Leonard Mudie
Leonard Mudie was an English character actor whose career lasted for nearly fifty years. After a successful start as a stage actor in England, he appeared regularly in the US, and made his home there from 1932. He appeared in character roles on Broadway and in Hollywood films.
Life and career
Early years
Leonard Mudie Cheetham was born in Cheetham Hill, a suburb of Manchester, England, the son of Thomas Hurst Cheetham and Lucy Amy Mudie. He made his stage debut with Annie Horniman's company at the Gaiety Theatre, Manchester in 1908. He remained with the company for several seasons, in a wide range of roles including Humphrey in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Verges in Much Ado About Nothing, Alan Jeffcoate in the première of Hindle Wakes, Joseph Surface in The School for Scandal, Gordon Jayne in The Second Mrs. Tanqueray and Walter How in Justice.
In The Manchester Guardian, James Agate commented on Mudie's acting in 1909, " has a definite and genuine feeling for the stage. His enunciation is very faulty, his accent not good … but the acting instinct is there." With the Horniman company Mudie made his London and American debuts.
In 1914 and 1915 Mudie appeared at the Opera House, Boston in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night. In 1916 he appeared at the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York in The Merry Wives of Windsor, playing Justice Shallow to the Falstaff of Sir Herbert Tree. For the next five years he appeared on Broadway and on tour in the US in modern plays, including a run playing Abraham Lincoln in a play based on the politician's life, and another playing Brian Strange in A.A. Milne's Mr Pim Passes By.
Film career
Mudie made his film debut in a Boris Karloff film, The Mummy in 1932. He moved to Hollywood in that year, and lived there for the rest of his life. He played a range of screen parts, some substantial, and others short cameos. Among the bigger roles were Dr Pearson in The Mummy, Porthinos in Cleopatra, Maitland in Mary of Scotland, and De Bourenne in Anthony Adverse. His small roles, according to The New York Times, were typically "a bewigged, gimlet-eyed British judge".
Mudie made the postwar transition into television, and appeared in four episodes of Adventures of Superman, in roles ranging from the comedic to the sinister. For the postwar cinema he played the regular character Commander Barnes in the series of Bomba, the Jungle Boy films. Mudie's final acting role was as one of the elderly survivors of a wrecked spaceship in “The Cage”, the first pilot episode of Star Trek, which was filmed in 1964 but not broadcast on television in full until 1988.
Partial filmography
A Message from Mars – Fred JonesThrough the Storm – JeremiahThe Mummy – Professor PearsonVoltaire – Morteau Dark Hazard – Birdy—Australian Tout Mandalay – Police Lieutenant The Mystery of Mr. X – Mr. XThe House of Rothschild – Tax Collector in PrussiaViva Villa! – Statesman Cleopatra – PothinosThe Painted Veil – Barrett, Townsend's Secretary The Little Minister – Villager Clive of India – General BurgoyneLes Misérables – Priest Counselling Released Prisoners Cardinal Richelieu – OlivaresBecky Sharp – TarquinTop Hat – Flower Salesman Rendezvous – RobertsA Feather in Her Hat – Hyde Park Orator The Great Impersonation – ManganCaptain Blood – Baron JeffreysSylvia Scarlett – Train Steward Professional Soldier – Radical Magnificent Obsession – Dr. Bardendreght The Story of Louis Pasteur – Coachman Mary of Scotland – MaitlandAnthony Adverse – De BourrienneHis Brother's Wife – PeteLloyd's of London – WaiterStolen Holiday – Wedding Guest Lost Horizon – Foreign Secretary with Prime Minister The King and the Chorus Girl – FootmanThin Ice – Chauffeur Shall We Dance – Room Service Waiter The League of Frightened Men – Professor HibbardParnell – Conservative Member Another Dawn – Army Doctor They Won't Forget – Judge MooreLondon by Night – SquiresMadame X – Prosecutor Valmorin Lancer Spy – StatesmanA Damsel in Distress – Bit Role You're a Sweetheart – Critic The Jury's Secret – District AttorneyThe Adventures of Robin Hood – the town crier and as an eye-patched man stealthily telling men to meet Robin at the Gallows Oak Kidnapped – Red FoxThe Rage of Paris – Uncle Eric When Were You Born – Frederick 'Fred' Gow Marie Antoinette – Man Yelling 'Have You Proof?' Letter of Introduction – Critic Mysterious Mr. Moto – Monk The Mad Miss Manton – Managing Editor Suez – Campaign ManagerArrest Bulldog Drummond – Richard GannettDramatic School – Bishop Cauchon in "Joan of Arc" Devil's Island – Advocate GeneralNancy Drew... Reporter – Deputy District Attorney The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle – British Officer Dark Victory – Dr. DriscollChasing Danger – Fort Chadran Lieutenant Man About Town – Gibson, Arlington's Secretary The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Barrows – Moriarty's Attorney Tropic Fury – J.T.M. GallonRulers of the Sea – Mr. Barton The Earl of Chicago – Mr. Allington Congo Maisie – FarleyBritish Intelligence – James YeatsCharlie Chan's Murder Cruise – Gerald PendletonWaterloo Bridge – Thomas Parker Brother Orchid – English Diamond Salesman The Sea Hawk – Castle Sentry Foreign Correspondent – McKennaHe Stayed for Breakfast – Communist Secretary A Dispatch from Reuters – Member of Parliament The Letter – Fred South of Suez – RegistrarYou'll Find Out – Real Karl Fenninger Rage in Heaven – Prison Priest Scotland Yard – Clerk The People vs. Dr. Kildare – Dr. Sterling Singapore Woman – The Doctor The Nurse's Secret – HugoShining Victory – Mr. FosterSkylark – Jewelry ClerkBerlin Correspondent – George, English PrisonerRandom Harvest – Old Man Witnessing Accident Appointment in Berlin – MacPhail Dragon Seed – Old Peddler Selling Poison Winged Victory – Minor Role The Corn Is Green – Station Master The Scarlet Clue – Horace Karlos Divorce – Harvey HicksMy Name Is Julia Ross – Peters Don't Gamble with Strangers – Robert ElliotThe Locket – Hickson, Air Raid Warden The Private Affairs of Bel Ami – PotinBulldog Drummond at Bay – MeredithEscape Me Never – Doctor in London Song of My Heart – ConductorThe Checkered Coat – JerryA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court – Mayor's Aide Challenge to Lassie – Constable with Net The Sword of Monte Cristo – Court PhysicianRoyal Wedding – Singing Doorman Lorna Doone – Calvin Oates Sr. When Worlds Collide – British U.N. Representative Elephant Stampede – Andy BarnesThe Son of Dr. Jekyll – Pharmacist African Treasure – Andy BarnesLimelight – Calvero's DoctorBomba and the Jungle Girl – Commissioner Andy BarnesAbbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd – Captain Bonney's First Mate The Magnetic Monster – Howard DenkerPerils of the Jungle – GrubbsSafari Drums – Deputy Commissioner Andy BarnesThe Golden Idol – Commissioner Andy BarnesKing Richard and the Crusaders – Physician Killer Leopard – Deputy Commissioner Andy BarnesThe Black Shield of Falworth – Friar EdwardBengal Brigade – Pariah The Silver Chalice – Stall Keeper Kiss Me Deadly – Athletic Club Clerk Lord of the Jungle – Commissioner Andy BarnesThe Girl in the Red Velvet Swing – Man in Audience Kismet – Physician Diane – Porter Autumn Leaves – Colonel HillyerThe Story of Mankind – Chief InquisitorAlfred Hitchcock Presents as Assayer The Big Fisherman – IlderanTimbuktu – Mohomet Adani How to Murder Your Wife – Club Secretary The Greatest Story Ever Told – Man