Harry C. Myers

American actor (1882–1938)

Rosemary Theby

(m. 1915)

Harry C. Myers (September 5, 1882 – December 25, 1938) was an American film actor and director, sometimes credited as Henry Myers. He performed in many short comedy films with his wife Rosemary Theby. Myers appeared in 330 films between 1908 and 1939, and directed more than 50 films between 1913 and 1917.

Biography

He was born in New Haven, Connecticut,^[1] on September 5, 1882. When he was young, Myers moved to Philadelphia, where he received most of his education. He studied drawing and design at the Philadelphia Art School for three years. Turning from art to drama, he acted for two years with the Girard Avenue Stock Company and with other troupes in subsequent years.^[1]

Myers had been a theatre actor for 10 years before he went into films as an actor for Siegmund Lubin's Lubin Studios in 1909.^[2] By 1914, he was directing his own comedy shorts featuring him and his wife, Rosemary Theby, for Universal, the Vim Comedy Company, and Pathé studios.

After 1920 he had many starring roles in feature-length films, the most notable of which was as the eccentric alcoholic millionaire in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931).^[3] His career declined after the introduction of sound films.^[2]

Myers died on December 25, 1938, in Hollywood, California, at age 56,^[4] from pneumonia.^[5]

Partial filmography

The Guerrilla (1908)
The Almighty Dollar (1910, Short) – Effeminate Gentleman
When the Earth Trembled (1913) – Paul Girard Jr.
Baby (1915, Short) – Harry – the Husband
The Earl of Pawtucket (1915) – Arthur Weatherbee
The Man of Shame (1915) – Lt. Du Fresne
The Face in the Dark (1918) – Jim Weaver
Conquered Hearts (1918) – Stonne
Out of the Night (1918) – Ralph Evanns
The Masked Rider (1919) – Harry Burrel
The Wildcatter (1919)
A Modern Lochinvar (1919)
Sky-Eye (1920) – Harry Mangin
The Notorious Mrs. Sands (1920) – Grey Sands
45 Minutes from Broadway (1920) – Daniel Cronin
Peaceful Valley (1920) – Ward Andrews
The Prospector's Vengeance (1920, Short)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921) – The Yankee / Martin Cavendish
On the High Card (1921) – Harry Holt
The March Hare (1921) – Tod Rollins
Oh Mary Be Careful (1921) – Bobby Burns
Nobody's Fool (1921) – Artemis Alger
R.S.V.P. (1921) – Benny Fielding
Why Trust Your Husband? (1921) – Elmer Day
Handle with Care (1922) – Ned Picard
Turn to the Right (1922) – Gilly
When the Lad Came Home (1922)
Boy Crazy (1922) – J. Smythe
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1922, Serial) – Robinson Crusoe
Kisses (1922) – Bill Bailey
Top o' the Morning (1922) – John Garland
In the Days of Buffalo Bill (1922) – Andrew Johnson
The Beautiful and Damned (1922) – Dick
Brass (1923) – Wilbur Lansing
Main Street (1923) – Dave Dyer
The Brass Bottle (1923) – Horace Ventimore
Little Johnny Jones (1923) – The Chauffeur
The Printer's Devil (1923) – Sidney Fletcher
The Common Law (1923) – Cardemon
The Bad Man (1923) – Red Giddings
Stephen Steps Out (1923) – Harry Stetson
The Marriage Circle (1924) – Detective
Daddies (1924) – Robert Audrey
Listen Lester (1924) – Listen Lester
Behold This Woman (1924) – Eugene de Seyre
Tarnish (1924) – The Barber
Reckless Romance (1924) – Christopher Skinner
She Wolves (1925) – Henri de Latour
Zander the Great (1925) – Texas
Grounds for Divorce (1925) – Count Zappata
Trails End (1925) – Harry Kenyon
The Nutcracker (1926) – Oscar Briggs
The Beautiful Cheat (1926) – Jimmy Austin
Monte Carlo (1926) – Greves
Up in Mabel's Room (1926) – Jimmie Larchmont
Get 'Em Young (1926, Short) – Orvid Joy
Exit Smiling (1926) – Jesse Watson
The First Night (1927) – Hotel Detective
Getting Gertie's Garter (1927) – Jimmy Felton
The Bachelor's Baby (1927) – Bill Taylor
The Girl in the Pullman (1927) – Jimmy Mason
The Dove (1927) – Mike
The Chinatown Mystery (1928)
The Street of Illusion (1928) – Lew Fielding
Dream of Love (1928) – The Baron
The Clean Up (1929) – Jimmy
Montmartre Rose (1929)
Wonder of Women (1929) – Bruno Heim
City Lights (1931) – Eccentric Millionaire
Meet the Wife (1931) – Harvey Lennox
Convicted (1931) – Sturgeon
A Strange Adventure (1932) – Police Officer Ryan
The Savage Girl (1932) – Amos P. Stitch
Damaged Lives (1933) – Nat Franklin
The Important Witness (1933) – Drunk
Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) – Nervous Patient (uncredited)
Police Call (1933) – Steward
Rainbow Over Broadway (1933) – Berwiskey
Managed Money (1934, Short) – Mr. George Rogers
Allez Oop (1934, Short) – Circus Spectator
We Live Again (1934) – Bailiff (uncredited)
Mississippi (1935) – Stage Manager (uncredited)
Barbary Coast (1935) – Saloon Patron (uncredited)
The Calling of Dan Matthews (1935) – Club Owner (uncredited)
The Milky Way (1936) – Photographer at Apartment (uncredited)
F-Man (1936) – Man in Group (uncredited)
One Rainy Afternoon (1936) – Man in Theatre (uncredited)
San Francisco (1936) – Reveler (uncredited)
Kelly the Second (1936) – Fight Spectator with Cigars (uncredited)
Hollywood Boulevard (1936) – Harry Myers- Actor at Trocadero Bar
Lady Be Careful (1936) – Passerby (uncredited)
Mr. Cinderella (1936) – Man at Party Helping Splashed Woman (uncredited)
Mixed Magic (1936, Short) – (uncredited)
Rich Relations (1937)
Parnell (1937) – Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
A Day at the Races (1937) – Party Guest (uncredited)
Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938 (1937) – Husband (uncredited)
Double or Nothing (1937) – Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Dangerously Yours (1937) – Costume Ball Participant (uncredited)
Stand-In (1937) – Bank Board Member (uncredited)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) – Irate Churchgoer (uncredited)
A Slight Case of Murder (1938) – Partygoer (uncredited)
Dangerous to Know (1938) – Guest at Party (uncredited)
Racket Busters (1938) – Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Block-Heads (1938) – Drunk (uncredited)
The Spider's Web (1938, Serial) – Detective (uncredited)
Kentucky (1938) – Dancer (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Kid (1939) – Banker (uncredited)
I'm from Missouri (1939) – Mule Man (uncredited)
Zenobia (1939) – Party Guest Who Didn't Mind (uncredited)

References

^ ^a ^b "Harry Myers equally brilliant as actor and as director". The Morning Post. New Jersey, Camden. August 4, 1916. p. 11. Retrieved May 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Steve Massa and Ben Model, Cruel and Unusual Comedy, film notes written by Steve Massa and Ben Model for the film series "Cruel and Unusual Comedy: Social Commentary in the American Slapstick Film" presented at MoMA May 20 to June 1, 2009. Archived May 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ Joseph P. Eckhardt, The king of the movies: film pioneer Siegmund Lubin, page 97
^ "Harry Myers, actor of silent film fame". The New York Times. December 27, 1938. p. 17. ProQuest 102460478. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via ProQuest.
^ Katchmer, George A. (September 22, 2009). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-7864-4693-3. Retrieved December 9, 2020.