Henry B. Walthall

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

213

Gender

Male

Birthday

1878-03-15

Day of death

1936-06-17 (58 years old)

Place of Birth

Shelby County, Alabama, USA

Henry B. Walthall

Biography

​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

  • Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln

  • From Headquarters

    From Headquarters

  • A Tale of Two Cities

    A Tale of Two Cities

  • The Odalisque

    The Odalisque

  • Stark Mad

    Stark Mad

  • The Wanderer

    The Wanderer

  • Getting Even

    Getting Even

  • 42nd Street

    42nd Street

  • Wings

    Wings

  • Fighting Love

    Fighting Love

  • Temple Tower

    Temple Tower

  • Ghosts

    Ghosts

  • Black Magic

    Black Magic

  • Dark Hazard

    Dark Hazard

  • The Switchtower

    The Switchtower

  • Pippa Passes

    Pippa Passes

  • Self Defense

    Self Defense

  • The Slave

    The Slave

  • The Trespasser

    The Trespasser

  • The Boomerang

    The Boomerang

  • The Call

    The Call

  • Retribution

    Retribution

  • Speakeasy

    Speakeasy

  • Modern Husbands

    Modern Husbands

  • The Birth of a Nation

    The Birth of a Nation

  • Kentucky Pride

    Kentucky Pride

  • The Usurer

    The Usurer

  • My Baby

    My Baby

  • Headline Shooter

    Headline Shooter

  • Viva Villa!

    Viva Villa!

