- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHorace Edward Jenner
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Holmes Herbert was a tall, intense English actor who made his first films after coming to America. He began in silent movies as a leading man but eventually was relegated to less important roles as a character actor when sound came in. He played in several of the Universal "Sherlock Holmes" movies, the title character of which was the initial inspiration for his stage name. His career spanned a total of 37 years, and he retired in 1952.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net>
- Holmes Herbert was born Horace Edward Jenner in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in 1882. He was hooked on show business from an early age, joining a circus before turning to the theatre. He emigrated to America before the First World War and worked on Broadway. In 1918, he followed the trail to Hollywood where his good looks and intensity made the 6ft tall actor into something of a matinee idol. His early career was prolific he made 15 films between 1919 and 1920 - and titles included A Doll's House (1918), Sinners in Heaven (1924), and The Terror (1928). Thanks to his strong British accent, he made a successful switch to talkies and in 1931 had a lead role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), which starred Fredric March. Twenty years later, he made The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), the only actor to appear in both those movies. His career ended with the 1952 adventure film The Brigand (1952), which also featured a young Anthony Quinn. Herbert died four years later and is buried among the stars in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood. In a career which covered nearly 40 years, he appeared in around 230 movies, including some of the biggest titles of his time.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Paul Rothwell-Smith
- SpousesAgnes Bartholomew(1952 - September 10, 1955) (her death)Elinor Kershaw(June 1, 1930 - ?) (divorced)Beryl Mercer(June 3, 1909 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- Often played a Scotsman.
- Immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1912.
- He is the only actor to have appeared in both the 1931 Paramount film version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and in the film The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), although he received no screen credit in the latter film.
- Some sources give his birth name as Edward Sanger.
- From 1928, in roughly 135 films, including shorts and silent, until his first Sherlock Holmes movie in 1939, Holmes Herbert acted under H.E. Herbert, H.J. Herbert, and Holmes E. Herbert. It does not appear that he took the name "Holmes" in deference to the six Sherlock Holmes' films in which he appeared.
- Appeared in eight Academy Award for Best Picture nominees: The House of Rothschild (1934), Captain Blood (1935), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Marie Antoinette (1938), Foreign Correspondent (1940), The Letter (1940) and Johnny Belinda (1948). Only The Life of Emile Zola won.
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