Charles Bennett (actor)
Charles Bennett (11 March 1889 – 15 February 1943) was a New Zealand-born American actor who was successful in silent films.
Charles Bennett | |
---|---|
![]() Bennett (with straw hat) leading chorus girls in Citizen Kane (1941) | |
Born | Dunedin, New Zealand | March 11, 1889
Died | February 15, 1943 53) Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged
Years active | 1912–1943 |
Spouse(s) | Boots Mallory (m. 1929; div. 193?) |
Biography
Bennett was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and died in Hollywood, California. He started his film career in Keystone comedies like Tillie's Punctured Romance and The Property Man. He also appeared in the Broadway musical Of Thee I Sing between 1931 and 1933. The sound film damaged his career and he got reduced to bit parts during his later film appearances. Perhaps the most recognizable role of his later film career was the entertainer in the Inquirer party sequence in Citizen Kane (1941), who performs the song "Oh, Mr. Kane!". He appeared in over 100 films between 1912 until his death in 1943. Bennett was married to actress Boots Mallory.[1]
Selected filmography
- How States Are Made (1912, Short)
- Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) - Uncle Banks, Tillie's millionaire uncle
- Mabel's Blunder (1914)
- The Property Man (1914)
- The Rainbow Girl (1917)
- The Adventures of Ruth (1919)
- All Wrong (1919)
- The Top of New York (1922)
- America (1924)
- Treasure Island (1934)
- I Live My Life (1935)
- A Damsel in Distress (1937)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Peddler at tournament (uncredited)
- Gunga Din (1939)
- Citizen Kane (1941)[2] - the Entertainer at the head of the chorus line in the Inquirer party sequence (uncredited)
- Random Harvest (1942)
- Mrs. Miniver (1942) - Milkman (uncredited)
- It Ain't Hay (1943)
References
- "Overview for Boots Mallory". Turner Classic Movies.
- Naremore, James (1989). The Magic World of Orson Welles (2nd ed.). Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 087074299X.