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| Edge of Darkness |
I always got a kick out of watching the evil Barnaby in Laurel and Hardy's Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers), but little did I realize when I was a child that the actor playing the old wretch was only 22 at the time -- and that the actor, Henry Kleinbach, was also Henry Brandon, who appeared in a great many movies, starred in The Drums of Fu Manchu, and was one of those versatile actors, along the lines of Jay Novello, who got so lost in the role that he, unfairly, never became quite famous.
Anything -- and I mean anything -- you'd like to know about Brandon has been exhaustively covered on the web site Poseidon's Underworld, and you can read about Brandon, his life and career right here. (You can even learn about his strange connection to Judy Garland!) Loads of photographs, too!
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| Babes in Toyland as Barnaby |
Other Brandon appearances were in Doomed to Die, The Land Unknown, Jungle Jim, Tarzan's Magic Fountain, Captain Sindbad, Secret Agent X-9, and even Auntie Mame, among many others. (Notice how in virtually every one of these I refer to "the incredibly versatile Henry Brandon!")
Brandon also did TV, appearing on everything from Bourbon Street Beat to Kolchak. the Night Stalker.
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| Lady Godiva of Coventry |
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| The Searchers |
OMG, he was Mark Herron's boyfriend? (Or, as Judy used to say, "Mark Handsome" until she divorced him and only referred to him as "Whatsizname"!)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite role of Brandon's has to be as Acacius Page, headmaster of the "progressive" nudist school in the Village where Mame sends Patrick! (That movie was racy for 1958, wasn't it?)
-Chris
Yes, and he was a riot. That bit about Herron startled me as well. I've mentioned that I have a good friend who's a BIG fan of JG, and I told him that I innocently looked up an article on Brandon and THERE SHE WAS -- Judy! "I can't get away from her!" I laughed. Anyway, this was a totally unexpected fillip to the Henry Brandon story!
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