Holmes Herbert

Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman.

Early life Hebert was born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sources give Edward Sanger ) the first son of Edward Henry Jenner (stage name Ned Herbert), who worked as an actor and comedian in the British theatre. He emigrated to the United States in 1912.

Career Holmes Herbert never made a film in his native country but managed to appear in 228 films during his career in the U.S., beginning with stalwart leading roles during the silent era. Without audible dialogue, Herbert could play different nationalities, as did his contemporaries like Wyndham Standing, but when sound films came in, their pronounced British accents were revealed.

Herbert is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Jekyll's friend Dr. Lanyon in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), and made something of a career in horror films of the period, appearing in The Terror (1928), The Thirteenth Chair (1929 and 1937), Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), The Invisible Man (1933), Mark of the Vampire (1935), Tower of London (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), The Undying Monster (1942), The Mummy's Curse and The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1952). He also played in several of Universal's cycle of Sherlock Holmes films during the 1940s.

Hebert had supporting roles in many classic Hollywood films of the sound era, including Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and Foreign Correspondent (1940).

He retired from acting in 1952.

Personal life and death Herbert was married three times. His first wife was actress Beryl Mercer, and his second was Elinor Kershaw Ince, widow of film mogul Thomas H. Ince. Both marriages ended in divorce. His third wife, Agnes Bartholomew, died in 1955, leaving Herbert a widower. He died in 1956 at age 74. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.

