Actors in Academy Award winners for best picture.

1. Clara Bow

Actress | Wings

Clara Gordon Bow, destined to become "The It Girl", was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in poverty and violence. Her often absentee and brutish father could not or did not provide and her schizophrenic mother tried to slit Clara's throat when the girl spoke of becoming ...

"Mary Preston" Wings (1927)

2. Charles 'Buddy' Rogers

Actor | Wings

"America's Boyfriend" Buddy Rogers was born in Olathe Kansas and became a talented musician on several instruments. He began acting in Hollywood in the 1920's and is probably best remembered as Clara Bow's love interest in "Wings". He also made several appearances in the "Mexican Spitfire" series ...

"Jack Powell" Wings (1927)

3. Richard Arlen

Actor | Island of Lost Souls

During World War I, Richard Arlen served in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps as a pilot, but he never saw combat. After the war he drifted round and eventually wound up in Los Angeles, where he got a job as a motorcycle messenger at a film laboratory. When he crashed into the gates of Paramount ...

"David Armstrong" Wings (1927)

4. Gary Cooper

Actor | High Noon

Born to Alice Cooper and Charles Cooper. Gary attended school at Dunstable school England, Helena Montana and Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa (then called Iowa College). His first stage experience was during high school and college. Afterwards, he worked as an extra for one year before getting a ...

"Cadet White" Wings (1927)

5. Bessie Love

Actress | The Broadway Melody

Bessie Love was born in Texas. Her cowboy father moved the family to Hollywood, where he became a chiropractor. As the family needed money, Bessie's mother sent her to Biograph Studios, hoping she would become an actress. D.W. Griffith saw she was pretty and had some acting talent, and put her in ...

"Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney" The Broadway Melody (1929)

6. Anita Page

Actress | The Broadway Melody

Beautiful Anita Page was one of the most famous and popular leading ladies during the last years of the silent screen and the first years of the talkie era. She was best known for starring in The Broadway Melody (1929), the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Her leading men...

"Queenie Mahoney" The Broadway Melody (1929)

7. Charles King

Actor | The Broadway Melody

Charles King was born on October 31, 1889 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Broadway Melody (1929), Chasing Rainbows (1930) and The Five O'Clock Girl (1928). He was married to Lila Rhodes. He died on January 11, 1944 in London, England, UK.

"Eddie Kearns" The Broadway Melody (1929)

8. James Gleason

Actor | The Night of the Hunter

James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at ...

"Music Publisher" (uncredited) The Broadway Melody (1929)

9. Louis Wolheim

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

It was Lionel Barrymore who gave Louis Wolheim (Cornell '07) his start as an actor. Wolheim had had his face more or less smashed in and his nose nicely fractured while playing on a scrub Cornell football team. Later as a Cornell Instructor he found life none too easy. He had worked off and on as ...

"Kat" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

10. Lew Ayres

Actor | Holiday

Lew Ayres was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in San Diego, California. A college dropout, he was found by a talent scout in the Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles and entered Hollywood as a bit player. He was leading man to Greta Garbo in The Kiss (1929), but it was the role of Paul ...

"Paul" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

11. John Wray

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

John Wray was an American character actor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was primarily active during the 1930s.

Wray's real name was "John Griffith Malloy". He had a notable theatrical career, and appeared regularly in Broadway. In the late 1920s, there was a transition from silent films to ...

"Himmelstoss" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

"Prison Gang Overseer" (uncredited) Gone with the Wind (1939)

12. Arnold Lucy

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

Arnold Lucy was born on August 8, 1865 in Tottenham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Modern Marriage (1923) and Fair Lady (1922). He died on December 15, 1945 in London, England, UK.

"Kantorek" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

13. Ben Alexander

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

Starting out as a child actor in 1915, Ben Alexander's first roles were in the films of such directors as Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith. He later graduated to juvenile leads and supporting parts in sound films, most notably in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). When his acting career ...

"Kemmerich" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

14. Scott Kolk

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

A tall, amiable, good-looking, wavy-haired singer and actor during the 1930s, Scott Kolk (born Walter Scott Kolk), later known as Scott Colton, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, of privilege and attended that city's McDonough Academy. Following his father's death, the family moved to a farm in ...

"Leer" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

15. Owen Davis Jr.

Actor | Bunker Bean

Owen Davis Jr. was born on October 6, 1907 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Bunker Bean (1936), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and The Plot Thickens (1936). He was married to Laina Muroni. He died on May 21, 1949 in Long Island Sound, New York, USA.

"Peter" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

16. Walter Rogers

Actor | All Quiet on the Western Front

Walter Rogers was born on April 6, 1906 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Seven Faces (1929). He was married to Viola Alice Naething. He died on November 11, 1943 in Orange County, California, USA.

"Behn" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

17. Beryl Mercer

Actress | The Little Princess

Too short to be a leading lady, Beryl Mercer had a very active and productive career playing motherly characters. She played opposite great leading men, such as Colin Clive, Robert Montgomery, James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Leslie Howard, Spencer Tracy, and Randolph Scott. She also played Queen ...

"Paul's Mother" All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

"Cook" Cavalcade (1933)

18. Richard Dix

Actor | Cimarron

Richard Dix was a major leading man at RKO Radio Pictures from 1929 through 1943. He was born Ernest Carlton Brimmer July 18, 1893, in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he was educated, and at the desires of his father, studied to be a surgeon. His obvious acting talent in his school dramatic club led him...

"Yancey Cravat" Cimarron (1931)

19. Irene Dunne

Actress | The Awful Truth

Irene Marie Dunne was born on December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Joseph Dunne, who inspected steamships, and Adelaide Henry, a musician who prompted Irene in the arts. Her first production was in Louisville when she appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the age...

"Sabra Cravat" Cimarron (1931)

20. Estelle Taylor

Actress | Street Scene

A former typist, Estelle Taylor married a banker at age 14 and, after leaving him, moved to New York to study dramatic acting. She also modeled for artists and appeared in the chorus of a couple of Broadway shows. In the early 1920s she came to Hollywood and was noted as one of the film state's ...

"Dixie Lee" Cimarron (1931)

21. Nance O'Neil

Actress | Kreutzer Sonata

Nance O'Neil was born on October 8, 1874 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Kreutzer Sonata (1915), Princess Romanoff (1915) and Hedda Gabler (1917). She was married to Alfred Hickman. She died on February 7, 1965 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.

"Felice Venable" Cimarron (1931)

22. William Collier Jr.

Actor | Little Caesar

Buster Collier was born Charles F. Gall Jr. in New York and got his show-business start at the age of seven, his mother being an actress and his father being a theater manager. His parents later divorced and his mother married actor William Collier Sr., who adopted the boy and gave him his new name...

"The Kid" Cimarron (1931)

23. Roscoe Ates

Actor | Freaks

Roscoe Ates was born on January 20, 1895 in Grange, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Freaks (1932), The Great Lover (1931) and Tumbleweed Trail (1946). He was married to Beatrice Heisser, Barbara Ray and Clara C. Adrian. He died on March 1, 1962 in Hollywood, California, USA.

"Jesse Ricky" Cimarron (1931)

"Convalescent Soldier" (uncredited) Gone with the Wind (1939)

24. George E. Stone

Actor | Some Like It Hot

A minor prototype of the "Runyon-esque" character for more than three decades, Polish-born actor George E. Stone (né Gerschon Lichtenstein, on May 18, 1903) was, in actuality, a close friend of writer Damon Runyan and would play scores of colorful "dees, dem and dos" cronies throughout the 1920s, '...

"Sol Levy" Cimarron (1931)

25. Greta Garbo

Actress | Ninotchka

Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Anna Lovisa (Johansdotter), who worked at a jam factory, and Karl Alfred Gustafsson, a laborer. She was fourteen when her father died, which left the family destitute. Greta was forced to leave school and ...

"Grusinskaya" Grand Hotel (1932)

26. John Barrymore

Actor | Twentieth Century

John Barrymore was born John Sidney Blyth on February 15, 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An American stage and screen actor whose rise to superstardom and subsequent decline is one of the legendary tragedies of Hollywood. A member of the most famous generation of the most famous theatrical ...

"Baron Felix von Geigern" Grand Hotel (1932)

27. Joan Crawford

Actress | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas, to Anna Belle (Johnson) and Thomas E. LeSueur, a laundry laborer. By the time she was born, her parents had separated, and by the time she was a teenager, she'd had three stepfathers. It wasn't an easy life; ...

"Flaemmchen" Grand Hotel (1932)

28. Wallace Beery

Actor | A Date with Judy

In 1902, 16-year-old Wallace Beery joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant to the elephant trainer. He left two years later after a leopard clawed his arm. Beery next went to New York, where he found work in musical variety shows. He became a leading man in musicals and appeared on ...

"General Director Preysing" Grand Hotel (1932)

29. Lionel Barrymore

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Famed actor, composer, artist, author and director. His talents extended to the authoring of the novel "Mr. Cartonwine: A Moral Tale" as well as his autobiography. In 1944, he joined ASCAP, and composed "Russian Dances", "Partita", "Ballet Viennois", "The Woodman and the Elves", "Behind the Horizon...

"Otto Kringelein" Grand Hotel (1932)

"Martin Vanderhof" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

30. Lewis Stone

Actor | The Mask of Fu Manchu

By the time that he was 20, Lewis Stone had turned prematurely grey. He enlisted to fight in the Spanish American War and when he returned, he returned to be a writer. This turned to acting and he began to appear in films during the middle teens. His career was again interrupted by war as he served...

"Doctor Otternschlag" Grand Hotel (1932)

31. Jean Hersholt

Actor | Greed

If ever there was a Great Dane in Hollywood it was Jean Hersholt - and one of its great hearts as well. He was from a well-known Danish stage and entertainment family that had toured throughout Europe performing with young Jean as an essential cast member. He graduated from the Copenhagen Art ...

"Senf" Grand Hotel (1932)

32. Diana Wynyard

Actress | Cavalcade

One of the outstanding stage actresses of her time, Diana Wynyard will always be remembered for her unforgettable performance in the British version of the thriller Gaslight (1940) (re-made in Hollywood in 1944 with Ingrid Bergman). Starring opposite the great Anton Walbrook, she played the part of...

"Jane Marryot" Cavalcade (1933)

33. Clive Brook

Actor | Cavalcade

Born in London, England to Charlotte Mary (opera singer) and George Alfred Brook. He was educated privately. Stage experience included: "Oliver Twist", "Voysey Inheritence", "If I were King", "Importance of Being Ernest", Fair and Warmer", "Over Sunday", "Clothes and the WOman", and many others. ...

"Robert Marryot" Cavalcade (1933)

34. Una O'Connor

Actress | Bride of Frankenstein

Delightful character actress who held her own against such acting heavyweights as Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Tyrone Power, Barbara Stanwyck, and Sydney Greenstreet. Often cast by studio heads as comic relief thanks to her thick Irish accent and rubber-faced expressions, most notably in ...

"Ellen Bridges" Cavalcade (1933)

35. Herbert Mundin

Actor | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Herbert Mundin was born on August 21, 1898 in St. Helens, Merseyside, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), David Copperfield (1935) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). He was married to Ann Shaw and Hilda Frances Hoyes. He died on March 5, 1939 in Van Nuys, ...

"Alfred Bridges" Cavalcade (1933)

"Smith" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

36. Bonita Granville

Actress | Now, Voyager

Daughter of Bernard Granville, Bonita Granville was born into an acting family. It's not surprising that she herself became a child actor, first on the stage and, at the age of 9, debuting in movies in Westward Passage (1932). She was regularly cast as a naughty little girl, as in These Three (1936)...

"Young Fanny" Cavalcade (1933)

37. Clark Gable

Actor | It Happened One Night

William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, to Adeline (Hershelman) and William Henry Gable, an oil-well driller. He was of German, Irish, and Swiss-German descent. When he was seven months old, his mother died, and his father sent him to live with his maternal aunt and uncle ...

"Peter Warne" It Happened One Night (1934)

"Fletcher Christian" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

"Rhett Butler" Gone with the Wind (1939)

38. Claudette Colbert

Actress | It Happened One Night

One of the brightest film stars to grace the screen was born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin on September 13, 1903, in Saint Mandé, France where her father owned a bakery at 57, rue de la République (now Avenue Général de Gaulle). The family moved to the United States when she was three. As Claudette ...

"Ellie Andrews" It Happened One Night (1934)

39. Walter Connolly

Actor | It Happened One Night

The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. ...

"Alexander Andrews" It Happened One Night (1934)

40. Roscoe Karns

Actor | His Girl Friday

On stage since age 15, Roscoe Karns parlayed his machine-gun delivery and street-wise demeanor (although many thought of him as a New Yorker, he was actually from San Bernardino, California) into character roles in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1960s. His peak period, though, was in the ...

"Oscar Shapeley" It Happened One Night (1934)

41. Jameson Thomas

Actor | It Happened One Night

On the British stage from his teens, he first appeared as a half-breed boy in "The Squaw Man." His screen debut was in 1923 in the film "Chu Chin Chow." Dissatisfied with the British film industry, he moved to Hollywood and played a number of minor roles up to the time of his death. On the English ...

"King Westley" It Happened One Night (1934)

42. Alan Hale

Actor | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Alan Hale decided on a film career after his attempt at becoming an opera singer didn't pan out. He quickly became much in demand as a supporting actor, starred in several films for Cecil B. DeMille and directed others for him. With the advent of sound, Hale played leads in a few films but soon ...

"Danker" It Happened One Night (1934)

43. Charles Laughton

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Charles Laughton was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, to Eliza (Conlon) and Robert Laughton, hotel keepers of Irish and English descent, respectively. He was educated at Stonyhurst (a highly esteemed Jesuit college in England) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (received gold medal). ...

"Captain Bligh" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

44. Franchot Tone

Actor | Dangerous

President of the Dramatic Club at Cornell University, Franchot Tone gave up the family business for acting, making his Broadway debut in "The Age of Innocence".

Tone then went into movies for MGM, making his film debut (at Paramount Pictures) in The Wiser Sex (1932). With his theatrical background, ...

"Roger Byam" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

45. Eddie Quillan

Actor | Mutiny on the Bounty

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 31, 1907, Eddie Quillan was seven years old and already performing in vaudeville with his sister and three brothers in an act called "The Rising Generation." His parents, Joseph Quillan and Sarah Quillan, were well-known performers with Joseph himself ...

"Ellison" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

46. Dudley Digges

Actor | The Emperor Jones

Dudley Digges was born on June 9, 1879 in Dublin, Ireland, UK [now Republic of Ireland]. He was an actor, known for The Emperor Jones (1933), The Invisible Man (1933) and Raffles (1939). He was married to Mary Roden Quinn. He died on October 24, 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.

"Bacchus" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

47. Donald Crisp

Actor | How Green Was My Valley

White-haired London-born character actor, a familiar face in Hollywood for more than five decades. He was born George William Crisp, the youngest of ten siblings, to working class parents James Crisp and his wife Elizabeth (nee Christy). Despite his humble beginnings, Donald was educated at Oxford ...

"Burkitt" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

"Maitre Labori" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

"Mr. Morgan" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

48. Henry Stephenson

Actor | Captain Blood

Stephenson was a firm, dignified, worldly presence in Hollywood's classic history-based films of the 30s and 40s. The tall British character actor Henry Stephenson could be both imposing and benevolent in his patrician portrayals, usually expounding words of wisdom or offering gentlemanly aid. He ...

"Sir Joseph Banks" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

49. Movita

Actress | The Girl from Rio

Movita Castaneda was an American actress best known for having been the second wife of actor Marlon Brando. She was eight years older than Brando. In films, she played exotic women/singers, such as in Flying Down to Rio (1933) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), of which she was the last surviving ...

"Tehani" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

50. Mamo Clark

Actress | Mutiny on the Bounty

Mamo Clark was born on December 6, 1914 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She was an actress, known for Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), One Million B.C. (1940) and The Hurricane (1937). She died on December 18, 1986 in Panorama City, California, USA.

"Maimiti" Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

51. David Niven

Actor | Murder by Death

His mother was the French Lady Comynyplatt Henrietta de Gacher, his father was the British Lieutenant William Graham Niven, who died in the war when David was six years old. Niven was considered a difficult child to educate and had to change schools often until he finally went to Sandhurst Military...

"Able-Bodied Seaman" (uncredited) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

"Phileas Fogg" Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

52. William Powell

Actor | The Thin Man

William Powell was on the New York stage by 1912, but it would be ten years before his film career would begin. In 1924 he went to Paramount Pictures, where he was employed for the next seven years. During that time, he played in a number of interesting films, but stardom was elusive. He did ...

"Florenz Ziegfeld Jr." The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

53. Myrna Loy

Actress | The Thin Man

Myrna Williams, later to become Myrna Loy, was born on August 2, 1905 in Helena, Montana. Her father was the youngest person ever elected to the Montana State legislature. Later on her family moved to Radersburg where she spent her youth on a cattle ranch. At the age of 13, Myrna's father died of ...

"Billie Burke" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

"Milly Stephenson" The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

54. Luise Rainer

Actress | The Great Ziegfeld

Luise Rainer, the first thespian to win back-to-back Oscars, was born on January 12, 1910 in Dusseldorf, Germany, into a prosperous Jewish family. Her parents were Emilie (Königsberger) and Heinrich Rainer, a businessman. She took to the stage, and plied her craft on the boards in Germany. As a ...

"Anna Held" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

55. Frank Morgan

Actor | The Wizard of Oz

Jovial, somewhat flamboyant Frank Morgan (born Francis Wuppermann) will forever be remembered as the title character in The Wizard of Oz (1939), but he was a veteran and respected actor long before he played that part, and turned in outstanding performances both before and after that film. One of ...

"Billings" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

56. Fanny Brice

Actress | Be Yourself!

Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances but is best remembered as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show. Thirteen years after her death, she was ...

"Fannie Brice" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

57. Virginia Bruce

Actress | The Invisible Woman

American leading lady of the 1930s and 1940s, Virginia Bruce was born in Minnesota but grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and came to California to attend college. Her blond good looks got her an entry into films, and after a few extra roles and bit parts she began to make serious inroads as a leading...

"Audrey Dane" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

58. Reginald Owen

Actor | Mary Poppins

Born August 5th, 1887 in England, Reginald Owen was among Hollywood's busier character actors, making more than 80 films. He was educated in England at Sir Herbert Tree's Academy of Dramatic Arts. Owen excelled and made his professional debut also in England at the age of 18. He came to New York in...

"Sampston" The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

"Foley" Mrs. Miniver (1942)

59. Mary Howard

Actress | Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Mary Howard was born on August 24, 1914 in Independence, Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Billy the Kid (1941) and Thru Different Eyes (1942). She was married to Alfred De Liagre Jr.. She died on June 6, 2009 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

"Miss Carlisle" (uncredited) The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

60. Paul Muni

Actor | Scarface

Paul Muni was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Salli and Phillip Weisenfreund, who were both professionals. His family was Jewish, and spoke Yiddish. Paul was educated in New York and Cleveland public schools. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, with black hair and ...

"Emile Zola" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

61. Gale Sondergaard

Actress | The Mark of Zorro

Sly, manipulative, dangerously cunning and sinister were the key words that best described the roles that Gale Sondergaard played in motion pictures, making her one of the most talented character actresses ever seen on the screen. She was educated at the University of Minnesota and later married ...

"Lucie Dreyfus" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

62. Joseph Schildkraut

Actor | The Shop Around the Corner

An imposing Austrian import-turned-matinée idol on the silent screen, Hollywood actor Joseph Schildkraut went on to conquer talking films as well -- with Oscar-winning results. Inclined towards smooth, cunning villainy, his Oscar came instead for his sympathetic portrayal of Captain Alfred Dreyfus ...

"Capt. Alfred Dreyfus" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

63. Gloria Holden

Actress | Dracula's Daughter

Hollywood leading lady in B-movies, and supporting actress in big budget films. Although remembered for her portrayal of "Mme. Zola" in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), she is most memorable for her chilling-yet-beauteous performance as Dracula's Daughter (1936). She had another memorable role in ...

