Reginald Owen
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 4, 1887
- Died
- November 5, 1972 (aged 85)
- Birthplace
- Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was an English character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and later in television programmes. The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert Tree's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his professional debut in 1905. In 1911, he starred in the original production of Where the Rainbow Ends as Saint George which opened to very good reviews on 21 December 1911. Reginald Owen had a few years earlier met the author Mrs. Clifford Mills as a young actor, and it was he who on hearing her idea of a Rainbow Story persuaded her to turn it into a play, and thus "Where the Rainbow Ends" was born. He went to the United States in 1920 and worked originally on Broadway in New York, but later moved to Hollywood, where he began a lengthy film career. He was always a familiar face in many Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions. Owen is perhaps best known today for his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1938 film version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a role he inherited from Lionel Barrymore, who had played the part of Scrooge on the radio every Christmas for years until Barrymore broke his hip in an accident. Owen was one of only five actors to play both Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson (Jeremy Brett played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television, Carleton Hobbs played both roles in British radio adaptations while Patrick Macnee played both roles in US television films). Howard Marion-Crawford played Holmes in a radio adaptation of "The Speckled Band" and later played Watson to Ronald Howard’s Holmes in the 1954-55 television series. Owen first played Watson in the film Sherlock Holmes (1932), and then Holmes himself in A Study in Scarlet (1933). Having played Ebenezer Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Owen has the odd distinction of playing three classic characters of Victorian fiction only to live to see those characters be taken over and personified by other actors, namely Alastair Sim as Scrooge, Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. Later in his career, Owen appeared opposite James Garner in the television series Maverick in the episodes "The Belcastle Brand" (1957) and "Gun-Shy" (1958) and also guest starred in episodes of the series One Step Beyond and Bewitched. He was featured in the Walt Disney films Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). He had a small role in the 1962 Irwin Allen production of the Jules Verne novel Five Weeks in a Balloon. In August 1964, his Bel-Air mansion was rented out to the Beatles, who were performing at the Hollywood Bowl, when no hotel would book them.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
Movie · as Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Movie · as Gen. Teagler
McCloud
TV · 1 ep
Rosie!
Movie · as Patrick
Run for Your Life
TV · as Sir Hillary Cooper · 1 ep
Mary Poppins
Movie · as Admiral Boom
Voice of the Hurricane
Movie
Bewitched
TV · 2 eps
The Thrill of It All
Movie · as Tom Fraleigh
Tammy and the Doctor
Movie · as Jason Tripp
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Movie · as Consul
Moochie of Pop Warner Football
Movie · as Mr. Bennett
Thriller
TV · as The Hussar ('A Terribly Strange Bed') · 1 ep
Moochie of the Little League
Movie · as J. Cecil Bennett
One Step Beyond
TV · as Herbert Blakely · 1 ep
Adventures in Paradise
TV · as Ambrose Feather · 1 ep
Maverick
TV · as Marquis Norbert Belcastle, Freddie Hawkins · 1 ep
MGM Parade
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Great Diamond Robbery
Movie · as Bainbridge Gibbons
Red Garters
Movie · as Judge Wallace Winthrop
Climax!
TV · as Doctor · 1 ep
Grounds for Marriage
Movie · as Dely Delacorte
The Miniver Story
Movie · as Mr. Foley
Kim
Movie · as Father Victor
Challenge to Lassie
Movie · as Sergeant Davie
The Secret Garden
Movie · as Ben Weatherstaff
The Pirate
Movie · as The Advocate
Julia Misbehaves
Movie · as Benjy Hawkins
The Three Musketeers
Movie · as Treville
Hills of Home
Movie · as Hopps
Green Dolphin Street
Movie · as Captain O'Hara
If Winter Comes
Movie · as Mr. Fortune
Thunder in the Valley
Movie · as James Moore
