Terry Kilburn
Encyclopedia
Terry Kilburn is an English
-American
former child actor
. He is sometimes credited as Terence Kilburn or Terrance Kilburn.
Kilburn was born in London in 1926. Known for his innocent, dreamy, doe-eyed look, he achieved fame at the age of 11 portraying Tiny Tim
in the 1938 MGM film version of A Christmas Carol
, and also as four generations of the Colley family in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(1939). He also played leading roles in two Freddie Bartholomew
films, Lord Jeff
(1938) and Swiss Family Robinson
(1940). He was featured in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
(1939) with Basil Rathbone
.
Kilburn had a small role in National Velvet
(1944). In 1944, he also worked in The Keys of the Kingdom
, starring Gregory Peck
, but his scenes were cut. He had a small part in his last film, Lolita
(1962).
From 1970–1994, Kilburn was artistic director of Oakland University
's Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, Michigan
. Meadow Brook Theatre is Michigan's only LORT theater. It presents classic plays, comedies and musicals, and is known for its annual production of Dicken's A Christmas Carol
, adapted by Kilburn's partner Charles Nolte.
Kilburn resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His partner of over fifty years, actor Charles Nolte
, died in January 2010.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
. He is sometimes credited as Terence Kilburn or Terrance Kilburn.
Kilburn was born in London in 1926. Known for his innocent, dreamy, doe-eyed look, he achieved fame at the age of 11 portraying Tiny Tim
Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim", is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit, and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices...
in the 1938 MGM film version of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (1938 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 1938 American film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novelette.-Cast:*Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge*Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit*Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit*Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim*Barry MacKay as Fred...
, and also as four generations of the Colley family in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
(1939). He also played leading roles in two Freddie Bartholomew
Freddie Bartholomew
Frederick Cecil Bartholomew , known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films...
films, Lord Jeff
Lord Jeff
Lord Jeff is a 1938 film starring Freddie Bartholomew as a spoiled orphan who gets mixed up with some crooks, but gets set straight by a stint in a school.-Plot:...
(1938) and Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson (1940 film)
Swiss Family Robinson is a 1940 film released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Edward Ludwig. It is based on the novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss and is the first feature-length film version of the story.-Plot:...
(1940). He was featured in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 film featuring the characters of the Sherlock Holmes series of books as created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second film to feature Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, the final one they would make for 20th Century Fox, and...
(1939) with Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
.
Kilburn had a small role in National Velvet
National Velvet
National Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold , first published in 1935.-Plot summary:"National Velvet" is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase...
(1944). In 1944, he also worked in The Keys of the Kingdom
The Keys of the Kingdom (film)
The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1944 American film based on the 1941 novel, The Keys of the Kingdom, by A. J. Cronin. The movie was adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John M. Stahl and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Rose Stradner, Edmund...
, starring Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, but his scenes were cut. He had a small part in his last film, Lolita
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
(1962).
From 1970–1994, Kilburn was artistic director of Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
's Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, Michigan
Rochester, Michigan
Rochester is an affluent city in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan on the northern outskirts of metro Detroit. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census...
. Meadow Brook Theatre is Michigan's only LORT theater. It presents classic plays, comedies and musicals, and is known for its annual production of Dicken's A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, adapted by Kilburn's partner Charles Nolte.
Kilburn resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His partner of over fifty years, actor Charles Nolte
Charles Nolte
Charles Nolte was an American actor and educator.-Career:Nolte was born in Duluth, Minnesota and moved to Wayzata, Minnesota with his family in the early 1930s. He graduated from Wayzata High School in 1941 and performed in an acting company that later became Old Log Theater...
, died in January 2010.
Selected filmography
- No Greater Glory (1934) (uncredited)
- Lord JeffLord JeffLord Jeff is a 1938 film starring Freddie Bartholomew as a spoiled orphan who gets mixed up with some crooks, but gets set straight by a stint in a school.-Plot:...
(1938) - A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol (1938 film)A Christmas Carol is a 1938 American film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novelette.-Cast:*Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge*Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit*Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit*Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim*Barry MacKay as Fred...
(1938) - SweetheartsSweethearts (film)Sweethearts is a 1938 musical romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The screenplay, by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta is the setting for...
(1938) - Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
(1939) - Andy Hardy Gets Spring FeverAndy Hardy Gets Spring FeverAndy Hardy Gets Spring Fever is a 1939 romantic comedy about Andy Hardy having a crush on his high school drama teacher, Miss Rose Meredith. This is the seventh of sixteen Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney.-Plot:...
(1939) - They Shall Have MusicThey Shall Have MusicThey Shall Have Music is a 1939 musical film starring famed violinist Jascha Heifetz , Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, and Gene Reynolds...
(1939) - The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a 1939 film featuring the characters of the Sherlock Holmes series of books as created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second film to feature Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, the final one they would make for 20th Century Fox, and...
(1939) - Swiss Family RobinsonSwiss Family Robinson (1940 film)Swiss Family Robinson is a 1940 film released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Edward Ludwig. It is based on the novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss and is the first feature-length film version of the story.-Plot:...
(1940) - National VelvetNational Velvet (film)National Velvet is a 1944 drama film, in Technicolor, based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and a young Elizabeth Taylor....
(1944) - Bulldog Drummond at BayBulldog Drummond at Bay (1947 film)Bulldog Drummond at Bay is a 1947 American thriller film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Ron Randell, Anita Louise, Patrick O'Moore and Terry Kilburn. The film is loosely based on the novel Bulldog Drummond at Bay by H. C...
(1947) - Song of ScheherazadeSong of ScheherazadeSong of Scheherazade is a 1947 musical film directed by Walter Reisch. It tells the story of an imaginary episode in the life of the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , in 1865, when he was a young naval officer on shore leave in Morocco...
(1947) - Fortunes of Captain BloodFortunes of Captain BloodFortunes of Captain Blood is a pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the novel by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler. The film is complete with daring sword fights,...
(1950) - Only the ValiantOnly the ValiantOnly the Valiant is a 1951 western film produced by William Cagney , directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Gregory Peck and Barbara Payton. The screenplay was written by Edmund H...
(1951) - Fiend Without a FaceFiend Without a FaceFiend Without a Face is a 1958 British black-and-white science fiction film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It tells the story of mysterious deaths at the hands of an invisible life-form that steals human brains and spinal columns...
(1958) - LolitaLolita (1962 film)Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
(1962)