Harold George Bryant Davenport (January 19, 1866 – August 9, 1949) was an American film and stage actor who worked in show business from the age of six until his death.[1] After a long and prolific Broadway career, he came to Hollywood in the 1930s, where he often played grandfathers, judges, doctors, and ministers. His roles include Dr. Meade inGone with the Wind (1939) and Grandpa inMeet Me in St. Louis (1944).Bette Davis once called Davenport "without a doubt [. . .] the greatestcharacter actor of all time."[2][3]
Harry Davenport was born January 19, 1866, inBoston. Harry came from a long line of stage actors; his father was thespianEdward Loomis Davenport and his mother,Fanny Vining Davenport, was anEnglish actress[4][5] and a descendant of the renowned 18th-century Irish stage actor Jack Johnson. His sister was actressFanny Davenport.[6]
He made his stage debut - at the thirdChestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia - at the age of five in the playDamon and Pythias.[5] Davenport made hisBroadway debut inThe Voyage of Suzette (1894) and appeared there in numerous plays.[7]
Harry Davenport was one of the best-known and busiest "old men" in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. He started his film career at the age of 47, debuting in the 1913 silent short filmKenton's Heir. The next year, he starred inFogg's Millions co-starringRose Tapley. The film became the first in a series of silent comedy shorts.[citation needed] In addition, he also directed some silent features and many shorts between 1915 and 1917, including many of the films in theMr. and Mrs. Jarr series.[6]
Harry Davenport appeared in over 160 films. Asked why he made so many films at his age, he replied:
I hate to see men of my age sit down as if their lives were ended and accept a dole. An old man must show that he knows his job and is no loafer. If he can do that, they can take their pension money and buy daisies with it.[8]
In 1913, he co-founded, along with actorEddie Foy, theActors' Equity Association, an American labor union for actors. The original organization, known asthe White Rats, was spearheaded by Davenport. After a nine-month stretch, the actors' group united in defiance of the appalling treatment of actors by theater owners such as theShubert family andDavid Belasco, among others, by refusing to appear on stage by striking. The actions of the association caused the closure of all the theatres onBroadway, the only exception being theaters owned byGeorge M. Cohan's company.
He and his wifeAlice were wed in 1893. They had one daughter,Dorothy Davenport, who also became an actress. After divorcing Alice in 1896, he married actressPhyllis Rankin, that same year. They had three biological children: Ned, Ann, and Kate, who all became actors. Harry also adopted Phyllis's son,Arthur Rankin (actor father ofArthur Rankin, Jr., founder of theRankin/Bass animation studio).[9] ActressAnne Seymour (born Anne Seymour Eckert) and her brother, radio personality Bill Seymour, were Harry Davenport's great-niece and great-nephew by their mother, May Davenport.
Through his marriage to Phyllis, he was the brother-in-law ofLionel Barrymore, who was married at the time to Phyllis' sisterDoris. Phyllis's father, McKee Rankin, had been the top actor at the Arch Street Theater, which was run by Lionel's grandmother and Sidney's mother,Louisa Lane Drew. He was the grandfather of producer Dirk Wayne Summers,Arthur Rankin Jr., and Wallace Reid Jr.
After Phyllis's death, Davenport moved to Los Angeles and lived with his now-grown children. He died of a suddenheart attack at age 83, one hour after he asked his agent Walter Herzbrun about a new film role.[10] He was buried inKensico Cemetery,Westchester County, New York.[citation needed] In the obituary, a newspaper called him the "white-haired character actor" with "the longest acting career in American history".[8]
^Aurora (November 10, 2013)."Harry Davenport, What a Character!".Once Upon a Screen … a classic film blog. Blog at Worldpress.com. RetrievedAugust 12, 2015.
Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Harry Davenport".The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 88–90.ISBN978-1-7200-3837-5.
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