Donald MacBride

Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was a prominent American character actor on stage, films, and television. Starting in vaudeville, he went on to appear in nearly 140 films between 1914 and 1955. His credits include Northwest Passage, My Favorite Wife (1940), High Sierra (1941), The Glass Key (1942), and The Killers (1946), and the final film was The Seven Year Itch (1955).

Early life

MacBride was born 1893 in Brooklyn, New York. His year of birth is given variously as 1889 or 1893 in the standard reference books.

Career Motion pictures Beginning in 1930, like many New York-based, stage-trained actors, he found work at the Paramount, Vitaphone, and Educational studios, all of which had East Coast branches. He is clearly visible as a crowd extra welcoming Groucho Marx in the Paramount feature Animal Crackers. Speaking roles in short subjects followed which established MacBride as a comic tough guy or villain opposite Tom Howard, Shemp Howard, Buster Keaton, and other comedy stars.

MacBride's fortunes improved when he was featured in the hit play, Room Service. In this farce comedy about a shoestring producer and his desperate associates trying to avoid eviction from a hotel, MacBride played the no-nonsense hotel manager, who frequently met bad news with an explosive "Oh, God damn!"

RKO Radio Pictures bought the film rights to Room Service as a vehicle for The Marx Brothers, and brought many of the Broadway cast members to Hollywood, including Donald MacBride where he reprised his role (with his catchphrase sanitized to "Jumping butterballs!").

Hollywood producers noticed MacBride's comic timing and he was established overnight as a skilled character actor. Like fellow character actor and comedian Edgar Kennedy, MacBride specialized in the comedy of frustration, and his portrayals showed the harried MacBride enduring various indignities patiently and yet progressively reaching his boiling point. He often played police inspectors, detectives, military officers, and other authority figures, all of whom were tormented by the leading players in the films.

MacBride signed a non-exclusive RKO contract, allowing him to freelance among the major studios for the next several years. In 1947, with the larger studios cutting down on the number of films in production, MacBride accepted featured roles at smaller studios: Monogram, Republic, and Lippert. He continued to work at the larger studios, but often in smaller or uncredited roles.

MacBride was an early arrival in the new field of television, having appeared in the pioneering series Public Prosecutor in 1947. He continued to work in television until shortly before his death.

Personal life

Death MacBride died on June 21, 1957 in Los Angeles, California, of a heart ailment. Survivors included his wife and a stepson, Jack Craddock.

Selected filmography

The Daring of Diana (1916) - Jimmy Towne Hesper of the Mountains (1916) - Baker The Fettered Woman (1917) - Jack Wolver The Shell Game (1918) - Vocal Teacher The Capitol (1919) - Jimmy Vincent Animal Crackers (1930) - House Party Guest (uncredited) His Woman (1931) - Crewman (uncredited) Wayward (1932) - Taxicab Driver (uncredited) Misleading Lady (1932) - Bill - Asylum Guard Buzzin' Around (1933, Short) - Policeman (uncredited) Moonlight and Pretzels (1933) - Business Associate (uncredited) Get That Venus (1933) - (uncredited) The Chemist (1936, Short) - Gangster Room Service (1938) - Gregory Wagner Annabel Takes a Tour (1938) - Thompson, RR Conductor Blondie Takes a Vacation (1938) - Harvey Morton The Great Man Votes (1939) - Iron Hat McCarthy Twelve Crowded Hours (1939) - Detective Sergeant Joe Keller The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) - Hotel Manager The Flying Irishman (1939) - Mr. Roy Thompson The Girl from Mexico (1939) - L. B. Renner The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) - Dist. Atty. John Markham The Girl and the Gambler (1939) - Mike Bascom Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939) - Harvey Morton Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) - Chief J.J. Kilvaine The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939) - Police Lieutenant Bixler The Saint's Double Trouble (1940) - John Bohlen Northwest Passage (1940) - Sergeant McNott Curtain Call (1940) - Geoffrey 'Jeff' Crandall My Favorite Wife (1940) - Hotel Clerk Wyoming (1940) - Bart - Henchman (uncredited) Hit Parade of 1941 (1940) - Harrison Murder Over New York (1940) - Inspector Vance Michael Shayne: Private Detective (1940) - Chief Painter The Invisible Woman (1940) - Foghorn High Sierra (1941) - Big Mac Footlight Fever (1941) - Mr. Geoffrey 'Geoff' Crandall Topper Returns (1941) - Police Detective Roberts Love Crazy (1941) - 'Pinky' Grayson Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) - Inspector Williams You'll Never Get Rich (1941) - Top Sergeant Rise and Shine (1941) - Coach Graham Louisiana Purchase (1941) - Capt. Pierre Whitfield You're in the Army Now (1941) - Colonel Dobson Two Yanks in Trinidad (1942) - Sgt. Valentine Juke Girl (1942) - 'Muckeye' John Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942) - Percy Fitzbadden The Glass Key (1942) - Farr My Sister Eileen (1942) - Officer Lonigan A Night to Remember (1942) - Bolling Lady Bodyguard (1943) - R. L. Barclay They Got Me Covered (1943) - Mason A Stranger in Town (1943) - Vinnie Z. Blaxton Best Foot Forward (1943) - Capt. Bradd The Doughgirls (1944) - Judge Franklin The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) - Police Chief MacGregor Practically Yours (1944) - Sam (uncredited) She Gets Her Man (1945) - Henry Wright Out of This World (1945) - J.C. Crawford Penthouse Rhythm (1945) - Brewster Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945) - Dennis Kavanaugh Hold That Blonde (1945) - Mr. Kratz Doll Face (1945) - Lawyer Ferguson Girl on the Spot (1946) - Inspector Gleason Little Giant (1946) - The conductor Blonde Alibi (1946) - Police Inspector Carmichael The Dark Corner (1946) - Policeman in Galleries (uncredited) The Dark Horse (1946) - John Rooney The Time of Their Lives (1946) - Lt. Mason The Killers (1946) - R.S. Kenyon The Brute Man (1946) - Police Captain M. J. Donelly Beat the Band (1947) - P. Aloysius Duff The Egg and I (1947) - Mr. Henty Buck Privates Come Home (1947) - Police Captain The Fabulous Joe (1947) - Lawyer Gilbert Joe Palooka in the Knockout (1947) - Crockett Good News (1947) - Coach Johnson Smart Politics (1948) - Phineas Wharton, Sr. / Phineas Wharton, Jr. Campus Sleuth (1948) - Insp. Watson Jinx Money (1948) - Police Capt. James Q. Broaderik The Story of Seabiscuit (1949) - George Carson Challenge to Lassie (1949) Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey (1950) - Mayor Holiday Rhythm (1950) - Earl E. Byrd Bowery Battalion (1951) - Sgt. Herbert Frisbie Cuban Fireball (1951) - Captain Brown Rhubarb (1951) - Pheeny Texas Carnival (1951) - Concessionaire #2 The Stooge (1951) - Diner Proprietor (uncredited) Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) - Bus Terminal Guard Arresting Carter (uncredited) Sailor Beware (1952) - Chief Bos'n Mate (uncredited) Meet Danny Wilson (1952) - Police Desk Sergeant Gobs and Gals (1952) - Cmdr. J.E. Gerrens The Seven Year Itch (1955) - Mr. Brady (final film role)