Actor. Memorable character player of 1930s Hollywood films. Educated at St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin, Ireland, he made his acting debut in 1910 and toured with the E.H. Sothern troupe. Two early film appearances, in "The Married Woman" (1914) and "A Soldier's Oath" (1915), turned him off to the medium and from 1916 he focused his career on the Broadway stage. His theatrical credits included "Uncle Vanya", "Six Characters in Search of an Author", "The Late Christopher Bean", and "The Bishop Misbehaves". In 1932 Connolly was finally lured back to the screen by Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures, who kept him under contract while also loaning him out to other studios. Short and rotund, with a mustachioed face that scowled easily, he was most often cast as a comically exasperated businessman. His best known movie roles were as Claudette Colbert's millionaire father in "It Happened One Night" (1934), the explosive newspaper editor in "Nothing Sacred" (1937), and the title role of "The Great Victor Herbert" (1939), his swansong. Among his 40 other films are "Lady for a Day" (1933), "Twentieth Century" (1934), "Libeled Lady" (1936), "The Good Earth" (1937), and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1939). Connolly died of a stroke at 53.
Actor. Memorable character player of 1930s Hollywood films. Educated at St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin, Ireland, he made his acting debut in 1910 and toured with the E.H. Sothern troupe. Two early film appearances, in "The Married Woman" (1914) and "A Soldier's Oath" (1915), turned him off to the medium and from 1916 he focused his career on the Broadway stage. His theatrical credits included "Uncle Vanya", "Six Characters in Search of an Author", "The Late Christopher Bean", and "The Bishop Misbehaves". In 1932 Connolly was finally lured back to the screen by Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures, who kept him under contract while also loaning him out to other studios. Short and rotund, with a mustachioed face that scowled easily, he was most often cast as a comically exasperated businessman. His best known movie roles were as Claudette Colbert's millionaire father in "It Happened One Night" (1934), the explosive newspaper editor in "Nothing Sacred" (1937), and the title role of "The Great Victor Herbert" (1939), his swansong. Among his 40 other films are "Lady for a Day" (1933), "Twentieth Century" (1934), "Libeled Lady" (1936), "The Good Earth" (1937), and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1939). Connolly died of a stroke at 53.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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