Donald MacBride
Donald Hugh MacBride was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television.
Starting in vaudeville, he went on to appear in nearly 140 films between 1914 and 1955.
Early life
MacBride was born 1893 in Brooklyn, New York.
His year of birth is given variously as 1889 or 1893 in the standard reference books. He launched his entertainment career as a chorister at St Thomas Fifth Avenue and then at Garden City Cathedral in New York. As a teenager, he recorded the earliest example of a solo recording by a chorister from the USA, on 15 November 1907, singing Handel's 'Angels Ever Bright and Fair'.
Career
Motion pictures
Beginning in 1930, like many New York-based, stage-trained actors, he found work at the Paramount, Vitaphone, and Educational studios, all of which had East Coast branches. He is clearly visible as a crowd extra welcoming Groucho Marx in the Paramount feature Animal Crackers. Speaking roles in short subjects followed, establishing MacBride as a comic tough guy or villain opposite Tom Howard, Shemp Howard, Buster Keaton, and other comedy stars.
MacBride's fortunes improved when he was featured in the hit play Room Service. In this farce comedy about a shoestring producer and his desperate associates trying to avoid eviction from a hotel, MacBride played the no-nonsense hotel manager, who frequently met bad news with an explosive "Oh, God damn!"
RKO Radio Pictures bought the film rights to Room Service as a vehicle for The Marx Brothers, and brought many of the Broadway cast members to Hollywood, including Donald MacBride reprising his role. Hollywood producers noticed MacBride's comic timing and he was established overnight as a skilled character actor. Like fellow character comedian Edgar Kennedy, MacBride specialized in the comedy of frustration, and his portrayals showed the harried MacBride enduring various indignities quietly and gradually until he finally reached a boiling point. He often played police inspectors, detectives, military officers, and other authority figures, all of whom were tormented by the leading players in the films.
MacBride signed a non-exclusive RKO contract, allowing him to freelance among the major studios for the next several years. In 1947, with the larger studios cutting down on the number of films in production, MacBride accepted featured roles at smaller studios: Monogram, Republic, and Lippert. He continued to work at the larger studios, but often in small or uncredited roles.
MacBride was an early arrival in the new field of television, having appeared in the pioneering series Public Prosecutor in 1947. He continued to work in television until shortly before his death.
Death
MacBride died on June 21, 1957 in Los Angeles, California, of a heart ailment. Survivors included his wife and a stepson, Jack Craddock.
Selected filmography
The Daring of Diana - Jimmy TowneHesper of the Mountains - BakerThe Fettered Woman - Jack WolverThe Shell Game - Vocal TeacherThe Capitol - Jimmy VincentAnimal Crackers - House Party Guest His Woman - Crewman Wayward - Taxicab Driver Misleading Lady - Bill - Asylum GuardBuzzin' Around - Policeman Moonlight and Pretzels - Business Associate Get That Venus - The Chemist - GangsterRoom Service - Gregory WagnerAnnabel Takes a Tour - Thompson, RR ConductorBlondie Takes a Vacation - Harvey MortonThe Great Man Votes - Iron Hat McCarthyTwelve Crowded Hours - Detective Sergeant Joe KellerThe Story of Vernon and Irene Castle - Hotel ManagerThe Flying Irishman - Mr. Roy ThompsonThe Girl from Mexico - L. B. RennerThe Gracie Allen Murder Case - Dist. Atty. John MarkhamThe Girl and the Gambler - Mike BascomBlondie Takes a Vacation - Harvey MortonCharlie Chan at Treasure Island - Chief J.J. KilvaineThe Amazing Mr. Williams - Police Lieutenant BixlerThe Saint's Double Trouble - John BohlenNorthwest Passage - Sergeant McNottCurtain Call - Geoffrey 'Jeff' CrandallMy Favorite Wife - Hotel ClerkWyoming - Bart - Henchman Hit Parade of 1941 - HarrisonMurder Over New York - Inspector VanceMichael Shayne: Private Detective - Chief PainterThe Invisible Woman - FoghornHigh Sierra - Big MacFootlight Fever - Mr. Geoffrey 'Geoff' CrandallTopper Returns - Police Detective RobertsLove Crazy - 'Pinky' GraysonHere Comes Mr. Jordan - Inspector WilliamsYou'll Never Get Rich - Top SergeantRise and Shine - Coach GrahamLouisiana Purchase - Capt. Pierre WhitfieldYou're in the Army Now - Colonel DobsonTwo Yanks in Trinidad - Sgt. ValentineJuke Girl - 'Muckeye' JohnMexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost - Percy FitzbaddenThe Glass Key - FarrMy Sister Eileen - Officer LoniganA Night to Remember - BollingLady Bodyguard - R. L. BarclayThey Got Me Covered - MasonA Stranger in Town - Vinnie Z. BlaxtonBest Foot Forward - Capt. BraddThe Doughgirls - Judge FranklinThe Thin Man Goes Home - Police Chief MacGregorPractically Yours - Sam She Gets Her Man - Henry WrightOut of This World - J.C. CrawfordPenthouse Rhythm - BrewsterAbbott and Costello in Hollywood - Dennis KavanaughHold That Blonde - Mr. KratzDoll Face - Lawyer FergusonGirl on the Spot - Inspector GleasonLittle Giant - The conductorBlonde Alibi - Police Inspector CarmichaelThe Dark Corner - Policeman in Galleries The Dark Horse - John RooneyThe Time of Their Lives - Lt. MasonThe Killers - R.S. KenyonThe Brute Man - Police Captain M. J. DonellyBeat the Band - P. Aloysius DuffThe Egg and I - Mr. HentyBuck Privates Come Home - Police CaptainThe Fabulous Joe - Lawyer GilbertJoe Palooka in the Knockout - CrockettGood News - Coach JohnsonSmart Politics - Phineas Wharton, Sr. / Phineas Wharton, Jr.Campus Sleuth - Insp. WatsonJinx Money - Police Capt. James Q. BroaderikThe Story of Seabiscuit - George CarsonChallenge to Lassie Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey - MayorHoliday Rhythm - Earl E. ByrdBowery Battalion - Sgt. Herbert FrisbieCuban Fireball - Captain BrownRhubarb - PheenyTexas Carnival - Concessionaire #2The Stooge - Diner Proprietor Two Tickets to Broadway - Bus Terminal Guard Arresting Carter Sailor Beware - Chief Bos'n Mate Meet Danny Wilson - Police Desk SergeantGobs and Gals - Cmdr. J.E. GerrensThe Seven Year Itch - Mr. Brady