John Halliday (actor)

John Halliday (September 14, 1880 – October 17, 1947) was an American actor of stage and screen, who often played suave aristocrats and foreigners.[1]

John Halliday
Halliday in 1935
Born(1880-09-14)September 14, 1880
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 1947(1947-10-17) (aged 67)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Territory
Other namesJack Halliday
OccupationActor
Years active1912–1941
Spouse(s)Camille Personi (?–?) (divorced)
Eva Lang (1918–1928) (divorced)
Eleanor Griffith (1929–1947) (his death)
Children1

Biography

Halliday was born in Brooklyn, New York. In infancy, he moved with his parents to Europe, and he lived abroad until he was 18. [2]

He served with the British Army 1901-02 in the Boer War in South Africa. In 1905 Halliday, a civil/mining engineer from before his South Africa adventure, migrated to Nevada and dug up a fortune in gold nuggets and managed to lose the lot.

After losing his money in the stock market in Sacramento, Halliday became an actor with a stock theater company headed by Nat Goodwin. He progressed from that group to touring the world as leading man in a troupe headed by T. Daniel Frawley.[2]

Making his Broadway debut in 1912 in Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton's The Whip, he became a familiar presence there, especially in sophisticated comedies such as W. Somerset Maugham's The Circle (1921), Vincent Lawrence's Sour Grapes (1926), Louis Verneuil's Jealousy (1928) and S. N. Behrman's Rain from Heaven (1934).[3]

He was also well known for his film roles. He was one of the leading actors in the drama film Millie. His best-known movie appearance was as "Seth Lord", father of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) in the film adaptation of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story (1940). The following year he played his final role in Lydia (1941).

Personal life

In 1912, Halliday's wife, Camille Personi, sued May Buckley for alienation of affections. "'May Buckley has broken up my home and ruined my life,' Mrs. Halliday said, 'and I am determined that she shall suffer.'"[4]

His second wife was actress Eva Lang; they married in 1917, and divorced in 1928. In 1929, Halliday married actress Eleanor Griffith in Greenwich, Connecticut.[5]

He died from a heart ailment at the age of 67 on October 17, 1947, in Hawaii.[6]

Partial filmography

References
  1. "John Halliday", Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved May 19, 2020
  2. "John Halliday Once a Successful Gold Prospector -- Heather Angel's Career". The New York Times. February 26, 1933. p. X 4. ProQuest 100754442. Retrieved September 29, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  3. "John Halliday". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  4. "Moving Picture Actress is Sued for Alienation". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 11 May 1912. p. 2.
  5. "John Halliday married". The New York Times. March 16, 1929. p. 18. ProQuest 104803449. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  6. "JOHN HALLIDAY, 67, LONG AN ACTOR, DIES; [Stage, Film Veteran Trouped I With Coodwin and Frawley Seen in Brady's 'Whip'". October 18, 1947 – via NYTimes.com.
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