"Alexandrine Zola" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

64. Henry O'Neill

Actor | Calling Philo Vance

Suave, well-mannered, silvery-haired character actor Henry (Joseph) O'Neill played top supports in hundreds of films, often as a benign, wise, sensible father, judge, doctor, minister, general, executive or lawyer. Much of his patrician career was split between two studios: Warner Bros in the 1930s...

"Col. Picquard" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

65. Morris Carnovsky

Actor | Cyrano de Bergerac

Morris Carnovsky was one of the more prominent victims of the Hollywood blacklist, being named as a Communist party member by both Elia Kazan -- the most infamous of the informers who sang before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the era blacklistee Lillian Hellman called the "Scoundrel...

"Anatole France" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

66. Louis Calhern

Actor | Duck Soup

Tall, distinguished, aristocratic Louis Calhern seemed to be the poster boy for old-money, upper-crust urban society, but he was actually born Carl Vogt, to middle-class parents in New York City. His family moved to St. Louis when he was a child, and it was while playing football in high school ...

"Maj. Dort" The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

67. Jean Arthur

Actress | You Can't Take It with You

This marvelous screen comedienne's best asset was only muffled during her seven years' stint in silent films. That asset? It was, of course, her squeaky, frog-like voice, which silent-era cinema audiences had simply no way of perceiving, much less appreciating. Jean Arthur, born Gladys Georgianna ...

"Alice Sycamore" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

68. James Stewart

Actor | Vertigo

James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Ruth (Johnson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. He was of Scottish, Ulster-Scots, and some English descent. Stewart was educated at a local prep school, Mercersburg Academy, where he ...

"Tony Kirby" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

"'Buttons' A Clown" The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

69. Edward Arnold

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Edward Arnold was born as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider in 1890, on the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants, Elizabeth (Ohse) and Carl Schneider. Arnold began his acting career on the New York stage and became a film actor in 1916. A burly man with a commanding style ...

"Anthony P. Kirby" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

70. Mischa Auer

Actor | My Man Godfrey

Mischa Auer, the American screen's supreme exponent of the "Mad Russian" stereotype so dear to Yankee hearts before and after World War II, was born Mischa Ounskowsky on November 17, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the grandson of violinist Leopold Auer, whose surname he took when he became a ...

"Kolenkhov" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

71. Ann Miller

Actress | Mulholland Dr.

Ann Miller was born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier on April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Texas. She lived there until she was nine, when her mother left her philandering father and moved with Ann to Los Angeles, California. Even at that young age, she had to support her mother, who was hearing-impaired and ...

"Essie Carmichael" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

72. Spring Byington

Actress | You Can't Take It with You

The possessor of one of Hollywood's gentlest faces and warmest voices, and about as sweet as Tupelo honey both on-and-off camera, character actress Spring Byington was seldom called upon to play callous or unsympathetic (she did once play a half-crazed housekeeper in Dragonwyck (1946)). Although ...

"Penny Sycamore" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

73. Samuel S. Hinds

Actor | It's a Wonderful Life

Samuel S. Hinds, a Harvard graduate, was a lawyer in Hollywood until the stock market crash of 1929, in which he lost most of his money. Hinds, who had an interest in theater acting, decided to embark on a career in acting, albeit it age 54. The tall, dignified-looking Hinds appeared in over 200 ...

"Paul Sycamore" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

74. Donald Meek

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

One Hollywood stalwart whose screen incarnations more than lived up to his name was bald-domed character actor Donald Meek, forever typecast as mousy, timorous or browbeaten Casper Milquetoasts. He stood at 5 ft. 6 in. in his boots and weighed a mere 81 pounds. However, the little Glaswegian's ...

"Poppins" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

75. H.B. Warner

Actor | It's a Wonderful Life

Henry Byron Warner was the definitive cinematic Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). He was born into a prominent theatrical family on October 26, 1875 in London. His father was Charles Warner, and his grandfather was James Warner, both prominent English actors. He replaced ...

