414317797

One of the most familiar and jovial faces in early films. Always elderly in films but tall, slim, white-haired with twinkling eyes and a smiling face. He was usually cast as a grandfather, judge, doctor, or minister.

He was born on January 19, 1866 in New York City, New York of a theatrical family and grew up in Philadelphia. His father was famed thespian E.L. Davenport and on his mother's side he traced his lineage back to Jack Johnson, a famed Irish actor of the 18th century.

He made his stage debut at age 5 in the play "Damon and Pythias." Topping a successful stage career he made his film debut in 1914 in silents. A roster of his stage plays and films from 1871-1934 took up two full pages in the 1934 issue of Equity magazine.

In 1913, he co-founded, along with actor Eddie Foy, the Actors Equity Association, an American labor union for actors. The original organization, known as The White Rats, was spearheaded by Davenport. After a nine month stretch, the actors' group united in defiance of the appalling the treatment of actors by the likes of the theater owners such as the Shubert family and David Belasco, among others, by refusing to appear on stage by striking. The actions of the association caused the closure of all the theaters on Broadway, the only exception being theaters owned by George M. Cohan's company.

In answer to the actors strike, the Broadway producers were forced to give in to such demands as plumbing in the dressing rooms, a six-day work week, and other such necessities that were considered outrageous by the theatrical owners and producers. Were it not for the hard work of Harry Davenport and Eddie Foy Sr., the plight of American actors and the atrocious conditions in which they were forced to work might well have continued for decades. Harry Davenport and Eddie Foy Sr. were and remain the champions of the rights of actors, and other stage craft professionals.

He was married to Alice Davenport and they had one daughter, Dorothy. After divorcing Alice he later married actress Phyllis Rankin and they had two sons actor Arthur Rankin and Edward 'Ned' Davenport and two daughters actresses Fanny 'Ann' and Kate Davenport. He is the Grandfather of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and the Great great grandfather of Thomas Grant and Tyler Grant.

He was also a brother-in-law of Lionel Barrymore and Sidney Drew (his Uncle). Lional Barrymore was married at the time to Phyllis' sister Doris. Phyllis's father, McKee Rankin, had been the top actor at the Arch Street Theater, which was run by Lionel's grandmother and Sidney's mother, Louisa Lane Drew.

After Phyllis's death, Davenport moved to Los Angeles and lived with his now-grown children.

Seems he was quite a busy elderly gent in the 1940s. He also directed 10 films. He died of a heart attack on August 9, 1949 at the age of 83.

Complete Filmography: (Total 129)

