Otis Sheridan

Otis C. Sheridan (c. 1872 – September 20, 1961) was an American character actor born in Philadelphia whose stage career spanned five decades, from the 1890s into the early 1940s. His Broadway appearances extended from 1906 to 1938, and he remained active in regional theatre until retiring from performing in 1941 due to illness. Beyond the stage, Sheridan appeared in two films during the 1930s.

Sheridan began his acting career in the 1890s and first gained attention through a national tour of Ludwig Engländer's musical The Rounders, produced by and starring comedian Thomas Q. Seabrooke. A loosely plotted backstage musical in the vein of a vaudeville variety show, the production launched its tour with performances at the Grand Opera House in Brooklyn in October 1900. Sheridan portrayed Ludwig Dollar, the chief coronetist, and drew praise from critics for the role. The tour reached Broadway's Casino Theatre in 1901, marking his Broadway debut, and Sheridan remained with the production as it continued to the Court Theatre in Buffalo, New York in January 1902.

In 1903, Sheridan joined a touring theatre troupe led by actress Minnie Tittell Brune, which was presenting a production of Francis Marion Crawford's Unorna, a play written specifically for Brune. He returned to Broadway in 1906, appearing first at the Lew M. Fields Theatre and subsequently at the Lyric Theatre in Clara Lipman's play Julie Bonbon. The following year he was back at the Casino Theatre to originate the character role of Lieutenant Wilhelm Klopstock in the premiere of another Engländer musical, The White Hen, a starring vehicle for actor Louis Mann. Sheridan continued with that production when it departed Broadway for a national tour.

Among his most sustained Broadway contributions was the role of Novotny in Blossom Time, which he played in the original 1921 production and in both the 1923 and 1924 revivals. His other Broadway credits include the Property Man in Leslie Howard's Out of a Blue Sky in 1930, Strup in Robert Emmet Sherwood's Reunion in Vienna in 1931, Mr. Herbert Selton in Henry R. Misrock's Bright Honor in 1936, and Mr. Seamon in Irving Gaumont and Jack Sobell's 30 Days Hath September in 1938.

Alongside his theatre work, Sheridan appeared in two Hollywood films. He portrayed Schmidt in The Night Angel in 1931 and James P. Hargrave in Sweet Surrender in 1935. Sheridan died on September 20, 1961, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 89.