Roland Young

Roland Young (11 November 1887 - 5 June 1953) was an English actor.

Early life and career

Born in London, England, Young was educated at Sherborne School, Sherborne, Dorset and the University of London before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made his first stage appearance in London's West End in Find the Woman in 1908, and in 1912 he made his Broadway debut in Hindle Wakes. He appeared in two comedies written for him by Clare Kummer, Good Gracious Annabelle! (1916) and A Successful Calamity (1917) before he served with the US Army during World War I. He returned to New York when the war ended, and married Kummer's daughter, Frances. For the next few years he alternated between New York and London. He made his film debut in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Watson opposite John Barrymore as Holmes.

He signed a contract with MGM and made his talkie debut in The Unholy Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. He was loaned to Warner Bros. to appear in Her Private Life, with Billie Dove and 20th Century Fox, winning critical approval for his comedic performance as Jeanette MacDonald's husband in Don't Bet on a Woman. He was again paired with MacDonald in the film version of Good Gracious Annabelle!, titled Annabelle's Affairs. He appeared in Cecil B. de Mille's The Squaw Man, and played opposite Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Guardsman (both 1931). He appeared with Evelyn Brent in Columbia's The Pagan Lady (1932) and Pola Negri in RKO's A Woman Commands (1932). His final film under his MGM contract was Lovers Courageous (1932), opposite Robert Montgomery.

Success as a free-lance performer

Young began to work as a free-lance performer and found himself in constant demand. He appeared with Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin and Maurice Chevalier in One Hour With You (1932) and with Kay Francis in Street of Women (1932). Alexander Korda invited him to return to England to make his British film debut in Wedding Rehearsal (1932). He returned to Hollywood and appeared in a diverse group of films that included comedies, murder mysteries and dramas, and also worked on Broadway. Among his films of this period, were Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), playing Uriah Heep in David Copperfield (1935) and H.G. Wells' fantasy, The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936).

In 1937, he achieved one of the most important successes of his career, as the businessman Cosmo Topper, haunted by the ghosts of his clients played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. The film was one of the most successful films of the year, and for his comedy performance, Young received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. His wife was played by Billie Burke who wrote in her memoir that Young "was dry and always fun to work with". They also appeared together in The Young in Heart (1938), and the first of the Topper sequels, Topper Takes a Trip (1939). He continued to play supporting roles in comedies such as Yes, My Darling Daughter, with Fay Bainter and Priscilla Lane, but over the next few years the importance of his roles again decreased, but he achieved another success as Katharine Hepburn's uncle in The Philadelphia Story (1940). His last starring role was in the final installment of the Topper series, Topper Returns in 1941, with Billie Burke and Joan Blondell.

Later life and career

He continued working steadily through the 1940s, playing small roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard and Greta Garbo in her final film, Two-Faced Woman (1942). In 1945, he began his own radio show and appeared in the film adaption of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. By the end of the decade his film career had declined, and his final films, including The Great Lover (1949), in which he played a murderer opposite Bob Hope, and Fred Astaire's Let's Dance (1950), were not successful.

In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre.

Young has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film at 6523 Hollywood Blvd. and another for television at 6315 Hollywood Blvd.

Young was married twice, to Marjorie Krummer from 1921 until 1940, and to Patience DuCroz from 1948 until his death in New York City.

Partial filmography

• Sherlock Holmes (1922; as Watson to John Barrymore's Holmes)
• Camille (Barton film) (1926)
• The Unholy Night (1929)
• Her Private Life (1929)
• Madam Satan (1930)
• The Bishop Murder Case (1930)
• The Squaw Man (1931)
• The Guardsman (1931)
• Annabelle's Affairs (1931)
• The Pagan Lady (1931)
• One Hour with You (1932)
• Lovers Courageous (1932)
• This Is the Night (1932)
• Wedding Rehearsal (1932)
• They Just Had to Get Married (1932)
• Blind Adventure (1933)
• His Double Life (1933)
• Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935)
• Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
• The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
• The Unguarded Hour (1936)
• One Rainy Afternoon (1936)
• Give me your Heart (1936)
• Gypsy (1937)
• King Solomon's Mines (1937)
• Topper (1937)
• Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)
• The Young in Heart (1938)
• Topper Takes a Trip (1939)
• He Married His Wife (1940)
• Irene (1940)
• Private Affairs (1940)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Topper Returns (1941)
• The Flame of New Orleans (1941)
• Two-Faced Woman (1941)
• They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
• Tales of Manhattan (1942)
• The Lady Has Plans (1942)
• Forever and a Day (1943)
• And Then There Were None (1945) as Blore
• Bond Street (1948)
• The Great Lover (1949)
• Let's Dance (1950)
• St. Benny the Dip (1951)