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Reginald Owen
Born · August 4, 1887
Died · November 5, 1972 (85 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Bio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was an English character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and later in television programmes. The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert Tree's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his professional debut in 1905. In 1911, he starred in the original production of Where the Rainbow Ends as Saint George which opened to very good reviews on 21 December 1911. Reginald Owen had a few years earlier met the author Mrs. Clifford Mills as a young actor, and it was he who on hearing her idea of a Rainbow Story persuaded her to turn it into a play, and thus "Where the Rainbow Ends" was born. He went to the United States in 1920 and worked originally on Broadway in New York, but later moved to Hollywood, where he began a lengthy film career. He was always a familiar face in many Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions. Owen is perhaps best known today for his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1938 film version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a role he inherited from Lionel Barrymore, who had played the part of Scrooge on the radio every Christmas for years until Barrymore broke his hip in an accident. Owen was one of only five actors to play both Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson (Jeremy Brett played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television, Carleton Hobbs played both roles in British radio adaptations while Patrick Macnee played both roles in US television films). Howard Marion-Crawford played Holmes in a radio adaptation of "The Speckled Band" and later played Watson to Ronald Howard’s Holmes in the 1954-55 television series. Owen first played Watson in the film Sherlock Holmes (1932), and then Holmes himself in A Study in Scarlet (1933). Having played Ebenezer Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Owen has the odd distinction of playing three classic characters of Victorian fiction only to live to see those characters be taken over and personified by other actors, namely Alastair Sim as Scrooge, Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. Later in his career, Owen appeared opposite James Garner in the television series Maverick in the episodes "The Belcastle Brand" (1957) and "Gun-Shy" (1958) and also guest starred in episodes of the series One Step Beyond and Bewitched. He was featured in the Walt Disney films Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). He had a small role in the 1962 Irwin Allen production of the Jules Verne novel Five Weeks in a Balloon. In August 1964, his Bel-Air mansion was rented out to the Beatles, who were performing at the Hollywood Bowl, when no hotel would book them.
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
7.0
1985
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
7.3
1974
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Gen. Teagler
7.0
1971
McCloud
(1 episode)
7.1
1970
Rosie!
Patrick
0.0
1967
Run for Your Life
Sir Hillary Cooper · (1 episode)
7.2
1965
Mary Poppins
Admiral Boom
7.6
1964
Bewitched
(2 episodes)
7.9
1964
Voice of the Hurricane
0.0
1964
The Thrill of It All
Old Tom Fraleigh
7.0
1963
Tammy and the Doctor
Jason Tripp
5.2
1963
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Consul
5.4
1962
Moochie of Pop Warner Football
Mr. Bennett
6.5
1960
Thriller
The Hussar ('A Terribly Strange Bed') · (1 episode)
6.3
1960
Adventures in Paradise
Ambrose Feather · (1 episode)
5.7
1959
Moochie of the Little League
J. Cecil Bennett
6.0
1959
One Step Beyond
Herbert Blakely · (1 episode)
5.6
1959
Maverick
(2 episodes)
6.8
1957
Maverick
Marquis Norbert Belcastle · (1 episode)
6.8
1957
Climax!
Doctor · (1 episode)
3.0
1954
Red Garters
Judge Wallace Winthrop
5.0
1954
The Great Diamond Robbery
Bainbridge Gibbons
0.0
1954
Grounds for Marriage
Dely Delacorte
4.3
1951
Kim
Father Victor
6.2
1950
The Miniver Story
Mr. Foley
6.0
1950
Challenge to Lassie
Sergeant Davie
4.8
1949
The Secret Garden
Ben Weatherstaff
7.1
1949
Hills of Home
Hopps
6.7
1948
The Three Musketeers
Treville
6.8
1948
Julia Misbehaves
Benjy Hawkins
6.5
1948
The Pirate
The Advocate
6.4
1948
If Winter Comes
Mr. Fortune
6.6
1947
Thunder in the Valley
James Moore
7.5
1947
Green Dolphin Street
Captain O'Hara
6.1
1947
The Imperfect Lady
Mr. Hopkins
0.0
1946
Monsieur Beaucaire
King Louis XV
5.6
1946
Piccadilly Incident
Judge
6.2
1946
Cluny Brown
Henry Carmel
7.2
1946
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Captain Lanlaire
6.3
1946
The Sailor Takes a Wife
Mr. Amboy
6.0
1945
Captain Kidd
Cary Shadwell
6.0
1945
She Went to the Races
Dr. Pembroke
5.5
1945
Kitty
Duke of Malmunster
5.5
1945
The Valley of Decision
McCready
7.3
1945
National Velvet
Farmer Ede
7.2
1945
The Canterville Ghost
Lord Canterville
6.7
1944
Madame Curie
Dr. Becquerel
7.2
1943
Salute to the Marines
Mr. Henry Casper
6.8
1943
Above Suspicion
Dr. Mespelbrunn
6.5
1943
Three Hearts for Julia
John Girard
6.0
1943
Assignment in Brittany
Col. Trane
6.6
1943
Forever and a Day
Simpson
7.4
1943
Reunion in France
Schultz
6.4
1942
Random Harvest
"Biffer"
7.3
1942
White Cargo
Skipper of the Congo Queen
5.8
1942
Somewhere I'll Find You
Willie Manning
5.9
1942
Cairo
Philo Cobson
5.8
1942
Pierre of the Plains
Noah Glenkins
4.2
1942
I Married an Angel
'Whiskers'
5.0
1942
Mrs. Miniver
Foley
7.0
1942
We Were Dancing
Maj. Tyler-Blane
4.2
1942
Woman of the Year
Clayton
6.9
1942
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Professor Elliott
5.7
1941
Lady Be Good
Max Milton
5.4
1941
Charley's Aunt
Mr. Redcliffe
5.8
1941
They Met in Bombay
General Allen
7.3
1941
A Woman's Face
Bernard Dalvik
6.9
1941
Free and Easy
Sir George Kelvin
5.5
1941
Blonde Inspiration
Reginald Mason
5.4
1941
Hullabaloo
'Buzz' Foster
4.0
1940
Florian
Emperor Franz Josef
1.0
1940
The Ghost Comes Home
Hemingway
5.0
1940
The Earl of Chicago
Gervase Gonwell
5.6
1940
Remember?