  • Single Wives

    Single Wives

  • The False Faces

    The False Faces

  • Hotel Continental

    Hotel Continental

  • The Raven

    The Raven

  • Wilful Peggy

    Wilful Peggy

  • Broken Ways

    Broken Ways

  • The Murder in the Museum

    The Murder in the Museum

  • London After Midnight

    London After Midnight

  • Classmates

    Classmates

  • A Corner in Wheat

    A Corner in Wheat

  • Strongheart

    Strongheart

  • The Whispering Shadow

    The Whispering Shadow

  • The Oath and the Man

    The Oath and the Man

  • China Clipper

    China Clipper

  • Two Men of the Desert

    Two Men of the Desert

  • The Plastic Age

    The Plastic Age

  • Home, Sweet Home

    Home, Sweet Home

  • Helldorado

    Helldorado

  • The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

    The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

  • Friends

    Friends

  • The Last Outlaw

    The Last Outlaw

  • Men in White

    Men in White

  • The Flaming Signal

    The Flaming Signal

  • Hearts in Bondage

    Hearts in Bondage

  • Hold Your Man

    Hold Your Man

  • Two Daughters of Eve

    Two Daughters of Eve

  • The Scarlet Letter

    The Scarlet Letter

  • Me and My Gal

    Me and My Gal

  • Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

    Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

  • The Cabin in the Cotton

    The Cabin in the Cotton

  • The Devil-Doll

    The Devil-Doll

  • The Day After

    The Day After

  • The Great Love

    The Great Love

  • Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

    Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

  • Central Park

    Central Park

  • The Sealed Room

    The Sealed Room

  • The Love Trader

    The Love Trader

  • Dante's Inferno

    Dante's Inferno

  • Alias Mary Smith

    Alias Mary Smith

  • London After Midnight

    London After Midnight

  • During the Round-Up

    During the Round-Up

  • The Confession

    The Confession

  • So Near, Yet So Far

    So Near, Yet So Far

  • Chandu the Magician

    Chandu the Magician

  • I Am Not a Racist

    I Am Not a Racist

  • A Strange Meeting

    A Strange Meeting

  • Brutality

    Brutality

  • Beggars in Ermine

    Beggars in Ermine

  • The Mended Lute

    The Mended Lute

  • A Flash of Light

    A Flash of Light

  • The Honor of His Family

    The Honor of His Family

  • The Golden Bed

    The Golden Bed

  • The Little Darling

    The Little Darling

  • Freedom of the Press

    Freedom of the Press

  • The Garden Murder Case

    The Garden Murder Case

  • The Lemon Drop Kid

    The Lemon Drop Kid

  • A Trap for Santa Claus

    A Trap for Santa Claus

  • In the Border States

    In the Border States

  • The Broken Locket

    The Broken Locket

  • Tol'able David

    Tol'able David

  • Pillars of Society

    Pillars of Society

  • 1776, or The Hessian Renegades

    1776, or The Hessian Renegades

  • The Misleading Lady

    The Misleading Lady

  • The Long Chance

    The Long Chance

  • They Would Elope

    They Would Elope

  • In Old Kentucky

    In Old Kentucky

  • If We Only Knew

    If We Only Knew

  • The Green-Eyed Devil

    The Green-Eyed Devil

  • The Wolf Dog

    The Wolf Dog

  • Her Mother's Oath

    Her Mother's Oath

  • The Scarlet Letter

    The Scarlet Letter

  • The House with Closed Shutters

    The House with Closed Shutters

  • Thou Shalt Not

    Thou Shalt Not

  • The Gangsters of New York

    The Gangsters of New York

  • The Stolen Loaf

    The Stolen Loaf

  • Ride Him, Cowboy

    Ride Him, Cowboy

  • His Last Burglary

    His Last Burglary

  • Blaze o' Glory

    Blaze o' Glory

  • The One She Loved

    The One She Loved

  • The Heart of an Outlaw

    The Heart of an Outlaw

  • The Mysterious Shot

    The Mysterious Shot

  • The Sorrows of the Unfaithful

    The Sorrows of the Unfaithful

  • The Burglar’s Dilemma

    The Burglar’s Dilemma

  • Where the Sea and the Shore Doth Meet

    Where the Sea and the Shore Doth Meet

  • The Mountain Rat

    The Mountain Rat

  • The Sin of Nora Moran

    The Sin of Nora Moran

  • A Feud in the Kentucky Hills

    A Feud in the Kentucky Hills

  • The Mine with the Iron Door

    The Mine with the Iron Door

  • The Little Tease

    The Little Tease

  • In Old California

    In Old California

  • Death's Marathon

    Death's Marathon

  • The Armorer’s Daughter

    The Armorer’s Daughter

  • The Phantom in the House

    The Phantom in the House

  • Rose o' Salem Town

    Rose o' Salem Town

  • The Tenderfoot's Money

    The Tenderfoot's Money

  • The Gray of the Dawn

    The Gray of the Dawn

  • Love Me and the World Is Mine

    Love Me and the World Is Mine

  • The Old Man

    The Old Man

  • The Unknown Soldier

    The Unknown Soldier

  • In Life's Cycle

    In Life's Cycle

  • Everybody's Acting

    Everybody's Acting

  • The Road to Mandalay

    The Road to Mandalay

  • The Unknown Purple

    The Unknown Purple

  • The Call to Arms

    The Call to Arms

  • Pranks

    Pranks

  • Love in an Apartment Hotel

    Love in an Apartment Hotel

  • Judith of Bethulia

    Judith of Bethulia

  • My Hero

    My Hero

  • Three Friends

    Three Friends

  • In Little Italy

    In Little Italy

  • Klondike

    Klondike

  • Boy of Mine

    Boy of Mine

  • His Robe of Honor

    His Robe of Honor

  • A Child of the Ghetto

    A Child of the Ghetto

  • The Tenderfoot's Triumph

    The Tenderfoot's Triumph

  • Her Forgotten Past

    Her Forgotten Past

  • The Face on the Barroom Floor

    The Face on the Barroom Floor

  • Judge Priest

    Judge Priest

  • Oil and Water

    Oil and Water

  • Ramona

    Ramona

  • The Kid

    The Kid

  • The Mirror

    The Mirror

  • Strange Interlude

    Strange Interlude

  • In the Aisles of the Wild

    In the Aisles of the Wild

  • Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

    Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

  • The Jazz Age

    The Jazz Age

  • Flower of the North

    Flower of the North

  • Humdrum Brown

    Humdrum Brown

  • The River of Romance

    The River of Romance

  • One Clear Call

    One Clear Call

  • The Gold Seekers

    The Gold Seekers

  • Love Time

    Love Time

  • The Awakening of Donna Isolla

    The Awakening of Donna Isolla

  • The Way of the World

    The Way of the World

  • A Woman in the Ultimate

    A Woman in the Ultimate

  • City Park

    City Park

  • The Avenging Conscience

    The Avenging Conscience

  • The Face at the Window

    The Face at the Window

  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey

    The Bridge of San Luis Rey

  • A Girl of the Limberlost

    A Girl of the Limberlost

  • The Woman on the Jury

    The Woman on the Jury

  • The Girl Who Wouldn't Work

    The Girl Who Wouldn't Work

  • Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists

    Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists

  • Anybody's Blonde

    Anybody's Blonde

  • The Barrier

    The Barrier

  • A Summer Idyll

    A Summer Idyll

  • Police Court

    Police Court

  • The Floor Above

    The Floor Above

  • Kit Carson Over the Great Divide

    Kit Carson Over the Great Divide

  • The Thread of Destiny

    The Thread of Destiny

  • The Perfidy of Mary

    The Perfidy of Mary

  • The Kickback

    The Kickback

  • The God Within

    The God Within

  • The Long Arm of Mannister

    The Long Arm of Mannister

  • The Sheriff's Baby

    The Sheriff's Baby

  • Somewhere in Sonora

    Somewhere in Sonora

  • The Informer

    The Informer

  • Lord Chumley

    Lord Chumley

  • On the Reef

    On the Reef

  • The Two Brothers

    The Two Brothers

  • Love Among the Roses

    Love Among the Roses

  • The Cloister’s Touch

    The Cloister’s Touch

  • Gimme

    Gimme

  • A Gambler's Honor

    A Gambler's Honor

  • The Able-Minded Lady

    The Able-Minded Lady

  • Three Faces East

    Three Faces East

  • The Strange Case of Mary Page

    The Strange Case of Mary Page

  • Souls Courageous

    Souls Courageous

  • Fools of Fate

    Fools of Fate

  • A Splendid Hazard

    A Splendid Hazard

  • Parted Curtains

    Parted Curtains

  • The Converts

    The Converts

  • The Iconoclast

    The Iconoclast

  • The Lady and the Mouse

    The Lady and the Mouse

  • The Command from Galilee

    The Command from Galilee

  • The Long Lane's Turning

    The Long Lane's Turning

  • The Newlyweds

    The Newlyweds

  • The Circular Path

    The Circular Path

  • A Light in the Window

    A Light in the Window

  • For His Sake

    For His Sake

  • The Outer Edge

    The Outer Edge

  • Rod of Wrath

    Rod of Wrath

  • Temper

    Temper