Horatio Curtis Benton (August 26, 1885 – September 14, 1938) was an American actor and screenwriter for silent films and early talkies.
Curtis Benton | |
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![]() Benton in 1916 | |
Born | Horatio Curtis Benton August 26, 1885 Toledo, Ohio, USA |
Died | September 14, 1938 | (aged 53)
Occupation(s) | actor, Boxer |
Years active |
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Biography
editBorn in Toledo, Ohio, Benton, attended Vanderbilt University and embarked upon a stage career in 1903, appearing with Robert Hilliard in A Fool There Was, and two seasons with Cohan and Harris' company where he played parts in The Fortune Hunter, Broadway Jones, and others. His film career included supporting roles in The Pursuit Eternal (1915), Conscience (1915) (which he also wrote), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), Jealousy (1916), The Siren (1917), Fireman, Save My Child (1932) and Kid Galahad (1937).[1][2][3] His writing credits include The Uninvited Guest (1924), It Is the Law (1924), and The Phantom Bullet (1926). In his later years he was a boxing announcer at the Hollywood Stadium.
Death
editHe died in Hollywood in 1938 after a six-months illness.[4]
Filmography
editYear | Title | Role | Actor | Writer | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1915
|
The Story the Silk Hats Told | — | No | Yes | Short film |
Everygirl | Love | Yes | No | ||
The Mystery of the Man Who Slept | Jack Christie | Yes | No | ||
The Honor of the Ormsbys | Varden | Yes | No | ||
The Girl Who Had a Soul | undetermined role | Yes | No | ||
A Witch of Salem Town | The Governor | Yes | No | ||
The Pursuit Eternal | Stanlon Leeds | Yes | No | ||
Conscience | undetermined role | Yes | Yes | ||
The Wrong Label | Detective Farnum | Yes | No | Short film | |
Not a Lamb Shall Stray | The Husband | Yes | No | ||
Capital Punishment | No | Yes | |||
1916
|
Madame Cubist | Tom Decker | Yes | No | |
The Strength of the Weak | Tom Dare | Yes | No | ||
Scorched Wings | Robert Blair | Yes | No | Short film | |
The Girl Who Feared Daylight | Bruce Hilton | Yes | No | ||
Just Kitty | George Jennings | Yes | No | ||
The Devil's Image | James Mortimer | Yes | No | ||
A Stranger in His Own Home | Percival Green | Yes | No | ||
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Ned Land | Yes | No | ||
Jealousy | Roland Carney | Yes | No | ||
1917
|
The Siren | undetermined role | Yes | No | |
1922
|
The Fast Freight | — | No | Yes | |
1923
|
Mighty Lak' a Rose | — | No | Yes | |
1924
|
Half-A-Dollar-Bill | — | No | Yes | |
The Uninvited Guest | — | No | Yes | ||
It Is the Law | — | No | Yes | ||
1925
|
Sporting Life | — | No | Yes | |
1926
|
The Phantom Bullet | — | No | Yes | |
The Runaway Express | — | No | Yes | ||
1927
|
Down the Stretch | — | No | Yes | |
The Sunset Derby | — | No | Yes | ||
The Life of Riley | — | No | Yes | ||
Clancy's Kosher Wedding | — | No | Yes | ||
1928
|
Bachelor's Paradise | — | No | Yes | |
United States Smith | — | No | Yes | ||
A Dumb Waiter | — | No | Yes | Short film | |
Freedom of the Press | — | No | Uncredited | ||
A Jim Jam Janitor | — | No | Yes | Short film | |
1929
|
Clunked on the Corner | — | No | Yes | |
A Close Shave | — | No | Yes | ||
1931
|
Slide, Speedy, Slide | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | Short film, uncredited |
The Pottsville Palooka | Yes | No | |||
Local Boy Makes Good | Announcer at Track Meet | Yes | No | uncredited | |
1932
|
Fireman, Save My Child! | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | |
High Speed | Car Racing Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited | |
The Animal Kingdom | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | voice role, uncredited | |
1933
|
Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa | Yes | No | Short film | |
1934
|
Manhattan Melodrama | Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited |
1935
|
Don't Bet on Blondes | Announcer of Caprice Race | Yes | No | |
1936
|
It Had to Happen | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | |
Cain and Mabel | Fight Radio Announcer | Yes | No | ||
Three Men on a Horse | Racetrack Announcer | Yes | No | voice role, uncredited | |
1937
|
Kid Galahad | Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited, final film role |
References
edit- ^ Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual. New York: Motion Picture News, Inc. 1917. p. 40.
- ^ Truitt, Evelyn Mack (1983). Who Was Who on Screen. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-8352-1578-7.
- ^ Ragan, David (1992). Who's Who in Hollywood. New York: Facts on File. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8160-2011-9.
- ^ "Fight Announcer at Hollywood Claimed". The San Bernardino Sun. Associated Press. September 16, 1938.