About Me
This deceptively meek, balding, short-framed character actor defined his on-screen comedy persona beautifully with his obtuse title role in the delightful comedy of manners Topper (1937) and as the irrepressible, fanny-pinching Uncle Willy in the chic, screwball classic The Philadelphia Story (1940). Born on November 11, 1887 in London, England, Roland Young was the son of an architect. Educated at Sherborne College and London University, he received his acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Taking his professional stage bow in London in 1908, he moved to the United States a few years later and became a perennial, well-loved Broadway player. Making his New York debut in "Hindle Wakes" in 1912, he went on to embrace the stage and perform equally well in both droll farces and classic dramas. Standout credits included "John Gabriel Borkman" (1915), Chekhov's "The Seagull" (1916), Ibsen's "A Doll's House" (1918), "Rollo's Wild Oat", Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" (1923) and "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" (1927). He also joined the membership of the Washington Square Players. Becoming a U.S. citizen in 1918, he subsequently served in the Army during WWI and appeared in a few silent films following his discharge, including the famed silent version of Sherlock Holmes (1922) in which he played the amusingly hesitant Dr. Watson to John Barrymore's title sleuth. He did not truly come into his own in Hollywood, however, until the 1930s and 1940s and the rise in popularity of screwball comedies. His first talking film was in The Unholy Night (1929) directed by Lionel Barrymore.
Bearing a relaxed, patrician air with his ever-present trimmed mustache and stylish, well-tailored outfits, his forte was restrained humor--whether it be a covered laugh or sly, knowing wink. He went on to contribute his fair share of scene-stealing in such films as New Moon (1930) as Count Strogoff; The Squaw Man (1931) as Sir John Applegate; The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935) in a rare villainous role as Uriah Heap; The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936), as the timorous clerk with God-like powers; and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), as the inebriated Earl of Burnstead who loses his valet (Charles Laughton) in a poker game. A well-oiled radio performer as well, Roland starred in a mid-40s audio version of "Topper" and appeared with Cornelia Otis Skinner in the 1945 serial "William and Mary". Receiving his only Oscar nomination by exercising his delightful gift of comic befuddlement and perplexity as the apparition-taunted Cosmo Topper character, Roland fit in anywhere, seemingly right at home whether donning a tuxedo (his preference) or rambling around in everyday work clothes. One of his last roles was as a villain in Bob Hope's comedy The Great Lover (1949). Married twice, he left us at age 65 in New York City on June 5, 1953, due to natural causes.
