
The Yeggman
1914
On the Border (Short) as
The American Soldier
1914
The Gunman (Short) as
Tom Farrell - Mattie's Sweetheart
1914
The Sheriff's Prisoner (Short) as
John Walsh - the Miner
1914
The Only Clue (Short) as
Jim Broughton
1914
The Burden (Short) as
John Bennett
1914
The Peach Brand (Short) as
Robert Carter
1914
The Horse Wrangler (Short) as
Tom Spangler
1914
A Pair of Cuffs (Short)
1914
The Stolen Radium (Short)
1914
The Wheels of Destiny (Short)
1914
A Diamond in the Rough (Short) as
The Diamond in the Rough
1914
Texas Bill's Last Ride (Short) as
Bob Boyd
1914
Atonement (Short) as
Jules
1914
The Stronger Hand (Short) as
Ben Martin - the Factory Machinist
1914
The Reform Candidate (Short) as
Fred Osborne
1914
The Portrait of Anita (Short) as
Señor Garmino
1914
The Thief and the Book (Short) as
The Fly
1914
Educating His Daughters (Short)
1913
A Man's Awakening (Short) as
The Consumptive Prospector
1913
The Helping Hand (Short) as
Jim - Ethel's Husband
1913
An Accidental Clue (Short) as
Jim - a Member of the Gang
1913
The Tomboy's Race (Short)
1913
The Bravest Man (Short) as
John Sinclair
1913
Vengeance (Short) as
Parker
1913
The Light Woman (Short) as
Paul - the Poet's Ward (as Gene Pallette)
1913
To Err Is Human (Short)
1913
The Kiss (Short)
1913
Youth and Jealousy (Short)
1913
The Brothers (Short) as
Estabon
1913
The Tattooed Arm (Short) as
Jim Halliday
1913
When Jim Returned (Short)
1913
Suspended Sentence (Short) as
Sheriff Frank Walling (as Gene Pallette)
1913
The Homestead Race (Short) as
Dave (as Gene Pallette)
1913
When a Woman Won't (Short) as
The Dark Horse (as Gene Pallette)
1913
Brother Love (Short) as
Jimmy Mason
1913
The Transgression of Manuel (Short) as
Manuel (as Gene Pallette)
1913
When the Light Fades (Short) as
John Robertson
1913
The Fugitive (Short) as
The Fugitive
Soundtrack
1941
The Lady Eve (performer: "Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl" - uncredited)
1938
There Goes My Heart (performer: "John Brown's Body" (1859) - uncredited)
1933
Storm at Daybreak (performer: "Roses From the South")
Archive Footage
2022
Letterman (TV Series) as
Mr. Pike (in 'The Lady Eve')
- What's on Dave's iPad?: A Shocking Selfie (2022) - Mr. Pike (in 'The Lady Eve')
2008
American Masters (TV Series documentary) as
Joseph 'Joe' Flood
- You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story - Part 1 (2008) - Joseph 'Joe' Flood
2004
Behind the Tunes: Looney Tunes Go Hollywood (Video documentary short) as
Friar Tuck (uncredited)
2004
Robin Hood: The First Outlaw Hero (TV Movie documentary) as
Friar Tuck
1997
Biography (TV Series documentary) as
Mr. Pike
- Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (1997) - Mr. Pike
1987
Bloopermania (Video documentary)
1986
The Return of Video Yesterbloop (Video documentary short) as
Self
1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s (Documentary)
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (Documentary) as
Self (uncredited)
1979
V.I.P.-Schaukel (TV Series documentary) as
Chick McGann
- Episode #9.1 (1979) - Chick McGann
1978
AFI Life Achievement Award (TV Series documentary) as
Nicely Nicely Johnson
- AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Henry Fonda (1978) - Nicely Nicely Johnson
1976
Bob Hope's World of Comedy (TV Special) as
Tribute Montage
1961
Hollywood: The Golden Years (TV Movie documentary) as
Actor 'The Three Musketeeers (uncredited)
1955
The Little Rascals (TV Series) as
Hotel Detective (1955)
1941
Breakdowns of 1941 (Short) as
Self (uncredited)
1938
Breakdowns of 1938 (Documentary short) as
Friar Tuck (The Adventures of Robin Hood outtakes) (uncredited)

References

Eugene Pallette Wikipedia


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