Clive Brook

Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English stage and film actor.

After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States in 1924, Brook became one of the major stars for Paramount Pictures in the late silent era. During 1928–29 he successfully made the transition to sound and continued to be featured in many of Hollywood's most prestigious films. Career highlights include Josef Von Sternberg's Underworld (1927) and Shanghai Express (1932); as well as being the first actor to portray Sherlock Holmes in a 'talkie'. In the mid-1930s he returned to Britain where he appeared regularly in leading film roles until his retirement from movies in 1944.

Early life Brook was born in Islington, London, the son of George Alfred Brook and Charlotte Mary Brook. He attended Dulwich College because of his father's desire for him to be a lawyer, but family financial problems caused him to leave at age 15. He then studied elocution at a polytechnic.

He served in the British Army during the First World War, rising to the rank of major. Brook was tall and had brown hair with grey eyes.

Before Brook went into acting, he worked as a journalist and an insurance clerk.

At the end of his career, Brook appeared in a number of British television dramas, notably in the "ITV Play of the Week" strand on the fledgling Independent Television commercial channel. He returned to film one last time in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963).

Return to England Brook returned to England in 1935 because of kidnapping threats toward his children. In 1956 he appeared on stage in One Bright Day at the Apollo Theatre in London.

Broadway Brook starred as Josiah Bolton in the comedy Second Threshold from 2 January 1951 until 21 April 1951.

Death Brook died 17 November 1974 in Ealing, London.

Family In 1920, Brook married Charlotte Elisabeth Mildred Evelyn. Their children, Faith and Lyndon, were also actors. - Robin Field The Wine of Life (1924) - Michael Strong The Passionate Adventure (1924) - Adrien St. Clair Christine of the Hungry Heart (1924) - Dr. Alan Monteagle Human Desires (1924) - Georges Gautier The Mirage (1924) - Henry Galt Declassée (1925) - Rudolph Solomon Enticement (1925) - Henry Wallis Playing with Souls (1925) - Matthew Dale Sr. If Marriage Fails (1925) - Joe Woodbury The Woman Hater (1925) - Miles - the Woman-hater The Home Maker (1925) - Lester Knapp Compromise (1925) - Alan Tahyer Seven Sinners (1925) - Jerry Winters The Pleasure Buyers (1925) - Tad Workman When Love Grows Cold (1926) - Jerry Benson Three Faces East (1926) - Valdar Why Girls Go Back Home (1926) - Clifford Dudley You Never Know Women (1926) - Norodin For Alimony Only (1926) - Peter Williams The Popular Sin (1926) - Jean Corot Afraid to Love (1927) - Sir Reginald Belsize Barbed Wire (1927) - Oskar Muller Underworld (1927) - Rolls-Royce Wensel Hula (1927) - Anthony Haldane The Devil Dancer (1927) - Stephen Athelstan French Dressing, aka Lessons for Wives (1927) - Henri de Briac Midnight Madness (1928) - Michael Bream Yellow Lily (1928) - Archduke Alexander The Perfect Crime (1928) - Benson Forgotten Faces (1928) - Heliotrope Harry Harlow Interference (1928) - Sir John Marlay A Dangerous Woman (1929) - Frank Gregory The Four Feathers (1929) - Lt. Jack Durrance Charming Sinners (1929) - Robert Miles The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929) - Sherlock Holmes The Marriage Playground (1929) - On-Screen Trailer Host and Narrator (uncredited) The Laughing Lady (1929) - Daniel Farr Slightly Scarlet (1930) - Hon. Courtenay Parkes Paramount on Parade (1930) - Sherlock Holmes (Murder Will Out) Sweethearts and Wives (1930) - Reginald De Brett Anybody's Woman (1930) - Neil Dunlap Scandal Sheet (1931) - Noel Adams East Lynne (1931) - Capt. William Levison Tarnished Lady (1931) - Norman Cravath The Lawyer's Secret (1931) - Drake Norris Silence (1931) - Jim Warren 24 Hours (1931) - Jim Towner Husband's Holiday (1931) - George Boyd Shanghai Express (1932) - Captain Donald Harvey The Man from Yesterday (1932) - Captain Tony Clyde Make Me a Star (1932) - Himself (uncredited) The Night of June 13 (1932) - John Curry Sherlock Holmes (1932) - Sherlock Holmes Cavalcade (1933) - Robert Marryot Midnight Club (1933) - Colin Grant If I Were Free (1933) - Gordon Evers Gallant Lady (1934) - Dan Pritchard Where Sinners Meet (1934) - Mr. Latimer Let's Try Again (1934) - Dr. Jack Overton The Dictator (1935) - Dr. Friedrich Struensee Dressed to Thrill (1935) - Bill Trent Love in Exile (1936) - King Regis VI Lonely Road (1936) - Malcolm Stevenson Action for Slander (1937) - Maj. George Daviot The Ware Case (1938) - Sir Hubert Ware Return to Yesterday (1940) - Robert Maine Convoy (1940) - Captain Armitage Freedom Radio (1941) - Karl Breach of Promise (1942) - Peter Conroy The Flemish Farm (1943) - Maj. Lessart The Shipbuilders (1943) - Leslie Pagan On Approval (1944, also director, producer and screenwriter) - George, 10th Duke of Bristol The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) - Marquis of Gleneyre