Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor.

Early years

Churchill was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law at night, and was a weekly participant in the William J. Florence Dramatic Society in Jersey City. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and worked as a newspaper pressman, eventually becoming a foreman and leader of his union. Progressing in his acting, he began performing with the Berkely Lyceum.

Career

Churchill acted for two years with a traveling repertory company, developing skills that eventually took him to Broadway. The death of his father caused him to return home to work as a press foreman. Eventually he returned to acting in small parts. His career received a boost when E. F. Albee saw him perform in Boston. Albee added him to his summer stock company at Pawtucket, where Churchill continued to perform almost every summer for at least two decades. His first performance on Broadway was in ''The Barber of New Orleans'' (1909), and his last was in ''Five Star Final'' (1930). He was one of the earliest members of Actors Equity and sat on the union's Council. In 1919, he was in charge of the New York headquarters during the Equity strike. Around 1929, Churchill began to perform in motion pictures. Following the use of sound in film, he moved to

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. There, he landed numerous supporting roles, usually as the stern or pompous character with such roles as a banker, a state governor, or a land baron. He was much in demand, "establishing what was believed to be a record by appearing in 34 in 1932 alone." In more than 125 films, Churchill worked for some of the great directors such as

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

, and

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

. As well, he performed with many of the most famous stars of the day, such as

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

('' The Cabin in the Cotton''),

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

, Tyrone Power, Edward G. Robinson, and Will Rogers. Churchill is perhaps best known for his role as Gatewood, the absconding banker in John Ford's highly acclaimed 1939 film ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

'', starring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

. In 1925, Churchill helped found the Masquers club that led to him and five other actors creating the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

in 1933.

Death

Churchill died in Medical Arts Center Hospital in New York City, of uremic poisoning. His body was returned to the west coast to be interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Selected filmography

Berton Churchill in Vagabond Lady trailer

* '' The Road Called Straight'' (1919) as Robert Swiftmore * '' Six Cylinder Love'' (1923) as George Stapleton * '' Tongues of Flame'' (1924) as Boland * '' Nothing But the Truth'' (1929) as E.M. Burke * ''

Tarnished Lady ''Tarnished Lady'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Tallulah Bankhead and Clive Brook. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on his short story, ''A Story of a New York La ...

'' (1931) as Stock Speculator (uncredited) * '' Secrets of a Secretary'' (1931) as Mr. Merritt * '' My Sin'' (1931) as Mr. Osgood (uncredited) * ''Husband's Holiday'' (1931) as Gerald Burgess * '' Air Eagles'' (1931) as Windy J. Bailey * '' This Reckless Age'' (1932) as Banker * '' Taxi!'' (1932) as Judge West (uncredited) * '' Impatient Maiden'' (1932) * '' Cheaters at Play'' (1932) * '' A Fool's Advice'' (1932) as Mayor Martin Sloan * '' The Wet Parade'' (1932) as Roger's Uncle Dick (uncredited) * '' Scandal for Sale'' (1932) as Bunnyweather * '' It's Tough to Be Famous'' (1932) as Admiral Blaine (uncredited) * '' The Mouthpiece'' (1932) as Judge, Rocco Trial (uncredited) * '' Two Seconds'' (1932) as The Warden * '' The Rich Are Always with Us'' (1932) as Judge Bradshaw * '' Forgotten Commandments'' (1932) as Minor Role (scenes deleted) * '' The Dark Horse'' (1932) as William A. Underwood * '' Week Ends Only'' (1932) as A.S. Carr * '' Fast Companions'' (1932) as Committee Chairman * '' The Washington Masquerade'' (1932) as Sen. Bitler * '' American Madness'' (1932) as O'Brien (uncredited) * '' Okay, America!'' (1932) as Jacob Baron * '' The Crooked Circle'' (1932) as Col. Walters * '' The Cabin in the Cotton'' (1932) as Lane Norwood * '' The Big Stampede'' (1932) as Gov. Wallace * '' False Faces'' (1932) as Dr. John B. Parker * '' Washington Merry-Go-Round'' (1932) as Speaker * '' I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' (1932) as The Judge * '' Afraid to Talk'' (1932) as Mayor William 'Billy' Manning * '' If I Had a Million'' (1932) as Warden (uncredited) * '' Madame Butterfly'' (1932) as American Consul * '' Frisco Jenny'' (1932) as Judge Thomas B. Reynolds (uncredited) * '' The Billion Dollar Scandal'' (1933) as The Warden * '' Laughter in Hell'' (1933) as Mike Slaney * '' The Mysterious Rider'' (1933) as Mark King * '' Employees' Entrance'' (1933) as Mr. Bradford (uncredited) * '' Hard to Handle'' (1933) as Col. H.D.X. Wells (uncredited) * '' From Hell to Heaven'' (1933) as Toledo Jones * '' Private Jones'' (1933) as Roger Winthrop * '' The Little Giant'' (1933) as Donald Hadley Cass * '' So This Is Africa'' (1933) as Movie Producer * '' Elmer, the Great'' (1933) as Colonel Moffitt * '' Heroes for Sale'' (1933) as Mr. Winston * '' I Love That Man'' (1933) as Mordant – Casket Buyer * '' Her First Mate'' (1933) as Davis * '' The Big Brain'' (1933) as Col. Higginbotham * '' The Avenger'' (1933) as Forster * '' Doctor Bull'' (1933) as Herbert Banning – Janet's Brother * '' Golden Harvest'' (1933) as Eben Martin * '' Ladies Must Love'' (1933) as Gaskins * '' Only Yesterday'' (1933) as Goodheart (uncredited) * '' College Coach'' (1933) as Otis * '' Master of Men'' (1933) as Mr. Walling * '' Frontier Marshal'' (1934) as Ben 'Hiram' Melton * '' Hi, Nellie!'' (1934) as Graham * '' Men in White'' (1934) as John Hudson (uncredited) * '' Let's Be Ritzy'' (1934) as R.M. Pembrook * '' Strictly Dynamite'' (1934) as Mr. Rivers * '' Half a Sinner'' (1934) as Deacon Caswell (aka Alias the Deacon) * '' Murder in the Private Car'' (1934) as Luke Carson * '' Bachelor Bait'' (1934) as 'Big' Barney Nolan * '' Friends of Mr. Sweeney'' (1934) as Franklyn P. Brumbaugh * '' Dames'' (1934) as Harold Ellsworthy Todd * '' Take the Stand'' (1934) as Mr. Jerome Burbank * '' Judge Priest'' (1934) as Senator Horace Maydew * '' Redhead'' (1934) as Mr. Brown * '' Kid Millions'' (1934) as Col. Harrison Larrabee * '' Menace'' (1934) as Norman Bellamy * '' Babbitt'' (1934) as Judge Virgil 'Verge' Thompson * '' Sing Sing Nights'' (1934) as Governor Duane * ''

