Henry Kolker

Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874^[2] – July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and director.

Henry Kolker
Kolker, c. 1910
Born	Joseph Henry Kolker (1874-12-13)December 13, 1874 Berlin, Germany
Died	July 15, 1947(1947-07-15) (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor Film director
Years active	1914–1947
Spouse(s)	Margaret Bruenn (1926–1947; her death) Lillian Carroll (?–1926)(suicide 1935)[1]

Early years

Kolker was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1874.^[3] (Some sources say 1870.^{[citation needed]}) He came to America at age five and was educated by Franciscan Monks^[4] at Quincy, Illinois.^[5]

Career

Kolker had a substantial stage career before entering silent films.^[6] He began acting professionally in stock theater in 1895.^[5] On stage he appeared opposite actresses such as Edith Wynne Matthison, Bertha Kalich and Ruth Chatterton.

Kolker began acting in films in 1915.^[5] He is best remembered for his movie roles, including one in the ground-breaking Pre-Code film Baby Face (1933) as an elderly CEO. Another well-remembered part is as Mr. Seton, father of Katharine Hepburn and Lew Ayres in the 1938 film Holiday directed by George Cukor.

Kolker also directed. His best-known effort is Disraeli (1921), starring George Arliss, which is now a mostly lost film with only one reel remaining,^[7] and not to be confused with a later sound era portrayal by Arliss of the same name.

Personal life

Kolker was married to Lillian Carroll; they divorced in 1926. Soon after the divorce, he married Margaret Bruen.^[8]

Kolker died on July 15, 1947, aged 72.

Selected filmography

As actor

• The Bigger Man (1915) as John Stoddard
• The Warning (1915) as Robert Denman
• How Molly Made Good (1915, cameo as himself)
• Gloria's Romance (1916) as Dr. Stephen Royce
• The Shell Game (1918) as Lawrence Gray
• Social Hypocrites (1918) as Dr. Frank Simpson
• The House of Mirth (1918) as Lawrence Selden
• The Great Victory (1918) as Kaiser Wilhelm II
• The Parisian Tigress (1919) as Henri Dutray
• Blackie's Redemption (1919) as Fred the Count
• The Red Lantern (1919)
• Tangled Threads (1919) as Dr. MacGregor
• The Brat (1919) as A Dandy
• Her Purchase Price (1919) as Duke of Wryden
• A Man of Stone (1921)
• Any Woman (1925) as Egbert Phillips
• Sally, Irene and Mary (1925) as Marcus Morton
• The Palace of Pleasure (1926) as Premier
• Hell's Four Hundred (1926) as John Gilmore
• Winning the Futurity (1926) (scenes deleted)
• Wet Paint (1926) as A Husband
• A Kiss in a Taxi (1927) as Leon Lambert
• Annie Laurie (1927) as King's Representative
• Rough House Rosie (1927) as W.S. Davids
• Soft Living (1928) as Roidney S. Bowen
• Midnight Rose (1928) as Corbin
• The Charge of the Gauchos (1928) as Viceroy Cisneros
• Don't Marry (1928) as Gen. Willoughby
• Coquette (1929) as Jasper Carter
• The Valiant (1929) as Judge
• Pleasure Crazed (1929) as Col. Farquar
• Love, Live and Laugh (1929) as Enrico
• The Bad One (1930) as Prosecutor
• East Is West (1930) as Butler
• Abraham Lincoln (1930) as New Englander
• The Way of All Men (1930) as Sharp
• Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930) as D'Aiguillon
• East Is West (1930) as Mr. Benson
• One Heavenly Night (1931) as Prefect of Police
• Don't Bet on Women (1931) as Butterfield
• Doctors' Wives (1931) as Hospital Official
• Quick Millions (1931) as District Attorney
• Indiscreet (1931) as Mr. Woodward
• The Spy (1931) as Tchijinski
• I Like Your Nerve (1931) as Areal Pacheco
• The Unholy Garden (1931) as Col. Lautrac
• The Yellow Ticket (1931) as Passport Clerk
• The Washington Masquerade (1932) as Stapleton
• Jewel Robbery (1932) as Baron Franz
• The First Year (1932) as Peter Barstow
• Devil and the Deep (1932) as Hutton
• Down to Earth (1932) as Randolph
• The Crash (1932) as John Fair
• Faithless (1932) as Mr. Carter
• Rasputin and the Empress (1932) as Chief of Secret Police
• The Keyhole (1933) as Schuyler Brooks
• Gabriel Over the White House (1933) as Sen. Langham – Senate Majority Leader
• Hello, Sister! (1933) as Jameson Brewster, Bank President
• A Bedtime Story (1933) as Agent de Police
• Hell Below (1933) as Adm. Sir Hugh Higby
• The Narrow Corner (1933) as Mr. Blake, Fred's Father
• Baby Face (1933) as Carter
• Notorious But Nice (1933) as Defense Attorney Clark
• The Power and the Glory (1933) as Mr. Borden
• Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) as Theodore Arno
• Golden Harvest (1933) as Henry Flint
• I Loved a Woman (1933) as Mr. Sanborn
• Love, Honor, and Oh Baby! (1933) as The Judge
• Gigolettes of Paris (1933) as Police Interrogator
• Meet the Baron (1933) as Baron Munchausen
• Blood Money (1933) as Newspaper Managing Editor
• Massacre (1934) as Sen. Woolsey
• Bedside (1934) as Maritza's Manager
• I've Got Your Number (1934) as Robert Kirkland
• The Cat and the Fiddle (1934) as Theatre Manager
• Wonder Bar (1934) as Mr. R.H. Renaud
• Journal of a Crime (1934) as Henri Marcher
• Success at Any Price (1934) as Hatfield
• Sisters Under the Skin (1934) as Jones
• Let's Talk It Over (1934) as Doctor
• Black Moon (1934) as The Psychiatrist
• The Hell Cat (1934) as C.W. Sloane
• Let's Try Again (1934) as Mr. Blake
• Stamboul Quest (1934) as 'Excellency' German War Office
• Whom the Gods Destroy (1934) as Carlo, the Puppeteer
• Blind Date (1934) as J.W. Hartwell, Sr.
• Name the Woman (1934) as Judge Adams
• The Girl From Missouri (1934) as Sen. Titcombe
• She Loves Me Not (1934) as Charles M. Lawton
• Now and Forever (1934) as Mr. Clark
• Million Dollar Ransom (1934) Dr. Davis
• One Exciting Adventure (1934) as Customer
• A Lost Lady (1934) as John Ormsby
• Lady by Choice (1934) as Opper
• Imitation of Life (1934) as Dr. Preston
• Love Time (1934) as Emperor Francis I
• Kid Millions (1934) as Attorney
• The Ghost Walks (1934) as Dr. Kent
• Sing Sing Nights (1934) as Kurt Nordon
• The Band Plays On (1934) as Professor Hackett
• Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) as M. Lamartine
• Society Doctor (1935) as Dr. Harvey
• Red Hot Tires (1935) as Martin Sanford
• The Mystery Man (1935) as Ellwyn A. 'Jo-Jo' Jonas
• One New York Night (1935) as Arthur Carlisle
• Times Square Lady (1935) as Mr. Fielding
• A Dog of Flanders (1935) as Monsieur LaTour, Art Critic
• The Florentine Dagger (1935) as Auctioneer
• The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) as District Attorney Stacey
• Reckless (1935) as Mr. Gearhart
• Go Into Your Dance (1935) as Doctor
• Spring Tonic (1935) as Mr. Enix
• Honeymoon Limited (1935) as Mr. Randall
• Mad Love (1935) as Prefect Rosset
• The Black Room (1935) as Baron Frederick de Berghman
• Here Comes the Band (1935) as Simmon's Attorney
• Diamond Jim (1935) as J.C. Randolf, Bank President
• Ladies Love Danger (1935) as Jose Lopez
• Red Salute (1935) as Dean
• I Live My Life (1935) as Relative at Mrs. Gage's
• Shipmates Forever (1935) as The Doctor
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) as Warder
• Three Kids and a Queen (1935) as Crippets
• Frisco Waterfront (1935) as District Attorney
• The Great Impersonation (1935) as Dr. Schmidt
• Collegiate (1936) as Mr. MacGregor
• My Marriage (1936) as Maj. Vaile
• Bullets or Ballots (1936) as Mr. Hollister
• Romeo and Juliet (1936) as Friar Laurence
• Sitting on the Moon (1936) as Worthington
• In His Steps (1936) as Calvin Carver
• The Man Who Lived Twice (1936) as Judge Henry Treacher
• Theodora Goes Wild (1936) as Jonathan Grant
• Great Guy (1936) as Abel Canning
• Under Cover of Night (1937) as District Attorney Pritchard
• Once a Doctor (1937) as Dr. Bruce Nordland
• They Wanted to Marry (1937) as Mr. Hunter
• Green Light (1937) as Dr. Lane
• Maid of Salem (1937) as Crown Chief Justice Laughton
• Let Them Live (1937) as Judge Lederer
• The Devil Is Driving (1937) as Charles Stevens
• Conquest (1937) as Sen. Wybitcki
• Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937) as 'Doc' Godfrey
• The Invisible Menace (1938) as Col. Hackett
• Love Is a Headache (1938) as Mr. Sam Ellinger
• The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) as Nicolo Polo
• Holiday (1938) as Edward Seton
• Safety in Numbers (1938) as Dr. Lawrence Edmonds
• Marie Antoinette (1938) as Court Aide
• Too Hot to Handle (1938) as "Pearly" Todd
• The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) as Horace Smith
• Let Us Live (1939) as Chief of Police
• Union Pacific (1939) as Asa M. Barrows
• Should Husbands Work? (1939) as Taylor
• These Glamour Girls (1939) as Philip S. Griswold II
• Hidden Power (1939) as Weston
• The Real Glory (1939) as The General
• Parents on Trial (1939) as James Wesley
• Here I Am a Stranger (1939) as R.J. Bennett
• Main Street Lawyer (1939) as Donnelly, District Attorney
• Grand Ole Opry (1940) as William C. Scully
• Money and the Woman (1940) as Mr. Rollins, Barbara's Father
• Las Vegas Nights (1941) as John Stevens
• The Man Who Lost Himself (1941) as Mulhausen
• The Great Swindle (1941) as Stewart Cordell
• A Woman's Face (1941) as Judge
• The Parson of Panamint (1941) as Judge Arnold Mason
• Sing for Your Supper (1941) as Myron T. Hayworth
• Reunion in France (1942) as General Bartholomew
• Sarong Girl (1943) as Mr. Jefferson Baxter
• Bluebeard (1944) as Deschamps
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) as Dr. Benbow

As director

Kolker directed 18 feature films, most of them lost.

• Santo Icario (1914)
• A Man's Country (1919)
• The Woman Michael Married (1919)
• The Third Generation (1920)
• Bright Skies (1920)
• Heart of Twenty (1920)
• The Palace of Darkened Windows (1920)
• The Greatest Love (1920)
• Bucking the Tiger (1921)
• Who Am I? (1921)
• The Fighter (1921)
• Disraeli (1921)
• The Leopardess (1923)
• Sant'Ilario (1923)
• The Snow Bride (1923)
• The Purple Highway (1923)
• I Will Repay (1923)
• The Great Well (1924)

As writer

• The Man with the Iron Heart (1915, short)
• The Third Generation (1920)