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)
- Main Street After Dark as Plainclothesman (uncredited)
- The Great Morgan as Film Character (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 (uncredited)
- 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)
- Fifth Avenue Girl as Headwaiter (uncredited)
- Frontier Marshal as Dave Hall
- The Chump Takes a Bump as Elias J. Smart
1938
- The Girl of the Golden West as Stagecoach Passenger
- Arsène Lupin Returns as Plainclothes Detective (uncredited)
- Men with Wings as Chairman
- Rebellious Daughters as Mr. Stanley - First Victim
1937
- The Awful Truth as Vance's Butler (uncredited)
- Make Way for Tomorrow as Ed Weldon - Auto Salesman (uncredited)
- We Who Are About to Die as Blake's Associate (uncredited)
- Wells Fargo as Customer
- Artists & Models as Lord (uncredited)
- The Grand Bounce as Harry Briggs (uncredited)
1936
- The Texas Rangers as Citizen (uncredited)
1935
- Ruggles of Red Gap as Sam
- The Daring Young Man as Mayor
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Salesman
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Reporter
- Hot Tip as Sheriff
- The Mystery Man as Mr. Clark, Hotel Manager
- Here Comes Cookie as Lloyd
- Thunder in the Night as Ambassador - Party Guest
- Hitch Hike Lady as Williams
- Little Big Shot as Policeman
- Diamond Jim as Gambler
- Slightly Static as Mr. Campbell (as Del Henderson)
1934
- Something Simple as Tanhauser
- You're Telling Me! as Mayor (as Del Henderson)
- It's a Gift as Mr. Abernathy
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as House Manager
- The Notorious Sophie Lang as House Detective
- Bottoms Up as Lane Worthing
- Men in Black as Dr. Graves (uncredited)
1933
- Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles as The Masque
- Goldie Gets Along as Mr. Moon
- The Big Brain as (uncredited)
- Lone Cowboy as Mr. Burton (uncredited)
- Too Much Harmony as Small Town Theatre Manager
- On Your Guard as Detective Calvin Carter - aka O'Hara
- Rainbow Over Broadway as Bowers
1932
- Choo-Choo! as Mr. Henderson
- Free Eats as Mr. Moran
- In Walked Charley as Delbert Henderson
- Mr. Bride as J. P. Henderson
1931
- The Champ as The Doctor (uncredited)
- Helping Grandma as Henderson
- Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
- Newly Rich as Director
- Skip the Maloo! as Mr. Benson
- Thundering Tenors as Senator D.H. Henderson
- Haunted at Midnight as Housekeeper
1930
- The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case as Housekeeper (uncredited)
- Fast Work as Old Faithful
- Big Money
- The Sins of the Children as Ted Baldwin
- Night of Goblins as Housekeeper
- Looser Than Loose as Mr. Henderson
- Chiselers of Hollywood
- Up a Tree as Del - Publicity Promoter
- Bigger and Better as Mr. Kornman
- Whispering Whoopee as Mr. Henderson
- All Teed Up as Judge Quirt
- Getting a Raise
1929
- Wrong Again as Painting owner
- Hit the Deck as Admiral
- Off to Buffalo as Charley's boss
1928
- Show People as Colonel Pepper
- The Crowd as Dick
- The Power of the Press as Bill Johnson
- Riley the Cop as Judge Coronelli
- The Patsy as Pa Harrington
- Is Everybody Happy?
