Dell Henderson
Born: 1877-07-04 in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Died: 1956-12-02
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia George Delbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film. Born in the Southwestern Ontario city of St. Thomas, Dell Henderson started his acting career on the stage, but appeared in his first movie Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court already in 1908. Henderson was a frequent associate of film pioneer D.W. Griffith since 1909 and appeared in numerous of his early shorts in Hollywood. He also acted on a less prolific basis in the movies of producer Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studios. In addition to acting, Henderson also directed nearly 200 silent films between 1911 and 1928. Most of those films are forgotten or lost, but he also directed movies with silent stars like Harry Carey and Roscoe Arbuckle. Henderson also worked as a writer on numerous screenplays. After retiring from directing in 1927, Henderson turned to acting full-time and played important supporting roles in King Vidor's The Crowd (1928) and as General Marmaduke Pepper in Show People (1928). The advent of sound film damaged his acting career, and he often had to play smaller roles. In the 1930s, the comedic character actor appeared on several occasions as a comic foil for such comedians as The Three Stooges, W. C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy. He often played somewhat pompous figures like judges, businessmen, detectives or mayors. Modern audiences will remember Henderson as annoyed hospital president Dr. Graves in The Three Stooges film Men in Black and the put-upon chaperone in the Little Rascals film Choo-Choo!. He also appeared as a Night Court Judge in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations (1936) and as a friendly Car salesman in Leo McCarey's drama Make Way for Tomorrow (1937). Henderson ended his film career after numerous small roles in 1950. Henderson died of a heart attack in Hollywood at the age of 79. He was married with actress Florence Lee until his death, they made several silent films together.
Filmography
1950
- Annie Get Your Gun as Hotel Guest in Hammock (uncredited)
1949
- Once More, My Darling as Hotel Clerk
1947
- The Romance of Rosy Ridge as Southerner (uncredited)
1946
- Undercurrent as Party Guest (uncredited)
1945
- Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood as Benson (uncredited)
- The Great Morgan as Film Character (uncredited)
- Main Street After Dark as Plainclothesman (uncredited)
1944
- Mr. Winkle Goes to War
- The Missing Juror as Train Conductor (uncredited)
1943
- Du Barry Was a Lady as Flunky (uncredited)
- Slightly Dangerous as Doorman (uncredited)
1942
- The Major and the Minor as Doorman (uncredited)
- Once Upon a Honeymoon as American Attaché (uncredited)
- Arizona Terrors as President McKinley
1940
- Stranger on the Third Floor as Detective (uncredited)
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois as Minor Role (uncredited)
- Young People as Eddie's Father
- You Can't Fool Your Wife as Ritz Amsterdam Manager
- Millionaires in Prison as Dell, Deputy Taking Vander to Prison (uncredited)
- Little Orvie as Mr. Brown
1939
- Love Affair as Cafe Manager (uncredited)
- Frontier Marshal as Dave Hall
- Fifth Avenue Girl as Headwaiter (uncredited)
- The Chump Takes a Bump as Elias J. Smart
1938
- Arsène Lupin Returns as Plainclothes Detective (uncredited)
- The Girl of the Golden West as Stagecoach Passenger
- Rebellious Daughters as Mr. Stanley - First Victim
- Men with Wings as Chairman
1937
- The Awful Truth as Vance's Butler (uncredited)
- Make Way for Tomorrow as Ed Weldon - Auto Salesman (uncredited)
