Henry B. Walthall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company. His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period. He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company. Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith. Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish. Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper. Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote. Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	0.6702
Birthday	1878-03-15
Place of Birth	Shelby County, Alabama, USA
Also Known As	Henry B. Walthal , H. B. Walthall , H.B. Walthall, Henry Walthall, William Walthall , Henry Brazeale Walthall,

A Light in the Window

The Birth of a Nation

42nd Street

The Sealed Room

Judge Priest

The Honor of His Family

The Avenging Conscience

I Am Not a Racist

The Devil-Doll

Viva Villa!

The Scarlet Letter

London After Midnight

A Tale of Two Cities

A Corner in Wheat

The Road to Mandalay

Love Time

The Sheriff's Baby

A Flash of Light

The Trespasser

Ride Him, Cowboy

Stark Mad

Somewhere in Sonora

In the Aisles of the Wild

Two Daughters of Eve

The Scarlet Letter

During the Round-Up

Love in an Apartment Hotel

The Green-Eyed Devil

The Tenderfoot's Money

If We Only Knew

The Golden Bed

Lord Chumley

My Hero

Brutality

The Stolen Loaf

The Mirror

A Gambler's Honor

Helldorado

The Odalisque

Judith of Bethulia

Chandu the Magician

The Misleading Lady

Men in White

Modern Husbands

Dark Hazard

Hearts in Bondage

The Mysterious Shot

The Face on the Barroom Floor

Strange Interlude

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

Death's Marathon

The House with Closed Shutters

The Perfidy of Mary

Hotel Continental

Klondike

The Barrier

Police Court

Beggars in Ermine

Dante's Inferno

The Wanderer

The Switchtower

Wilful Peggy

The Oath and the Man

Rose o' Salem Town

The Phantom in the House

Friends

The Burglar’s Dilemma

Strongheart

Central Park

Home, Sweet Home

The False Faces

Ramona

The Murder in the Museum

A Child of the Ghetto

A Splendid Hazard

The Flaming Signal

City Park

A Girl of the Limberlost

The Unknown Purple

Her Forgotten Past