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Godfrey Tearle

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Years active
  
1923-1953

Role
  
Actor

Name
  
Godfrey Tearle

Godfrey Tearle httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb3
Full Name
  
Godfrey Seymour Tearle

Born
  
12 October 1884 (
1884-10-12
)
New York City, New York, U.S.

Died
  
June 9, 1953, London, United Kingdom

Spouse
  
Stella Freeman (m. 1932–1936), Mary Malone (m. 1909–1932)

Parents
  
Marianne Conway, George Osmond Tearle

Siblings
  
Conway Tearle, Malcolm Tearle

Movies
  
The 39 Steps, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, The Titfield Thunderbolt, The Lamp Still Burns, I Believe in You

Similar People
  
Conway Tearle, Jill Bennett, Maurice Elvey, Charles Crichton, Jules Levy

Godfrey Tearle


Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle (12 October 1884 – 9 June 1953) was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films.

Contents

The 39 Steps Trailer 1935


Biography

Born in New York City and brought up in Britain, he was the son of British actor/manager George Osmond Tearle (1852–1901) and American actress Marianne "Minnie" Conway(1852-1896), the brother of actor Malcolm Tearle, and the half-brother of silent film star Conway Tearle. His maternal grandmother was Sarah Crocker Conway.

In 1893, he made his stage debut as young Prince Richard, Duke of York, in his father's production of Richard III and in 1908 he appeared in his first film as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. He became a Shakespearean actor of note, appearing on stage in the title roles of Othello, Macbeth and Henry V. His theatrical career was interrupted when he joined the Royal Artillery for a four-year stint beginning in 1915.

One of Tearle's most memorable screen roles was in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), in which he portrayed Professor Jordan, a seemingly respectable country squire whose missing finger unmasks him as an enemy agent. He was cast as an RAF gunner in One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), a German General in Undercover (film) (1943), an aging First World War veteran in Medal for the General (1944), and as Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Beginning or the End, MGM's 1946 account of the Manhattan Project.

Tearle made his Broadway theatre debut in Carnival in 1919. In his review in the New York Times, Alexander Woollcott noted, "It is difficult to guess why Godfrey Tearle should have selected as the vehicle of his American debut the play called Carnival, which was presented to New York for the first time last evening at the 44th Street Theatre. It is a spare and unsubstantial piece at best, and the role it offers him is distinctly secondary in importance and opportunity." Additional Broadway credits include The Fake (1924), The Flashing Stream (1939), and Antony and Cleopatra (1947).

Knighthood

Tearle was knighted in the 1951 King's Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Marriages

He was married three times, to actress Mary Malone from 1909 until their divorce in 1932, to starlet Stella Freeman from 1932 until her sudden death in 1936, and to Barbara Palmer from 1937 until their divorce.

Death

Sir Godfrey Tearle died on 9 June 1953, aged 68.

Filmography

Actor
1953
The Titfield Thunderbolt as
The Bishop
1953
Decameron Nights as
Ricciardo / Bernabo
1952
Crash of Silence as
Mr. Garland
1952
I Believe in You as
Mr. Pyke
1951
White Corridors as
Mr. Groom
1949
Private Angelo as
Count Piccologrando
1947
The Beginning or the End as
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
1945
Notorious Gentleman as
Colonel Robert Kenway
1944
Medal for the General as
General Church
1943
The Lamp Still Burns as
Sir Marshall Freyne
1943
Underground Guerrillas as
Gen. Von Staengel (Military Governor)
1943
Tomorrow We Live as
Mayor Pierre Duchesne
1942
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing as
Sir George Corbett - Rear Gunner in B for Bertie
1936
Tomorrow We Live as
Sir Charles Hendra
1936
East Meets West as
Sir Henry Mallory
1935
The Last Journey as
Sir Wilfred Rhodes
1935
The 39 Steps as
Professor Jordan
1934
Jade (Short) as
The Man
1933
Wolves of the Underworld as
Richard Sabine
1931
The Shadow Between as
Paul Haddon
1931
These Charming People as
James Berridge
1930
Infatuation (Short) as
Gerald Norton
1926
One Colombo Night as
Jim Farnell
1926
If Youth But Knew as
Dr. Martin Summer
1926
Guy of Warwick (Short) as
Guy of Warwick
1925
Salome of the Tenements as
John Manning
1919
Queen's Evidence as
Adam Pascal
1919
Nobody's Child as
Ernest d'Alvard
1919
Fancy Dress as
Tony Broke
1919
Midnight Gambols as
Tom Harvey
1919
The March Hare as
Guy
1916
The Real Thing at Last (Short) as
Macduff
1916
Sir James Mortimer's Wager (Short) as
Sir James Mortimer
1915
Lochinvar (Short) as
Lochinvar
1913
The Fool as
Sterndale
1908
Romeo and Juliet (Short) as
Romeo

References

Godfrey Tearle Wikipedia


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