Henry Joseph Crocker II (July 2, 1893 – May 23, 1958) was an American journalist and occasional film actor.

Life and career

Although Crocker was for most of his career a ''

Los Angeles Examiner The ''Los Angeles Examiner'' was a newspaper founded in 1903 by William Randolph Hearst in Los Angeles, California. The afternoon '' Los Angeles Herald-Express'' and the morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'', both of which had been publishing in the ...

'' newsman, he also appeared as Rex in Charlie Chaplin's '' The Circus'' in 1928. He was Chaplin's personal assistant until he was fired during the making of Chaplin's '' City Lights'' in 1930. Crocker later reconciled with Chaplin and maintained a friendship until the comedian left America in 1952. Overall, Crocker appeared in 20 films between 1925 and 1952, mostly in small roles or cameo appearances. His other films besides ''The Circus'' include ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...

'' (1925), ''

Tillie the Toiler ''Tillie the Toiler'' is a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled ''Rose of the Office''. With a title change, it sold to King Features Syndicate ...

'' (1927), '' Sally in Our Alley'' (1927), ''

A Warm Corner ''A Warm Corner'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold and E ...

'' (1930), '' The Great John L.'' (1945), ''

A Song for Miss Julie ''A Song for Miss Julie'' is a 1945 American film directed by William Rowland. Plot summary Cast *Shirley Ross as Valerie Kimbro *Barton Hepburn as George Kimbro * Jane Farrar as Julie Charteris *Roger Clark as Stephen Mont *Cheryl Walk ...

'' (1945) and '' Limelight'' (1952). His grand uncle was Charles Crocker (1822–1888) who had been a builder of the Central Pacific Railroad and his distant cousins were was the philanthropist

William Henry Crocker William Henry Crocker I (January 13, 1861 – September 25, 1937) was an American banker, the president of Crocker National Bank and a prominent member of the Republican Party. Early life Crocker was born on January 19, 1861 in Sacramento, Califor ...

, president of

Crocker National Bank Crocker National Bank was a United States bank headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was acquired by and merged into Wells Fargo Bank in 1986. History The bank traces its history to the Woolworth National Bank in San Francisco. Charles ...

, mystic, princess and writer Aimee Crocker and Templeton Crocker past president of the

California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state ...

who funded and headed expeditions with the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

and other academic institutions aboard his personal yacht. Crocker married Elizabeth Jenns in late 1936. Crocker was also a close friend of Cole Porter. He died on May 23, 1958, after being in ill health for three years.

Filmography

References

External links

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Harry Crocker
at Virtual History
Still
from '' The Circus'' (1928) at gettyimages.com 1893 births American male film actors 1958 deaths 20th-century American male actors Crocker family {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub