Children Ann Connolly Role Character actor | Name Walter Connolly Years active 1914–1939 | |
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Born April 8, 1887 ( 1887-04-08 ) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Occupation Film, stage and radio actor Died May 28, 1940, Beverly Hills, California, United States Spouse Nedda Harrigan (m. 1923–1940) Movies It Happened One Night, The Good Earth, The Bitter Tea of General, 5th Avenue Girl, Nothing Sacred Similar People Robert Riskin, Frank Capra, Sidney Franklin, Jack Conway, Gregory La Cava | ||
Walter Connolly (April 8, 1887 – May 28, 1940) was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939. His best known film is It Happened One Night (1934).
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Life and career
Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. His first film appearances came in two silent films, The Marked Woman (1914) and A Soldier's Oath (1915), and his first talkie film came in 1930, Many Happy Returns, but his Hollywood film career really began in 1932, when he appeared in four films. His trademark role was that of the exasperated business tycoon or newspaperman, often as the father of the female lead character, as in It Happened One Night (1934) with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert; Broadway Bill (1934), supporting Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy; and Libeled Lady (1936) with William Powell and Loy again. Other notable roles included the worthless uncle of Paul Muni's character in The Good Earth (1937) and one of the two con men encountered by Mickey Rooney's Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939). Connolly starred as General Yen's American advisor in The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933).
Connolly mostly played supporting roles, but starred occasionally, as Nero Wolfe in The League of Frightened Men (1937), in RKO's 5th Ave Girl (1939), opposite Ginger Rogers, and as the title character in The Great Victor Herbert (1939), his last film.
On radio, Connolly starred as the title character in The Adventures of Charlie Chan on NBC Radio from 1932 to 1938.
His hobbies were collecting old books and theatre programmes. Connolly was married to actress Nedda Harrigan from 1923 to his death. They had one daughter, Ann (1924–2006). Connolly died on May 28, 1940, following a stroke, and was buried in New St. Joseph Cemetery in Cincinnati.