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Reginald Denny (actor)
Encyclopedia
Reginald Denny was an English
stage
, film
, and television
actor
. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain
.
, England
, he began his stage career at age seven in "The Royal Family" and in The Merry Widow
at age 16. years later he joined an opera company as a baritone, and toured India. After continuing his stage career in America, his film career started in 1915 with the old World Film Company and he made films both in the United States and England until the 1960s. He came from a theatrical family which came to the U.S. in 1912 to appear in the stage production Quaker Girl. His father was the actor and singer W. H. Denny
. Reginald became friends with actor John Barrymore
and appeared in Barrymore's acclaimed 1920 Broadway production of Richard III
.
Denny was a well-known actor in silent films and with the advent of talkies, he became a character actor. He played the lead role in a number of his earlier films, generally as a comedic Englishman in such works as Private Lives
, and later had reasonably steady work as a supporting actor in dozens of movies, including The Little Minister
(1934) with Katharine Hepburn
, Anna Karenina
(1935) with Greta Garbo
, Alfred Hitchcock
's Rebecca (1940) and the Frank Sinatra
crime caper film Assault on a Queen
(1966).
His last role was in Batman
(1966) as Commodore Schmidlapp.
Denny also made frequent appearances in television during the 1950s and 1960s.
He served as an observer/gunner in World War I
in the Royal Flying Corps
, and in the 1920s he performed as a stunt
pilot
. In the early 1930s, Denny became interested in radio
controlled model
planes
. He and his business partners formed Reginald Denny Industries and opened a model plane shop in 1934 known as Reginald Denny Hobby Shops. Denny bought a plane design from Walter Righter in 1938 and began marketing it as the "Dennyplane", and a model engine called the "Dennymite". In 1940, Denny and his partners won an Army
contract for their radio-controlled target drone, the OQ-2 Radioplane
. They manufactured nearly fifteen thousand drones for the army during World War II
.
The company was bought by Northrop
in 1952. The hobby shop business closed in the 1960s.
in Los Angeles, California
.
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...
stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Acting career
Born Reginald Leigh Dugmore in Richmond, SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
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...
, he began his stage career at age seven in "The Royal Family" and in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
at age 16. years later he joined an opera company as a baritone, and toured India. After continuing his stage career in America, his film career started in 1915 with the old World Film Company and he made films both in the United States and England until the 1960s. He came from a theatrical family which came to the U.S. in 1912 to appear in the stage production Quaker Girl. His father was the actor and singer W. H. Denny
W. H. Denny
W. H. Denny was an English singer and actor best remembered for his portrayal of baritone roles in the Savoy Operas.-Early years:...
. Reginald became friends with actor John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
and appeared in Barrymore's acclaimed 1920 Broadway production of Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
.
Denny was a well-known actor in silent films and with the advent of talkies, he became a character actor. He played the lead role in a number of his earlier films, generally as a comedic Englishman in such works as Private Lives
Private Lives (film)
Private Lives is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Noël Coward.-Plot synopsis:...
, and later had reasonably steady work as a supporting actor in dozens of movies, including The Little Minister
The Little Minister
The Little Minister is a 1934 American drama film directed by Richard Wallace. The screenplay by Jane Murfin, Sarah Y. Mason, and Victor Heerman is based on the 1891 novel and subsequent 1897 play of the same title by J. M. Barrie. It was the fifth feature film adaptation of the works, following...
(1934) with Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
(1935) with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Rebecca (1940) and the Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
crime caper film Assault on a Queen
Assault on a Queen
Assault on a Queen is a 1966 American action-adventure film, directed by Jack Donohue, starring Frank Sinatra and Italian beauty Virna Lisi. Based on a 1959 novel by Jack Finney, it was adapted for the screen by Rod Serling and released by Paramount Pictures on June 15, 1966.-Plot summary:A World...
(1966).
His last role was in Batman
Batman (1966 film)
Batman, often promoted as Batman: The Movie, is a 1966 film based on the Batman television series, and the first full-length theatrical adaptation of the DC Comics character of the same name. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The film was...
(1966) as Commodore Schmidlapp.
Denny also made frequent appearances in television during the 1950s and 1960s.
Aviation career
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
, and in the 1920s he performed as a stunt
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. In the early 1930s, Denny became interested in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
controlled model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
planes
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. He and his business partners formed Reginald Denny Industries and opened a model plane shop in 1934 known as Reginald Denny Hobby Shops. Denny bought a plane design from Walter Righter in 1938 and began marketing it as the "Dennyplane", and a model engine called the "Dennymite". In 1940, Denny and his partners won an Army
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
contract for their radio-controlled target drone, the OQ-2 Radioplane
OQ-2 Radioplane
-See also:* History of unmanned aerial vehicles#Reginald Denny and the Radioplane* List of military aircraft of the United States-References:This article contains material that originally came from the web article by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain....
. They manufactured nearly fifteen thousand drones for the army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The company was bought by Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
in 1952. The hobby shop business closed in the 1960s.
Death
Reginald Denny died on 16 June 1967, aged 75, after suffering a stroke. He is buried at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills CemeteryForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Partial filmography
- Niobe (1915)
- Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes (1922 film)Sherlock Holmes is an American silent film starring John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Watson. The film was titled Moriarty in the UK.-Production background:...
(1922) - Skinner's Dress SuitSkinner's Dress SuitSkinner's Dress Suit is a 1926 silent film comedy produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and starring Reginald Denny. William Seiter was the director of the film which was based on the novel of the name by Henry Irving Dodge...
(1926) - One Hysterical NightOne Hysterical NightOne Hysterical Night is an American comedy film directed by William James Craft and starring Reginald Denny, Nora Lane, Walter Brennan and Peter Gawthorne.-Plot:...
(1929) - Madam SatanMadam SatanMadam Satan is a dramatic pre-Code musical film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille for MGM, one of the few DeMille made for the Culver City studio...
(1930) - A Lady's MoralsA Lady's MoralsA Lady's Morals is a 1930 film offering a highly fictionalized account of singer Jenny Lind. The movie features Grace Moore as Lind, Reginald Denny as a lover, and Wallace Beery as P. T. Barnum; Beery would play Barnum again four years later in The Mighty Barnum...
(1930) - Those Three French GirlsThose Three French GirlsThose Three French Girls is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Fifi D'Orsay, Reginald Denny and Cliff Edwards. While on holiday in a small French town, an Englishman encounters three French girls and two American men. The dialogue was written by P.G....
(1930) - Parlor, Bedroom and BathParlor, Bedroom and BathParlor, Bedroom and Bath is a comedy film starring Buster Keaton, released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer in 1931. It was one of Keaton's early talking pictures, released in the aftermath of his silent career. The film was released in the United Kingdom as Romeo in Pyjamas...
(1931) - KikiKiki (film)Kiki is a 1931 romantic comedy starring Mary Pickford and Reginald Denny, directed by Sam Taylor. The film is a remake of the 1926 version starring Norma Talmadge.-Plot:...
(1931) - Private LivesPrivate Lives (film)Private Lives is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Noël Coward.-Plot synopsis:...
(1931) - The BarbarianThe Barbarian (1933 film)The Barbarian is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film about an American woman tourist in Egypt who has several suitors, among them an Arab guide who is more than he seems. The Barbarian stars Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy...
(1933) - Only YesterdayOnly Yesterday (1933 film)Only Yesterday is a 1933 drama film about a young woman who becomes pregnant by her boyfriend before he rushes off to fight in World War I. It stars Margaret Sullavan and John Boles. The film was based on the novel Briefe einer unbekannten by Stefan Zweig, though he was not credited...
(1933) - The Lost PatrolThe Lost Patrol (1934 film)The Lost Patrol is a 1934 war film made by RKO. It was directed and produced by John Ford, with Merian C. Cooper as executive producer and Cliff Reid as associate producer. The screenplay was by Dudley Nichols, adapted by Garrett Fort from the novel Patrol by Philip MacDonald. The music score was...
(1934) - The World Moves OnThe World Moves On-Plot:The story opens 185 years ago when two families, cotton merchants in England and America, with branches in France and Prussia swear to stand by each other in a belief that a great business firmly established in four countries will be able to withstand even such another calamity as the...
(1934) - Of Human Bondage (1934)
- We're Rich AgainWe're Rich AgainWe're Rich Again is a 1934 comedy film starring Edna May Oliver, Billie Burke and Marian Nixon. A formerly wealthy family tries to stave off bankruptcy until one of them can marry a rich man...
(1934) - The Richest Girl in the World (1934)
- The Little MinisterThe Little MinisterThe Little Minister is a 1934 American drama film directed by Richard Wallace. The screenplay by Jane Murfin, Sarah Y. Mason, and Victor Heerman is based on the 1891 novel and subsequent 1897 play of the same title by J. M. Barrie. It was the fifth feature film adaptation of the works, following...
(1934) - No More LadiesNo More LadiesNo More Ladies is a 1935 film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, and Franchot Tone, directed by Edward H. Griffith and George Cukor. It is based on a play by A.E. Thomas...
(1935) - Anna KareninaAnna Karenina (1935 film)Anna Karenina is a 1935 film directed by Clarence Brown. The film stars Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Basil Rathbone and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is the most famous and critically acclaimed film adaptation of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. There are several other film adaptations of the novel.In New...
