C Aubrey Smith
From Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
- born: 21/Jul/1863 (London, England, UK)
- died: 20/Dec/1948 (Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA) - pneumonia
Biography
Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (known as Sir C. Aubrey Smith, or more famously to moviegoers as simply C. Aubrey Smith), was an English cricketer and actor. He was knighted in 1944 for services to Anglo-American amity.
Smith began acting on the London stage in 1895. His first major role was in "The Prisoner of Zenda". Forty-two years later he appeared in the most acclaimed film version of the novel. He married Isabella Wood in 1896.
Smith later went to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor playing either officer or gentleman roles. His bushy eyebrows, beady eyes, handlebar moustache and a height of 6'4" made him one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. As an actor he starred alongside such screen legends as Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Ronald Colman and Gary Cooper. His films include classics such as "The Four Feathers" and "The Prisoner of Zenda".
The cartoon character Commander McBragg from "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales" is a parody of him. Commander McBragg also appears in The Simpsons episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story".
His star appears on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1933 he was on the first board of the Screen Actors Guild.
He died from pneumonia in Beverly Hills, California, USA in 1948.
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- Rebecca (1940) - cast: Colonel Julyan
- Forever and a Day (1943) - cast: Adm. Eustace Trimble