1927
- Getting Gertie's Garter as Barry Scott
- The Rambling Ranger ... (Director)
1926
- The Clinging Vine as B. Harvey Doolittle
1925
- Pursued ... (Director)
- The Bad Lands ... (Director)
- Accused ... (Director)
1924
- Battling Brewster ... (Director)
- One Law for the Woman ... (Director)
- Gambling Wives ... (Director)
1923
- Jacqueline, or Blazing Barriers ... (Director)
1922
- Sure-Fire Flint ... (Director)
- The Broken Silence ... (Director)
1921
- The Girl from Porcupine ... (Director)
- Dead or Alive ... (Director)
- Dynamite Allen ... (Director)
1920
- The Shark ... (Director)
- The Dead Line ... (Director)
1919
- Love in a Hurry ... (Director)
- Three Green Eyes ... (Director)
- Hit or Miss ... (Director)
- Courage for Two ... (Director)
1918
- My Wife ... (Director)
- Who Loved Him Best? ... (Director)
- By Hook or Crook ... (Director)
- The Road to France ... (Director)
- Hitting the Trail ... (Director)
- The Beloved Blackmailer ... (Director)
- The Golden Wall ... (Director)
- The Impostor ... (Director)
1917
- A Girl Like That ... (Director)
- Her Second Husband ... (Director)
- Outcast ... (Director)
- Please Help Emily ... (Director)
- The Beautiful Adventure ... (Director)
1916
- Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages as Extra (uncredited)
- Wife and Auto Trouble ... (Director)
- Rolling Stones ... (Director)
- Because He Loved Her ... (Director)
- The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary as Aunt Mary's Sweetheart
- A Coney Island Princess ... (Director)
1915
- Merely a Married Man ... (Director)
- Ambrose's Nasty Temper ... (Director)
- For Better - But Worse as The Police Chief's Daughter's Romeo
- Those Bitter Sweets as The Rival
- A Bear Affair ... (Director)
- Ambrose's Fury ... (Director)
1914
- Liberty Belles ... (Director)
- The Plumber ... (Director)
- 'Curses!' They Remarked ... (Director)
- Gussle, the Golfer ... (Director)
- Bertha, the Buttonhole-Maker ... (Director)
1913
- Almost a Wild Man ... (Director)
- Red Hicks Defies the World ... (Director)
- Pa Says ... (Director)
- For the Son of the House ... (Director)
- The Widow's Kids as The Traveling Man
- The Power of the Camera as Second Convict
- A Woman in the Ultimate ... (Director)
- The Lady in Black ... (Director)
- Father's Chicken Dinner ... (Director)
- Highbrow Love ... (Director)
- A Modest Hero ... (Director)
- The Suffragette Minstrels ... (Director)
- Those Little Flowers ... (Director)
- Papa's Baby as Papa Binks
- What Is the Use of Repining? ... (Director)
- Black and White ... (Director)
1912
- A Voice from the Deep as On Roller Coaster
- The Mender of Nets as The Rival's Brother
- The Tragedy of a Dress Suit as Dick
- When the Fire-Bells Rang as An Actor
- The Massacre as In Wagon Train
- Mr. Grouch at the Seashore ... (Director)
- A Dash Through the Clouds ... (Writer)
- Getting Rid of Trouble ... (Director)
- Won by a Fish as The Woman's Father
- For His Son as Dopokoke Factory Employee (uncredited)
- Helen's Marriage as Friend
- The Brave Hunter as The Brave Hunter's Rival
- The Fickle Spaniard ... (Director)
- Help! Help! as Office Worker
- The Sunbeam as The Bachelor
- The Engagement Ring as Redmond
- The Speed Demon as Racing Official
- Hot Stuff as Cigar Drummer
- The Fatal Chocolate as The City Beau
- The Furs as The Husband
1911
- The Ghost as A Crook
- Teaching Dad to Like Her as Harry's Father
- The Blind Princess and the Poet as Lord Gold
- Love in the Hills ... (Writer)
- Enoch Arden: Part II as Rescuer
- A Knight of the Road as The Hobo
- Dave's Love Affair
- The Last Drop of Water as Undetermined Role
- The Making of a Man as Leading Man
- When a Man Loves as Mr. Bach
- The Adventures of Billy as Rich Man
- The Two Paths as Worker
- The Lonedale Operator as A Tramp
- A Victim of Circumstance as The Husband
- The Broken Cross as The Manicurist's Friend
- The New Dress
- Fighting Blood as A Soldier
- The Primal Call as The Creditor
- The Baron as The Baron / A Waiter
- His Trust Fulfilled
- Bobby the Coward ... (Writer)
- The Long Road as Wedding Guest
- His Trust as Col. Frazier
1910
- The Two Brothers as Manuel
- Over Silent Paths as The Wanderer
- The Face at the Window as The Butler
- A Child's Impulse as At First Party / At Second Party
- The Oath and the Man as Aristocrat
- Gold Is Not All as Tom Darrell
- Muggsy Becomes a Hero as A Tramp
- In the Border States as Union Officer
- A Child of the Ghetto as The Proprietor
- The Message of the Violin as The Baron
- The Tenderfoot's Triumph as A Cowboy
- The Song of the Wildwood Flute as A Suitor
- The Unchanging Sea as The Rescuer
- That Chink at Golden Gulch as Gentleman Jim Dandy
- Taming a Husband as Nobleman
- Ramona as Man at Burial
- Wilful Peggy
- The Gold Seekers as The Claim Agent
- The Usurer as First Mover
- The Newlyweds as A Friend / On Train
- Unexpected Help
- The Modern Prodigal as At Post Office
- The Converts as In Bar
- Faithful as Bystander
- The Lesson as Policeman
- A Gold Necklace as In Cafe
- A Plain Song as The Manager