11. Adventure of the Action Hunters (1982) as Men At Gas Pump, Party Member In Bar 12. Riding High (1950) as Johnson 13. Tell It to the Judge (1949) as Judge Meredith 14. That Forsyte Woman (1949) as Old Jolyon Forsyte 15. Little Women (1949) as Dr. Barnes 16. Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) as Benjamin Harris 17. The Decision of Christopher Blake (1948) as Courtroom Attendant 18. For the Love of Mary (1948) as Justice Peabody 19. That Lady in Ermine (1948) as Luigi 20. Man from Texas (1948) as Pop Hickey 21. Three Daring Daughters (1948) as Dr. Cannon 22. The Fabulous Texan (1947) as Rev. Barker 23. That Hagen Girl (1947) as Judge Merrivale 24. The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) as [Judge] Thaddeus [Turner] 25. Keeper of the Bees (1947) as Michael Worthington 26. Sport of Kings (1947) as Major Denning 27. Stallion Road (1947) as Dr. Stephen 28. The Farmer's Daughter (1947) as Dr. Matthew Sutven 29. Lady Luck (1946) as Judge Martin 30. Claudia and David (1946) as Dr. Harry 31. Faithful in My Fashion (1946) as Great Grandpa 32. G. I. War Brides (1946) as Grandpa Giles 33. Three Wise Fools (1946) as The Ancient 34. Courage of Lassie (1946) as Judge Payson 35. A Boy, a Girl and a Dog (1946) as Gramps 36. Adventure (1946) as Dr. Ashlon 37. Too Young to Know (1945) as Judge Benjamin Boller 38. Pardon My Past (1945) as Grandpa Pemberton 39. The Enchanted Forest (1945) as Old John 40. This Love of Ours (1945) as Dr. Jerry Wilkerson 41. She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945) as Albert 42. Music for Millions (1945) as Doctor 43. The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) as Dr. Bertram Charles 44. Kismet (1944) as Agha 45. The Impatient Years (1944) as Minister 46. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as Grandpa [Prophater] 47. Government Girl (1944) as Senator Macvickers 48. Jack London (1943) as Professor Hilliard 49. Princess O'Rourke (1943) as Supreme Court Judge 50. Headin' for God's Country (1943) as Clem Adams 51. We've Never Been Licked (1943) as "Pop" Lambert 52. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Arthur Davies 53. Shantytown (1943) as Doc Herndon 54. The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943) as Commodore [Thomas Spencer Holliday] 55. December 7th (1943) as Mister C 56. Gangway for Tomorrow (1943) as Fred Taylor 57. Tales of Manhattan (1942) as Professor Lyons 58. Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) as Bane 59. Larceny, Inc. (1942) as Homer Bigelow 60. Kings Row (1942) as Colonel Skeffington 61. Son of Fury (1942) as Amos Kidder 62. One Foot in Heaven (1941) as Elias Samson 63. Hurricane Smith (1941) as Robert Ingersoll Reed 64. I Wanted Wings (1941) as "Sandbags" Riley 65. The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) as Pop Tolliver 66. Meet John Doe (1941) as Former Owner Of The Bulletin 67. That Uncertain Feeling (1941) as Jones 68. I Want a Divorce (1940) as Grandpa Brokaw 69. Lucky Partners (1940) as Judge 70. Foreign Correspondent (1940) as Mr. Powers 71. Earl of Puddlestone (1940) as Grandpa [Ed Carson] 72. All This, and Heaven Too (1940) as Pierre 73. Grandpa Goes to Town (1940) as Grandpa 74. Too Many Husbands (1940) as George 75. Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) as Judge 76. Granny Get Your Gun (1940) as Nate [Paulson] 77. Money to Burn (1939) as Grandpa [Ed Carson] 78. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) as King Louis Xi 79. The Covered Trailer (1939) as Grandpa [Ed Carson] 80. Death of a Champion (1939) as Guy Lanyard 81. Should Husbands Work? (1939) as Grandpa [Ed Carson] 82. Juarez (1939) as Dr. Samuel Basch 83. Exile Express (1939) as Dr. Hite 84. The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) as Judge [Rider] 85. My Wife's Relatives (1939) as Grandpa [Ed Carson] 86. Made for Each Other (1939) as Dr. Healy 87. Tail Spin (1939) as T. P. Lester 88. The Long Shot (1939) as Henry Sharon 89. Gone With the Wind (1939) as Dr. Meade 90. Orphans of the Street (1938) as Doc Will Ramsey 91. The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) as Uncle Hannibal Smith 92. The Sisters (1938) as Doc Moore 93. You Can't Take It with You (1938) as Judge 94. The Higgins Family (1938) as Grandpa [William Jordan] 95. The Rage of Paris (1938) as Caretaker 96. Young Fugitives (1938) as Joel Bentham 97. Reckless Living (1938) as "General" Jeff 98. The First Hundred Years (1938) as Uncle Dawson 99. Gold Is Where You Find It (1938) as Dr. Parsons 100. Saleslady (1938) as Gramp Cannon 101. First Lady (1937) as Charles 102. Wells Fargo (1937) as Ingalls, Banker 103. The Great Garrick (1937) as Innkeeper of "Turk's Head" 104. Fit for a King (1937) as Archduke Julio 105. Mr. Dodd Takes the Air (1937) as Doc Quinn 106. Flyaway Baby (1937) as Colonel Higgam 107. White Bondage (1937) as "Pap" Craig 108. Armored Car (1937) as "Dad" Logan 109. As Good As Married (1937) as Jessup 110. Maytime (1937) as Committeeman 111. Paradise Express (1937) as Jed Carson 112. Her Husband's Secretary (1937) as Dan Kingdon 113. Four Days' Wonder (1937) as Ticket Agent 114. King of Hockey (1936) as Tom Mckenna 115. Three Men on a Horse (1936) as Williams 116. Legion of Terror (1936) as Senator Morton 117. The Case of the Black Cat (1936) as Peter Laxter 118. The Scoundrel (1935) as Slazack 119. Get That Venus (1933) as Mr. Rendleby 120. His Woman (1931) as Customs Inspector 121. My Sin (1931) as Roger Metcalf 122. Her Unborn Child (1930) as Dr. Remington 123. Dawn (1919) as Daniel Burton 124. A Girl at Bay (1919) as Frank Galt 125. The Unknown Quantity (1919) as Septimus Kinsolving 126. The Planter (1917) as Short 127. Sowers and Reapers (1917) as Henry Ainsworth 128. The Wheel of the Law (1916) as John Daniels 129. C.O.D. (1915) as C. O. Darlington