Acting
Reginald Owen
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.
Filmography
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
Film · 1985
That's Entertainment!
Film · 1974
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Film · 1971
McCloud
Series · 1970
Rosie!
Film · 1967
Run for Your Life
Series · 1965
Mary Poppins
Film · 1964
Voice of the Hurricane
Film · 1964
Bewitched
Series · 1964
The Thrill of It All
Film · 1963
Tammy and the Doctor
Film · 1963
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Film · 1962
Moochie of Pop Warner Football
Film · 1960
Thriller
Series · 1960
Moochie of the Little League
Film · 1959
One Step Beyond
Series · 1959
Adventures in Paradise
Series · 1959
Maverick
Series · 1957
Maverick
Series · 1957
Maverick
Series · 1957
MGM Parade
Series · 1955
The Great Diamond Robbery
Film · 1954
Red Garters
Film · 1954
Climax!
Series · 1954
Grounds for Marriage
Film · 1951
The Miniver Story
Film · 1950
Kim
Film · 1950
Challenge to Lassie
Film · 1949
The Secret Garden
Film · 1949
The Pirate
Film · 1948
Julia Misbehaves
Film · 1948
The Three Musketeers
Film · 1948
Hills of Home
Film · 1948
Green Dolphin Street
Film · 1947
If Winter Comes
Film · 1947
Thunder in the Valley
Film · 1947
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Film · 1946
Cluny Brown
Film · 1946
The Imperfect Lady
Film · 1946
Piccadilly Incident
Film · 1946
Monsieur Beaucaire
Film · 1946
The Valley of Decision
Film · 1945
Kitty
Film · 1945
She Went to the Races
Film · 1945
The Sailor Takes a Wife
Film · 1945
National Velvet
Film · 1945
Captain Kidd
Film · 1945
The Canterville Ghost
Film · 1944
Above Suspicion
Film · 1943
Madame Curie
Film · 1943
Salute to the Marines
Film · 1943
Assignment in Brittany
Film · 1943
Three Hearts for Julia
Film · 1943
Forever and a Day
Film · 1943
Woman of the Year
Film · 1942
Random Harvest
Film · 1942
Mrs. Miniver
Film · 1942
Reunion in France
Film · 1942
Cairo
Film · 1942
Somewhere I'll Find You
Film · 1942
White Cargo
Film · 1942
We Were Dancing
Film · 1942
I Married an Angel
Film · 1942
Pierre of the Plains
Film · 1942
A Woman's Face
Film · 1941
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Film · 1941
They Met in Bombay
Film · 1941
Blonde Inspiration
Film · 1941
Charley's Aunt
Film · 1941
Lady Be Good
Film · 1941
Free and Easy
Film · 1941
The Ghost Comes Home
Film · 1940
The Earl of Chicago
Film · 1940
Florian
Film · 1940
Hullabaloo
Film · 1940
Bad Little Angel
Film · 1939
The Real Glory
Film · 1939
Fast and Loose
Film · 1939
Remember?
Film · 1939
Hotel Imperial
Film · 1939
Bridal Suite
Film · 1939
A Christmas Carol
Film · 1938
Everybody Sing
Film · 1938
Three Loves Has Nancy
Film · 1938
Kidnapped
Film · 1938
The Girl Downstairs
Film · 1938
Paradise for Three
Film · 1938
Vacation from Love
Film · 1938
A Fireside Chat with Lionel Barrymore
Film · 1938
Conquest
Film · 1937
Rosalie
Film · 1937
Madame X
Film · 1937
Personal Property
Film · 1937
The Bride Wore Red
Film · 1937
Dangerous Number
Film · 1937
The Great Ziegfeld
Film · 1936
Love on the Run
Film · 1936
Rose Marie
Film · 1936
Petticoat Fever
Film · 1936
Trouble for Two
Film · 1936
Yours for the Asking
Film · 1936
Adventure in Manhattan
Film · 1936
The Girl on the Front Page
Film · 1936
A Tale of Two Cities
Film · 1935
The Good Fairy
Film · 1935
Anna Karenina
Film · 1935
Call of the Wild
Film · 1935
Escapade
Film · 1935
Enchanted April
Film · 1935
The Bishop Misbehaves
Film · 1935
Queen Christina
Film · 1934
Of Human Bondage
Film · 1934
Fashions of 1934
Film · 1934
Music in the Air
Film · 1934
Nana
Film · 1934
Here Is My Heart
Film · 1934
Stingaree
Film · 1934
The House of Rothschild
Film · 1934
Madame du Barry
Film · 1934
Mandalay
Film · 1934
Where Sinners Meet
Film · 1934
The Countess of Monte Cristo
Film · 1934
The Human Side
Film · 1934
A Study in Scarlet
Film · 1933
Double Harness
Film · 1933
Voltaire
Film · 1933
The Narrow Corner
Film · 1933
The Big Brain
Film · 1933
Downstairs
Film · 1932
Sherlock Holmes
Film · 1932
Lovers Courageous
Film · 1932
The Man Called Back
Film · 1932
A Woman Commands
Film · 1932
Robbers' Roost
Film · 1932
Platinum Blonde
Film · 1931
The Man in Possession
Film · 1931
The Letter
Film · 1929
Phroso
Film · 1922
The Grass Orphan
Film · 1922