- Wells Fargo as Customer
- The Grand Bounce as Harry Briggs (uncredited)
- Artists & Models as Lord (uncredited)
- We Who Are About to Die as Blake's Associate (uncredited)
1936
- The Texas Rangers as Citizen (uncredited)
1935
- Ruggles of Red Gap as Sam
- Thunder in the Night as Ambassador - Party Guest
- The Daring Young Man as Mayor
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Salesman
- Diamond Jim as Gambler
- Here Comes Cookie as Lloyd
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Reporter
- The Mystery Man as Mr. Clark, Hotel Manager
- Little Big Shot as Policeman
- Hot Tip as Sheriff
- Hitch Hike Lady as Williams
- Slightly Static as Mr. Campbell (as Del Henderson)
1934
- The Notorious Sophie Lang as House Detective
- Bottoms Up as Lane Worthing
- Men in Black as Dr. Graves (uncredited)
- It's a Gift as Mr. Abernathy
- You're Telling Me! as Mayor (as Del Henderson)
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as House Manager
- Something Simple as Tanhauser
1933
- Too Much Harmony as Small Town Theatre Manager
- Lone Cowboy as Mr. Burton (uncredited)
- The Big Brain as (uncredited)
- Rainbow Over Broadway as Bowers
- On Your Guard as Detective Calvin Carter - aka O'Hara
- Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles as The Masque
- Goldie Gets Along as Mr. Moon
1932
- Choo-Choo! as Mr. Henderson
- Free Eats as Mr. Moran
- Mr. Bride as J. P. Henderson
- In Walked Charley as Delbert Henderson
1931
- The Champ as The Doctor (uncredited)
- Thundering Tenors as Senator D.H. Henderson
- Haunted at Midnight as Housekeeper
- Newly Rich as Director
- Skip the Maloo! as Mr. Benson
- Helping Grandma as Henderson
- Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
1930
- The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case as Housekeeper (uncredited)
- Fast Work as Old Faithful
- The Sins of the Children as Ted Baldwin
- Chiselers of Hollywood
- Getting a Raise
- Whispering Whoopee as Mr. Henderson
- All Teed Up as Judge Quirt
- Night of Goblins as Housekeeper
- Looser Than Loose as Mr. Henderson
- Bigger and Better as Mr. Kornman
- Big Money
- Up a Tree as Del - Publicity Promoter
1929
- Hit the Deck as Admiral
- Wrong Again as Painting owner
- Off to Buffalo as Charley's boss
1928
- The Crowd as Dick
- Show People as Colonel Pepper
- The Patsy as Pa Harrington
- Riley the Cop as Judge Coronelli
- The Power of the Press as Bill Johnson
- Is Everybody Happy?
1927
- Getting Gertie's Garter as Barry Scott
- The Rambling Ranger ... (Director)
1926
- The Clinging Vine as B. Harvey Doolittle
1925
- Accused ... (Director)
- Pursued ... (Director)
- The Bad Lands ... (Director)
1924
- Battling Brewster ... (Director)
- Gambling Wives ... (Director)
- One Law for the Woman ... (Director)
1923
- Jacqueline, or Blazing Barriers ... (Director)
1922
- Sure-Fire Flint ... (Director)
- The Broken Silence ... (Director)
1921
- Dynamite Allen ... (Director)
- The Girl from Porcupine ... (Director)
- Dead or Alive ... (Director)
1920
- The Dead Line ... (Director)
- The Shark ... (Director)
1919
- Three Green Eyes ... (Director)
- Love in a Hurry ... (Director)
- Hit or Miss ... (Director)
- Courage for Two ... (Director)
1918
- The Beloved Blackmailer ... (Director)
- The Golden Wall ... (Director)
- Who Loved Him Best? ... (Director)
- By Hook or Crook ... (Director)
- The Impostor ... (Director)
- The Road to France ... (Director)
- Hitting the Trail ... (Director)
- My Wife ... (Director)
1917
- Her Second Husband ... (Director)
- Outcast ... (Director)
- A Girl Like That ... (Director)
- The Beautiful Adventure ... (Director)
- Please Help Emily ... (Director)
1916
- Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages as Extra (uncredited)
