Harry Gribbon

Harry Peter Gribbon (June 9, 1885 – July 28, 1961) was an American actor, comedian, and director who worked across vaudeville, film, and Broadway over the course of a career spanning several decades. Born in New York City, he was the brother of actor Eddie Gribbon. He was married to actress May Emory, and died on July 28, 1961, at the Motion Picture Country Home in Los Angeles, California. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, beside his wife.

Gribbon began his performing career in vaudeville, working the Keith, Orpheum, and Pantages circuits. In 1913 he became the leading man in the Ziegfeld Follies, and over the course of his stage career he appeared in approximately 200 productions, among them Buster Brown, The Man Who Owned Broadway, and The Red Widow. His Broadway work spanned from 1934 to 1944 and included the play Alley Cat, the comedy Delicate Story, Mr. Big, Meet a Body, and Arsenic and Old Lace.

Following his stage work, Mack Sennett signed Gribbon to make films. He worked for the L-KO Kompany and from 1915 appeared in silent cinema, initially at Lubin under the nickname "Rubber-faced Harry." When he joined Keystone later that year, he became known as "Silk Hat Harry," performing as a top-hatted, heavily mustachioed comic villain. He went on to appear in more than 140 films between 1915 and 1938, though many from that period have been lost. Among his notable screen credits are The Cameraman (1928), Show People (1928), and Art Trouble (1934). During the sound era he also acted in several RKO/Pathé short comedies.