Mr. Bronson
5.8
1939
Bad Little Angel
Edwards, Marvin's Valet
4.9
1939
The Real Glory
Capt. Hartley
6.3
1939
Bridal Suite
Sir Horace Bragdon
5.1
1939
Hotel Imperial
General Videnko
6.0
1939
Fast and Loose
Vincent Charlton
5.6
1939
The Girl Downstairs
Charlie Grump
4.5
1938
A Christmas Carol
Ebenezer Scrooge
7.0
1938
A Fireside Chat with Lionel Barrymore
Scrooge (atchive footage)
0.0
1938
Vacation from Love
John Hodge Lawson
0.0
1938
Three Loves Has Nancy
William, the Butler
4.2
1938
Paradise for Three
Johann Kesselhut
6.8
1938
Kidnapped
Capt. Hoseason
4.7
1938
Everybody Sing
Hillary Bellaire
4.7
1938
Rosalie
Chancellor
5.5
1937
Conquest
Tallyrand
6.6
1937
The Bride Wore Red
Admiral Monti
6.7
1937
Madame X
Maurice Dourel
6.2
1937
Personal Property
Claude Dabney
6.9
1937
Dangerous Number
William
5.0
1937
Love on the Run
Baron Otto Spandermann
6.4
1936
Adventure in Manhattan
Blackton Gregory
5.8
1936
The Girl on the Front Page
Archie Biddle
0.0
1936
Yours for the Asking
Dictionary McKinney
1.0
1936
Trouble for Two
President of Club
6.0
1936
The Great Ziegfeld
Sampston
6.2
1936
Petticoat Fever
Sir James Felton
5.5
1936
Rose Marie
Myerson
6.2
1936
A Tale of Two Cities
Stryver
6.8
1935
The Bishop Misbehaves
Guy Waller
4.0
1935
Anna Karenina
Stiva
6.6
1935
Call of the Wild
Mr. Smith
6.3
1935
Escapade
Paul
0.0
1935
The Good Fairy
The Waiter
7.0
1935
Enchanted April
Henry Arbuthnot
5.4
1935
Here Is My Heart
Vova
6.8
1934
Music in the Air
Ernst Weber
4.8
1934
Madame du Barry
King Louis XV
4.8
1934
The Human Side
James Dalton
0.0
1934
Of Human Bondage
Thorpe Athelny
6.5
1934
Stingaree
The Governor-General
5.9
1934
Where Sinners Meet
Leonard
2.5
1934
The House of Rothschild
Herries
6.2
1934
The Countess of Monte Cristo
The Baron
6.0
1934
Fashions of 1934
Oscar Baroque
6.4
1934
Mandalay
Police Commissioner Col. Thomas Dawson
5.9
1934
Nana
Bordenave
5.0
1934
Queen Christina
Charles
6.8
1933
Voltaire
King Louis XV
5.7
1933
The Big Brain
Lord Darlington
0.0
1933
Double Harness
Freeman
6.7
1933
The Narrow Corner
Mr. Frith
5.5
1933
A Study in Scarlet
Sherlock Holmes
5.5
1933
Robbers' Roost
Cecil Herrick
5.5
1932
Sherlock Holmes
Dr. Watson
5.1
1932
Downstairs
Baron 'Nicky' von Burgen
6.9
1932
The Man Called Back
Dr. Herbert Atkins
4.5
1932
A Woman Commands
The Prime Minister
8.0
1932
Lovers Courageous
Lord Jimmy
5.8
1932
Platinum Blonde
Dexter Grayson
6.7
1931
The Man in Possession
Claude Dabney
6.5
1931
The Letter
Robert Crosbie
5.6
1929
The Grass Orphan
Heathcote St. John
0.0
1922
Phroso
Lord Wheatley
0.0
1922