Harry Wilson (actor)

Harry Wilson
Wilson in He Walked by Night (1948)
Born(1897-11-22)22 November 1897
London, England
Died6 September 1978(1978-09-06) (aged 80)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1928–1965
RelativesShauna Bloom (granddaughter)

Harry Wilson (22 November 1897 – 6 September 1978) was a British character actor who appeared in over 300 films[citation needed] from 1928 to 1965 and proudly proclaimed himself "Hollywood's ugliest man".

Career

His distinctive facial features and voice (often said to be the result of acromegaly, a disorder of the pituitary gland, although they do not fully meet the criteria) often led to him being cast as various henchmen, thugs, convicts and brawlers. His best-known roles include a Winkie Guard in The Wizard of Oz (1939); the female monster in Frankenstein's Daughter (1958); and together with Mike Mazurki, the henchman of George Raft's "Spats Colombo" in Some Like It Hot (1959).

In 1961, in a credited role, he appeared as a townsman in the TV Western series Bat Masterson (S3E18 "The Prescott Campaign").

For over fifteen years Wilson was a stand-in for Wallace Beery, and he is the grandfather of actress Shauna Bloom.

Wilson died in 1978, aged 80.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ Slide, Anthony: Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins, Univ. Press of Mississippi, ISBN 978-1617034749, p110