Henry Stephenson

Henry Stephenson

From Wikipedia

Henry Stephenson Garraway (16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956), sometimes credited as Harry Stephenson, was a British stage and film actor. He portrayed friendly and wise Gentleman in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles was Sir Joseph Banks in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Mr. Brownlow in Oliver Twist. Stephenson was educated in Rugby in Warwickshire and started acting in his twenties. He appeared on British and American stages and made his Broadway debut in 1901, playing the messenger in A Message from Mars. In the following decades, he appeared in over 30 Broadway plays. Henry Stephenson made his film debut in 1917 and appeared in a few silent films, but made his mark mostly as an elder man in sound films. Between 1931 and 1932, he appeared in the successful Broadway play Cyanara with over 200 performances. He came to Hollywood for the film version of Cyanara, starring Ronald Colman and with Henry Stephenson in a supporting role. In the same year year, he played the tycoon C.B. Gaerste in Red-Headed Woman and Doctor Alliott in A Bill of Divorcement. The following year, the English-born actor appeared as the intimidating yet warm-hearted Mr. Laurence in Little Women. The tall, white-haired actor specialized in portraying wise, dignified and friendly British gentlemans in supporting roles. He could be "both imposing and benevolent in his patrician portrayals, usually expounding words of wisdom or offering gentlemanly aid." He appeared overall in 90 films from 1917 to 1951, often as a doctor or professor, general, judge or aristocrat. He often played historical figures like Sir Joseph Banks in the oscar-winnig adventure film Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau in Marie Antoinette (1938). Stephenson worked with film star Errol Flynn in the films Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Prince and the Pauper, and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex; often as Flynn's paternal friend and superior. He portrayed Sir Thomas Lancing in Tarzan Finds a Son! in 1939 and playing an entirely different role as Sir Guy Henderson in Tarzan and the Amazons in 1945. He seldom played dark figures, among the exceptions was the snobbish Mr. Bryant in Mr. Lucky in 1943. Stephenson also appeared in literature adaptions, for example as the friendly lawyer Havisham in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) and as Mr. Brownlow in David Lean's literature adaption Oliver Twist (1948). He made his last film in 1949, but appeared in two TV-series in 1951 before the end of his career. In 1950, after finishing his role of Cardinal Gaspar de Quiroga in the drama play, That Lady, Stephenson retired from the stage. He married actress Ann Shoemaker. They had one daughter. Henry Stephenson died in 1956 at the age of 85 years. He was survived by Ann and his daughter.

Acting

1949

Challenge to Lassie

Sir Charles Loring

1948

Julia Misbehaves

Lord Pennystone

1948

Oliver Twist

Mr. Brownlow

1947

Song of Love

King Albert

1947

Ivy

Judge

1946

The Locket

Lord Wyndham

1946

1946

1946

1946

Night and Day

Omar Cole

1946

Heartbeat

Minister

1945

Tarzan and the Amazons

Sir Guy Henderson, the Archeologist

1944

Two Girls and a Sailor

John Dyckman Brown I

1944

1943

Mr. Lucky

Mr. Bryant

1942

This Above All

General Cathaway

1942

Rings on Her Fingers

Colonel Prentiss

1940

Down Argentine Way

Don Diego Quintana

1940

Spring Parade

Emperor Franz Joseph

1940

It's a Date

Capt. Andrew

1939

1939

1939

Tarzan Finds a Son!

Sir Thomas Lancing

1938

Dramatic School

Pasquel Sr.

1938

Suez

Count Mathieu de Lesseps

1938

Marie Antoinette

Count de Mercey

1938

The Young in Heart

Felix Anstruther

1938

The Baroness and the Butler

Count Albert Sandor

1937

Conquest

Count Anastas Walewski

1937

1937

When You're in Love

Walter Mitchell

1936

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Sir Charles Macefield

1936

Give Me Your Heart

Edward, Lord Farrington

1936

Hearts Divided

Charles Patterson

1936

Half Angel

Professor Jerome Hargraves

1936

1935

Captain Blood

Lord Willoughby

1935

1935

1935

Rendezvous

Russian Ambassador Gregory

1935

Reckless

Colonel Harrison Sr.

1935

The Night Is Young

Emperor Franz Josef

1934

1934

She Loves Me Not

Dean Mercer

1934

Stingaree

Mr. Hugh Clarkson

1934

Thirty Day Princess

King Anatol XII

1934

The Mystery of Mr. X

Sir Herbert Frensham

1933

Little Women

Mr. Laurence

1933

Tomorrow at Seven

Thornton Drake

1932

The Animal Kingdom

Rufus Collier

1932

1932

Red-Headed Woman

Charles B. 'Charlie' / 'C.B.' Gaerste

1921

The Black Panther's Cub

Clive, Earl of Maudsley

1917

Infos

Full Name
Henry Stephenson
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
4/15/1871
Date of Death
4/24/1956
Also Known As

Henry Stephenson Garraway

Henry Stephenson Garroway

Harry Stephenson