Roland Young

Roland Young

actor, writer, soundtrack

Roland Young was born on Nov 11, 1887 in UK. Roland Young's big-screen debut came with Sherlock Holmes directed by Albert Parker in 1922, strarring Dr. Watson. Roland Young is known for And Then There Were None directed by René Clair, Barry Fitzgerald stars as Judge Francis J. Quincannon and Walter Huston as Dr. Edward G. Armstrong. Roland Young has got 2 awards and 1 nominations so far. The most recent award Roland Young achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie Roland Young plays is Let's Dance which will be released on Nov 29, 1950.

Fondly remembered for his many deceptively meek, erudite characters played on film -- think Cosmo Topper, of the screwball classic Le couple invisible (1937) -- this short (5'6"), balding, highly distinguished actor was born in London, England on November 11,1887, to an architect and his wife. Young was educated at Sherborne College and University College London and trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).Taking his first professional London stage bow in 1908, Roland moved to the United States a few years later, made his New York debut (in "Hindle Wakes") in 1912, and became a fixture on Broadway. Young performed equally well in droll farces and classic drama. His standout credits included productions of "John Gabriel Borkman" (1915), "The Seagull" (1916), "A Doll's House" (1918), "Rollo's Wild Oat," "Hedda Gabler" (1923), and "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" (1927). He also joined the the Washington Square Players for a time.Young became a U.S. citizen in 1918 and served in the Army during WW I. He appeared in a few silent films after his discharge, including Sherlock Holmes contre Moriarty (1922), in which he played an amusingly hesitant Dr. Watson to John Barrymore's super-sleuth. His first talking film was the second male lead, Lord Montague, a near strangler victim, in the murder mystery Le spectre vert (1929) starring Ernest Torrence and directed by Lionel Barrymore. Young didn't come into his own in Hollywood until his presence in screwball comedies of the 1930s, for which he seemed tailor-made.With his patrician air, tidy mustache, and fumbling-yet-dry delivery, Young did his share of restrained scene-stealing in New Moon (1930) as Count Strogoff; Le mari de l'indienne (1931) as Sir John Applegate; David Copperfield (1935) as the villainous Uriah Heap; L'Homme qui pouvait accomplir des Miracles (1936) as the timorous clerk with God-like powers; and L'extravagant Mr Ruggles (1935), as the inebriated Earl of Burnstead who loses his valet Charles Laughton in a poker game. So good was he in Le couple invisible (1937), as the humorously beleaguered fall guy for ghostly duo Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, that he earned a supporting Oscar nomination, somewhat rare for comic outings.Young moved fluidly between stage, film and radio assignments during the war-era years. While starring in a mid-1940s radio broadcast of "Topper" and appearing with Cornelia Otis Skinner in the 1945 serial "William and Mary," he also graced such theatre productions as "Ask My Friend Sandy" and "Another Love Story" and such films as Star Dust (1940), Indiscrétions (1940) (as lecherous rascal Uncle Willie), Greta Garbo's last film La femme aux deux visages (1941), La belle ensorceleuse (1941), Et la vie recommence (1943) and the classic whodunnit Dix petits indiens (1945).He ended his career in a few TV anthologies ("The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre," "Studio One in Hollywood," "Lux Video Theatre" and "Betty Crocker Star Matinee"). His last few films were comedies and included a villainous role in the Bob Hope romantic musical Don Juan de l'Atlantique (1949), a conman in the sentimental crimer St. Benny the Dip (1951) and the wealthy father of a newly-married countess whose husband/count quickly disappears in the romantic adventure Aquel hombre de Tánger (1953).Married twice, Young died of natural causes at age 65, in New York City, on June 5, 1953, and was survived by his second wife, Patience DuCroz. In 1960, he was posthumously honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his TV and film work.

  • Birthday

    Nov 11, 1887
  • Place of Birth

    London, England, UK

Known For

Awards

2 wins & 1 nominations

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

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies