Johnny Arthur

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Johnny Arthur (John Lennox Arthur Williams) (May 20, 1883 - 31 December 1951) was a stage and motion picture actor.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early years 1.2 Talkie era 2 Filmography 3 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown Purple. Arthur's screen personality was nebulous enough to allow him to play the romantic lead in the 1925's Lon Chaney's vehicle The Monster.

[edit] Talkie era

With the coming of sound, Arthur developed his first comedic image, a limp wristed, ultra effeminate "Nancy Boy'" in films such as The Desert Song and Penrod and Sam. Once the Production Code was established in 1933, the "pansy" characters played by Arthur were banned from the screen. He spent the rest of the 1930s playing fussy, long-suffering wimps, albeit certifiably "masculine roles." This new character served him well in low budget films like The Ghost Walks, The Natzy Nuisance and Danger on the Air, as well as big budget pictures like Crime and Punishment and Road to Singapore.

Arthur is perhaps most remembered for his appearances as Darla Hood's father in Hal Roach's Our Gang shorts. Most of his later roles were unbilled bits, with the notable exception of the 1942 serial The Masked Marvel. Unable to find film work in the last years of his life, Johnny Arthur died of heart disease at the age of sixty-eight at the Motion Picture Country Home.

[edit] Filmography

• It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
• The Masked Marvel (1943)
• The Nazty Nuisance (1943)
• A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942)
• Shepherd of the Ozarks (1942)
• Mountain Moonlight (1941)
• Road Show (1941)
• Li'l Abner (1940)
• Jeepers Creepers (1939)
• Road to Singapore (1940)
• Danger on the Air (1938)
• Half-way to Hollywood (1938)
• Feed 'em and Weep (1938)
• Exiled to Shanghai (1937)
• Amateur Crook (1937) (uncredited)
• Blossoms on Broadway (1937)
• Something to Sing About (1937)
• Make a Wish (1937)
• Night 'n' Gales (1937)
• Pick a Star (1937)
• It Happened Out West (1937)
• Under Cover of Night (1937)
• Ellis Island (1936)
• Stage Struck (1936)
• The King Steps Out (1936)
• All-American Toothache (1936)
• The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936)
• Freshman Love (1936)
• The Bride Comes Home (1935)
• Too Tough to Kill (1935)
• Crime and Punishment (1935)
• It's in the Air (1935)
• Doubting Thomas (1935)
• Traveling Saleslady (1935)
• Anniversary Trouble (1935)
• Hell in the Heavens (1934)
• The Ghost Walks (1934)
• Dames (1934)
• Many Happy Returns (1934)
• Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)
• Hell in Heaven (1934)
• Convention City (1933)
• Easy Millions (1933)
• Should Crooners Marry (1933)
• Penrod and Sam (1931)
• It's a Wise Child (1931)
• Going Wild (1930)
• Cheer Up and Smile (1930)
• Down with Husbands (1930)
• Scrappily Married (1930)
• She Couldn't Say No (1930)
• Personality (1930)
• Paper Hanging with Johnny Arthur (1930)
• The Aviator (1929)
• The Show of Shows (1929) .
• Adam's Eve (1929)
• A Hint to Brides (1929)
• Divorce Made Easy (1929)
• Lovers' Delight (1929)
• The Gamblers (1929)
• Hot Lemonade (1929)
• The Desert Song (1929)
• The Eligible Mr. Bangs (1929)
• On Trial (1928)
• Wedded Blisters (1928)
• Blondes Beware (1928)
• Visitors Welcome (1928)
• Wildcat Valley (1928)
• Scared Silly (1927)
• Live News (1927)
• Her Husky Hero (1927)
• The Draw-Back (1927)
• Wedding Yells (1927)
• Close Shaves (1926)
• The Humdinger (1926)
• Honest Injun (1926)
• Home Cured (1926)
• My Stars (1926)
• Open House (1926)
• Cleaning Up (1925)
• The Tourist (1925)
• The Monster (1925)
• Daring Love (1924)
• Mademoiselle Midnight (1924)
• The Unknown Purple (1923)

[edit] External links

• Johnny Arthur at the Internet Movie Database
• Johnny Arthur memorial on Find-A-Grave