Dennis Hoey

Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best remembered for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.

Early life Hoey was born Samuel David Hyams in London to Ellis and Leah (Green) Hyams, both of Russian Jewish descent, who ran a bed and breakfast in Brighton, East Sussex.

Hoey received his formal education at Brighton College, and originally planned to be a teacher. He served in the British Army during World War I. After a career as a singer, which included entertaining British troops during his war service, he moved into theatre-acting in 1918, and later into cinema films. In 1931, Hoey moved to the United States and commenced a career in Hollywood.

Film Hoey's first film was Tell England. Stage Hoey "appeared frequently in London" stage productions, including those of Sydney Carroll's Shakespearean repertory company. He played Mr. Rochester opposite Katharine Hepburn in the American production of Helen Jerome's stage adaptation of Jane Eyre. He also wrote a play called The Haven and toured in it in 1946 with Melville Cooper, Valerie Cossart and Viola Roache.

Hoey's Broadway credits include Hassan (1924), Katja (1926–1927), Green Waters (1936), Virginia (1937), Empress of Destiny (1938), The Circle (1938), Lorelei (1938), The Burning Deck (1940), Heart of a City (1942), The Haven (1946), and Getting Married (1951).

Radio On radio, Hoey played Mr. Welby in Pretty Kitty Kelly on CBS.

Personal life Issue No. 45 of Films of the Golden Age (magazine) features an interview with Hoey's son, Michael (1934–2014), who extensively discusses his father's life and career. In Michael's book, Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood (Bear Manor Media-2007), he discusses his father's career and their sometimes turbulent relationship.

Death Hoey died at the age of 67 in Palm Beach, Florida, of kidney disease on 25 July 1960. His body was buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park cemetery, in Tampa, Florida.

Filmography

Tip Toes (1927) as Hotelier (film debut) The Man from Chicago (1930) as Jimmy Donovan Tell England (1931) as The Padre Never Trouble Trouble (1931) as Stranger Love Lies (1932) as Cyrus Watt Life Goes On (1932) as Anthony Carlisle The Maid of the Mountains (1932) as Orsino Baroud (1933) as Captain Sabry The Good Companions (1933) as Joe Brundit The Wandering Jew (1933) as Lord de Beaudricourt Maid Happy (1933) as Sir Rudolph Bartlett Facing the Music (1933) as Capradossi My Old Duchess (1934) as Montagu Neilson Lily of Killarney (1934) as Miles-Na-Copaleen Chu Chin Chow (1934) as Rakham, chief henchman I Spy (1934) as MNT Jew Süss (1934) as Dieterle Brewster's Millions (1935) as Mario Immortal Gentleman (1935) as Soldier/Toby Belch Honeymoon for Three (1935) as Mons Daumery The Tunnel (1935) as Worker (uncredited) The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) as Tom Goodschard Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935) as Gambling Winner Black Roses (1935) as Nikander Uncivilised (1937) as Mara the White Chief A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) as Intelligence Officer Confirm or Deny (1941) as Duffield, Ministry of Information Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) as Lord Tarrant This Above All (1942) as Parsons Cairo (1942) as Colonel Woodhue Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) as Inspector Lestrade Forever and a Day (1943) as Mover Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) as Inspector Owen They Came to Blow Up America (1943) as Col. Taeger Bomber's Moon (1943) as Colonel von Grunow Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) as Inspector Lestrade The Spider Woman (1944) as Inspector Lestrade Uncertain Glory (1944) as Father Le Clerc The Pearl of Death (1944) as Inspector Lestrade National Velvet (1944) as Mr. Greenford The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) as Alec Chisholm (uncredited) Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945) as Inspector Lestrade A Thousand and One Nights (1945) as Sultan Kamar Al-Kir/Prince Hadji Kitty (1945) as Mr. Jonathan Selby Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) as Commissioner Terror by Night (1946) as Inspector Lestrade She-Wolf of London (1946) as Inspector Pierce Anna and the King of Siam (1946) as Sir Edward Roll on Texas Moon (1946) as Cole Gregory The Strange Woman (1946) as Tim Hager The Crimson Key (1947) as Steven Loring Second Chance (1947) as Roger Elwood Golden Earrings (1947) as Hoff The Foxes of Harrow (1947) as Master of Harrow Christmas Eve (1947) as Williams-Butler Where There's Life (1947) as Minister of War Grubitch If Winter Comes (1947) as Tiny Wilson Ruthless (1948) as Mr. Burnside Joan of Arc (1948) as Sir William Glasdale Wake of the Red Witch (1948) as Captain Munsey Bad Men of Tombstone (1949) as Mr. Smith The Secret Garden (1949) as Mr. Pitcher The Kid from Texas (1950) as Major Harper The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950, TV) as Ronny Sinclair David and Bathsheba (1951) as Joab Caribbean Gold (1952) as Burford Plymouth Adventure (1952) as Head Constable (final film, uncredited) Omnibus (1956, TV) as Arthur Conan Doyle

Stage Hassan (1924), Masrur Katja (1926), Ivo Green Waters (1936), Ian McRuvie Jane Eyre (1936), Mr. Rochester Virginia (1937), Sir Guy Carleton Empress of Destiny (1938), Potemkin The Circle (1938), Lord Porteous Lorelei (1938), Reprecht Eisenkranz The Burning Deck (1940), Captain Applegate Heart of a City (1942), Leo Saddle The Haven (1946), Edmund Durward Getting Married (1951), The General