George E. Stone

George E. Stone

actor, additional crew, soundtrack

George E. Stone was born on May 18, 1903 in Poland]. George E. Stone's big-screen debut came with 7th Heaven directed by Frank Borzage in 1927, strarring The Rat. George E. Stone is known for Pocketful of Miracles directed by Frank Capra, Glenn Ford stars as Dave the Dude and Bette Davis as Apple Annie. The most recent award George E. Stone achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie George E. Stone plays is Pocketful of Miracles which will be released on Jan 26, 1962.

A minor prototype of the "Runyon-esque" character for more than three decades, Polish-born actor George E. Stone (né Gerschon Lichtenstein, on May 18, 1903) was, in actuality, a close friend of writer Damon Runyan and would play scores of colorful "dees, dem and dos" cronies throughout the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. With great names such as Johnnie the Shiek, Boots Burnett, Ice Box Hamilton, Wires Kagel, Ropes McGonigle, Society Max, and Toothpick Charlie, Stone delighted audiences in scores of crimers for decades.A vaudeville and Broadway hoofer in the interim, the runt-sized Stone (5'3") finally scored in his first "grownup" part as the Sewer Rat in the silent drama L'Heure suprême ! (1927) starring the once-popular romantic pair Charles Farrell and (Academy Award winner) Janet Gaynor. As "Georgie" sounded too child-like, he began billing himself as "George E. Stone." From there he was featured in a number of "tough guy" potboilers, particularly for Warner Bros. So typed was he as a henchman or thug, that he found few films outside the genre. His gunsels often possessed a yellow streak and could be both broadly comic or threatening in nature, with more than a few of them ending up on a morgue slab before film's end, including his Earl Williams on Spéciale première (1931) and Otero in the classic gangster flick Le petit César (1931).Included in George's many films were a number of Oscar-quality pictures , including The Racket (1928), La ruée vers l'ouest (1931), Five Star Final (1931), 42ème rue (1933), Viva Villa! (1934), Anthony Adverse (1936), Les tuniques écarlates (1940), Le port de la drogue (1953), La tunique (1953), La lance brisée (1954), L'homme au bras d'or (1955), Blanches colombes et vilains messieurs (1955), Comme un torrent (1958), Certains l'aiment chaud (1959), Milliardaire pour un jour (1961). Arguably, Stone's most popular, if not prolific, role was when he replaced Charles Wagenheim as The Runt in the second of the "Boston Blackie" film series, Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941) that starred Chester Morris as the title detective. The series lasted eight years.Suffering from failing eyesight in later years, George was virtually blind by the late 1950s but, thanks to friends, managed to secure sporadic film and TV work. From 1958 on, Stone could be glimpsed in a recurring role on the popular courtroom series Perry Mason (1957) as a court clerk. Married to second wife Marjorie Ramey in 1946, 64-year-old George died following a stroke on May 26, 1967 in Woodland Hills, California, and was survived by two sisters.

  • Birthday

    May 18, 1903
  • Place of Birth

    Lódz, Poland, Russian Empire [now Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland]

Known For

Awards

1 wins & 0 nominations

Walk of Fame
1960
Motion Picture
Winner - Star on the Walk of Fame

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows