Ralph Forbes (born Ralph Forbes Taylor; 30 September 1904 – 31 March 1951) was an English film and stage actor active in Britain and the United States.
Ralph Forbes | |
|---|---|
 Forbes in Daniel Boone (1936) | |
| Born | Ralph Forbes Taylor 30 September 1904 Wandsworth, London, England |
| Died | 31 March 1951 (aged 46) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1923–1950 |
| Spouses | Dora Sayers (m. 1946) |
| Mother | Mary Forbes |
| Relatives | Brenda Forbes (sister) |
Early life
editForbes was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Ernest John "E.J." and Ethel Louise Taylor. His mother would become known as Mary Forbes, a stage and film actress. His younger sister was actress Brenda Forbes (born Dorothy Brenda Taylor). Born on 30 September 1904, Forbes was baptized on 6 November[1] and his birth was legally registered with the authorities during the last quarter of 1904.[2]
Forbes met with an accident while playing football at Denstone College in Staffordshire which resulted in a scar on his cheek.[3] He came to the United States as a member of a British troupe that performed Havoc, a war play.[4] He started off in films, then went on stage.
In the United States he appeared onstage opposite actress Ruth Chatterton, whom he wed on 20 December 1924 in New York City.[5] He was 20 years old and she was four days shy of her 32nd birthday. The couple divorced in 1932. He married actress Heather Angel in Yuma, Arizona,[6] on 29 August 1934; that marriage ended in divorce on 18 July 1941.[7] His last wife, whom he married in 1946, was actress Dora Sayers.[8]
Later years
editFollowing a film career that spanned from 1926 to 1944,[9] Forbes’s latter years were given to working on the Broadway stage. One of his last stage appearances was in a revival of Shaw's You Never Can Tell in 1948. He died at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx, New York, in 1951, aged 46.[8]
Filmography
edit- The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's (1921) as Oliver Greenfield (film debut)
- A Lowland Cinderella (1921) as Master of Darrock
- The Glorious Adventure (1922) as Courtier (uncredited)
- Comin' Thro the Rye (1923) as George Tempest
- Reveille (1924) as The Kid
- Owd Bob (1924) as Davie McAdam
- Charley's Aunt (1926) as Jack Chesney
- Beau Geste (1926) as John Geste
- Mr. Wu (1927) as Basil Gregory
- The Enemy (1927) as Carl Behrend
- The Latest from Paris (1928) as Joe Adams
- The Trail of '98 (1928) as Larry
- Under the Black Eagle (1928) as Karl von Zorn
- The Actress (1928) as Arthur Gower
- The Whip (1928) as Lord Brancaster
- The Masks of the Devil (1928) as Manfred
- Restless Youth (1928) as Bruce Neil
- Lilies of the Field (1930) as Ted Willing
- The Green Goddess (1930) as Dr. Traherne
- Mamba (1930) as Karl von Reiden
- The Lady of Scandal (1930) as John
- Inside the Lines (1930) as Eric Woodhouse
- Her Wedding Night (1930) as Larry Charters
- The Bachelor Father (1931) - John Ashley
- Beau Ideal (1931) as John Geste
- Thunder Below (1932) as Davis
- Smilin'Through (1932) as Willie Ainley
- Christopher Strong (1933) as Harry Rawlinson
- The Phantom Broadcast (1933) as Norman Wilder
- Pleasure Cruise (1933) as Richard Orloff aka Taversham
- The Avenger (1933) as Norman Craig
- The Solitaire Man (1933) as Robert Bascom
- Bombay Mail (1934) as William Luke-Patson
- The Mystery of Mr. X (1934) as Sir Christopher Marche
- Riptide (1934) as Fenwick
- Twentieth Century (1934) as George Smith
- Shock (1934) as Derek Marbury
- The Fountain (1934) as Ballater
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) as Captain Surtees Cook
- Outcast Lady (1934) as Boy Fenwick
- Strange Wives (1934) as Paul
- Enchanted April (1935) as Peppo Briggs
- Rescue Squad (1935) as DeWitt Porter
- Streamline Express (1935) as Fred Arnold
- The Goose and the Gander (1935) as Ralph Summers
- The Three Musketeers (1935) as Duke of Buckingham
- La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935, Short)
- I'll Name the Murderer (1936) as Tommy Tilton
- Mary of Scotland (1936) as Randolph
- Piccadilly Jim (1936) as Lord Frederick 'Freddie' Priory
- Romeo and Juliet (1936) as Paris - Young Nobleman Kinsman to the Prince
- Daniel Boone (1936) as Stephen Marlowe
- Love Letters of a Star (1936) as Meredith Landers
- Rich Relations (1937) as Dave Walton
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) as Cousin John
- The Thirteenth Chair (1937) as Lionel Trent
- The Legion of Missing Men (1937) as Bob Carter
- Make a Wish (1937) as Walter Mays
- Woman Against the World (1937) as Larry Steele
- Stage Door (1937) as Cast of Stage Play
- Women Are Like That (1938) as Martin Brush
- Kidnapped (1938) as James
- If I Were King (1938) as Oliver Le Dain
- Annabel Takes a Tour (1938) as Viscount Ronald River-Clyde
- Convicts at Large (1938) as David Brent
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) as Sir Hugo Baskerville
- The Magnificent Fraud (1939) as Harrison Todd
- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Lord Knollys
- Tower of London (1939) as Henry Tudor
- Calling Philo Vance (1940) as Tom McDonald
- Adventure in Diamonds (1940) as Mr. Perrins
- Curtain Call (1940) as Leslie Barrivale
- Frenchman's Creek (1944) as Harry St. Columb (final film)
References
edit- ^ Baptismal record for Ralph Forbes Taylor, ancestry.com; accessed 25 September 2015.(registration required)
- ^ Birth registration for Ralph Forbes Taylor, ancestry.com; accessed 25 September 2015.(registration required)
- ^ Wagner, Laura (Fall 2017). "Ralph Forbes: Smolderingly Handsome". Films of the Golden Age (90): 38–43.
- ^ "Ralph Forbes, English Actor, Makes Good in Hollywood". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. 24 September 1936. p. 32. Retrieved 25 July 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ruth Chatterton, Broadway Star, Weds Ralph Forbes, English Actor". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. 21 December 1924. p. 21. Retrieved 25 July 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Heather Angel and Ralph Forbes Wed". The Klamath News. Oregon, Klamath Falls. United Press. 30 August 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Heather Angel Wins Divorce; Says Ralph Forbes Slapped Her". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. 19 July 1941. p. 17. Retrieved 25 July 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Ralph Forbes Dies; Stage, Film Actor - London-Born Player Got His First Role in U.S. in 1924 - Was in 50 Picture". The New York Times. 1 April 1951. p. 54. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "Filmography for Ralph Forbes". Tcm.com. 31 March 1951. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
External links
edit
- Ralph Forbes at IMDb
- Ralph Forbes at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ralph Forbes at Virtual History