"Ramsey" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

76. Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson

Actor | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

The son of a minstrel and circus tightrope walker, Eddie Anderson developed a gravel voice early in life which would become his trademark to fame. He joined his older brother Cornelius as members of "The Three Black Aces" during his vaudeville years, singing for pennies in the hotel lobby. He ...

"Donald" You Can't Take It with You (1938)

"Uncle Peter" Gone with the Wind (1939)

77. Thomas Mitchell

Actor | Stagecoach

Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest American films of the 20th century: Lost Horizon (1937); Stagecoach (1939); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Gone with the Wind (1939); It's a ...

"Gerald O'Hara" Gone with the Wind (1939)

78. Barbara O'Neil

Actress | Gone with the Wind

Barbara O'Neil was an American actress, mostly remembered for playing Ellen O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" (1939). She was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress .

O'Neil was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a prominent family. Her father was businessman David O'Neil (1874-...

"Ellen O'Hara" Gone with the Wind (1939)

79. Vivien Leigh

Actress | A Streetcar Named Desire

If a film were made of the life of Vivien Leigh, it would open in India just before World War I, where a successful British businessman could live like a prince. In the mountains above Calcutta, a little princess is born. Because of the outbreak of World War I, she is six years old the first time ...

"Scarlett O'Hara" Gone with the Wind (1939)

80. Evelyn Keyes

Actress | The Seven Year Itch

No shrinking violet this one, but despite her talent, vivacity and sheer drive, lovely and alluring blonde Evelyn Keyes would remain for the most part typed as a "B" girl on the silver screen. In spite of her ripe contributions to such superior pictures as Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), The Jolson ...

"Suellen O'Hara" Gone with the Wind (1939)

"Tart - Paris" Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

81. Ann Rutherford

Actress | Gone with the Wind

Ann Rutherford was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The daughter of a former Metropolitan Opera singer, John Rutherford, and her actress mother, Lillian Mansfield, was destined for show business.

Not long after her birth, her family moved to California, where she made her stage debut in ...

"Carreen O'Hara" Gone with the Wind (1939)

82. George Reeves

Actor | Adventures of Superman

George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, to Helen Roberta (Lescher) and Donald C. Brewer. He was of German, English, and Scottish descent. Following his parents' divorce and his mother's remarriage to Frank J. Bessolo, Reeves was raised in Pasadena, California, and educated ...

"Brent Tarleton" Gone with the Wind (1939)

"Sgt. Maylon Stark" (uncredited) From Here to Eternity (1953)

83. Hattie McDaniel

Actress | Gone with the Wind

After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George ...

"Mammy" Gone with the Wind (1939)

84. Leslie Howard

Actor | Pygmalion

Leslie Howard Steiner was born in London to Lilian (Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" Steiner. His father was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and his English mother was of German Jewish and mostly English descent. Leslie went to Dulwich College, then worked as a bank clerk until the outbreak of World ...

"Ashley Wilkes" Gone with the Wind (1939)

85. Olivia de Havilland

Actress | Gone with the Wind

Olivia Mary de Havilland was born on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan to British parents, Lilian Augusta (Ruse), a former actress, and Walter Augustus de Havilland, an English professor and patent attorney. Her sister Joan, later to become famous as Joan Fontaine, was born the following year. Her ...

"Melanie Hamilton" Gone with the Wind (1939)

86. Laurence Olivier

Actor | Sleuth

Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High ...

"'Maxim' de Winter" Rebecca (1940)

"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" Hamlet (1948)

87. Joan Fontaine

Actress | Suspicion

Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement, to British parents, Lilian Augusta (Ruse), a former actress, and Walter Augustus de Havilland, an English professor and patent attorney. Her paternal grandfather's family was ...

"Mrs. de Winter" Rebecca (1940)

88. George Sanders

Actor | All About Eve

George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in ...

"Jack Favell" Rebecca (1940)

"Addison DeWitt" All About Eve (1950)

89. Judith Anderson

Actress | Rebecca

Dame Judith Anderson was born Frances Margaret Anderson on February 10, 1897 in Adelaide, South Australia. She began her acting career in Australia before moving to New York in 1918. There she established herself as one of the greatest theatrical actresses and was a major star on Broadway ...

