Harry Hayden

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Harry Hayden


imagesize = 165px
caption =
birthdate = 8 November 1882
location = Canada
deathdate = 24 July fy|1955 (aged 72)
deathplace = West Los Angeles, California U.S.
yearsactive = 1936–1954
birthname =
spouse = Lelia Bass
(1924–24 July 1955 "his death")
occupation = actor

Harry Hayden (8 November 1882–24 July fy|1955) was a Canadian film character actor who appeared in over 250 films between 1936 and 1954.

Career

Born in Canada in 1882, Hayden was slight, greying at the temples and wore glasses, and the characters he played were often small-town store proprietors, hotel managers, city attorneys, bankers and minor bureaucrats, frequently officious or snooping.Erickson, Hal [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:31181~T1 Biography (Allmovie)] ] [Takacs, Bill [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370743/bio Biography (IMDB)] ]

Hayden worked both onstage and in films, and with his wife, actress Lelia Bliss, to whom he was married from 1924 until his death, he ran the Bliss-Hayden miniature theatre in Beverly Hills, whose alumni include Veronica Lake, Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, and Marilyn Monroe. He directed one production on Broadway, [imdb name|0370743] a play called "Thirsty Soil", which opened in February 1937. [ibdb title|12190|Thirsty Soil]

Hayden began appearing in films in fy|1936, when he was seen in "Foolproof", a crime drama short, [imdb title|0027631|Foolproof] and worked consistently and steadily until fy|1954. At the peak of his career, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, a dozen or two films would be released every year in which Hayden appeared. Often his work went uncredited, but he was notable in Laurel and Hardy's "Saps at Sea" in fy|1940 as Mr. Sharp, the horn factory owner, and as Farley Granger's boss in fy|1951's "O. Henry's Full House". In the 1940s, Hayden was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges. [Hayden appeared in "The Great McGinty", "Christmas in July", "The Palm Beach Story", "Hail the Conquering Hero", "The Great Moment" and "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend", Sturges' last American film.]

Television also provided some opportunities for this ubiquitous actor. Hayden did a handful of episodic television shows from ytv|1951 to ytv|1955, during which time he also had a recurring role as "Harry Johnson" on "The Stu Erwin Show", also known as "The Trouble With Father", although he was not credited for this when the show went to syndication.

Hayden appeared in his final film, "The Desperado", in fy|1954. [imdb title|0046905|The Desperado] He died in West Los Angeles, California on 24 July fy|1955, at the age of 72, and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. [findagrave|12747] He had two sons with Lelia Bliss, Richard and Dan Hayden, the latter is an actor.

elected filmography

* "Foolproof" (fy|1936)
* "Artists and Models" (1937)
* "Christmas in July" (1940)
* "Saps at Sea" (1940)
* "A Man Betrayed" (1941)
* "Remember the Day" (1941)
* "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff" (1949)
* "O. Henry's Full House" (fy|1951)
* "The Desperado" (fy|1954)

Notes

External links

*imdb name|0370743
*amg name|2:31181
*tcmdb name|83218
*ibdb name|15073
*findagrave|12747

Persondata
NAME= Hayden, Harry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 8 November, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH= Canada CAN
DATE OF DEATH= 24 July, 1955
PLACE OF DEATH= West Los Angeles, California USA