- Born
- Died
- Place
Dell Henderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Delbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film.
Born in the Southwestern Ontario city of St. Thomas, Dell Henderson started his acting career on the stage, but appeared in his first movie Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court already in 1908. Henderson was a frequent associate of film pioneer D.W. Griffith since 1909 and appeared in numerous of his early shorts in Hollywood. He also acted on a less prolific basis in the movies of producer Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studios. In addition to acting, Henderson also directed nearly 200 silent films between 1911 and 1928. Most of those films are forgotten or lost, but he also directed movies with silent stars like Harry Carey and Roscoe Arbuckle. Henderson also worked as a writer on numerous screenplays.
After retiring from directing in 1927, Henderson turned to acting full-time and played important supporting roles in King Vidor's The Crowd (1928) and as General Marmaduke Pepper in Show People (1928). The advent of sound film damaged his acting career, and he often had to play smaller roles. In the 1930s, the comedic character actor appeared on several occasions as a comic foil for such comedians as The Three Stooges, W. C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy. He often played somewhat pompous figures like judges, businessmen, detectives or mayors. Modern audiences will remember Henderson as annoyed hospital president Dr. Graves in The Three Stooges film Men in Black and the put-upon chaperone in the Little Rascals film Choo-Choo!. He also appeared as a Night Court Judge in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations (1936) and as a friendly Car salesman in Leo McCarey's drama Make Way for Tomorrow (1937). Henderson ended his film career after numerous small roles in 1950.
Henderson died of a heart attack in Hollywood at the age of 79. He was married with actress Florence Lee until his death, they made several silent films together.
As director
The Rambling Ranger
The Bad Lands
Accused
Pursued
Battling Brewster
One Law for the Woman
Gambling Wives
Jacqueline, or Blazing Barriers
Sure-Fire Flint
The Broken Silence
Dynamite Allen
Dead or Alive
The Girl from Porcupine
The Dead Line
The Shark
Love in a Hurry
Three Green Eyes
Hit or Miss
Courage for Two
The Road to France
The Beloved Blackmailer
Who Loved Him Best?
The Impostor
My Wife
Hitting the Trail
By Hook or Crook
The Golden Wall
A Girl Like That
Please Help Emily
The Beautiful Adventure
As actor
Annie Get Your Gun
Once More, My Darling
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Undercurrent
Main Street After Dark
The Great Morgan
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
The Missing Juror
Mr. Winkle Goes to War
Slightly Dangerous
Du Barry Was a Lady
Arizona Terrors
Once Upon a Honeymoon
The Major and the Minor
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Stranger on the Third Floor
Millionaires in Prison
Young People
Little Orvie
You Can't Fool Your Wife
The Chump Takes a Bump
Love Affair
Fifth Avenue Girl
Frontier Marshal
The Girl of the Golden West
Rebellious Daughters
Men with Wings
Arsène Lupin Returns
Artists & Models
The Grand Bounce