
Harlan Briggs
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1879-08-16
Day of Death
1952-01-26 (72 years old)
Place of Birth
Blissfield, Michigan, USA
Harlan Briggs
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well as appearing on television once towards the end of his career.
Briggs was born in Blissfield, Michigan. Although he was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he chose to go into acting rather than pursue a career in law.
His acting career began in vaudeville at around the beginning of the 20th century. He would make his Broadway debut in 1926, in the drama Up the Line. He worked steadily on Broadway through 1935. On August 6, 1929 he began a successful run in the featured role of G. A. Appleby in It's a Wise Child at the Belasco Theatre. In 1934 he had another featured role in the successful play Dodsworth, as Tubby Pearson. The show opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 24, 1934 and ran for 147 performances, starring Walter Huston as Samuel Dodsworth. After a six-week hiatus, the show reopened at the Shubert on August 20 and ran for an additional 168 performances. When Samuel Goldwyn bought the rights to the play, Briggs was one of two of the original Broadway cast to reprise their roles in the film, the other being Huston in the title role.
Briggs would focus on his film career for the remainder of the 1930s, before returning to Broadway in the 1940s, combining both stage and screen performances during that decade. The most successful of his Broadway appearances in the 1940s was as Constable Small in Ramshackle Inn, which featured ZaSu Pitts in her Broadway debut. The Story of Mary Surratt, in which Briggs appeared in 1947, was Briggs' 400th play.
Beginning with Dodsworth, Briggs worked consistently in films over the next 16 years, until his death in 1952, appearing in over 100 films. His most famous role was as Dr. Stall in the 1940 comedy classic The Bank Dick, starring W.C. Fields. Other notable films in which he appeared include After the Thin Man (1936), Stella Dallas (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), My Little Chickadee (1940), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), State Fair (1945), Night and Day (1946), Little Women (1949), Goodbye, My Fancy (1951), and Carrie (1952). The last film on which Briggs worked was The Sea Hornet, which was in production in April and May 1951, and released later that year.
On January 26, 1952, Briggs died in Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital from complications resulting from a heart attack. His death occurred almost half a year prior to the release of Carrie.
Briggs married actress Viola Scott on July 3, 1914. They had four sons.
Acting
(1952)
Carrie
as Joe Brant
(1951)
The Sea Hornet
as Watchman
(1947)
Humoresque
as Toy Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
(1947)
Danger Street
as Darnstein
(1947)
Cynthia
as J.M. Dingle, Napoleon Hardware
(1947)
A Double Life
as Oscar Bernard
(1947)
Spoilers of the North
as Salty
(1946)
Magnificent Doll
as Quinn
(1946)
Canyon Passage
as Dr. Balance (uncredited)
(1946)
My Pal Trigger
as Dr. Bentley
(1946)
Mysterious Intruder
as Mr. Brown
(1946)
Personality Kid
as Mr. Howard
(1945)
Conflict
as Pawnbroker #2 (uncredited)
(1942)
The Remarkable Andrew
as Sheriff Clem Watkins
(1942)
There's One Born Every Minute
as Luke Simpson
(1942)
The Vanishing Virginian
as Mr. Rogard
(1941)
Among the Living
as Judge
(1941)
One Foot in Heaven
as Mac MacFarland (uncredited)
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Thomas A. Bailey - Acme Paving (uncredited)
(1940)
The Bank Dick
as Doctor Stall
(1940)
I Love You Again
as Mayor Carver (uncredited)
(1940)
Lucky Partners
as Mayor (uncredited)
(1940)
Edison, the Man
as Bisbee
(1940)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
as Denton Offut
(1940)
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
as Foreman in Jury
(1940)
My Little Chickadee
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
(1940)
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
as San Francisco Coroner
(1940)
Young as You Feel
as Dr. Kinsley
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Mr. Edwards (uncredited)
(1939)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
as Mr. Rucker (uncredited)
(1939)
Frontier Marshal
as Editor
(1939)
Made for Each Other
as Judge (uncredited)
(1939)
Maisie
as Deputy Sheriff Cal Hoskins
(1939)
Tell No Tales
as Davie Bryant
(1939)
Cafe Society
as Justice of the Peace
(1939)
The Man They Could Not Hang
as Defense Attorney Parker (uncredited)
(1939)
Fifth Avenue Girl
as Stanton (uncredited)
(1939)
Boy Trouble
as Mr. Pike
(1939)
The Mysterious Miss X
as Charlie Graham
(1939)
Calling Dr. Kildare
as James Galt
(1939)
Blondie Takes a Vacation
as Mr. Holden
(1939)
Bad Little Angel
as Lem Dodd, Man in Jim's Office (uncredited)
(1939)
Flight at Midnight
as 'Pop' Hussey
(1938)
You and Me
as Thomas McTavish (uncredited)
(1938)
Having Wonderful Time
as Mr. Shaw
(1938)
The Missing Guest
as Frank Kendall - Editor
(1938)
Meet the Girls
as Ship's Captain
(1938)
A Man to Remember
as Homer Ramsey
(1938)
A Yank at Oxford
as Printer (uncredited)
(1938)
Reckless Living
as 'Colonel' Harris
(1938)
One Wild Night
as Mayor
(1938)
Opening Day
as Mr. Garnish
(1938)
Sing, You Sinners
as Customer at Gas Station (uncredited)
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Sad Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
(1937)
Stella Dallas
as Mr. Beamer (uncredited)
(1937)
Easy Living
as Magazine Office Manager
(1937)
Exclusive
as Springer
(1937)
Quick Money
as Thorndyke Barnsdale
(1937)
Riding on Air
as Mr. Harrison
(1937)
Live, Love and Learn
as Justice of The Peace
(1937)
Behind the Mike
as Sheriff
(1937)
A Family Affair
as Oscar Stubbins
(1937)
Beg, Borrow or Steal
as Mr. Virgil Miller
(1937)
Trouble at Midnight
as Sheriff
(1936)
Dodsworth
as Tubby Pearson
(1936)
Mad Holiday
as Mr. Kinney
(1936)
Happy Go Lucky
as U.S. Consul E.R. Brown
(1933)
Kissing Time
as David Sullivan (uncredited)
(1933)
Seasoned Greetings
as Ben Jones (uncredited)