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Draft:Leonard Willey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leonard Louis Willey
Born(1882-12-15)December 15, 1882
Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom
DiedJune 30, 1964(1964-06-30) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, United States
OccupationActor
Years active1912–1950
Known forSilent film roles and performances on Broadway
Notable workThe Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Penny Serenade, Mary of Scotland (Broadway)

Leonard Louis Willey was an English actor, best known for appearances in silent films and Broadway theatre.

Biography

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In film, Leonard Willey debuted in four silent Australian films released in 1912. Later, after settling permanently in the United States, he appeared in his first American film (and last silent film) released in 1919.

Subsequently, he reappeared in only eleven American films, from The Prince and the Pauper directed by William Keighley (1937, starring Errol Flynn and Claude Rains) to Three Came Home directed by Jean Negulesco (1950, with Claudette Colbert and Patric Knowles). In the interim, notable films include The Adventures of Robin Hood by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley (1938, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland) and Penny Serenade by George Stevens (his penultimate film, 1941, with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant).

In theater, Leonard Willey performed on Broadway (New York) in sixteen plays, from 1915 to 1934. His last role was in Mary of Scotland by Maxwell Anderson, performed 248 times from November 1933 to July 1934; this play was later adapted into a film by John Ford, released in 1936 under the same original title — French title: Marie Stuart — in which Katharine Hepburn portrayed Mary, Queen of Scots (the role was held by Helen Hayes on Broadway).

Works

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Filmography

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(American films, unless otherwise noted)

1912: The Strangler's Grip by Franklyn Barrett (Australian film)

1912: The Eleven Hour by Franklyn Barrett (Australian film)

1912: The Mystery of the Black Pearl by Franklyn Barrett (Australian film)

1912: A Silent Witness by Franklyn Barrett (Australian film)

1919: The Stream of Life by Horace G. Plympton

1937: The Prince and the Pauper by William Keighley

1937: Night Club Scandal by Ralph Murphy

1938: Invisible Enemy by John H. Auer

1938: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley

1939: Captain Fury by Hal Roach

1940: British Intelligence by Terry O. Morse

1940: Tom Brown's School Days by Robert Stevenson

1940: Mystery Sea Raider by Edward Dmytryk

1940: South of Suez by Lewis Seiler

1941: Penny Serenade by George Stevens

1950: Three Came Home by Jean Negulesco


Broadway Theater

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1915-1916: Treasure Island, adaptation by Jules Eckert Goodman of the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

1916-1917: Major Pendennis, adaptation by Langdon Mitchell of The History of Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray, with Walter Kingsford, Alison Skipworth

1917: Lucky O'Shea by Theodore Burt Sayre

1917: The Gay Lord Quex by Arthur Wing Pinero, with Violet Kemble-Cooper

1918: The Awakening by Ruth Sawyer, with Henry B. Walthall

1919: A Burgomaster of Belgium by Maurice Maeterlinck, with Walter Kingsford

1921: The Teaser by Martha M. Stanley and Adelaide Matthews, with John Cromwell

1921: The Six-Fifty by Kate McLaurin, with Reginald Barlow

1923-1924: The Lady by Martin Brown, with Mary Nash, Elisabeth Risdon

1924-1925: Simon Called Peter, adaptation by Jules Eckert Goodman and Edward Knoblauch of the novel by Robert Keable

1927: The Legend of Leonora by J. M. Barrie

1929: Becky Sharp, adaptation by Langdon Mitchell of Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, with Ernest Cossart, Etienne Girardot, Arthur Hohl, Basil Sydney (later adapted as a film in 1935)

1929: Thunder in the Air by Robins Millar, with Selena Royle

1929-1930: Michael and Mary by A. A. Milne, with Harry Beresford, Henry Hull

1932: Red Planet by John L. Balderston and J. E. Hoare, directed by Burk Symon and Chester Erskine, with Richard Whorf

1933-1934: Mary of Scotland by Maxwell Anderson, with Helen Hayes, Edgar Barrier, Ernest Cossart, George Coulouris, Philip Merivale, Moroni Olsen


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