
Roland Young
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roland Young (11 November 1887 – 5 June 1953) was an English actor.
Young made his first stage appearance in London's West End in Find the Woman in 1908, and in 1912 he made his Broadway debut in Hindle Wakes. He appeared in two comedies written for him by Clare Kummer, Good Gracious Annabelle! (1916) and A Successful Calamity (1917) before he served with the United States Army during World War I. He returned to New York when the war ended, and married Kummer's daughter, Frances. For the next few years he alternated between New York and London. He made his film debut in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Watson opposite John Barrymore as Holmes.
He signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made his talkie debut in The Unholy Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. He was loaned to Warner Bros. to appear in Her Private Life, with Billie Dove and Fox Film Corporation, winning critical approval for his comedic performance as Jeanette MacDonald's husband in Don't Bet on a Woman. He was again paired with MacDonald in the film version of Good Gracious Annabelle!, titled Annabelle's Affairs. He appeared in Cecil B. de Mille's The Squaw Man, and played opposite Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Guardsman (both 1931). He appeared with Evelyn Brent in Columbia's The Pagan Lady (1932) and Pola Negri in RKO's A Woman Commands (1932). His final film under his MGM contract was Lovers Courageous (1932), opposite Robert Montgomery. In 1933 he had a starring role in the risqué comedy for Fox Film called Pleasure Cruise along side Genevieve Tobin.
Young began to work as a freelance performer and found himself in constant demand. He appeared with Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin and Maurice Chevalier in One Hour With You (1932) and with Kay Francis in Street of Women (1932). Alexander Korda invited him to return to Britain to make his British film debut in Wedding Rehearsal (1932). He returned to Hollywood and appeared in a diverse group of films that included comedies, murder mysteries, and dramas, and also worked on Broadway. Among his films of this period were Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), David Copperfield (1935) (playing Uriah Heep), and the H.G. Wells fantasy The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936).
In 1937, he achieved one of the most important successes of his career in Topper, as a bank president haunted by the ghosts of his clients, played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. It was one of the most successful films of the year, and Young was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Topper's wife was played by Billie Burke, who wrote in her memoir that Young "was dry and always fun to work with". They also appeared together in The Young in Heart (1938), and both of the Topper sequels, Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941).
He continued working steadily through the 1940s, playing small roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading actresses, such as Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard and Greta Garbo in her final film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre.
Acting (67 movies)

The Philadelphia Story
1940

And Then There Were None
1945

Topper
1937

You Gotta Stay Happy
1948

Tales of Manhattan
1942

Ruggles of Red Gap
1935

One Hour with You
1932

The Flame of New Orleans
1941

They All Kissed the Bride
1942

King Solomon's Mines
1937

The Young in Heart
1938

The Bishop Murder Case
1929

David Copperfield
1935

Topper Returns
1941

The Man Who Could Work Miracles
1936

Star Dust
1940

This Is the Night
1932

Camille: The Fate of a Coquette
1926

Topper Takes a Trip
1938

Sherlock Holmes
1922

Madam Satan
1930

A Lady's Profession
1933

Two-Faced Woman
1941

The Guardsman
1931

That Man from Tangier
1953

The Lady Has Plans
1942

Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937

Wedding Rehearsal
1932

Irene
1940

Let's Dance
1950

Street of Women
1932

The Unholy Night
1929

Call It a Day
1937

The Great Lover
1949

Dulcy
1940

His Double Life
1933

The Pagan Lady
1931

Blind Adventure
1933

Here Is My Heart
1934

The Squaw Man
1931

One Rainy Afternoon
1936

Lovers Courageous
1932

Give Me Your Heart
1936

Sailing Along
1938

He Married His Wife
1940

The Unguarded Hour
1936

Standing Room Only
1944

Bond Street
1948

Yes, My Darling Daughter
1939

Here I Am a Stranger
1939

Don't Bet on Women
1931

Hollywood on Parade No. A-5
1932

Pleasure Cruise
1933

St. Benny the Dip
1951

New Moon
1930

Wise Girls
1929

Annabelle's Affairs
1931

The Prodigal
1931

A Woman Commands
1932

No, No, Nanette
1940

Forever and a Day
1943

That's Entertainment! III
1994

The Night of Nights
1939

They Just Had to Get Married
1933

Private Affairs
1940

Her Private Life
1929

Grit
1924
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