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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
August 16, 1879
Died
January 26, 1952
Place of Birth
Blissfield, Michigan, USA
Also Known As
- Harlan Paul Briggs
Harlan Briggs
0.3 Popularity
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well as appearing on television once towards the end of his career. Briggs was born in Blissfield, Michigan. Although he was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he chose to go into acting rather than pursue a career in law. His acting career began in vaudeville at around the beginning of the 20th century. He would make his Broadway debut in 1926, in the drama Up the Line. He worked steadily on Broadway through 1935. On August 6, 1929 he began a successful run in the featured role of G. A. Appleby in It's a Wise Child at the Belasco Theatre. In 1934 he had another featured role in the successful play Dodsworth, as Tubby Pearson. The show opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 24, 1934 and ran for 147 performances, starring Walter Huston as Samuel Dodsworth. After a six-week hiatus, the show reopened at the Shubert on August 20 and ran for an additional 168 performances. When Samuel Goldwyn bought the rights to the play, Briggs was one of two of the original Broadway cast to reprise their roles in the film, the other being Huston in the title role. Briggs would focus on his film career for the remainder of the 1930s, before returning to Broadway in the 1940s, combining both stage and screen performances during that decade. The most successful of his Broadway appearances in the 1940s was as Constable Small in Ramshackle Inn, which featured ZaSu Pitts in her Broadway debut. The Story of Mary Surratt, in which Briggs appeared in 1947, was Briggs' 400th play. Beginning with Dodsworth, Briggs worked consistently in films over the next 16 years, until his death in 1952, appearing in over 100 films. His most famous role was as Dr. Stall in the 1940 comedy classic The Bank Dick, starring W.C. Fields. Other notable films in which he appeared include After the Thin Man (1936), Stella Dallas (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), My Little Chickadee (1940), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), State Fair (1945), Night and Day (1946), Little Women (1949), Goodbye, My Fancy (1951), and Carrie (1952). The last film on which Briggs worked was The Sea Hornet, which was in production in April and May 1951, and released later that year. On January 26, 1952, Briggs died in Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital from complications resulting from a heart attack. His death occurred almost half a year prior to the release of Carrie. Briggs married actress Viola Scott on July 3, 1914. They had four sons.
Known For
6.4
Joe Brant
Carrie
1952
5.0
Watchman
The Sea Hornet
1951
6.3
Oscar Bernard
A Double Life
1947
5.9
J.M. Dingle, Napoleon Hardware
Cynthia
1947
4.0
Darnstein
Danger Street
1947
5.0
Salty
Spoilers of the North
1947
7.1
Toy Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
Humoresque
1947
5.9
Quinn
Magnificent Doll
1946
0.0
Mr. Howard
Personality Kid
1946
6.6
Dr. Balance (uncredited)
Canyon Passage
1946
Credits
Carrie
as Joe Brant
1952
6.4
The Sea Hornet
as Watchman
1951
5.0
A Double Life
as Oscar Bernard
1947
6.3
Cynthia
as J.M. Dingle, Napoleon Hardware
1947
5.9
Danger Street
as Darnstein
1947
4.0
Spoilers of the North
as Salty
1947
5.0
Humoresque
as Toy Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
1947
7.1
Magnificent Doll
as Quinn
1946
5.9
Personality Kid
as Mr. Howard
1946
0.0
Canyon Passage
as Dr. Balance (uncredited)
1946
6.6
My Pal Trigger
as Dr. Bentley
1946
5.4
Mysterious Intruder
as Mr. Brown
1946
5.9
Conflict
as Pawnbroker #2 (uncredited)
1945
6.6
There's One Born Every Minute
as Luke Simpson
1942
7.2
The Remarkable Andrew
as Sheriff Clem Watkins
1942
8.2
The Vanishing Virginian
as Mr. Rogard
1942
6.0
Among the Living
as Judge
1941
6.0
One Foot in Heaven
as Mac MacFarland (uncredited)
1941
6.6
The Bank Dick
as Doctor Stall
1940
6.5
I Love You Again
as Mayor Carver (uncredited)
1940
7.2
Lucky Partners
as Mayor (uncredited)
1940
6.0
Brother Orchid
as Thomas A. Bailey - Acme Paving (uncredited)
1940
6.5
Edison, the Man
as Bisbee
1940
6.6
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
as San Francisco Coroner
1940
6.7
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
as Denton Offut
1940
7.0
Young as You Feel
as Dr. Kinsley
1940
0.0
My Little Chickadee
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
1940
6.4
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
as Foreman in Jury
1940
4.0
Bad Little Angel
as Lem Dodd, Man in Jim's Office (uncredited)
1939
4.9
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Mr. Edwards (uncredited)
1939
7.9
Fifth Avenue Girl
as Stanton (uncredited)
1939
7.0
Flight at Midnight
as 'Pop' Hussey
1939
4.5
The Man They Could Not Hang
as Defense Attorney Parker (uncredited)
1939
6.6
Frontier Marshal
as Editor
1939
6.1
Blondie Takes a Vacation
as Mr. Holden
1939
6.2
Maisie
as Deputy Sheriff Cal Hoskins
1939
4.7
Tell No Tales
as Davie Bryant
1939
5.3
Calling Dr. Kildare
as James Galt
1939
6.1
Cafe Society
as Justice of the Peace
1939
6.0
Made for Each Other
as Judge (uncredited)
1939
6.1
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
as Mr. Rucker (uncredited)
1939
6.5
Boy Trouble
as Mr. Pike
1939
5.0
The Mysterious Miss X
as Charlie Graham
1939
5.3
Opening Day
as Mr. Garnish
1938
6.0
A Man to Remember
as Homer Ramsey
1938
6.5
Meet the Girls
as Ship's Captain
1938
4.5
Sing, You Sinners
as Customer at Gas Station (uncredited)
1938
6.7
The Missing Guest
as Frank Kendall - Editor
1938
8.5
Having Wonderful Time
as Mr. Shaw
1938
4.9
One Wild Night
as Mayor
1938
5.5
You and Me
as Thomas McTavish (uncredited)
1938
6.7
Reckless Living
as 'Colonel' Harris
1938
0.0
A Yank at Oxford
as Printer (uncredited)
1938
6.7
Quick Money
as Thorndyke Barnsdale
1937
4.0
Beg, Borrow or Steal
as Mr. Virgil Miller
1937
4.5
Live, Love and Learn
as Justice of The Peace
1937
5.8
Trouble at Midnight
as Sheriff
1937
6.0
Behind the Mike
as Sheriff
1937
0.0
Exclusive
as Springer
1937
6.0
Stella Dallas
as Mr. Beamer (uncredited)
1937
6.8
Easy Living
as Magazine Office Manager
1937
7.0
Riding on Air
as Mr. Harrison
1937
5.0
Marked Woman
as Sad Man in Nightclub (uncredited)
1937
6.5
A Family Affair
as Oscar Stubbins
1937
5.9
Happy Go Lucky
as U.S. Consul E.R. Brown
1936
5.0
Mad Holiday
as Mr. Kinney
1936
6.0
Dodsworth
as Tubby Pearson
1936
7.1
🎬
Kissing Time
as David Sullivan (uncredited)
1933
6.4
🎬
Seasoned Greetings
as Ben Jones (uncredited)
1933
5.0