- Berton Churchill
Berton Churchill (
December 9 ,1876 –October 10 ,1940 ) was a Canadian actor.Born in
Toronto, Ontario . As a young man interested in the theater, he headed toNew York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage. There, he was one of the earliest members ofActors Equity and sat on the union's Council. In 1919 he was in charge of the New York headquarters during the Equity strike in which fellow Canadian and friend, actressMarie Dressler assumed a major part with him that led to her being blacklisted by the producers.With the advent of filmmaking in New York Berton Churchill appeared in several motion pictures, and in the 1920s, following the use of sound in film, he moved to
Hollywood, California . There, his powerful stage voice and commanding presence landed him numerous supporting roles, usually as the stern or pompous character with such roles as a banker, a State Governor, or a land baron. Much in demand, in more than 125 films Churchill worked for some of the great directors such asOtto Preminger ,John Ford , andFrank Capra . As well, he performed with many of the most famous stars of the day such asBette Davis ("The Cabin in the Cotton "),Jeanette MacDonald ,Tyrone Power ,Edward G. Robinson , andWill Rogers . One of Churchill's better known roles was withJohn Wayne in John Ford's highly acclaimed 1939 film, "Stagecoach"."In 1925, Berton Churchill helped found the Masquers club that led to him and five other actors creating the
Screen Actors Guild in 1933.Berton Churchill died in
New York City . His body was returned to the west coast to be interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery inGlendale, California .ee also
*Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
External links
*imdb name|id=0161414|name=Berton Churchill
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