Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor.
Early years
Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law at night, and was a weekly participant in the William J. Florence Dramatic Society in Jersey City.
As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and worked as a newspaper pressman, eventually becoming a foreman and leader of his union. The death of his father caused him to return home to work as a press foreman. Eventually he returned to acting in small parts. His career received a boost when E. F. Albee saw him perform in Boston. Albee added him to his summer stock company at Pawtucket, where Churchill continued to perform almost every summer for at least two decades.
He was one of the earliest members of Actors Equity and sat on the union's Council. In 1919, he was in charge of the New York headquarters during the Equity strike.
Around 1929, Churchill began to perform in motion pictures. His body was returned to the west coast to be interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Selected filmography
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1919
|The Road Called Straight
|Robert Swiftmore
|
|-
|1923
|Six Cylinder Love
|George Stapleton
|
|-
|1924
|Tongues of Flame
|Boland
|
|-
|1929
|Nothing But the Truth
|E.M. Burke
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |1931
|Tarnished Lady
|Stock Speculator
|Uncredited
|-
|Secrets of a Secretary
|Mr. Merritt
|
|-
|My Sin
|Mr. Osgood
|Uncredited
|-
|Husband's Holiday
|Gerald Burgess
|
|-
|Air Eagles
|Windy J. Bailey
|
|-
| rowspan="28" |1932
|This Reckless Age
|Banker
|
|-
|Taxi!
|Judge West
|Uncredited
|-
|Impatient Maiden
|
|
|-
|Cheaters at Play
|
|
|-
|A Fool's Advice
|Mayor Martin Sloan
|
|-
|The Wet Parade
|Roger's Uncle Dick
|Uncredited
|-
|Scandal for Sale
|Bunnyweather
|
|-
|It's Tough to Be Famous
|Admiral Blaine
| rowspan="2" |Uncredited
|-
|The Mouthpiece
|Judge, Rocco Trial
|-
|Two Seconds
|The Warden
|
|-
|The Rich Are Always with Us
|Judge Bradshaw
|
|-
|Forgotten Commandments
|
|Scene Deleted
|-
|The Dark Horse
|William A. Underwood
|
|-
|Week Ends Only
|A.S. Carr
|
|-
|Fast Companions
|Committee Chairman
|
|-
|The Washington Masquerade
|Sen. Bitler
|
|-
|American Madness
|O'Brien
|Uncredited
|-
|Okay, America!
|Jacob Baron
|
|-
|The Crooked Circle
|Col. Walters
|
|-
|The Cabin in the Cotton
|Lane Norwood
|
|-
|The Big Stampede
|Gov. Wallace
|
|-
|False Faces
|Dr. John B. Parker
|
|-
|Washington Merry-Go-Round
|Speaker
|
|-
|I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
|The Judge
|
|-
|Afraid to Talk
|Mayor William 'Billy' Manning
|
|-
|If I Had a Million
|Warden
|Uncredited
|-
|Madame Butterfly
|American Consul
|
|-
|Frisco Jenny
|Judge Thomas B. Reynolds
|Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="20" |1933
|Laughter in Hell
|Mike Slaney
|
|-
|The Mysterious Rider
|Mark King
|
|-
|Employees' Entrance
|Mr. Bradford
| rowspan="2" |Uncredited
|-
|Hard to Handle
|Col. H.D.X. Wells
|-
|From Hell to Heaven
|Toledo Jones
|
|-
|Private Jones
|Roger Winthrop
|
|-
|The Little Giant
|Donald Hadley Cass
|
|-
|So This Is Africa
|Movie Producer
|
|-
|Elmer, the Great
|Colonel Moffitt
|
|-
|Heroes for Sale
|Mr. Winston
|
|-
|I Love That Man
|Mordant
|
|-
|Her First Mate
|Davis
|
|-
|The Big Brain
|Col. Higginbotham
|
|-
|The Avenger
|Forster
|
|-
|Doctor Bull
|Herbert Banning
|
|-
|Golden Harvest
|Eben Martin
|
|-
|Ladies Must Love
|Gaskins
|
|-
|Only Yesterday
|Goodheart
|Uncredited
|-
|College Coach
|Otis
|
|-
|Master of Men
|Mr. Walling
|
|-
| rowspan="19" |1934
|Frontier Marshal
|Ben 'Hiram' Melton
|
|-
|Hi, Nellie!
