Actor. Best remembered for his many comic roles in the "Lonesome Luke" series of movies, he was often injured and hospitalized while filming slapstick stunts. He was easily recognized by his trademark droopy mustache, small, 5 foot 6 inch, frame, and pale, serious countenance. Born Harry Fraser in Australia, he joined a vaudeville troupe that toured the United States around 1910. When the troupe broke up, he decided to stay in the United States, adding the last name Pollard. Beginning with the Essenay Film Studios in 1911, he worked briefly with the 'Keystone Kops.' Studio head Hal Roach took an interest in him, and put him in with co-stars Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels in the highly successful "Lonesome Luke" series, which ran for some 86 films. In 1919, he decided to strike out on his own, and ventured into one and two-reelers with lots of sight gags. However, by then, his supporting actor persona had been cemented into the public mind, and he never acquired star status. His production company, created in 1926, fell victim to the Great Depression and quickly folded, and he was reduced to supporting other top comedians again, such as Laurel and Hardy, and Andy Clyde. By the late 1930s, he was reduced to playing silent background parts in talking pictures. His career did pick up a little when he was selected to play the role of 'Pee Wee', the sidekick to cowboy Tex Ritter, in a series of westerns during the late 1930s. After that, he continued to act in minor roles, often unaccredited, until his death of cancer in 1962 in California. One of his most memorable uncredited roles was in the 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain" as the rain soaked pedestrian to whom Gene Kelly hands his umbrella after Kelly's famous iconic dance in the rain.
Actor. Best remembered for his many comic roles in the "Lonesome Luke" series of movies, he was often injured and hospitalized while filming slapstick stunts. He was easily recognized by his trademark droopy mustache, small, 5 foot 6 inch, frame, and pale, serious countenance. Born Harry Fraser in Australia, he joined a vaudeville troupe that toured the United States around 1910. When the troupe broke up, he decided to stay in the United States, adding the last name Pollard. Beginning with the Essenay Film Studios in 1911, he worked briefly with the 'Keystone Kops.' Studio head Hal Roach took an interest in him, and put him in with co-stars Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels in the highly successful "Lonesome Luke" series, which ran for some 86 films. In 1919, he decided to strike out on his own, and ventured into one and two-reelers with lots of sight gags. However, by then, his supporting actor persona had been cemented into the public mind, and he never acquired star status. His production company, created in 1926, fell victim to the Great Depression and quickly folded, and he was reduced to supporting other top comedians again, such as Laurel and Hardy, and Andy Clyde. By the late 1930s, he was reduced to playing silent background parts in talking pictures. His career did pick up a little when he was selected to play the role of 'Pee Wee', the sidekick to cowboy Tex Ritter, in a series of westerns during the late 1930s. After that, he continued to act in minor roles, often unaccredited, until his death of cancer in 1962 in California. One of his most memorable uncredited roles was in the 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain" as the rain soaked pedestrian to whom Gene Kelly hands his umbrella after Kelly's famous iconic dance in the rain.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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