# Henry Stephenson

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British actor (1871–1956)

For other people named Henry Stephenson, see [Henry Stephenson (disambiguation)](/source/Henry_Stephenson_(disambiguation)).

Henry Stephenson Stephenson in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) Born Harry Stephenson Garraway (1871-04-16)16 April 1871 Grenada, British West Indies Died 24 April 1956(1956-04-24) (aged 85) San Francisco, California, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1901–1952 Spouses Roxy Barton ​ ​ (m. 1906, dissolved)​ Ann Shoemaker ​ (m. 1922)​ Children 1

**Harry Stephenson Garraway**[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] (16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He generally portrayed amiable and wise [gentlemen](/source/Gentleman) in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were [Sir Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks) in *[Mutiny on the Bounty](/source/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty_(1935_film))* (1935) and [Mr. Brownlow](/source/Mr._Brownlow) in *[Oliver Twist](/source/Oliver_Twist_(1948_film))* (1948).

## Life and career

Stephenson was born to British parents in [Grenada, British West Indies](/source/Grenada%2C_British_West_Indies), and educated in England. He started acting in his twenties.[1] He appeared on British and American stages and made his [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) debut in 1901, playing the messenger in *A Message from Mars* starring [Charles Hawtrey](/source/Charles_Hawtrey_(actor%2C_born_1858)). In the following decades, he performed in more than 30 Broadway plays.[2]

Stephenson made his film debut in 1917 and appeared in a few silent films, but made his mark mostly as an elderly man in sound films.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Between 1931 and 1932, he appeared in the Broadway play *Cynara*[2] with over 200 performances. He came to Hollywood for the film version of *[Cynara](/source/Cynara_(1932_film))*, starring [Ronald Colman](/source/Ronald_Colman) and with Stephenson reprising his role of John Tring. In the same year, he played the tycoon C.B. Gaerste in *[Red-Headed Woman](/source/Red-Headed_Woman)*, [Leslie Howard](/source/Leslie_Howard_(actor))'s father Rufus Collier in *[The Animal Kingdom](/source/The_Animal_Kingdom_(1932_film))* and Doctor Alliot in *[A Bill of Divorcement](/source/A_Bill_of_Divorcement_(1932_film))*. In 1933, he appeared as Mr. Laurence in *[Little Women](/source/Little_Women_(1933_film))*. He specialized in portraying wise, dignified and congenial British gentlemen in supporting roles.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Stephenson appeared in 90 films from 1917 to 1951. He often played historical figures like [Sir Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks) in the Oscar-winning[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] adventure film *[Mutiny on the Bounty](/source/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty_(1935_film))* (1935) and [Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau](/source/Florimond_Claude%2C_Comte_de_Mercy-Argenteau) in *[Marie Antoinette](/source/Marie_Antoinette_(1938_film))* (1938).

Stephenson worked with film star [Errol Flynn](/source/Errol_Flynn) in the films *[Captain Blood](/source/Captain_Blood_(1935_film))*, *[The Charge of the Light Brigade](/source/The_Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade_(1936_film))*, *[The Prince and the Pauper](/source/The_Prince_and_the_Pauper_(1937_film))*, and *[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex](/source/The_Private_Lives_of_Elizabeth_and_Essex)*, often as Flynn's paternal friend and superior. He portrayed Sir Thomas Lancing in *[Tarzan Finds a Son!](/source/Tarzan_Finds_a_Son!)* in 1939, and Sir Guy Henderson in *[Tarzan and the Amazons](/source/Tarzan_and_the_Amazons)* in 1945.

Stephenson seldom played dark figures; among the exceptions was the snobbish Mr. Bryant in *[Mr. Lucky](/source/Mr._Lucky_(film))* in 1943. He also appeared in several literary adaptions, for example as the friendly lawyer Havisham in *[Little Lord Fauntleroy](/source/Little_Lord_Fauntleroy_(1936_film))* (1936) and as [Mr. Brownlow](/source/Mr._Brownlow) in [David Lean](/source/David_Lean)'s film adaptation of *[Oliver Twist](/source/Oliver_Twist_(1948_film))* (1948). He made his last film in 1949, but appeared in two television series in 1951 before the end of his career. In 1950, after completing his role of Cardinal Gaspar de Quiroga in the play *That Lady*, Stephenson retired from the stage.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Personal life

He married the Australian-born actress [Roxy Barton](/source/Roxy_Barton) on 14 June 1906 at [St Marylebone Parish Church](/source/St_Marylebone_Parish_Church) in [Marylebone](/source/Marylebone) in London.[3] Their daughter was the actress Jean Harriet Stephenson. The marriage was later dissolved. He later wed the actress [Ann Shoemaker](/source/Ann_Shoemaker), who had a daughter, Anne Hall, the song lyricist, by a previous marriage. Henry Stephenson died in 1956, aged 85 from [nephritis](/source/Nephritis).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Filmography

Henry Stephenson in *Marie Antoinette* (1938)

Henry Stephenson (middle) in *Little Lord Fauntleroy* (1936); with [C. Aubrey Smith](/source/C._Aubrey_Smith) (left) and [Walter Kingsford](/source/Walter_Kingsford) (right)

in the trailer for
*[Little Women](/source/Little_Women_(1933_film))* (1933)

- *[The Spreading Dawn](/source/The_Spreading_Dawn)* (1917) as Mr. LeRoy (film debut)

- *[A Society Exile](/source/A_Society_Exile_(1919_film))* (1919) as Sir Howard Furnival

- *[The Tower of Jewels](/source/The_Tower_of_Jewels)* (1920) as David Parrish

- *[The Black Panther's Cub](/source/The_Black_Panther's_Cub)* (1921) as Clive, Earl of Maudsley

- *[Men and Women](/source/Men_and_Women_(1925_film))* (1925) as Arnold Kirke

- *[Wild, Wild Susan](/source/Wild%2C_Wild_Susan)* (1925) as Peter Van Dusen

- *[Red-Headed Woman](/source/Red-Headed_Woman)* (1932) as Gaerste

- *[Guilty as Hell](/source/Guilty_as_Hell)* (1932) as Dr. Ernest S. Tindal

- *[A Bill of Divorcement](/source/A_Bill_of_Divorcement_(1932_film))* (1932) as Dr. Alliot

- *[The Animal Kingdom](/source/The_Animal_Kingdom_(1932_film))* (1932) as Mr. Rufus Collier

- *[Cynara](/source/Cynara_(1932_film))* (1932) as John Tring

- *[Tomorrow at Seven](/source/Tomorrow_at_Seven)* (1933) as Thornton Drake

- *[Double Harness](/source/Double_Harness)* (1933) as Colonel Sam Colby

- *[Blind Adventure](/source/Blind_Adventure)* (1933) as Maj. Archer Thorne

- *[My Lips Betray](/source/My_Lips_Betray)* (1933) as De Conti

- *[Little Women](/source/Little_Women_(1933_film))* (1933) as Mr. Laurence

- *[If I Were Free](/source/If_I_Were_Free)* (1933) as Hector Stribling

- *[Man of Two Worlds](/source/Man_of_Two_Worlds_(film))* (1934) as Sir Basil Pemberton

- *[The Mystery of Mr. X](/source/The_Mystery_of_Mr._X)* (1934) as Sir Herbert Frensham

- *[All Men Are Enemies](/source/All_Men_Are_Enemies)* (1934) as Scrope

- *[Stingaree](/source/Stingaree_(1934_film))* (1934) as Mr. Hugh Clarkson

- *[Thirty Day Princess](/source/Thirty_Day_Princess)* (1934) as King Anatol XII

- *[One More River](/source/One_More_River)* (1934) as Sir Laurence Mont

- *[She Loves Me Not](/source/She_Loves_Me_Not_(1934_film))* (1934) as Dean Mercer

- *[The Richest Girl in the World](/source/The_Richest_Girl_in_the_World_(1934_film))* (1934) as Connors

- *[Outcast Lady](/source/Outcast_Lady)* (1934) as Sir Maurice

- *[What Every Woman Knows](/source/What_Every_Woman_Knows_(1934_film))* (1934) as Charles Venables

- *[The Night Is Young](/source/The_Night_Is_Young)* (1935) as [Emperor Franz Josef](/source/Franz_Joseph_I_of_Austria)

- *[Vanessa: Her Love Story](/source/Vanessa%3A_Her_Love_Story)* (1935) as Barney Newmark

- *[Reckless](/source/Reckless_(1935_film))* (1935) as Col. Harrison

- *[The Flame Within](/source/The_Flame_Within_(film))* (1935) as Dr. Jock Frazier

- *[O'Shaughnessy's Boy](/source/O'Shaughnessy's_Boy)* (1935) as Major Winslow

- *[Rendezvous](/source/Rendezvous_(1935_film))* (1935) as Ambassador

- *[Mutiny on the Bounty](/source/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty_(1935_film))* (1935) as [Sir Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks)

- *[The Perfect Gentleman](/source/The_Perfect_Gentleman_(film))* (1935) as Bishop

- *[Captain Blood](/source/Captain_Blood_(1935_film))* (1935) as Lord Willoughby

- *[Little Lord Fauntleroy](/source/Little_Lord_Fauntleroy_(1936_film))* (1936) as Havisham

- *[Half Angel](/source/Half_Angel_(1936_film))* (1936) as Professor Jerome Hargraves

- *[Hearts Divided](/source/Hearts_Divided)* (1936) as Chas. Patterson

- *[Walking on Air](/source/Walking_on_Air_(1936_film))* (1936) as Mr. Horace Bennett

- *[Give Me Your Heart](/source/Give_Me_Your_Heart_(film))* (1936) as Edward - Lord Farrington

- *[The Charge of the Light Brigade](/source/The_Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade_(1936_film))* (1936) as Sir Charles Macefield

- *[Beloved Enemy](/source/Beloved_Enemy)* (1936) as Lord Athleigh

- *[When You're in Love](/source/When_You're_in_Love_(film))* (1937) as Walter Mitchell

- *[The Prince and the Pauper](/source/The_Prince_and_the_Pauper_(1937_film))* (1937) as [the Duke of Norfolk](/source/Thomas_Howard%2C_3rd_Duke_of_Norfolk)

- *[The Emperor's Candlesticks](/source/The_Emperor's_Candlesticks_(1937_film))* (1937) as Prince Johann

- *[Conquest](/source/Conquest_(1937_film))* (1937) as Count Anastas Walewski

- *[Wise Girl](/source/Wise_Girl_(film))* (1937) as Mr. Fletcher

- *[The Baroness and the Butler](/source/The_Baroness_and_the_Butler)* (1938) as Count Albert Sandor

- *[The Young in Heart](/source/The_Young_in_Heart)* (1938) as Mr. Anstruther

- *[Marie Antoinette](/source/Marie_Antoinette_(1938_film))* (1938) as [Count de Mercey](/source/Florimond_Claude%2C_Comte_de_Mercy-Argenteau)

- *[Suez](/source/Suez_(film))* (1938) as Count [Mathieu de Lesseps](/source/Mathieu_de_Lesseps)

- *[Dramatic School](/source/Dramatic_School_(film))* (1938) as Pasquel Sr.

- *[Tarzan Finds a Son!](/source/Tarzan_Finds_a_Son!)* (1939) as Sir Thomas Lancing

- *[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes](/source/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_(film))* (1939) as Sir Ronald Ramsgate

- *[The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex](/source/The_Private_Lives_of_Elizabeth_and_Essex)* (1939) as [Lord Burghley](/source/William_Cecil%2C_1st_Baron_Burghley)

- *[Little Old New York](/source/Little_Old_New_York_(1940_film))* (1940) as [Chancellor Robert L. Livingstone](/source/Robert_Le_Roy_Livingston)

- *[It's a Date](/source/It's_a_Date)* (1940) as Capt. Andrew

- *[Spring Parade](/source/Spring_Parade)* (1940) as Emperor Franz Joseph

- *[Down Argentine Way](/source/Down_Argentine_Way)* (1940) as Don Diego Quintana

- *[The Man Who Lost Himself](/source/The_Man_Who_Lost_Himself_(1941_film))* (1941) as Frederick Collins

- *[Lady from Louisiana](/source/Lady_from_Louisiana)* (1941) as General Anatole Mirbeau

- *[Rings on Her Fingers](/source/Rings_on_Her_Fingers)* (1942) as Colonel Harry Prentiss

- *[This Above All](/source/This_Above_All)* (1942) as General Cathaway

- *[Halfway to Shanghai](/source/Halfway_to_Shanghai)* (1942) as Colonel Algernon Blimpton

- *[The Mantrap](/source/The_Mantrap)* (1943) as Sir Humphrey Quilp

- *[Mr. Lucky](/source/Mr._Lucky_(film))* (1943) as Mr. Bryant

- *[Two Girls and a Sailor](/source/Two_Girls_and_a_Sailor)* (1944) as John Dyckman Brown I

- *[The Hour Before the Dawn](/source/The_Hour_Before_the_Dawn)* (1944) as Gen. Hetherton

- *[Secrets of Scotland Yard](/source/Secrets_of_Scotland_Yard)* (1944) as Sir Reginald Meade

- *[Reckless Age](/source/Reckless_Age)* (1944) as J. H. Wadsworth

- *[Tarzan and the Amazons](/source/Tarzan_and_the_Amazons)* (1945) as Sir Guy Henderson

- *[The Green Years](/source/The_Green_Years_(film))* (1946) as Prof. Rattray Blakely

- *[Heartbeat](/source/Heartbeat_(1946_film))* (1946) as Minister

- *[Night and Day](/source/Night_and_Day_(1946_film))* (1946) as Omar Cole

- *[Of Human Bondage](/source/Of_Human_Bondage_(1946_film))* (1946) as Dr. Tyrell

- *[Her Sister's Secret](/source/Her_Sister's_Secret)* (1946) as Mr. Dubois

- *[The Return of Monte Cristo](/source/The_Return_of_Monte_Cristo_(1946_film))* (1946) as Prof. Duval

- *[The Locket](/source/The_Locket_(1946_film))* (1946) as Lord Wyndham

- *[Time Out of Mind](/source/Time_Out_of_Mind_(1947_film))* (1947) as Wellington Drake

- *[The Homestretch](/source/The_Homestretch)* (1947) as Don Humberto Balcares

- *[Dark Delusion](/source/Dark_Delusion)* (1947) as Dr. Evans Biddle

- *[Ivy](/source/Ivy_(1947_film))* (1947) as Judge

- *[Song of Love](/source/Song_of_Love_(1947_film))* (1947) as [King Albert](/source/Albert%2C_King_of_Saxony)

- *[Oliver Twist](/source/Oliver_Twist_(1948_film))* (1948) as [Mr. Brownlow](/source/Mr._Brownlow)

- *[Julia Misbehaves](/source/Julia_Misbehaves)* (1948) as Lord Pennystone

- *[Enchantment](/source/Enchantment_(1948_film))* (1948) as General Fitzgerald

- *[Challenge to Lassie](/source/Challenge_to_Lassie)* (1949) as Sir Charles Loring (final film)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Henry Stephenson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140414052256/http://www.matineeclassics.com/celebrities/actors/henry_stephenson/details/). . *Matinee Classics*. Accessed 19 September 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ibdb_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ibdb_2-1) [Henry Stephenson](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/68813) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932 for Roxy Claudia May Barton: Westminster, St Marylebone, 1900-1912"](https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/1623/31280_197877-00385?pid=7314950&backurl=https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D1623%26h%3D7314950%26tid%3D%26pid%3D%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3Ddjv3630%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=djv3630&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.27041213.1274238280.1591301002-1197399642.1515349816). *Ancestry.com*. (subscription required)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Henry Stephenson](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephenson).

- [Henry Stephenson](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827261/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Henry Stephenson](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/68813) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database)

- [Henry Stephenson](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10784431) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy Spain Israel People Trove Deutsche Biographie Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henry Stephenson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephenson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephenson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.