Taylor Holmes

American actor (1878–1959)

Taylor Holmes
Holmes in 1919
Born	(1878-05-16)May 16, 1878 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	September 30, 1959(1959-09-30) (aged 81) Hollywood, Los Angeles, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1899–1959
Spouse	Edna Phillips
Children	3, including Phillips Holmes

Taylor Holmes (May 16, 1878 – September 30, 1959) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 Broadway plays in his five-decade career. However, he is probably best remembered for his screen performances, which he began in silent films in 1917.

Early life

Holmes was born on May 16, 1878, in Newark, New Jersey.

Career

Stage

He made his Broadway debut in February 1900 in the controversial play Sapho, which was briefly closed for indecency. Holmes played Rosencrantz with E. H. Sothern in a production of Hamlet and toured with Robert Edeson. He appeared in stage hits such as The Commuters, The Music Master, and His Majesty Bunker Bean.^[1]

Film

Florence Shirley and Holmes in promotion for the 1916 Broadway play *His Majesty Bunker Bean*

Early film appearances included Efficiency Edgar's Courtship and Fools for Luck.^[2] One of his first starring roles was in A Pair of Sixes (1918).

By the 1940s, he was working more on film than on stage. Holmes played a number of memorable roles, particularly in film noir, including the gullible millionaire conned in Nightmare Alley (1947), a shifty lawyer in Kiss of Death (1947), and as Gavery, a reptilian disbarred lawyer in Act of Violence (1949). He is also recognized for playing the Bishop of Avranches, who fiercely denounces Pierre Cauchon in the Ingrid Bergman Joan of Arc (1948), Marilyn Monroe's potential father-in-law in the 1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ("I don't want to marry your son for his money, I want to marry him for your money!"), and the voice of King Stefan in the final cut of Disney's animated feature Sleeping Beauty (1959), Holmes' last credited screen role. He also played Ebenezer Scrooge in a low-budget half-hour television version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, first telecast in 1949.^[3]

Personal life

Holmes was married to actress Edna Phillips and was the father of actors Phillips Holmes, Madeleine Taylor Holmes, and Ralph Holmes.

Eight months after the release of Sleeping Beauty, Holmes died on September 30, 1959, at the age of 81.^[4]

Legacy

Holmes has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His interment was in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.

Partial filmography

Silent

Efficiency Edgar's Courtship (1917) (short) as Edgar Bumpus
Fools for Luck (1917) as Philander Jepson
Two-Bit Seats (1917) as Jimmy Mason
The Small Town Guy (1917) as Ernest Gledhill
Uneasy Money (1918) as Lord Dawlish
Ruggles of Red Gap (1918) as Marmaduke Ruggles
A Pair of Sixes (1918) as T. Boggs Johns
It's a Bear (1919) as Orlando Wintrhop
A Regular Fellow (1919) (*George Eastman preserved) as Dalion Pemberton
Taxi (1919) as Robert Hervey Randolph
Upside Down (1919) as Archibald Pim
Three Black Eyes (1919) as Larry Van Cortlandt
Nothing But the Truth (1920) as Robert Bennett
The Very Idea (1920) as Gilbert Goodhue
Nothing but Lies (1920) as George Cross
Twenty Dollars a Week (1924) as William Hart
Her Market Value (1925) as Courtney Brooks
The Crimson Runner (1925) as Bobo (valet)
The Verdict (1925) as Valet
Borrowed Finery (1925) as Billy
One Hour of Love (1927) as Joe Monahan
Should a Mason Tell? (1927) (short) as Henry
Their Second Honeymoon (1927) (short) as Henry
King Harold (1927) (short) as Henry

Sound

Lovers' Delight (1929, Short)
He Did His Best (1929, Short)
Let Me Explain (1930, Short)
Dad Knows Best (1930, Short)
Terry of the 'Times' (1930) (unconfirmed, uncredited)
It Happened in Paris (1932)
Before Morning (1933) as Leo Bergman
The First Baby (1936) as Mr. Wells
The Crime of Dr. Forbes (1936) as Dr. Robert Empey
Make Way for a Lady (1936) as George Terry
Boomerang (1947) as T.M. Wade
Kiss of Death (1947) as Earl Howser--Attorney
Nightmare Alley (1947) as Ezra Grindle
Let's Live Again (1948) as Uncle Jim
Smart Woman (1948) as Dr. Jasper
Hazard (1948) as Mr. Meeler
The Plunderers (1948) as Eben Martin
Joan of Arc (1948) as The Bishop of Avranches
That Wonderful Urge (1948) as Attorney Rice
Act of Violence (1948) as Gavery
Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949) as Dr. Benson
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) as Dr. Gibbs
Once More, My Darling (1949) as Jed Connell
A Christmas Carol (1949) as Ebeneezer Scrooge
Woman in Hiding (1950) as Jed Connell
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1950) as Lucius Maury
Quicksand (1950) as Harvey
Caged (1950) as Senator Ted Donnolly (uncredited)
Father of the Bride (1950) as Warner
Bright Leaf (1950) as Lawyer Calhoun
Copper Canyon (1950) as Theodosius Roberts
Double Deal (1950) as C.D. 'Corpus' Mills
The First Legion (1951) as Father Keene
Rhubarb (1951) as P. Duncan Munk
Drums in the Deep South (1951) as Albert Monroe
Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) as Willard Glendon
Hold That Line (1952) as Dean Forrester
Hoodlum Empire (1952) as Benjamin Lawton
Sudden Fear (1952) as Scott Martindale (uncredited)
Beware, My Lovely (1952) as Mr. Walter Armstrong
Woman of the North Country (1952) as Andrew Dawson
Ride the Man Down (1952) as Lowell Priest
She's Back on Broadway (1953) as Talbot (uncredited)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Mr. Esmond Sr.
Wonder Valley (1953) as Sweetheart's Father
Untamed Heiress (1954) as Walter Martin
The Outcast (1954) as Andrew Devlin
Tobor the Great (1954) as Prof. Arnold Nordstrom
Hell's Outpost (1954) as Timothy Byers
Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Jim's Friend #2/Doctor (uncredited)
The Fighting Chance (1955) as Railbird - the Tout
The Maverick Queen (1956) as Pete Callaher
The Peacemaker (1956) as Mr. Wren
The Book of Acts Series (1957) as High Priest
The Helen Morgan Story (1957) as Elderly Actor on Train (uncredited)
Wink of an Eye (1958) as Mr. Vanryzin
Sleeping Beauty (1959) as King Stefan (voice) (final film role)

References

^ "Taylor Holmes, Actor, Dies at 80". New York Times. October 2, 1959.
^ John Willis; Daniel Blum (June 1, 1960). Screen World. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-8196-0301-2.
^ The Christmas Carol (1949) - Review @ EOFFTV
^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/392150929/?terms=Taylor%20holmes&match=1