- The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary as Aunt Mary's Sweetheart
- A Coney Island Princess ... (Director)
- Rolling Stones ... (Director)
- Wife and Auto Trouble ... (Director)
- Because He Loved Her ... (Director)
1915
- Ambrose's Nasty Temper ... (Director)
- A Bear Affair ... (Director)
- Ambrose's Fury ... (Director)
- Those Bitter Sweets as The Rival
- For Better - But Worse as The Police Chief's Daughter's Romeo
- Merely A Married Man ... (Director)
1914
- 'Curses!' They Remarked ... (Director)
- Gussle, the Golfer ... (Director)
- The Plumber ... (Director)
- Liberty Belles ... (Director)
- Bertha, the Buttonhole-Maker ... (Director)
1913
- A Modest Hero ... (Director)
- Pa Says ... (Director)
- For the Son of the House ... (Director)
- Red Hicks Defies the World ... (Director)
- Highbrow Love ... (Director)
- Almost a Wild Man ... (Director)
- Black and White ... (Director)
- A Woman in the Ultimate ... (Director)
- The Lady in Black ... (Director)
- The Suffragette Minstrels ... (Director)
- Father's Chicken Dinner ... (Director)
- Those Little Flowers ... (Director)
- The Widow's Kids as The Traveling Man
- What Is the Use of Repining? ... (Director)
- Papa's Baby as Papa Binks
- The Power of the Camera as Second Convict
1912
- Helen's Marriage as Friend
- The Sunbeam as The Bachelor
- A Voice from the Deep as On Roller Coaster
- The Speed Demon as Racing Official
- The Massacre as In Wagon Train
- Mr. Grouch at the Seashore ... (Director)
- A Dash Through the Clouds ... (Writer)
- The Engagement Ring as Redmond
- Getting Rid of Trouble ... (Director)
- For His Son as Dopokoke Factory Employee (uncredited)
- The Mender of Nets as The Rival's Brother
- When the Fire-Bells Rang as An Actor
- The Furs as The Husband
- The Brave Hunter as The Brave Hunter's Rival
- The Fatal Chocolate as The City Beau
- Won by a Fish as The Woman's Father
- The Tragedy of a Dress Suit as Dick
- Help! Help! as Office Worker
- The Fickle Spaniard ... (Director)
- Hot Stuff as Cigar Drummer
1911
- The Making of a Man as Leading Man
- The Lonedale Operator as A Tramp
- Fighting Blood as A Soldier
- His Trust as Col. Frazier
- The Long Road as Wedding Guest
- Dave's Love Affair
- His Trust Fulfilled
- The Adventures of Billy as Rich Man
- The Primal Call as The Creditor
- Bobby the Coward ... (Writer)
- A Victim of Circumstance as The Husband
- The Blind Princess and the Poet as Lord Gold
- The New Dress
- When a Man Loves as Mr. Bach
- Enoch Arden: Part II as Rescuer
- The Last Drop of Water as Undetermined Role
- The Broken Cross as The Manicurist's Friend
- Love in the Hills ... (Writer)
- A Knight of the Road as The Hobo
- The Ghost as A Crook
- Teaching Dad to Like Her as Harry's Father
- The Two Paths as Worker
- The Baron as The Baron / A Waiter
1910
- The Two Brothers as Manuel
- Ramona as Man at Burial
- The Newlyweds as A Friend / On Train
- The Unchanging Sea as The Rescuer
- A Child's Impulse as At First Party / At Second Party
- The Oath and the Man as Aristocrat
- The Gold Seekers as The Claim Agent
- A Gold Necklace as In Cafe
- Wilful Peggy
- Muggsy Becomes a Hero as A Tramp
- A Child of the Ghetto as The Proprietor
- The Song of the Wildwood Flute as A Suitor
- In the Border States as Union Officer
- The Converts as In Bar
- That Chink at Golden Gulch as Gentleman Jim Dandy
- A Plain Song as The Manager
- The Modern Prodigal as At Post Office
- Over Silent Paths as The Wanderer
- Unexpected Help
- The Face at the Window as The Butler
- The Usurer as First Mover
- Taming a Husband as Nobleman
- Faithful as Bystander
- The Message of the Violin as The Baron
- The Tenderfoot's Triumph as A Cowboy
- The Lesson as Policeman
- Gold Is Not All