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

'' (1934) as Alexander Hamilton Sr. * ''Life Is Worth Living'' (1934) * '' Helldorado'' (1935) as 'Clarion' Editor * '' The County Chairman'' (1935) as Elias Rigby * '' A Night at the Ritz'' (1935) as Stephen Vincent * '' Vagabond Lady'' (1935) as R.D. Spear * '' $10 Raise'' (1935) as Mr. Bates * '' Dizzy Dames'' (1935) as Dad Hackett * '' Page Miss Glory'' (1935) as Mr. Yates – Assistant Hotel Manager * '' Steamboat Round the Bend '' (1935) as New Moses * '' I Live for Love'' (1935) as Fabian * '' The Spanish Cape Mystery'' (1935) as Judge Macklin * '' The Rainmakers'' (1935) as Simon Parker * ''

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

'' (1935) as Walter Marvin * '' Black Gold'' (1936) as J.C. Anderson * '' You May Be Next'' (1936) as J.J. Held * '' The Dark Hour'' (1936) as Paul Bernard * '' Colleen'' (1936) as Logan * '' Three of a Kind'' (1936) as 'Con' Cornelius * '' Parole!'' (1936) as Rex Gavin * '' Bunker Bean'' (1936) as Professor Ed Balthazer * '' Dimples'' (1936) as Col. Loring * '' Under Your Spell'' (1936) as Judge * '' Racing Lady'' (1937) as Judge * '' Parnell'' (1937) as The O'Gorman Mahon * '' Sing and Be Happy'' (1937) as John Mason * '' You Can't Beat Love'' (1937) as Police Chief Brennan * '' The Singing Marine'' (1937) as J. Montgomery Madison * '' Public Wedding'' (1937) as H. Theodore Lane aka Pop * '' Wild and Woolly'' (1937) as Edward Ralston * ''

Quick Money ''Quick Money'' is a 1937 film. It lost $37,000. Plot Cast * Fred Stone as Mayor Jonas Tompkins * Gordon Jones as Bill Adams * Dorothy Moore as Alice Tompkins * Berton Churchill as Bluford H. Smythe * Paul Guilfoyle as Ambrose Ames * Harla ...

'' (1937) as Bluford H. Smythe * '' In Old Chicago'' (1938) as Senator Colby * '' He Couldn't Say No'' (1938) as Senator Mabby * '' Wide Open Faces'' (1938) as L.D. Crawford * '' Four Men and a Prayer'' (1938) as Mr. Martin Cherrington * '' Kentucky Moonshine'' (1938) as J.B * '' Ladies in Distress'' (1938) as Fred Morgan * '' Danger on the Air'' (1938) as Caesar Kluck * '' Down in 'Arkansaw''' (1938) as Judge * '' The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1938) as Henderson * '' Sweethearts'' (1938) as Sheridan * ''

'' (1939) as Ellsworth Henry Gatewood * '' So This Is London'' (1939) as Hiram Draper * '' Daughters Courageous'' (1939) as Judge Henry Hornsby * '' Should Husbands Work?'' (1939) as Barnes * '' The Angels Wash Their Faces'' (1939) as Mayor Dooley * '' Hero for a Day'' (1939) as E. A. Dow * '' On Your Toes'' (1939) as Donald Henderson * '' Brother Rat and a Baby'' (1940) as Mr. Norman * '' 20 Mule Team'' (1940) as 'Jackass' Brown * '' Saturday's Children'' (1940) as Mr. Norman * '' Turnabout'' (1940) as Julian Marlowe * '' The Way of All Flesh'' (1940) as Reginald L. Morten * '' Cross-Country Romance'' (1940) as Col. Conway * '' Public Deb No. 1'' (1940) as Magistrate * '' I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now'' (1940) as Senator Henry Lowell (final film role)

References

External links