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Anders Randolf

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Anders Randolf
Randolf in 1921
Born(1870-12-18)December 18, 1870
Viborg, Denmark
DiedJuly 2, 1930(1930-07-02) (aged 59)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeFrederiksberg Cemetery, Copenhagen
NationalityDanish American
Other namesAnders Randolph
OccupationActor
Years active1913–1930
SpouseDorthea Jorgensen (m. ?–1930)

Anders Randolf (December 18, 1875 – July 2, 1930) was a Danish-American actor in American films from 1913 to 1930.[1]

Early biography

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Anders Randolf was born in Viborg, Denmark on December 18, 1875.[2] As a youth he attended a military academy, graduated Maitre d’Arms and served with the Royal Danish Hussars, earning a reputation as a world-class swordsman.[3][4]

He emigrated to the United States in 1893[5] and joined the U.S. Army, serving with the 17th US Infantry.[6]

Stage career

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Harboring a lifelong passion for the theater, Rudolf performed with an acting troupe in Columbus, Ohio before joining a number of touring companies including William Farnum All-Star Company and the Vaughan Glaser Company. He co-starred in a highly regarded production of As You Like It (1599) opposite Henrietta Crosman.[7]

Film career

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Fairbanks and Randolf in the final sword duel sequence of The Black Pirate

In 1914, Anders Randolf began appearing in 1- or 2-reelers with the Vitagraph Studios stock company, and earned critical praise in his first feature film The Wheels of Justice (1915) in the role of Tug’ Riley, a convict. A reviewer in the New York Dramatic Mirror wrote: “Anders Randolf as Tug Riley is undoubtedly the most real in the excellent cast.”[8]

Randolf continued working with Vitagraph until 1919 even as the production company’s fortunes declined. The company was acquired by Warner Bros. studios in 1925.[9] As a freelance performer, Rudolf was provided with “top supporting roles in high production features. He worked for Cosmopolitan productions, co-starring with Marion Davies in The Cinema Murder (1919), Buried Treasure (1921), and Enchantment. Regarded as “one of Hollywood’s most respected heavies,” he was often cast to play villains.[10] A versatile actor, Randolf could expertly play comedic roles, for example, as a incompetent banker in In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1923); and Mary Pickford’s father in Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924).[11]

At the pinnacle of his career, the 50-year-old Randolf was cast as the pirate captain in The Black Pirate (1924), a swashbuckler starring Douglas Fairbanks. His outstanding skills as a swordsman were on display in the final duel sequence. Critic Mordaunt Hall in the New York Times congratulated Randolf on his “cunning and brutal” interpretation of the role.[12]

Late career and death

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Randolf’s health was in decline in the late 1920s, but his work schedule did not slacken. His transition to sound films in a number of Warner Bros. productions in 1929 and 1930 were untroubled, as Randolf carried little trace of a Danish accent.[13] His final film appearances were in comedy shorts: Laurel and Hardy’s The Night Owls (1930) and Joe E. Brown’s Maybe It’s Love (1930). His final films, Going Wild (1931) and West of the Rockies (1931) were released posthumously.[14]

Randolf died on July 3, 1930 following a relapse after a kidney operation. He was later interred at Frederiksberg Cemetery in Copenhagen, Denmark.[15] [16]

Selected filmography

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Notes

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  1. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 335: “...born in Viborg, Denmark, on December 18, 1875.” And p. 339: “died on July 3, 1930...”
  2. ^ Wallstein, 1994 p. 335
  3. ^ Wallstein, 1994 p. 335
  4. ^ "Anders Randolf". AllMovie. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 335: “...the twenty-year-old Rudolf emigrated to the U.S.”
  6. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 335
  7. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 336
  8. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 336
  9. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 337, and see footnote on Warner Bros.
  10. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 337
  11. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 338
  12. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 338
  13. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 338-339
  14. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 339
  15. ^ Wollstein, 1994 p. 339
  16. ^ "Anders Randolf". The New York Times. July 3, 1930. p. 14. Retrieved April 27, 2022.

References

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