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
- The Great Morgan as Film Character (uncredited)
- Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood as Benson (uncredited)
- Main Street After Dark as Plainclothesman (uncredited)
1944
- The Missing Juror as Train Conductor (uncredited)
- Mr. Winkle Goes to War
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
- Young People as Eddie's Father (uncredited)
- Stranger on the Third Floor as Detective (uncredited)
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois as Minor Role (uncredited)
- Millionaires in Prison as Dell, Deputy Taking Vander to Prison (uncredited)
- You Can't Fool Your Wife as Ritz Amsterdam Manager
- 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
- Men with Wings as Chairman
- Arsène Lupin Returns as Plainclothes Detective (uncredited)
- The Girl of the Golden West as Stagecoach Passenger
- 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)
- Wells Fargo as Customer
- Artists & Models as Lord (uncredited)
- We Who Are About to Die as Blake's Associate (uncredited)
- The Grand Bounce as Harry Briggs (uncredited)
1936
- The Texas Rangers as Citizen (uncredited)
1935
- Hot Tip as Sheriff
- Ruggles of Red Gap as Sam
- Hitch Hike Lady as Williams
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Salesman
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Reporter
- Diamond Jim as Gambler
- The Daring Young Man as Mayor
- The Mystery Man as Mr. Clark, Hotel Manager
- Slightly Static as Mr. Campbell (as Del Henderson)
- Little Big Shot as Policeman
- Here Comes Cookie as Lloyd
- Thunder in the Night as Ambassador - Party Guest
1934
- You're Telling Me! as Mayor (as Del Henderson)
- Men in Black as Dr. Graves (uncredited)
- Bottoms Up as Lane Worthing
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as House Manager
- It's a Gift as Mr. Abernathy
- The Notorious Sophie Lang as House Detective
- Something Simple as Tanhauser
1933
- The Big Brain as (uncredited)
- Lone Cowboy as Mr. Burton (uncredited)
- On Your Guard as Detective Calvin Carter - aka O'Hara
- Too Much Harmony as Small Town Theatre Manager
- Rainbow Over Broadway as Bowers
- Goldie Gets Along as Mr. Moon
- Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles as The Masque
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)
- Skip the Maloo! as Mr. Benson
- Newly Rich as Director
- Haunted at Midnight as Housekeeper
- Thundering Tenors as Senator D.H. Henderson
- Helping Grandma as Henderson
- Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
1930
- Fast Work as Old Faithful
- Big Money
- The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case as Housekeeper (uncredited)
- Up a Tree as Del - Publicity Promoter
- The Sins of the Children as Ted Baldwin
- Chiselers of Hollywood
- 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
- 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 Patsy as Pa Harrington
- The Power of the Press as Bill Johnson
- Riley the Cop as Judge Coronelli
- 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)
- Accused ... (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
- The Broken Silence ... (Director)
- Sure-Fire Flint ... (Director)
1921
- The Girl from Porcupine ... (Director)
- Dead or Alive ... (Director)
- Dynamite Allen ... (Director)
1920
- The Shark ... (Director)
- The Dead Line ... (Director)
1919
- Three Green Eyes ... (Director)
- Hit or Miss ... (Director)
- Love in a Hurry ... (Director)
- Courage for Two ... (Director)
1918
- My Wife ... (Director)
- Who Loved Him Best? ... (Director)
- The Golden Wall ... (Director)
- By Hook or Crook ... (Director)
- The Road to France ... (Director)
- The Impostor ... (Director)
- Hitting the Trail ... (Director)
- The Beloved Blackmailer ... (Director)
1917
- Her Second Husband ... (Director)
- A Girl Like That ... (Director)
- Outcast ... (Director)
- The Beautiful Adventure ... (Director)
- Please Help Emily ... (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
- Ambrose's Fury ... (Director)
- A Bear Affair ... (Director)
- 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
1914
- The Plumber ... (Director)
- Liberty Belles ... (Director)
- Gussle, the Golfer ... (Director)
- 'Curses!' They Remarked ... (Director)
- Bertha, the Buttonhole-Maker ... (Director)
1913
- The Suffragette Minstrels ... (Director)
- Pa Says ... (Director)
- Almost a Wild Man ... (Director)
- For the Son of the House ... (Director)
- Red Hicks Defies the World ... (Director)
- The Widow's Kids as The Traveling Man
- Those Little Flowers ... (Director)
- Father's Chicken Dinner ... (Director)
- The Lady in Black ... (Director)
- A Modest Hero ... (Director)
- Papa's Baby as Papa Binks
- The Power of the Camera as Second Convict
- Highbrow Love ... (Director)
- Black and White ... (Director)
- What Is the Use of Repining? ... (Writer)
- A Woman in the Ultimate ... (Director)
1912
- Helen's Marriage as Friend
- The Massacre as In Wagon Train
- Mr. Grouch at the Seashore ... (Director)
- A Voice from the Deep as On Roller Coaster
- The Sunbeam as The Bachelor
- The Brave Hunter as The Brave Hunter's Rival
- The Furs as The Husband
- When the Fire-Bells Rang as An Actor
- For His Son as Dopokoke Factory Employee (uncredited)
- The Mender of Nets as The Rival's Brother
- The Tragedy of a Dress Suit as Dick
- The Speed Demon as Racing Official
- The Fickle Spaniard ... (Director)
- A Dash Through the Clouds ... (Writer)
- The Engagement Ring as Redmond
- Getting Rid of Trouble ... (Director)
- The Fatal Chocolate as The City Beau
- Hot Stuff as Cigar Drummer
- Help! Help! as Office Worker
- Won by a Fish as The Woman's Father
1911
- The Two Paths as Worker
- A Knight of the Road as The Hobo
- The Blind Princess and the Poet as Lord Gold
- The New Dress
- The Ghost as A Crook
- The Broken Cross as The Manicurist's Friend
- Teaching Dad to Like Her as Harry's Father
- Dave's Love Affair
- Love in the Hills ... (Writer)
- The Primal Call as The Creditor
- When a Man Loves as Mr. Bach
- His Trust as Col. Frazier
- Enoch Arden: Part II as Rescuer
- The Making of a Man as Leading Man
- The Adventures of Billy as Rich Man
- His Trust Fulfilled
- The Long Road as Wedding Guest
- The Lonedale Operator as A Tramp
- Fighting Blood as A Soldier
- The Last Drop of Water as Undetermined Role
- The Baron as The Baron / A Waiter
- Bobby the Coward ... (Writer)
- A Victim of Circumstance as The Husband
1910
- The Gold Seekers as The Claim Agent
- Taming a Husband as Nobleman
- The Face at the Window as The Butler
- The Tenderfoot's Triumph as A Cowboy
- Gold Is Not All as Tom Darrell
- Ramona as Man at Burial
- The Usurer as First Mover
- The Oath and the Man as Aristocrat
- The Two Brothers as Manuel
- The Message of the Violin as The Baron
- The Newlyweds as A Friend / On Train
- A Child's Impulse as At First Party / At Second Party
- In the Border States as Union Officer
- The Unchanging Sea as The Rescuer
- A Child of the Ghetto as The Proprietor
- The Converts as In Bar
- That Chink at Golden Gulch as Gentleman Jim Dandy
- Over Silent Paths as The Wanderer
- The Lesson as Policeman
- Faithful as Bystander
- The Modern Prodigal as At Post Office
- Unexpected Help
- A Plain Song as The Manager
- The Song of the Wildwood Flute as A Suitor
- Wilful Peggy
- Muggsy Becomes a Hero as A Tramp
- A Gold Necklace as In Cafe