Filmography

His Wife (1915) - John Dennys Her Life and His (1917) - Ralph Howard The Man Without a Country (1917) - Lt. Philip Nolan A Doll's House (1918) - Thorvald Helmar The Whirlpool (1918) - Judge Reverton The Death Dance (1918) - Arnold Maitland The Divorcee (1919) - Sir Paradine Fuldes The Rough Neck (1919) - A Half-Breed Indian The White Heather (1919) - Lord Angus Cameron Other Men's Wives (1919) - Fenwick Flint The Market of Souls (1919) - Temple Bane The A.B.C. of Love (1919) - Harry Bryant On with the Dance (1920) - Minor Role His House in Order (1920) - Filmer Jesson Black Is White (1920) - Jim Brood My Lady's Garter (1920) - Henry Van Derp, aka The Hawk The Right to Love (1920) - Lord Falkland Lady Rose's Daughter (1920) - Jacob Delafield Dead Men Tell No Tales (1920) - Squire John Rattray The Truth About Husbands (1920) - Dustan Renshaw Her Lord and Master (1921) - R. Honorable Thurston Ralph, Viscount Canning Heedless Moths (1921) - The Sculptor The Wild Goose (1921) - Frank Manners The Inner Chamber (1921) - Edward J. Wellman The Family Closet (1921) - Alfred Dinsmore Any Wife (1922) - Philip Gray A Stage Romance (1922) - Prince of Wales Evidence (1922) - Judge Rowland Divorce Coupons (1922) - Roland Bland Moonshine Valley (1922) - Dr. Martin A Woman's Woman (1922) - John Plummer Toilers of the Sea (1923) - Sandro I Will Repay (1923) - Sir Percy Blakeney Week End Husbands (1924) - William Randall The Enchanted Cottage (1924) - Maj. Hillgrove Another Scandal (1924) - Pelham Franklin Her Own Free Will (1924) - Peter Craddock Sinners in Heaven (1924) - Hugh Rochedale Love's Wilderness (1924) - David Tennant The Lost World (1925) - Angry Man at Meeting Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1925) - Greenough Up the Ladder (1925) - Robert Newhall Wildfire (1925) - Garrison The Wanderer (1925) - Prophet Wreckage (1925) - Stuart Ames A Woman of the World (1925) - Richard Granger The Passionate Quest (1926) - Erwen The Honeymoon Express (1926) - Jim Donaldson Josselyn's Wife (1926) - Thomas Josselyn The Fire Brigade (1926) - James Corwin One Increasing Purpose (1927) - Charles Paris The Nest (1927) - Richard Elliot When a Man Loves (1927) - Jean Tiberge Mr. Wu (1927) - Mr. Gregory Lovers (1927) - Milton The Heart of Salome (1927) - Sir Humphrey Slaves of Beauty (1927) - Leonard Jones The Gay Retreat (1927) - Charles Wright East Side, West Side (1927) - Gilbert Van Horn The Silver Slave (1927) - Tom Richards Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928) - Henry Spoffard Their Hour (1928) - Cora's Father The Sporting Age (1928) - James Driscoll The Terror (1928) - Goodman Through the Breakers (1928) - Eustis Hobbs On Trial (1928) - Gerald Trask The Charlatan (1929) - Count Merlin - aka Peter Dwight Careers (1929) - Carouge Say It with Songs (1929) - Dr. Robert Merrill Madame X (1929) - Noel Her Private Life (1929) - Rudolph Solomon The Careless Age (1929) - Sir John The Thirteenth Chair (1929) - Sir Roscoe Crosby The Kiss (1929) - M. Lassalle Untamed (1929) - Howard Presley The Ship from Shanghai (1930) - Paul Thorpe The Single Sin (1931) - Roger Van Dorn The Hot Heiress (1931) - Mr. Hunter Chances (1931) - Maj. Bradford Broadminded (1931) - John J. Hackett Sr. Daughter of the Dragon (1931) - Sir John Petrie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) - Dr. John Lanyon Shop Angel (1932) - James Walton Kennedy Miss Pinkerton (1932) - Arthur Glenn Central Park (1932) - Benefit Emcee Sister to Judas (1932) - Bruce Rogers Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) - Dr. Rasmussen The Invisible Man (1933) - Chief of Police Beloved (1934) - Lord Landslake The House of Rothschild (1934) - Rowerth The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) - Judge The Pursuit of Happiness (1934) - Gen. Sir Henry Clinton The Curtain Falls (1934) - John Scorsby Sons of Steel (1934) - Curtis Chadburne One in a Million (1935) - Donald Cabot, Sr. Cardinal Richelieu (1935) - Noble Mark of the Vampire (1935) - Sir Karell Borotyn Accent on Youth (1935) - Frank Galloway The Dark Angel (1935) - Major in Dugout Captain Blood (1935) - Capt. Gardner Wife vs. Secretary (1936) - Frawley Brilliant Marriage (1936) - Mr. Rodney Allison The Country Beyond (1936) - Insp. Reed Champagne Charlie (1936) - Capt. Dell The White Angel (1936) - War Minister Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) - Chief Steward, Melbourne Cup The Gentleman from Louisiana (1936) - Chief Steward 15 Maiden Lane (1936) - Harold Anderson The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) - Gen. O'Neill House of Secrets (1936) - Sir Bertram Evans - Home Secretary Lloyd's of London (1936) - Spokesman Stolen Holiday (1937) - Nicole's Dance Partner at Party The Prince and the Pauper (1937) - First Doctor The Thirteenth Chair (1937) - Sir Roscoe Crosby Slave Ship (1937) - Commander The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - Commander of Paris Love Under Fire (1937) - Darnley The Girl Said No (1937) - Charles Dillon (scenes deleted) Lancer Spy (1937) - Dr. Aldrich The Buccaneer (1938) - Captain McWilliams Here's Flash Casey (1938) - Major Addison The Black Doll (1938) - Dr. Giddings The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Archery Referee Kidnapped (1938) - Judge Marie Antoinette (1938) - Herald Say It in French (1938) - Richard Carrington Sr. Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) - Bentham The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) - Prof. Ed Janney The Little Princess (1939) - Doctor Mystery of the White Room (1939) - Hospital Administrator Juarez (1939) - Marshal Randon Wolf Call (1939) - J.L. Winton The Sun Never Sets (1939) - Colonial Official Trapped in the Sky (1939) - Fielding The House of Fear (1939) - Minor Role Stanley and Livingstone (1939) - Frederick Holcomb The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) - Justice Hidden Power (1939) - Dr. Morley The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) - Majordomo Intermezzo (1939) - The Doctor 20,000 Men a Year (1939) - Dean Norris Rulers of the Sea (1939) - Member of Naval Company Tower of London (1939) - Councilman We Are Not Alone (1939) - Police Inspector Everything Happens at Night (1939) - Featherstone The Earl of Chicago (1940) - Sergeant-at-Arms British Intelligence (1940) - Arthur Bennett An Angel from Texas (1940) - Second Banker Women in War (1940) - Chief Justice Phantom Raiders (1940) - Sir Edward Foreign Correspondent (1940) - Asst. Commissioner Boom Town (1940) - Doctor A Dispatch from Reuters (1940) - Member of Parliament The Letter (1940) - Robert's Friend at Bar at Party South of Suez (1940) - Simpson Rage in Heaven (1941) - The Judge Scotland Yard (1941) - Dr. Woodward Man Hunt (1941) - Saul Farnsworthy International Squadron (1941) - Sir Basil Wryxton The Men in Her Life (1941) - Second Doctor The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) - Magistrate Danger in the Pacific (1942) - Commissioner Lady in a Jam (1942) - Man Invisible Agent (1942) - Sir Alfred Spencer Strictly in the Groove (1942) - Commissioner The Undying Monster (1942) - Chief Constable Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) - Sir. Reginald Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) - Mr. Ahrens A Stranger in Town (1943) - Supreme Court Justice Two Tickets to London (1943) - Kilgallen The Man from Down Under (1943) - Government Official at Train Station Corvette K-225 (1943) - Commodore Ramsay Calling Dr. Death (1943) - Bryant - the Butler The Uninvited (1944) - Charlie Jessup Bermuda Mystery (1944) - Judge The Pearl of Death (1944) - James Goodram Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) - Captain The Unwritten Code (1944) - McDowell Enter Arsène Lupin (1944) - Jobson The Mummy's Curse (1944) - Dr. Cooper Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945) - Alan Cosgrave Jealousy (1945) - Melvyn Russell The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) - Warden Swingin' on a Rainbow (1945) - Butler George White's Scandals (1945) - Lord Michael Asbury Confidential Agent (1945) - Lord Benditch Three Strangers (1946) - Sir Robert The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946) - Baron Dressed to Kill (1946) - Ebenezer Crabtree Cloak and Dagger (1946) - British Officer The Verdict (1946) - Sir William Dawson Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946) - Dr. White, Minister Over the Santa Fe Trail (1947) - Doc Henderson Mr. District Attorney (1947) - Gallentyne The Ghost Goes Wild (1947) - Judge Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947) - Scotland Yard Inspector McIvar Ivy (1947) - Mulloy Singapore (1947) - Rev. Thomas Barnes Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947) - Scotland Yard Inspector McIvar This Time for Keeps (1947) - Norman Randall If Winter Comes (1947) - Mr. Broadhurst, the Chemist The Swordsman (1948) - Lord Glowan A Woman's Vengeance (1948) - Warder The Wreck of the Hesperus (1948) - Pastor West Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) - Wilkins Johnny Belinda (1948) - Judge Hills of Home (1948) - Hillocks Family Honeymoon (1948) - Rev. Miller Jungle Jim (1948) - Commissioner Geoffrey Marsden Command Decision (1948) - Chairman South of St. Louis (1949) - Sir Cecil The Lost Tribe (1949) - Narrator The Stratton Story (1949) - Doctor Canadian Pacific (1949) - Head of Canadian Parliament Barbary Pirate (1949) - Thomas Jefferson Post Office Investigator (1949) - James Seeley Mark of the Gorilla (1950) - Narrator The Iroquois Trail (1950) - Gen. Johnson To Please a Lady (1950) - Benson - Regina's Butler The Magnificent Yankee (1950) - Justice McKenna The Law and the Lady (1951) - English Colonel David and Bathsheba (1951) - Jesse Anne of the Indies (1951) - English Sea Captain The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951) - Constable The Unknown Man (1951) - Reverend Michael The Wild North (1952) - Magistrate At Sword's Point (1952) - Mallard The Brigand (1952) - Archbishop