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Movie · as Captain Lanlaire
Cluny Brown
Movie · as Henry Carmel
The Imperfect Lady
Movie · as Mr. Hopkins
Piccadilly Incident
Movie · as Judge
Monsieur Beaucaire
Movie · as King Louis XV
The Valley of Decision
Movie · as McCready
Kitty
Movie · as Duke of Malmunster
She Went to the Races
Movie · as Dr. Pembroke
The Sailor Takes a Wife
Movie · as Mr. Amboy
National Velvet
Movie · as Farmer Ede
Captain Kidd
Movie · as Cary Shadwell
The Canterville Ghost
Movie · as Lord Canterville
Above Suspicion
Movie · as Dr. Mespelbrunn
Madame Curie
Movie · as Dr. Becquerel
Salute to the Marines
Movie · as Mr. Henry Casper
Assignment in Brittany
Movie · as Col. Trane
Three Hearts for Julia
Movie · as John Girard
Forever and a Day
Movie · as Simpson
Woman of the Year
Movie · as Clayton
Random Harvest
Movie · as "Biffer"
Mrs. Miniver
Movie · as Foley
Reunion in France
Movie · as Schultz, Gestapo agent
Cairo
Movie · as Philo Cobson
Somewhere I'll Find You
Movie · as Willie Manning
White Cargo
Movie · as Skipper of the Congo Queen
We Were Dancing
Movie · as Maj. Tyler-Blane
I Married an Angel
Movie · as 'Whiskers'
Pierre of the Plains
Movie · as Noah Glenkins
A Woman's Face
Movie · as Bernard Dalvik
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Movie · as Professor Elliott
They Met in Bombay
Movie · as General Allen
Blonde Inspiration
Movie · as Reginald Mason
Charley's Aunt
Movie · as Mr. Redcliffe
Lady Be Good
Movie · as Max Milton
Free and Easy
Movie · as Sir George Kelvin
The Ghost Comes Home
Movie · as Hemingway
The Earl of Chicago
Movie · as Gervase Gonwell
Florian
Movie · as Emperor Franz Josef
Hullabaloo
Movie · as 'Buzz' Foster
Bad Little Angel
Movie · as Edwards, Marvin's Valet
The Real Glory
Movie · as Capt. Hartley
Fast and Loose
Movie · as Vincent Charlton
Remember?
Movie · as Mr. Bronson
Hotel Imperial
Movie · as General Videnko
Bridal Suite
Movie · as Sir Horace Bragdon
A Christmas Carol
Movie · as Ebenezer Scrooge
Everybody Sing
Movie · as Hillary Bellaire
Three Loves Has Nancy
Movie · as William, the Butler
Kidnapped
Movie · as Capt. Hoseason
The Girl Downstairs
Movie · as Charlie Grump
Paradise for Three
Movie · as Johann Kesselhut
Vacation from Love
Movie · as John Hodge Lawson
A Fireside Chat with Lionel Barrymore
Movie · as Scrooge (atchive footage)
Conquest
Movie · as Tallyrand
Rosalie
Movie · as Chancellor
Madame X
Movie · as Maurice Dourel
Personal Property
Movie · as Claude Dabney
The Bride Wore Red
Movie · as Admiral Monti
Dangerous Number
Movie · as William
The Great Ziegfeld
Movie · as Sampston
Love on the Run
Movie · as Baron Otto Spandermann
Rose Marie
Movie · as Myerson
Petticoat Fever
Movie · as Sir James Felton
Trouble for Two
Movie · as President of Club
Yours for the Asking
Movie · as Dictionary McKinney
Adventure in Manhattan
Movie · as Blackton Gregory
The Girl on the Front Page
Movie · as Archie Biddle
A Tale of Two Cities
Movie · as Stryver
The Good Fairy
Movie · as The Waiter
Anna Karenina
Movie · as Stiva
Call of the Wild
Movie · as Mr. Smith
Escapade
Movie · as Paul
Enchanted April
Movie · as Henry Arbuthnot
The Bishop Misbehaves
Movie · as Guy Waller
Queen Christina
Movie · as Charles
Of Human Bondage
Movie · as Thorpe Athelny
Fashions of 1934
Movie · as Oscar Baroque
Music in the Air
Movie · as Ernst Weber
Nana
Movie · as Bordenave
Here Is My Heart
Movie · as Vova
Stingaree
Movie · as The Governor-General
The House of Rothschild
Movie · as Herries
Madame du Barry
Movie · as King Louis XV
Mandalay
Movie · as Police Commissioner Col. Thomas Dawson
Where Sinners Meet
Movie · as Leonard
The Countess of Monte Cristo
Movie · as The Baron
The Human Side
Movie · as James Dalton
A Study in Scarlet
Movie · as Sherlock Holmes
Double Harness
Movie · as Freeman
Voltaire
Movie · as King Louis XV
The Narrow Corner
Movie · as Mr. Frith
The Big Brain
Movie · as Lord Darlington
Downstairs
Movie · as Baron 'Nicky' von Burgen
Sherlock Holmes
Movie · as Dr. Watson
Lovers Courageous
Movie · as Lord Jimmy
The Man Called Back
Movie · as Dr. Herbert Atkins
A Woman Commands
Movie · as The Prime Minister
Robbers' Roost
Movie · as Cecil Herrick
Platinum Blonde
Movie · as Dexter Grayson
The Man in Possession
Movie · as Claude Dabney
The Letter
Movie · as Robert Crosbie
Phroso
Movie · as Lord Wheatley
The Grass Orphan
Movie · as Heathcote St. John