Robert Warwick


Robert Warwick was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction of sound to cinema. As a young man he had studied opera singing in Paris and had a rich, resonant voice. At the age of 50, he developed as a highly regarded, aristocratic character actor and made numerous "talkies".

Early life

Warwick was born Robert Taylor Bien in 1878 to Louis and Isabel Bien.
Some sources say he was born in England; others say Sacramento, California. His father was of French ethnicity. Bien studied music in Paris and trained for two years to be an opera singer, but acting proved to be his greater calling. He met his future wife, Arline Peck in Paris; the American couple married in 1902. After his return to the United States, he started in theatre and then film.

Stage

Warwick made his Broadway debut in 1903 in the play Glad of It. One of his co-stars was a young John Barrymore, also making his Broadway debut. Both actors, over time, became matinee idols. For the next twenty years Warwick appeared in such plays as Anna Karenina, Two Women, with Mrs. Leslie Carter; and The Kiss Waltz and Miss Prince, in both of which he was able to display his singing voice.
He also appeared in The Secret, A Celebrated Case and Drifting with Alice Brady, not to mention several other plays through the end of the 1920s.

Military service

Warwick served in the U.S. Army during World War I as an infantry captain and as a liaison officer with the French Army.

Film career

Warwick started making silent films in 1914, with his early work including The Mad Lover and Thou Art the Man. He made numerous productions in the 1910s primarily in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Two films, Alias Jimmy Valentine and A Girl's Folly, both directed by Maurice Tourneur, have been preserved, and showcase Warwick as a silent actor, as well as Tourneur's directing talent. Both are available in the 21st century on home video.
From the 1920s on, Warwick alternated doing plays and silent films. He was fifty when sound films arrived, and though middle aged and with his matinee idol looks fading, he found plenty of work in character roles, much enhanced by his rich, resonant voice, eloquent diction, and aristocratic manner. When the studios moved to Los Angeles, Warwick followed.
Warwick's extensive filmography includes such classics as The Little Colonel with Shirley Temple and The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. He was one of a number of actors who frequently worked with director Preston Sturges and appeared in many of his films, among them Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story and Hail the Conquering Hero. He also appeared in I Married a Witch and Man from Frisco.

Television and later life

Warwick made numerous appearances on television almost from its initial popularity in the late 1940s. In his seventies he was still hard at work and made appearances on every type of television show, from Westerns such as Broken Arrow and Sugarfoot, to the adventure series Rescue 8, to the science fiction series The Twilight Zone, to the anthology series The Loretta Young Show.

Personal life

Warwick married Arline Peck in 1902; they had a daughter, Rosalind. They divorced in 1909.
By 1910, Warwick married actress Josephine Whittell, but the childless marriage also ended in divorce.
In 1930 he married Stella Larrimore . They had a daughter, Betsey, who later became a poet in Los Angeles.
Warwick died June 6, 1964, in West Los Angeles, California, at age 85. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. Survivors included his daughters and two grandchildren.

Complete filmography

Silent

  • The Dollar Mark as James "Jim" Gresham
  • The Man of the Hour as Henry Garrison
  • Across the Pacific as Minor Role
  • Alias Jimmy Valentine as Jimmy Valentine
  • The Man Who Found Himself as James Clarke
  • An Indian Diamond
  • The Face in the Moonlight as Victor / Rabat
  • The Stolen Voice as Gerald D'Orville
  • The Flash of an Emerald as Lucius Waldeck
  • The Sins of Society as Captain Dorian March
  • Fruits of Desire as Mark Truitt
  • The Supreme Sacrifice as David Aldrich
  • Human Driftwood as Robert Hendricks
  • Sudden Riches as Robert Crewe
  • Friday the 13th as Robert Brownley
  • The Heart of a Hero as Nathan Hale
  • All Man as Jim Blake
  • The Man Who Forgot as The Man, later known as John Smith
  • A Girl's Folly as Kenneth Driscoll
  • The Argyle Case as Asche Kayton
  • Hell Hath No Fury
  • The Family Honor as Captain Stephen Wayne
  • The False Friend as William Ramsdell
  • The Silent Master as Valentin, aka Monsieur Simon
  • The Mad Lover as Robert Hyde
  • The Accidental Honeymoon as Robert Courtland
  • Secret Service as Major Lewis K. Dumont
  • Told in the Hills as Jack Stuart
  • In Mizzoura as Jim Radburn
  • An Adventure in Hearts as Captain Dieppe
  • The Tree of Knowledge as Nigel Stanyon
  • Jack Straw as Jack Straw
  • Thou Art the Man as Myles Calthrope
  • The City of Masks as Tommy Trotter
  • The Fourteenth Man as Captain Douglas Gordon
  • The Spitfire as Oliver Blair

    Sound

  • Unmasked as Craig Kennedy
  • The Royal Bed as Premier Northrup - Prime Minister
  • Not Exactly Gentlemen as Layne Hunter
  • A Holy Terror as John Bard aka Thomas Woodbury
  • The Woman from Monte Carlo as Morbraz
  • So Big! as Simeon Peake, Gambler
  • The Rich Are Always with Us as The Doctor
  • The Dark Horse as Mr. Clark
  • Unashamed as Mr. Ogden
  • Doctor X as Police Commissioner Stevens
  • The Girl from Calgary as Bill Webster
  • I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang as Fuller
  • Afraid to Talk as Jake Stranskey
  • Silver Dollar as Colonel Stanton
  • The Secrets of Wu Sin as Roger King
  • Frisco Jenny as Kelly
  • Ladies They Talk About as Warden
  • Racetrack as Minor Role
  • The Three Musketeers as Colonel Brent
  • The Whispering Shadow as Detective Robert Raymond
  • Fighting with Kit Carson as Chief Dark Eagle
  • Pilgrimage as Major Albertson
  • The Power and the Glory as Edward - Chairman of Board Meeting
  • Charlie Chan's Greatest Case as Dan Winterslip
  • Female as Attorney Bradley
  • Jimmy the Gent as Probate Judge Kalsmeyer
  • School for Girls as Governor
  • No Sleep on the Deep as Emerson Eldridge
  • Midnight Alibi as Assistant District Attorney
  • The Dragon Murder Case as Dr. Halliday
  • Cleopatra as General Achillas
  • A Shot in the Dark as Joseph Harris
  • The Little Colonel as Colonel Gray
  • Night Life of the Gods as Neptune
  • Code of the Mounted as Inspector Malloy
  • The Murder Man as Colville
  • Hop-Along Cassidy as Jim Meeker
  • The Farmer Takes a Wife as Junius Brutus Booth
  • Anna Karenina as Colonel at Banquet
  • Two Sinners as Minor Role
  • Bars of Hate as The Governor
  • Timber War as Ferguson
  • The Fighting Marines as Colonel W. R. Bennett
  • A Thrill for Thelma as Captain Richard Kyne
  • Whipsaw as Robert W. Wadsworth
  • A Tale of Two Cities as Judge at Tribunal
  • Tough Guy as Mr. Frederick Martindale Vincent II
  • The Return of Jimmy Valentine as Jimmy Davis
  • Sutter's Gold as General Alexander Rotscheff
  • The Bride Walks Out as Mr. McKenzie
  • Mary of Scotland as Sir Francis Knollys
  • Charlie Chan at the Race Track as Police Chief
  • Romeo and Juliet as Lord Montague
  • The Vigilantes Are Coming as Count Ivan Raspinoff
  • Bulldog Edition as Evans
  • In His Steps as Judge Grey
  • Adventure in Manhattan as Phillip
  • Can This Be Dixie? as Winston
  • White Legion as Captain Parker
  • Can This Be Dixie? as General Beauregard Peachtree
  • The Bold Caballero as Governor Palma
  • Give Me Liberty as George Washington
  • High Hat as Craig Dupont Sr.
  • Woman in Distress as Van Alsten
  • Let Them Live as The Mayor
  • The Prince and the Pauper as Lord Warwick
  • The Road Back as Judge
  • Souls at Sea as Vice Admiral
  • The Life of Emile Zola as Major Henry
  • Jungle Menace as Chief Inspector Angus MacLeod
  • Fit for a King as Prime Minister
  • Counsel for Crime as Asa Stewart
  • The Trigger Trio as John Evans
  • The Awful Truth as Mr. Vance
  • Conquest as Captain Laroux
  • The Spy Ring as Colonel Burdette
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood as Sir Geoffrey
  • Law of the Plains as Willard McGowan
  • Blockade as Vallejo
  • Squadron of Honor as Kimball
  • Come On, Leathernecks! as Colonel Butler
  • Army Girl as Brigadier General Matthews
  • Gangster's Boy as Tim Kelly
  • Annabel Takes a Tour as Race Track Announcer
  • Going Places as Frome
  • Fighting Thoroughbreds as Commissioner
  • Devil's Island as Demonpre
  • Almost a Gentleman as Major Mabrey
  • Juarez as Major Du Pont
  • The Magnificent Fraud as General Pablo Hernandez
  • In Old Monterey as Major Forbes
  • Konga, the Wild Stallion as Jordan Hadley
  • The Ash Can Fleet as Von Hindenberg
  • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex as Lord Mountjoy
  • La Inmaculada
  • Four Wives as Mr. Roberts
  • The Earl of Chicago as Clerk at Parliament
  • Teddy, the Rough Rider as Captain Leonard Wood
  • Murder in the Air as Doctor Finchley
  • On the Spot as Cyrus Haddon
  • New Moon as Commissar
  • The Sea Hawk as Frobisher
  • The Great McGinty as Opposition Speaker
  • A Dispatch from Reuter's as Opposition Parliament Speaker
  • Christmas in July as Juror
  • The Lady Eve as Passenger on Ship
  • A Woman's Face as Associate Judge
  • This England
  • I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island as Governor
  • Sullivan's Travels as Mr. LeBrand
  • Louisiana Purchase as Speaker of the House
  • Cadets on Parade as Colonel Metcalfe
  • The Fleet's In as Admiral Wright
  • Eagle Squadron as Bullock
  • Secret Enemies as Otto Zimmer, aka Dr. Woodford
  • The Palm Beach Story as Mr. Hinch
  • I Married a Witch as J.B. Masterson
  • Tennessee Johnson as Major Crooks
  • Two Tickets to London as Ormsby
  • Dixie as Mr. LaPlant
  • Women at War as Major General "Blood and Thunder" Travis
  • Deerslayer as Chief Uncas
  • In Old Oklahoma as Chief Big Tree
  • Man from Frisco as Bruce McRae
  • Hail the Conquering Hero as Marine Colonel
  • Kismet as Alfife
  • Bowery to Broadway as Cliff Brown
  • The Princess and the Pirate as The King
  • Sudan as Maatet
  • Criminal Court as Mr. Marquette
  • The Falcon's Adventure as Kenneth Sutton
  • Unconquered as Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawas
  • Gentleman's Agreement as Irving Weisman
  • Pirates of Monterey as Governor de Sola
  • Fury at Furnace Creek as General Fletcher Blackwell
  • The Three Musketeers as D'Artagnan Sr.
  • Million Dollar Weekend as Dave Dietrich
  • Adventures of Don Juan as Don José - Count de Polan
  • Gun Smugglers as Colonel Davis
  • A Woman's Secret as Roberts
  • Impact as Captain Callahan
  • Francis as Colonel Carmichael
  • In a Lonely Place as Charlie Waterman
  • Tarzan and the Slave Girl as High Priest
  • Vendetta as The French Prefect
  • Sugarfoot as J.C. Crane
  • The Sword of Monte Cristo as Marquis de Montableau
  • The Mark of the Renegade as Colonel Vega
  • The Star as R.J., Aging Actor at Party
  • Against All Flags as Captain Kidd
  • The Mississippi Gambler as Governor Paul Monet
  • Salome as Courier
  • Jamaica Run as Court Judge
  • Raiders of the Seven Seas as New Governor of Cuba
  • Fort Algiers as Haroon
  • The Story of Father Juniper Serra as Father Serra
  • Silver Lode as Judge Cranston
  • Passion as Padre
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Matthew Kelson
  • Escape to Burma as The Sawbwa
  • Chief Crazy Horse as Spotted Tail
  • The Hammer and the Sword as George Washington
  • Lady Godiva of Coventry as Humbert
  • While the City Sleeps as Amos Kyne
  • Walk the Proud Land as Chief Eskiminzin
  • Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend as Brother Abraham
  • The Buccaneer as Captain Lockyer
  • Night of the Quarter Moon as Judge
  • It Started with a Kiss as Congressman Muir
  • Song Without End as Emissary