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Lionel Atwill

Acting 61 (deceased) years old Croydon, London, England, UK ★ 0.5
Born: February 27, 1885
Died: April 22, 1946

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lionel Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England.

He studied architecture before his stage debut at the Garrick Theatre, London in 1904. He become a star in Broadway theatre by 1918, and made his screen debut in 1919. He acted on the stage in Australia but was most famous for his U.S. horror roles in the 1930s. His two most memorable parts were as the crazed, disfigured sculptor in Mystery of the Wax Museum (Warner Brothers, 1933), and as Inspector Krogh in Son of Frankenstein (1939), memorably sent up by Kenneth Mars in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein (1974).

When he was not cast in macabre roles, Atwill often appeared in the 1930s as righteous-minded authority figures. For example, in 1937's less memorable The Wrong Road for RKO, investigator Atwill persuades a young, bank-robbing ingenue played by Helen Mack and her boyfriend Richard Cromwell to return their ill-gotten $100,000 and give up a life of crime. Two of Atwill's other notable non-horror roles were opposite his contemporary Basil Rathbone in films featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes, including a role as Dr. James Mortimer in 20th Century Fox's 1939 film rendition of the Conan Doyle novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the 1943 Universal Studios film Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, in which he played Holmes' archenemy and super-villain, Professor Moriarty.

Atwill remained a stalwart of the Universal horror films until his career flagged in the 1940s because of a widely publicized sex scandal in 1941, during the investigation of which he was charged in 1942 with perjury at a trial in which Atwill had been accused of staging a sex orgy at his home.

He died while working on the 1946 film serial Lost City of the Jungle. His ashes were once inurned in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Lionel Atwill, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Filmography

Acting Credits (81)

Terror in the Pharaoh's Tomb
Terror in the Pharaoh's Tomb Dr. Xavier (archive footage) 2007
The Wolfman's Cure
The Wolfman's Cure Inspector Holtz 1998
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes 1996
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook Doctor Bohmer / Krogh (archive footage) 1991
The Horror of It All
The Horror of It All Dr. Otto von Niemann (archive footage) 1983
The Horror Show
The Horror Show (archive footage) 1979
Doom of Dracula
Doom of Dracula Arntz, Police Officer (archive footage) 1966
Genius at Work
Genius at Work Latimer Marsh / The Cobra 1946
Lost City of the Jungle
Lost City of the Jungle Sir Eric Hazarias 1946
House of Dracula
House of Dracula Police Inspector Holtz 1945
Crime, Inc.
Crime, Inc. Pat Coyle 1945
Fog Island
Fog Island Alec Ritchfield 1945
House of Frankenstein
House of Frankenstein Inspector Arnz 1944
Secrets of Scotland Yard
Secrets of Scotland Yard Waterlow 1944
Raiders of Ghost City
Raiders of Ghost City Erich von Rugen, alias Alex Morel 1944
Lady in the Death House
Lady in the Death House Charles Finch 1944
Captain America
Captain America Cyrus Maldor 1944
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Mayor of Vasaria 1943
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon Professor Moriarty 1942
Night Monster
Night Monster Dr. King 1942
Dead End Kids Go To War
Dead End Kids Go To War The Baron 1942
Cairo
Cairo Teutonic Gentleman 1942
Pardon My Sarong
Pardon My Sarong Varnoff 1942
Junior G-Men of the Air
Junior G-Men of the Air The Baron 1942
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx Dr. Fish 1942
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein Dr. Bohmer 1942
To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be Rawitch 1942
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
The Mad Doctor of Market Street Dr. Ralph Benson, posing as Graham 1942
Man-Made Monster
Man-Made Monster Dr. Paul Rigas 1941
Boom Town
Boom Town Harry Compton 1940
The Great Profile
The Great Profile Dr. Bruce 1940
Girl in 313
Girl in 313 Russell aka Henry Woodruff 1940
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise Dr. Suderman 1940
Johnny Apollo
Johnny Apollo Jim McLaughlin 1940
Charlie Chan in Panama
Charlie Chan in Panama Cliveden Compton 1940
The Mad Empress
The Mad Empress General Bazaine 1939
Balalaika
Balalaika Professor Marakov 1939
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
The Secret of Dr. Kildare Paul Messenger 1939
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation Prof. Roger Chauncey Hildebrand 1939
The Sun Never Sets
The Sun Never Sets Hugo Zurof 1939
The Gorilla
The Gorilla Walter Stevens 1939
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles Dr. James Mortimer 1939
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers De Rochefort 1939
Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein Inspector Krogh 1939
The Great Waltz
The Great Waltz Count Anton 'Tony' Hohenfried 1938
Three Comrades
Three Comrades Breuer 1938
The Great Garrick
The Great Garrick M. Beaumarchais 1937
The Wrong Road
The Wrong Road Mike Roberts 1937
Lancer Spy
Lancer Spy Col. Fenwick 1937
The High Command
The High Command Maj. Gen. Sir John Sangye 1937
The Last Train from Madrid
The Last Train from Madrid Col. Vigo 1937
The Road Back
The Road Back Prosecutor 1937
Absolute Quiet
Absolute Quiet Gerald A. Axton 1936
Till We Meet Again
Till We Meet Again Ludwig 1936
Lady of Secrets
Lady of Secrets Mr. Stephen Whittaker 1936
Captain Blood
Captain Blood Colonel Bishop 1935
Rendezvous
Rendezvous Maj. William Brennan 1935
The Murder Man
The Murder Man Captain Cole 1935
The Devil Is a Woman
The Devil Is a Woman Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar 1935
Mark of the Vampire
Mark of the Vampire Inspector Neumann 1935
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Henry Dumont 1934
The Firebird
The Firebird John Pointer 1934
The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence Julius Beaufort 1934
One More River
One More River Brough 1934
Stamboul Quest
Stamboul Quest Herr Von Sturm 1934
Beggars in Ermine
Beggars in Ermine John 'Flint' Dawson aka John Daniels 1934
Nana
Nana Colonel André Muffat 1934
The Solitaire Man
The Solitaire Man Inspector Wallace 1933
Secret of the Blue Room
Secret of the Blue Room Robert von Helldorf 1933
The Song of Songs
The Song of Songs Baron von Merzbach 1933
The Sphinx
The Sphinx Jerome Breen 1933
Murders in the Zoo
Murders in the Zoo Eric Gorman 1933
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Mystery of the Wax Museum Ivan Igor 1933
The Secret of Madame Blanche
The Secret of Madame Blanche Aubrey St. John 1933
The Vampire Bat
The Vampire Bat Dr. Otto von Niemann 1933
Doctor X
Doctor X Dr. Jerry Xavier 1932
The Silent Witness
The Silent Witness Sir Austin Howard 1932
The Knife
The Knife The Surgeon 1929
The Highest Bidder
The Highest Bidder Lester 1921
The Marriage Price
The Marriage Price Kenneth Gordon 1919
Eve's Daughter
Eve's Daughter Courtenay Urquhart 1918

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