Walter Catlett
Encyclopedia
Walter Catlett was an American
actor. As a San Francisco citizen, he started out in vaudeville
with a detour for a while in opera before breaking into films.
. He started on stage in 1906 and film in 1912, then went back to stage and didn't return to films till 1929. He made a career by playing excitable, officious blowhards.
animated film Pinocchio
.
appearances but his film career did not catch on until the advent of talking pictures allowed movie-goers see his full comic repertoire. Three of his most remembered roles were as the stage manager given to distraction by James Cagney
in Yankee Doodle Dandy
, the local constable who throws the entire cast in jail and winds up there himself in the Howard Hawks
classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby
, and as Morrow, the drunken poet in the restaurant who "knows when [he's] been a skunk" and takes Longfellow Deeds on a "bender" in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
. In 1939, he appeared in the musical film Married in Hollywood
. He played John Barsad
in the 1935 David O. Selznick
production of A Tale Of Two Cities
starring Ronald Colman
.
which starred ice skating sensation 'Belita
' and James Ellison. Audiences seemed to enjoy seeing unpleasant things happen to Catlett onscreen. In the drama Manpower, Catlett supplies comedy relief as a hospital patient who has spent months in traction with both arms and both legs broken. On the day of his release, he slips on the hospital steps, and is once again put in traction, with both arms and both legs broken. In the 1950s, he appeared in films like Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
, Friendly Persuasion and Beau James
.
in 1960 in Woodland Hills, California. His interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. As a San Francisco citizen, he started out in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
with a detour for a while in opera before breaking into films.
Early career
Catlett was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He started on stage in 1906 and film in 1912, then went back to stage and didn't return to films till 1929. He made a career by playing excitable, officious blowhards.
Disney's Pinocchio
Catlett also provided the voice of Foulfellow the Fox in the 1940 DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
animated film Pinocchio
Pinocchio (1940 film)
Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
.
The "Talkies"
Catlett made a handful of silent filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
appearances but his film career did not catch on until the advent of talking pictures allowed movie-goers see his full comic repertoire. Three of his most remembered roles were as the stage manager given to distraction by James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
in Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, the local constable who throws the entire cast in jail and winds up there himself in the Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby
Bringing up Baby
Bringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
, and as Morrow, the drunken poet in the restaurant who "knows when [he's] been a skunk" and takes Longfellow Deeds on a "bender" in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role...
. In 1939, he appeared in the musical film Married in Hollywood
Married in Hollywood
Married in Hollywood is an American musical film. The only known footage to survive is a 12-minute fragment from the final reel in Multicolor at UCLA Film and Television Archive. The film is also known as Maritati ad Hollywood in Italy and Pantremmenoi sto Hollywood in Greece...
. He played John Barsad
John Barsad
-Overview:Barsad is a turncoat English con-man and spy. In the pay of the Marquis St. Evremonde he initially frames the Marquis' nephew, Charles Darnay by planting evidence on him on a voyage across the English Channel to England. He unwittingly shows his hand to the lawyer Sydney Carton drinking...
in the 1935 David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
production of A Tale Of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
starring Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
.
Other Roles
Catlett also appeared as hotel resort tycoon 'Timber Applegate' in the musical film Lady, Let's DanceLady, Let's Dance
Lady, Let's Dance is a 1944 black-and-white film directed by Frank Woodruff that was nominated for two Oscars. Produced by Monogram Studios, the film is unique as an ice skating musical....
which starred ice skating sensation 'Belita
Belita
Maria Belita Gladys Olive Lyne Jepson-Turner , known professionally as Belita, was a British Olympic figure skater, dancer and film actress....
' and James Ellison. Audiences seemed to enjoy seeing unpleasant things happen to Catlett onscreen. In the drama Manpower, Catlett supplies comedy relief as a hospital patient who has spent months in traction with both arms and both legs broken. On the day of his release, he slips on the hospital steps, and is once again put in traction, with both arms and both legs broken. In the 1950s, he appeared in films like Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates is a 1956 live-action Walt Disney adventure film starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. It was shot in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois...
, Friendly Persuasion and Beau James
Beau James
Beau James is a 1957 film based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Gene Fowler.The movie stars Bob Hope as Jimmy Walker, the colourful but controversial Mayor of New York City from 1926-32. American prints of this film are narrated by Walter Winchell; in Britain, the film was narrated by...
.
Death
Walter Catlett died of a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1960 in Woodland Hills, California. His interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
.