|Graham
|
|-
|Men in White
|John Hudson
|Uncredited
|-
|Let's Be Ritzy
|R.M. Pembrook
|
|-
|Strictly Dynamite
|Mr. Rivers
|
|-
|Half a Sinner
|Deacon Caswell
|
|-
|Murder in the Private Car
|Luke Carson
|
|-
|Bachelor Bait
|'Big' Barney Nolan
|
|-
|Friends of Mr. Sweeney
|Franklyn P. Brumbaugh
|
|-
|Dames
|Harold Ellsworthy Todd
|
|-
|Take the Stand
|Mr. Jerome Burbank
|
|-
|Judge Priest
|Senator Horace Maydew
|
|-
|Redhead
|Mr. Brown
|
|-
|Kid Millions
|Col. Harrison Larrabee
|
|-
|Menace
|Norman Bellamy
|
|-
|Babbitt
|Judge Virgil 'Verge' Thompson
|
|-
|Sing Sing Nights
|Governor Duane
|
|-
|Bachelor of Arts
|Alexander Hamilton Sr.
|
|-
|Life Is Worth Living
|
|
|-
| rowspan="12" |1935
|Helldorado
|'Clarion' Editor
|
|-
|The County Chairman
|Elias Rigby
|
|-
|A Night at the Ritz
|Stephen Vincent
|
|-
|Vagabond Lady
|R.D. Spear
|
|-
|$10 Raise
|Mr. Bates
|
|-
|Dizzy Dames
|Dad Hackett
|
|-
|Page Miss Glory
|Mr. Yates
|
|-
|Steamboat Round the Bend
|New Moses
|
|-
|I Live for Love
|Fabian
|
|-
|The Spanish Cape Mystery
|Judge Macklin
|
|-
|The Rainmakers
|Simon Parker
|
|-
|Coronado
|Walter Marvin
|
|-
| rowspan="9" |1936
|Black Gold
|J.C. Anderson
|
|-
|You May Be Next
|J.J. Held
|
|-
|The Dark Hour
|Paul Bernard
|
|-
|Colleen
|Logan
|
|-
|Three of a Kind
|'Con' Cornelius
|
|-
|Parole!
|Rex Gavin
|
|-
|Bunker Bean
|Professor Ed Balthazer
|
|-
|Dimples
|Col. Loring
|
|-
|Under Your Spell
| rowspan="2" |Judge
|
|-
| rowspan="8" |1937
|Racing Lady
|
|-
|Parnell
|The O'Gorman Mahon
|
|-
|Sing and Be Happy
|John Mason
|
|-
|You Can't Beat Love
|Police Chief Brennan
|
|-
|The Singing Marine
|J. Montgomery Madison
|
|-
|Public Wedding
|H. Theodore Lane
|
|-
|Wild and Woolly
|Edward Ralston
|
|-
|Quick Money
|Bluford H. Smythe
|
|-
| rowspan="10" |1938
|In Old Chicago
|Senator Colby
|
|-
|He Couldn't Say No
|Senator Mabby
|
|-
|Wide Open Faces
|L.D. Crawford
|
|-
|Four Men and a Prayer
|Mr. Martin Cherrington
|
|-
|Kentucky Moonshine
|J.B.
|
|-
|Ladies in Distress
|Fred Morgan
|
|-
|Danger on the Air
|Caesar Kluck
|
|-
|Down in 'Arkansaw
|Judge
|
|-
|The Cowboy and the Lady
|Henderson
|
|-
|Sweethearts
|Sheridan
|
|-
| rowspan="7" |1939
|Stagecoach
|Ellsworth Henry Gatewood
|
|-
|So This Is London
|Hiram Draper
|
|-
|Daughters Courageous
|Judge Henry Hornsby
|
|-
|Should Husbands Work?
|Barnes
|
|-
|The Angels Wash Their Faces
|Mayor Dooley
|
|-
|Hero for a Day
|E.A. Dow
|
|-
|On Your Toes
|Donald Henderson
|
|-
| rowspan="8" |1940
|Brother Rat and a Baby
|Mr. Norman
|
|-
|20 Mule Team
|'Jackass' Brown
|
|-
|Saturday's Children
|Mr. Norman
|
|-
|Turnabout
|Julian Marlowe
|
|-
|The Way of All Flesh
|Reginald L. Morten
|
|-
|Cross-Country Romance
|Col. Conway
|
|-
|Public Deb No. 1
|Magistrate
|
|-
|I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now
|Senator Henry Lowell
|
|}
thumb|Berton Churchill in [[Vagabond Lady (1935)]]
See also
- Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood