person

Harlan Briggs

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1879-08-16

Place of Birth

Blissfield, Michigan, USA

Harlan Briggs

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well as appearing on television once towards the end of his career. Briggs was born in Blissfield, Michigan. Although he was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he chose to go into acting rather than pursue a career in law. His acting career began in vaudeville at around the beginning of the 20th century. He would make his Broadway debut in 1926, in the drama Up the Line. He worked steadily on Broadway through 1935. On August 6, 1929 he began a successful run in the featured role of G. A. Appleby in It's a Wise Child at the Belasco Theatre. In 1934 he had another featured role in the successful play Dodsworth, as Tubby Pearson. The show opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 24, 1934 and ran for 147 performances, starring Walter Huston as Samuel Dodsworth. After a six-week hiatus, the show reopened at the Shubert on August 20 and ran for an additional 168 performances. When Samuel Goldwyn bought the rights to the play, Briggs was one of two of the original Broadway cast to reprise their roles in the film, the other being Huston in the title role. Briggs would focus on his film career for the remainder of the 1930s, before returning to Broadway in the 1940s, combining both stage and screen performances during that decade. The most successful of his Broadway appearances in the 1940s was as Constable Small in Ramshackle Inn, which featured ZaSu Pitts in her Broadway debut. The Story of Mary Surratt, in which Briggs appeared in 1947, was Briggs' 400th play. Beginning with Dodsworth, Briggs worked consistently in films over the next 16 years, until his death in 1952, appearing in over 100 films. His most famous role was as Dr. Stall in the 1940 comedy classic The Bank Dick, starring W.C. Fields. Other notable films in which he appeared include After the Thin Man (1936), Stella Dallas (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), My Little Chickadee (1940), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), State Fair (1945), Night and Day (1946), Little Women (1949), Goodbye, My Fancy (1951), and Carrie (1952). The last film on which Briggs worked was The Sea Hornet, which was in production in April and May 1951, and released later that year. On January 26, 1952, Briggs died in Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital from complications resulting from a heart attack. His death occurred almost half a year prior to the release of Carrie. Briggs married actress Viola Scott on July 3, 1914. They had four sons.

Also Known For

poster

62

Blondie Takes a Vacation

Jul 20, 1939

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NA

Reckless Living

Mar 01, 1938

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65

Conflict

Jun 15, 1945

poster

62

A Double Life

Dec 25, 1947

poster

49

Having Wonderful Time

Jul 01, 1938

poster

70

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Feb 22, 1940

poster

67

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

May 02, 1940

poster

47

Maisie

Jun 22, 1939

poster

67

A Yank at Oxford

Feb 18, 1938

poster

64

Kissing Time

Dec 16, 1933

poster

59

A Family Affair

Mar 12, 1937

poster

40

Danger Street

Jun 20, 1947

poster

65

A Man to Remember

Oct 14, 1938

poster

50

Happy Go Lucky

Dec 13, 1936

poster

50

Riding on Air

Jun 18, 1937

poster

60

Exclusive

Aug 06, 1937

poster

50

Boy Trouble

Jan 27, 1939

poster

71

Humoresque

Jan 25, 1947

poster

60

Among the Living

Dec 12, 1941

poster

59

Cynthia

Aug 29, 1947

poster

45

Meet the Girls

Oct 06, 1938

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85

The Missing Guest

Aug 12, 1938

poster

40

Quick Money

Dec 10, 1937

poster

50

Spoilers of the North

Apr 23, 1947

poster

58

Live, Love and Learn

Oct 29, 1937

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70

Easy Living

Jul 16, 1937

poster

68

Stella Dallas

Aug 06, 1937

poster

55

One Wild Night

Jun 02, 1938

poster

53

Tell No Tales

Jun 12, 1939

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NA

Personality Kid

Aug 08, 1946

poster

45

Beg, Borrow or Steal

Dec 03, 1937

poster

65

The Bank Dick

Nov 29, 1940

poster

53

The Mysterious Miss X

Jan 10, 1939

poster

64

Carrie

Jul 17, 1952

poster

50

Seasoned Greetings

Sep 23, 1933

poster

61

Made for Each Other

Feb 10, 1939

poster

65

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Feb 10, 1939

poster

61

Calling Dr. Kildare

Apr 28, 1939

poster

70

Fifth Avenue Girl

Sep 22, 1939

poster

61

Frontier Marshal

Jul 28, 1939

poster

66

The Man They Could Not Hang

Aug 17, 1939

poster

78

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Oct 19, 1939

poster

49

Bad Little Angel

Oct 27, 1939

poster

40

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk

Jan 11, 1940

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45

Flight at Midnight

Aug 28, 1939

poster

66

Edison, the Man

May 10, 1940

poster

65

Brother Orchid

Jun 07, 1940

poster

64

My Little Chickadee

Feb 09, 1940

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67

Sing, You Sinners

Sep 02, 1938

poster

72

I Love You Again

Aug 09, 1940

poster

60

Lucky Partners

Aug 02, 1940

poster

50

The Sea Hornet

Nov 06, 1951

poster

60

Cafe Society

Mar 03, 1939

poster

54

My Pal Trigger

Jul 10, 1946

poster

NA

Young as You Feel

Feb 16, 1940

poster

60

Opening Day

Nov 12, 1938

poster

70

Dodsworth

Sep 23, 1936

poster

82

The Remarkable Andrew

Mar 05, 1942

poster

72

There's One Born Every Minute

Jun 26, 1942

poster

60

The Vanishing Virginian

Feb 01, 1942

poster

NA

Behind the Mike

Sep 26, 1937

poster

65

Marked Woman

Apr 10, 1937

poster

59

Magnificent Doll

Dec 08, 1946

poster

60

Mad Holiday

Nov 13, 1936

poster

58

Mysterious Intruder

Apr 11, 1946

poster

60

Trouble at Midnight

Oct 16, 1937

poster

65

One Foot in Heaven

Nov 01, 1941

poster

66

Canyon Passage

Jul 17, 1946

poster

66

You and Me

Jun 01, 1938