(1935) - Remember Last Night?Remember Last Night?Remember Last Night? is a 1935 American mystery comedy film directed by James Whale. The film, based on the novel The Hangover Murders, is about the investigation of the murder of one of a group of friends. The survivors are unable to recall the events of the night of the murder because they were...
(1935) - Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (1936 film)Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings...
(1936) - More Than a SecretaryMore Than a SecretaryMore Than a Secretary is a 1936 romantic comedy film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Alfred E. Green, and written by Dale Van Every and Lynn Starling. The story was adapted by Ethel Hill and Aben Kandel, based on magazine story "Safari in Manhattan" by Matt Taylor.It tells the story of a...
(1936) - Jungle MenaceJungle Menace-External links:* * * **...
(1937 serial) - Four Men and a PrayerFour Men and a Prayer-Cast:* Loretta Young - Miss Lynn Cherrington* Richard Greene - Geoffrey Leigh* George Sanders - Wyatt Leigh* David Niven - Christopher Leigh* C. Aubrey Smith - Col. Loring Leigh* J. Edward Bromberg - Gen. Torres* William Henry - Rodney Leigh...
(1938) - Rebecca (1940)
- Seven Sinners (1940)
- Captains of the CloudsCaptains of the CloudsCaptains of the Clouds is a 1942 Warner Bros. war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney , with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was written by Arthur T. Horman, Richard Macaulay and Norman Reilly Raine,...
(1942) - Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of TerrorSherlock Holmes and the Voice of TerrorSherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is the third film in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes movies. Made in 1942, the film combines elements of the Arthur Conan Doyle story "His Last Bow" and loosely parallels the real-life activities of Lord Haw-haw...
(1942) - Eyes in the NightEyes in the NightEyes in the Night is a 1942 American mystery film directed by Fred Zinnemann based on Baynard Kendrick's 1941 novel The Odor of Violets .- Plot summary :...
(1942) - Thunder BirdsThunder Birds (1942 film)Thunder Birds is a Technicolor film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Gene Tierney, Preston Foster, and John Sutton...
(1942) - Love LettersLove Letters (1945 film)Love Letters is a 1945 film adapted by Ayn Rand from the novel Pity My Simplicity by Christopher Massie. It was directed by William Dieterle and stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper and Anita Louise...
(1945) - The LocketThe LocketThe Locket is a suspense film directed by John Brahm, starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Raymond, and released by RKO Radio Pictures...
(1946) - My Favorite BrunetteMy Favorite BrunetteMy Favorite Brunette is a 1947 movie spoofing movie detectives and the film noir style. Starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, it also features Lon Chaney, Jr...
(1947) - The Macomber AffairThe Macomber AffairThe Macomber Affair is a 1947 in filmZ1947 psychological drama set in British East Africa concerning a fatal triangle of a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who comes between them. The film was distributed by United Artists, directed by Zoltan Korda, and starring by...
(1947) - Escape Me neverEscape Me NeverEscape Me Never is a play written by Margaret Kennedy based upon her 1930s novel The Fool of the Family.Set in pre World War I Europe, it tells the story of two brothers who are composers, share a flat, and are both in love with two women—an heiress and a young innocent.The original West End run...
(1947) - The Secret Life of Walter MittyThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (film)The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 1947 comedy film, loosely based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber. It stars Danny Kaye as a young daydreaming editor for a book publishing firm. The film was adapted for the screen by Ken Englund, Everett Freeman, and Philip Rapp, and directed...
(1947) - Christmas EveChristmas Eve (film)Christmas Eve is a 1947 United Artists comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin. The movie is based on the story by Richard H. Landau and stars George Raft, George Brent and Randolph Scott...
(1947) - Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream HouseMr. Blandings Builds His Dream HouseMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is a 1948 American comedy film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The film was written and produced by the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama...
(1948) - Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeAbbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeAbbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1953 comedy horror film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, and co-starring Boris Karloff.Loosely based on the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
(1953) - The Donald O'Connor ShowThe Donald O'Connor ShowThe Donald O'Connor Show is an American musical situation comedy television series starring singer/dancer Donald O'Connor...
(NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), 1955) - Cat BallouCat BallouCat Ballou is a 1965 comedy/Western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his murder, but finds that the man she hires is not what she expected...
(1965) - Assault on a QueenAssault on a QueenAssault on a Queen is a 1966 American action-adventure film, directed by Jack Donohue, starring Frank Sinatra and Italian beauty Virna Lisi. Based on a 1959 novel by Jack Finney, it was adapted for the screen by Rod Serling and released by Paramount Pictures on June 15, 1966.-Plot summary:A World...
(1966) - BatmanBatman (1966 film)Batman, often promoted as Batman: The Movie, is a 1966 film based on the Batman television series, and the first full-length theatrical adaptation of the DC Comics character of the same name. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The film was...
(1966)