Occupation Actor Role Actor | Name James Stephenson Years active 1937–1941 | |
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Full Name James Albert Stephenson Born 14 April 1889 ( 1889-04-14 ) Selby, North Yorkshire, England, UK Died July 29, 1941, Pacific Palisades, California, United States Parents Emma Stephenson, John G. Stephenson Siblings Norman Stephenson, Alan Stephenson Movies The Letter, The Sea Hawk, The Private Lives of Elizabeth, Beau Geste, Confessions of a Nazi Spy Similar People Lewis Seiler, William Wyler, Howard E Koch, Hal B Wallis, Edmund Goulding | ||
Ex-spouse Lorna Anderson Stephenson | ||
STEPHENSON Symphony No. 2, Voices: 2. Shouts and Murmurs - "The President's Own"
James Albert Stephenson (14 April 1889 – 29 July 1941) was a British actor. The son of chemist and druggist John G. Stephenson and his wife Emma, Stephenson grew up in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Burnley, Lancashire, with his brothers, Alan and Norman. He became a bank clerk and later had a career as a merchant. In the 1930s, he emigrated to the United States and took U.S. nationality in 1938.
Contents
- STEPHENSON Symphony No 2 Voices 2 Shouts and Murmurs The Presidents Own
- Career
- Selected filmography
- References
Career
British stage actor Stephenson made his film debut in 1937 at the age of 48 initially with parts in four films. Warner Bros. signed him the following year, and he began playing urbane villains and disgraced gentlemen. His big break came when director William Wyler cast him, in spite of studio resistance, in The Letter (1940), opposite Bette Davis.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for that role. Later that year, he played the title role in Calling Philo Vance. In 1941 he was first-billed in Shining Victory, in which he played the character of Dr. Paul Venner. Just as Stephenson's acting career was starting to rise, he died of a heart attack at the age of 52.
He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park.