Matinee Classics - H. B. Warner Biography & Filmography

H. B. Warner ACTOR

PHOTOS

H.B. WARNER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

H.B. Warner was born on October 26th, 1875 in London, England with the birth name Harry Byron Warner. His father was actor, Charles Warner and being born into a family involved in acting with his grandfather also being a working actor made it easier for Warner to also pursue a career as an actor.

Although his family initially hoped he would become a doctor, after high school he went on to study medicine at London University and after graduating with his degree he chose to pursue acting and not medicine.

He is most well remembered for portraying Jesus Christ in the Cecil B. DeMille film, "The King of Kings" (1927). After college he studied acting in Paris and Italy and then joined his father's stock company.

Warner began his work as a stage actor appearing in a production of, "Drink" and soon was debuting on Broadway in, "Audrey", "Nurse Marjorie", "Susan in Search of a Husband" and "A Tenement Tragedy".

After over thirteen Broadway performances he began to break into the film industry first debuting in, "Harp of Tara" (1914) followed by roles in, "The Ghost Breaker" (1914), "Sorrell and Son" (1927) and later in the movie "In Old Santa Fe" starring Ken Maynard, Gene Autry, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Smiley Burnette.

When the silent film era came to an end he made the transition to sound films with ease. Soon he was adding such roles to his resume as, "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936) starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and George Bancroft, Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon" (1937) starring alongside Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Sam Jaffe and John Howard, Academy Award winner for Best Picture "You Can't Take It With You" (1938) starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Edward Arnold and Lionel Barrymore, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939) starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1941) starring Edward Arnold, Thomas Mitchell, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, Walter Huston and James Craig, "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi and Frank Faylen, "Sunset Blvd." (1950) starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, "The Ten Commandments" (1956) with an all star cast including Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Bancroft just to name a few and "The Darby's Rangers" (1958) starring James Garner, Jack Warden, Stuart Whitman, Peter Brown, Reginald Owen, Edd Byrnes and Murray Hamilton.

He never worked as a television actor and instead all his focus was towards stage and film work. He added over one hundred and thirty film appearances to his resume and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the Motion Picture Industry.

H.B. Warner married twice throughout his lifetime, first to F.R. Hamlin and when this marriage came to an end he wed Rita Stanwood in 1919 and they had two children together before divorcing in 1933. He did not re-marry and on December 21st, 1958 he passed away at the age of eighty three in Woodland Hills, California from a heart attack. His remains are buried in the Chapel of Pines crematory in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography