Richard Haydn

Richard Haydn

actor, director, additional crew

Richard Haydn was born on Mar 10, 1905 in UK. Richard Haydn's big-screen debut came with Charley's Aunt directed by Archie Mayo in 1941, strarring Charley Wyckham. Richard Haydn is known for The Hugga Bunch directed by Gus Jekel, Gennie James stars as Bridget and Terry Castillo as Huggins. The upcoming new movie Richard Haydn plays is The Hugga Bunch which will be released on Jun 19, 1985.

London-born character actor George Richard Haydon was noted for his put-on nasal delivery and pompous, fussy manner. Haydn had a laborious start to his show business career, selling tickets in the box office of London's Daly Theatre. This was followed by an unsuccessful stint with a comedy act in musical revue. For a change of pace, he became overseer of a Jamaican banana plantation only to see it wiped out by a hurricane.Returning home, he appeared in the 1926 West End production of 'Betty of Mayfair' and, soon after, also began to act on radio. It was in this medium where he first found success, creating his signature character: the perpetually befuddled nasally-voiced fish expert and mother's boy Edwin Carp. Haydn later immortalized the titular character in a book, titled "The Journal of Edwin Carp". The Carp routine opened the door for Haydn to appear with Beatrice Lillie on Broadway in Noël Coward's 'Set to Music' (1939) and this, in turn, resulted in a contract with 20th Century Fox.While his first major screen role in Charley's Aunt (1941) was relatively straight-laced, he was more often seen in comedic roles where his lugubrious face and dignified, sometimes unctuous presence could be employed to scene-stealing effect. His notable characterizations in this vein include the over-enunciating Professor Oddly in Boule de feu (1941), Rogers (the butler) in Dix petits indiens (1945) and Mr. Wilson in La folle ingénue (1946). He essayed a rare villainous role as the odious Earl of Radcliffe in the period drama Ambre (1947) and was back to his usual form as Mr. Appleton in Bonne à tout faire (1948). In Un mariage à Boston (1947), he played the character of Horatio Willing "with a broad edge of wheezy burlesque" (so wrote Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, March 21, 1947).In the late 40s, Haydn made a brief foray into directing. Of his three films for Paramount, the Bing Crosby vehicle Mr. Music (1950) enjoyed the best critical reviews. Among his later appearances on screen, that of Trapp family friend and promoter Max Detweiler in La mélodie du bonheur (1965), is the one which most often comes to mind. Over the years, he also made an impression as a voice actor in animated cartoons, notably on Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and as the Caterpillar from Alice au pays des merveilles (1951). He had frequent guest roles on television and starred in one of the best-remembered episodes of Rod Serling's La quatrième dimension (1959) ("A Thing About Machines"), as the arrogant machine-hating pedant Bartlett Finchley who loses a pitched battle with his household appliances, in particular his car. Haydn also caricatured a Japanese businessman in an episode of Ma sorcière bien aimée (1964).In private life, Haydn was a rather reclusive individual who liked horticulture and shunned interviews.

  • Birthday

    Mar 10, 1905
  • Place of Birth

    Camberwell, London, England, UK

Known For

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