Halliwell Hobbes

English actor (1877–1962)

Nancie B. Marsland

(m. 1915)

ChildrenPeter Halliwell Hobbes^[1]^[2]

Herbert Halliwell Hobbes (16 November 1877^[3] – 20 February 1962) was an English actor.

Early years

Hobbes's schooling came at Trinity College in Straford-upon-Avon.^[4]

Career

Hobbes's stage debut was as a member of Frank Benson's company, in the role of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet in 1898.^[5] In 1908 and 1910 he played Prince Michael in The Prince and the Beggar Maid at the Lyceum Theatre in London.

Of his performance in a 1924 production of Ferenc Molnar's The Swan, Benjamin De Casseres wrote:

I would like to enlarge, if space permitted, on that delicious and wonderful Father Hyacinth (Halliwell Hobbes) in "The Swan." Here is a man of the cloth, sane, human, a portrait that is hard to forget. No neurosis there! No agenbite of inwit there! Because Father Hyacinth has the thing that saves—humor. He is tolerant of all things except sham, and is not even intolerant of that. In the drama, as in life, it is the smile that sets us free.^[6]

Hobbes moved back to Broadway by the mid-1940s, appearing in Romeo and Juliet as Lord Capulet^[3] and continuing there until late 1955. By 1950 he had moved to American television in the diverse playhouse format.

A heart ailment caused Hobbes to retire in 1956.^[7]

Personal life

In 1915, Hobbes married Nancie Brenda Marsland,^[3] an actress. They had one son, actor Peter Hobbes.^[4]^[8]^[1]^[2]

Death

After Hobbes died from a heart attack on February 20, 1962, he was buried at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.^[3]

Filmography

Lucky in Love (1929) as Earl of Balkerry (film debut)
Jealousy (1929) as Rigaud
Grumpy (1930) as Ruddick
Charley's Aunt (1930) as Stephen Spettigue
The Bachelor Father (1931) as Larkin, the Butler
The Right of Way (1931) as The Siegneur
The Lady Refuses (1931) as Sir James - Lawyer (uncredited)
Five and Ten (1931) as Hopkins (uncredited)
The Woman Between (1931) as Barton - the Butler
The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) as Roget
Platinum Blonde (1931) as Butler
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) as Brig. Gen. Danvers Carew
Forbidden (1932) as Florist (uncredited)
Lovers Courageous (1932) as Mr. Smith
The Menace (1932) as Phillips
Love Affair (1932) as Kibbee
Devil's Lottery (1932) as Lord Litchfield
Man About Town (1932) as Hilton
Week Ends Only (1932) as Martin
Six Hours to Live (1932) as Baron Emil von Sturm
Payment Deferred (1932) as A Prospective Tenant
Cynara (1932) as Coroner at Inquest
Looking Forward (1933) as Mr. James Felton
A Study in Scarlet (1933) as Dearing
Midnight Mary (1933) as Churchill
Captured! (1933) as British Major General
The Masquerader (1933) as Brock
Lady for a Day (1933) as Butler
If I Were Free (1933) as Burford - Gordon's Butler (uncredited)
Should Ladies Behave (1933) as Louis
I Am Suzanne (1933) as Dr. Lorenzo
Mandalay (1934) as Col. Dawson Ames
Riptide (1934) as Bollard
All Men Are Enemies (1934) as Clarendon
Double Door (1934) as Mr. Chase
The Key (1934) as General C.O. Furlong
Madame Du Barry (1934) as English Ambassador
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934) as First Bobby
She Was a Lady (1934) as George Dane
British Agent (1934) as Sir Walter Carrister
We Live Again (1934) as Official (uncredited)
Menace (1934) as Skinner
Father Brown, Detective (1934) as Sir Leopold Fischer
The Right to Live (1935) as Sir Stephen Barr
Folies Bergère de Paris (1935) as Monsieur Paulet
Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935) as Father of Little Girl (uncredited)
Cardinal Richelieu (1935) as Father Joseph
Jalna (1935) as Uncle Ernest Whiteoak
Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) as Chief of Police
Millions in the Air (1935) as Theodore
Captain Blood (1935) as Lord Sunderland (uncredited)
Rose Marie (1936) as Mr. Gordon (uncredited)
Here Comes Trouble (1936) as Prof. Howard
The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936) as Dr. Lister
Dracula's Daughter (1936) as Hawkins
Changing of the Guard (1936, Short) as Grandfather, the Colonel
Hearts Divided (1936) as Cambaceres
The White Angel (1936) as Lord Raglan
Spendthrift (1936) as Beuhl - the Butler
Mary of Scotland (1936) as Minor Role (uncredited)
Give Me Your Heart (1936) as Oliver
Love Letters of a Star (1936) as Hotchkiss
Maid of Salem (1937) as Jeremiah
The Prince and the Pauper (1937) as Archbishop
Parnell (1937) as W.H. Smith (uncredited)
Fit for a King (1937) as Count Strunsky
Varsity Show (1937) as Dean Meredith
The Jury's Secret (1938) as John, The Butler
Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938) as Professor Bernard Goodman
Kidnapped (1938) as Dominie Campbell
You Can't Take It With You (1938) as DePinna
Service de Luxe (1938) as Butler
Storm Over Bengal (1938) as Sir John Galt
A Christmas Carol (1938) as Clergyman Sliding on Sidewalk (uncredited)
Pacific Liner (1939) as Captain Mathews
The Hardys Ride High (1939) as Dobbs, the Butler
Tell No Tales (1939) as Dr. Lovelake
Naughty but Nice (1939) as Dean Burton, Winfield College
Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) as English Chaplain
Remember? (1939) as Butler Williams
The Light That Failed (1939) as Doctor
The Earl of Chicago (1940) as Lord Chancellor
Waterloo Bridge (1940) as Vicar at St. Matthews (uncredited)
The Sea Hawk (1940) as Astronomer
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) as Burton
Lady with Red Hair (1940) as Divorce Judge (uncredited)
That Hamilton Woman (1941) as Rev. Nelson
Sunny (1941) as Johnson (uncredited)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) as Sisk
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941) as Minister (uncredited)
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) as Purdy
To Be or Not to Be (1942) as General Armstrong
The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) as Bennett
The Undying Monster (1942) as Walton, the Butler
Journey for Margaret (1942) as Mr. Barrie
Forever and a Day (1943) as Doctor
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) as Brunton
Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) as Charney, the Butler
His Butler's Sister (1943) as Willebrandt (uncredited)
Gaslight (1944) as Mr. Muffin
Mr. Skeffington (1944) as Soames (uncredited)
The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) as Cleghorn
Casanova Brown (1944) as Charles
Information Please (1944, Short) as Leutnant Eberhard (uncredited)
Canyon Passage (1946) as Clenchfield
If Winter Comes (1947) as The Coroner
The Black Arrow (1948) as Bishop of Tisbury
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948) as Martin
That Forsyte Woman (1949) as Nicholas Forsyte
Miracle in the Rain (1956) as Ely B. 'Windy' Windgate (final film)

Partial Broadway credits

And Then There Were None (1943)
Murder on the Nile/Hidden Horizon (1944–45)

References

^ ^a ^b "Monogram to Distribute John Loder Picture". Showmen's Trade Review. 13 December 1941. p. 18. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Obituaries: Peter Hobbes". The Stage. 8 February 1996. p. 31. ProQuest 962587127. Peter Hobbes, son of Halliwell Hobbes, has died at his Berkshire home. He began his career in Hollywood in the thirties, appearing in many films, including The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Top Hat and Robin Hood. [...] After the war, he returned to his theatrical career in such plays as The Linden Tree. He entered the world of television and for some time was resident announcer and newscaster for Anglia TV. His resonant voice was used for many commercials and commentaries. Latterly he appeared in a number of series including Lovejoy, Trainer, Casualty and The Chief.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gordon, Dr Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. p. 50. ISBN 9781480944992. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Halliwell Hobbes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. 11 November 1923. p. D 17. Retrieved 22 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Broadway Comedy Stars Veteran Halliwell Hobbes". The Indianapolis Star. Indiana, Indianapolis. Associated Press. 10 December 1944. p. 76. Retrieved 22 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ De Casseres, Benjamin (April 1924) "Religious Hysteria as a Motive for Drama". Arts & Decoration. p. 66. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Veteran Actor Hobbes Is Dead". Des Moines Tribune. Iowa, Des Moines. Associated Press. 23 February 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ York, Cal (March 1934). "Cal York's Monthly Broadcast from Hollywood". Photoplay. p. 96. Retrieved May 8, 2023. Cal York was a pseudonym, meaning California and New York, and standing for the editors.