"Mrs. Danvers" Rebecca (1940)

90. Nigel Bruce

Actor | Rebecca

Nigel was, from the beginning, typecast as bumbling English aristocrats, military types or drawing room society snobs and, within the narrow parameters of his range, he was very, very good at playing these parts. Nigel Bruce was born in Mexico, where his father, Sir William W. Bruce, worked as an ...

"Major Giles Lacy" Rebecca (1940)

91. C. Aubrey Smith

Actor | Rebecca

Movie roles are sometimes based upon what the audience expects to see. If the role called for the tall stereotypical Englishmen with the stiff upper lip and stern determination, that man would be C. Aubrey Smith, graduate of Cambridge University, a leading Freemason and a test cricketer for England...

"Colonel Julyan" Rebecca (1940)

92. Gladys Cooper

Actress | My Fair Lady

Gladys Cooper was the daughter of journalist William Frederick Cooper and his wife Mabel Barnett. As a child she was very striking and was used as a photographic model beginning at six years old. She wanted to become an actress and started on that road in 1905 after being discovered by Seymour ...

"Beatrice Lacy" Rebecca (1940)

"Mrs. Higgins" My Fair Lady (1964)

93. Leo G. Carroll

Actor | North by Northwest

One of the most indispensable of character actors, Leo G. Carroll was already involved in the business of acting as a schoolboy in Gilbert & Sullivan productions. Aged 16, he portrayed an old man in 'Liberty Hall'. In spite of the fact, that he came from a military family, and , perhaps, because of...

"Dr. Baker" Rebecca (1940)

94. Walter Pidgeon

Actor | Forbidden Planet

Walter Pidgeon, a handsome, tall and dark-haired man, began his career studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He then did theater, mainly stage musicals. He went to Hollywood in the early 1920s, where he made silent films, including Mannequin (1926) and Sumuru (1927). ...

"Mr. Gruffydd" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

"Clem Miniver" Mrs. Miniver (1942)

95. Maureen O'Hara

Actress | The Quiet Man

In America, the early performing arts accomplishments of young Maureen FitzSimons (who we know as Maureen O'Hara) would definitely have put her in the child prodigy category. However, for a child of Irish heritage surrounded by gifted parents and family, these were very natural traits. Maureen made...

"Angharad" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

96. Anna Lee

Actress | The Sound of Music

The daughter of a clergyman, Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith and encouraged to pursue an acting career by her father. After training at London's Royal Albert Hall, she took to the boards and later began appearing in English films, first as an extra, then working her way up to featured ...

"Bronwyn" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

"Sister Margaretta" The Sound of Music (1965)

97. Roddy McDowall

Actor | Fright Night

Roddy McDowall was born in Herne Hill, London, England, to Winifriede Lucinda (Corcoran), an Irish-born aspiring actress, and Thomas Andrew McDowall, a merchant seaman. Roddy was enrolled in elocution courses at age five and by ten had appeared in his first film, Murder in the Family (1938), ...

"Huw" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

98. Sara Allgood

Actress | How Green Was My Valley

Dublin-born Sara Allgood started her acting career in her native country with the famed Abbey Theatre. From there she traveled to the English stage, where she played for many years before making her film debut in 1918. Her warm, open Irish face meant that she spent a lot of time playing Irish ...

"Mrs. Morgan" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

99. Barry Fitzgerald

Actor | The Quiet Man

One of Hollywood's finest character actors and most accomplished scene stealers, Barry Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. Educated to enter the banking business, the diminutive Irishman with the irresistible brogue was bitten by the acting bug in the 1920s and ...

"Cyfartha" How Green Was My Valley (1941)

"Father Fitzgibbon" Going My Way (1944)

100. Ruth Clifford

Actress | The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln

American actress, originally of leading roles, whose career lasted from silent days into the television era. A native of Rhode Island, she attended St. Mary's Seminary in Narragansett, Rhode Island, then, following her mother's death in 1911, came to Los Angeles as a teenager to live with her ...

"Village Woman" (uncredited) How Green Was My Valley (1941)