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
- 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)
- Little Orvie as Mr. Brown
- You Can't Fool Your Wife as Ritz Amsterdam Manager
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
- Men with Wings as Chairman
- The Girl of the Golden West as Stagecoach Passenger
- Arsène Lupin Returns as Plainclothes Detective (uncredited)
- 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
- Ruggles of Red Gap as Sam
- The Daring Young Man as Mayor
- Hot Tip as Sheriff
- Here Comes Cookie as Lloyd
- Diamond Jim as Gambler
- Little Big Shot as Policeman
- Slightly Static as Mr. Campbell (as Del Henderson)
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Reporter
- Hitch Hike Lady as Williams
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Salesman
- Thunder in the Night as Ambassador - Party Guest
- The Mystery Man as Mr. Clark, Hotel Manager
1934
- It's a Gift as Mr. Abernathy
- You're Telling Me! as Mayor (as Del Henderson)
- Men in Black as Dr. Graves (uncredited)
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as House Manager
- Bottoms Up as Lane Worthing
- The Notorious Sophie Lang as House Detective
- Something Simple as Tanhauser
1933
- Lone Cowboy as Mr. Burton (uncredited)
- The Big Brain as (uncredited)
- Too Much Harmony as Small Town Theatre Manager
- On Your Guard as Detective Calvin Carter - aka O'Hara
- 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
- In Walked Charley as Delbert Henderson
- Mr. Bride as J. P. Henderson
- Free Eats as Mr. Moran
1931
- The Champ as The Doctor (uncredited)
- Newly Rich as Director
- Helping Grandma as Henderson
- Haunted at Midnight as Housekeeper
- Thundering Tenors as Senator D.H. Henderson
- Skip the Maloo! as Mr. Benson
- Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
1930
- Fast Work as Old Faithful
- The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case as Housekeeper (uncredited)
- Big Money
- Night of Goblins as Housekeeper
- Looser Than Loose as Mr. Henderson
- Whispering Whoopee as Mr. Henderson
- All Teed Up as Judge Quirt
- Up a Tree as Del - Publicity Promoter
- Bigger and Better as Mr. Kornman
- Chiselers of Hollywood
- The Sins of the Children as Ted Baldwin
- 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
- The Patsy as Pa Harrington
- 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
- The Bad Lands ... (Director)
- Pursued ... (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)
- Courage for Two ... (Director)
- Hit or Miss ... (Director)
- Three Green Eyes ... (Director)
1918
- My Wife ... (Director)
- Who Loved Him Best? ... (Director)
- The Golden Wall ... (Director)
- By Hook or Crook ... (Director)
- The Impostor ... (Director)
- The Road to France ... (Director)
- Hitting the Trail ... (Director)
- The Beloved Blackmailer ... (Director)
1917
- Her Second Husband ... (Director)
- A Girl Like That ... (Director)
- Outcast ... (Director)
- Please Help Emily ... (Director)
- The Beautiful Adventure ... (Director)
1916
- Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages as Extra (uncredited)
- Rolling Stones ... (Director)
- Wife and Auto Trouble ... (Director)
- The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary as Aunt Mary's Sweetheart
- Because He Loved Her ... (Director)
- A Coney Island Princess ... (Director)
1915
- Merely a Married Man ... (Director)
- Ambrose's Fury ... (Director)
- For Better - But Worse as The Police Chief's Daughter's Romeo
- Ambrose's Nasty Temper ... (Director)
- Those Bitter Sweets as The Rival
- A Bear Affair ... (Director)
1914
- Liberty Belles ... (Director)
- Gussle, the Golfer ... (Director)
- The Plumber ... (Director)
- 'Curses!' They Remarked ... (Director)
- Bertha, the Buttonhole-Maker ... (Director)
1913
- Pa Says ... (Director)
- Papa's Baby as Papa Binks
- Highbrow Love ... (Director)
- A Modest Hero ... (Director)
- Almost a Wild Man ... (Director)
- For the Son of the House ... (Director)
- The Widow's Kids as The Traveling Man
- Father's Chicken Dinner ... (Director)
- The Lady in Black ... (Director)
- Red Hicks Defies the World ... (Director)
- The Suffragette Minstrels ... (Director)
- Black and White ... (Director)
- Those Little Flowers ... (Director)
- What Is the Use of Repining? ... (Director)
- The Power of the Camera as Second Convict
- A Woman in the Ultimate ... (Director)
1912
- The Massacre as In Wagon Train
- The Mender of Nets as The Rival's Brother
- Mr. Grouch at the Seashore ... (Director)
- The Fickle Spaniard ... (Director)
- The Engagement Ring as Redmond
- For His Son as Dopokoke Factory Employee (uncredited)
- Helen's Marriage as Friend
- Help! Help! as Office Worker
- The Speed Demon as Racing Official
- A Voice from the Deep as On Roller Coaster
- Won by a Fish as The Woman's Father
- The Brave Hunter as The Brave Hunter's Rival
- A Dash Through the Clouds ... (Writer)
- Hot Stuff as Cigar Drummer
- The Sunbeam as The Bachelor
- Getting Rid of Trouble ... (Director)
- When the Fire-Bells Rang as An Actor
- The Furs as The Husband
- The Tragedy of a Dress Suit as Dick
- The Fatal Chocolate as The City Beau
1911
- The Two Paths as Worker
- Teaching Dad to Like Her as Harry's Father
- Love in the Hills ... (Writer)
- A Knight of the Road as The Hobo
- The Blind Princess and the Poet as Lord Gold
- The Primal Call as The Creditor
- Dave's Love Affair
- The New Dress
- Fighting Blood as A Soldier
- The Long Road as Wedding Guest
- Bobby the Coward ... (Writer)
- The Broken Cross as The Manicurist's Friend
- The Making of a Man as Leading Man
- The Lonedale Operator as A Tramp
- The Baron as The Baron / A Waiter
- The Adventures of Billy as Rich Man
- When a Man Loves as Mr. Bach
- His Trust as Col. Frazier
- His Trust Fulfilled
- Enoch Arden: Part II as Rescuer
- The Last Drop of Water as Undetermined Role
- The Ghost as A Crook
- A Victim of Circumstance as The Husband
1910
- The Lesson as Policeman
- The Usurer as First Mover
- Taming a Husband as Nobleman
- In the Border States as Union Officer
- The Newlyweds as A Friend / On Train
- The Unchanging Sea as The Rescuer
- The Two Brothers as Manuel
- Over Silent Paths as The Wanderer
- Ramona as Man at Burial
- The Gold Seekers as The Claim Agent
- Wilful Peggy
- The Face at the Window as The Butler
- The Converts as In Bar
- The Song of the Wildwood Flute as A Suitor
- Gold Is Not All as Tom Darrell
- A Child of the Ghetto as The Proprietor
- The Modern Prodigal as At Post Office
- The Message of the Violin as The Baron
- The Oath and the Man as Aristocrat
- A Gold Necklace as In Cafe
- A Child's Impulse as At First Party / At Second Party
- Unexpected Help
- Faithful as Bystander
- The Tenderfoot's Triumph as A Cowboy
- That Chink at Golden Gulch as Gentleman Jim Dandy
- Muggsy Becomes a Hero as A Tramp
- A Plain Song as The Manager