Walter Catlett

Walter Catlett
Born: Feb 4, 1889
San Francisco, CA
Career: 1924-1957
Countries: USA
Genre/Type: Comedy
Drama
Musical
Romance
Biography by Hal Erickson
Walter Catlett began his acting career in stock companies in his hometown of San Francisco. After attending St. Ignacious College, he reached New York in 1911 in the musical The Prince of Pilsen. Catlett's dithering comic gestures and air of perpetual confusion won him a legion of fans and admirers when he starred in several editions of The Ziegfeld Follies, and in the Ziegfeld-produced musical comedy Sally, in which he appeared for three years. Catlett made a handful of silent film appearances, but didn't catch on until the advent of talking pictures allowed moviegoers to see and hear his full comic repertoire. Usually sporting horn-rimmed spectacles or a slightly askew pince-nez, Catlett played dozens of bumbling petty crooks, pompous politicians and sleep-benumbed justices of the peace. Hired for a few days' work in Howard Hawks' Bringing Up Baby (1938), Catlett proved so hilarious in his portrayal of an easily befuddled small-town sheriff that his role was expanded, and he was retained off-screen to offer advice about comic timing to the film's star, Katharine Hepburn. In addition to his supporting appearances, Catlett starred in several 2-reel comedies, and was co-starred with his lifelong friend Raymond Walburn in the low-budget "Henry" series at Monogram. Busy until a few short years before his death, Walter Catlett appeared in such 1950s features as Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Beau James (1957) (as New York governor Al Smith).

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Filmography

Movie/Film Released Rating Role Buy
Beau James 1957 Actor [Starring]
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 1956 Actor [Starring]
Friendly Persuasion 1956 Actor [Starring]
Climax!: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1955 Actor [Starring]
Disneyland: Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 1955 Actor [Starring]
Comin' Round the Mountain 1951 Actor [Starring]
Father Takes the Air 1951 Actor [Starring]
Here Comes the Groom 1951 Actor [Starring]
Honeychile 1951 Actor [Starring]
Lightning Strikes Twice 1951 Actor [Starring]
Father Makes Good 1950 Actor [Starring]
Father's Wild Game 1950 Actor [Starring]
Dancing in the Dark 1949 Actor [Starring]
Henry, the Rainmaker 1949 Actor [Starring]
Leave It to Henry 1949 Actor [Starring]
Look for the Silver Lining 1949 Actor [Starring]
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Videos of Walter Catlett

Back to the topTop Questions about Walter Catlett

A Tale Of Two Cities d: Jack Conway (From Alternative Film Guide. 16 April 2009, 7:22 PM, PDT)
Walter Catlett was born in San Francisco, California, USA
Walter Catlett died of a stroke in 1960 in Woodland Hills, California. His interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery.

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