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Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915). In New York in 1901, Walthall won a role in Under Southern Skies by Charlotte Blair Parker. He performed in the play for three years, in New York and on tour. With the company of Henry Miller he gained recognition on Broadway in plays including Pippa Passes, The Only Way and William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide (1906–08). His fellow cast member James Kirkwood introduced Walthall to D. W. Griffith, and at the conclusion of that engagement, Walthall joined the Biograph Company.
His career in movies began in 1909 at Biograph Studios in New York with a leading role in the film A Convict's Sacrifice. This film also featured James Kirkwood, and was directed by D. W. Griffith, a director that played a huge part in Walthall's rise to stardom. As the industry grew in size and popularity, Griffith emerged as a director and Walthall found himself a mainstay of the Griffith company, frequently working alongside such Griffith regulars as Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron and Jack and Mary Pickford. He followed Griffith's departure from New York's Biograph to California's Reliance-Majestic Studios in 1913. After a few months with Reliance, he joined Pathé for a short period.
He decided to go into the producing business and formed The Union Feature Film Company, the first to be devoted entirely to full-length films. The venture was not successful, however, and he again became associated with Griffith's company.
Given the relatively short length of films in the early years, Walthall frequently found himself cast in dozens of films each year. He gained national attention in 1915 for his role as Colonel Ben Cameron in Griffith's highly influential and controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. Walthall's portrayal of a Confederate veteran rounding up the Ku Klux Klan won him large-scale fame, and Walthall was soon able to emerge as a leading actor in the years leading up to the 1920s, parting ways with Griffith.
Walthall continued working in films through the 1920s, appearing in The Plastic Age with Gilbert Roland and Clara Bow. He portrayed Roger Chillingworth in Victor Seastrom's 1926 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter opposite Lillian Gish.
Walthall continued his career into the 1930s. After his performance in director John Ford's 1934 film Judge Priest starring Will Rogers he enjoyed a golden period of his career. He portrayed Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities (1935), starring Ronald Colman. In 1936 he appeared as Marcel in The Devil-Doll. He was gravely ill during his final film, China Clipper.
Frank Capra wanted Walthall to portray the High Lama in his 1937 film, Lost Horizon. "Frail and failing, he died before we could test him," Capra wrote.
Walthall has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.
as Ben (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Sir James Hamlin (archive footage)
as Col. Ben Cameron (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Él mismo (material de archivo)
as Self (archive footage)
as Dad Brunn
as Marcel
as Cal Yates
as Capt. Buchanan
as David Burton
as Dr. Garden
as Dr. Manette
as Pop McWade
as Abner Meadows
as Duke Johann von Hatzfeld
as Dr. Amon
as Jonas Deering
as Roger Chillingworth
as Reverend Ashby Brand
as Bernard Latham Wayne, alias Prof. Mysto
as Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome
as Francisco Madero
as enry B. Walthall
as Marchant the Blind Man
as Schultz
as Father Ryan
as Jim Courtney
as Mr. Maynard
as Judge Beacon (uncredited)
as Rev. Mr. James
as Clergyman in Alternate Version (uncredited)
as Bob Leadly
as J. D. Bradley
as Concerned Actor (uncredited)
as Professor Leeds
as Doctor Borden
as Eby
as Sarge
as Eph Clinton
as Mark Armstrong
as John Gaunt
as Robert Regent
as Atwell
as Winthrop
as Nathaniel "Nat" Barry
as Mr. Evans
as District Attorney John Raymond
as Amos Hatburn
as Colonel Marshall
as Captain Adams
as Blackton
as Burke
as Fuller
as Boyd Milburn
as Don Pedro De León
as Dr. Bradbroke
as General Jeff Rumford
as Buffalo Bill Ryan
as Father Juniper
as Piano player
as Capt. Rhodes - Yacht Commander
as Mr Maxwell
as John Ballard
as Henry / Tommy Mooney
as Sir James Hamlin
as Johann Graff
as Van Denbosch
as Mr. Armstrong
as Filipo Navarro
as Roger Prynne aka Roger Chillingworth
as Thorpe
as Father James
as John Phillips
as Gale Gaylord
as George Bennett
as Henry Carver
as Alec Craig
as Mr. Beaumont
as Dr. Samuel Webb
as William Hale
as Col. Peake
as Franklin Dexter
as Prosecuting Attorney
as William Latimer
as Peter Marchmont / Victor Cromport
as John McGimsey
as Robert Stevens
as Harley P. Hennage
as Aaron Price
as Henry Garnett
as Breezy Bright
as Philip Whitemore
as Karl Breitman
as Joe Jenkins
as Father Bartlett
as George Mannister
as George Gray
as Stephen Duane
as Michael Lanyard
as Harry Sevier
as Sir Roger Brighton
as Hector 'Humdrum' Brown
as Julian Randolph
as Karsten Bernick
as David Whiting / Walker Whiting
as Phil Langdon, Attorney
as Jack Craiger
as Edgar Allan Poe
as Dr. Rownlee
as Reverend Darwin Kirby
as Frank Bradbury
as Captain Alving / Oswald
as Col. Ben Cameron
as Erickson's Son
as Joe, in love with May
as The Nephew
as Lord Chumley
as John Howard Payne
as Douglas Williams
as The Old Man
as The Gopher
as Stephen Pryde
as Holofernes
as Soangataha / Strongheart
as Duncan Irving
as Porky Dugan
as The President of the Republic
as The Indian Chief's Son
as Badger Gang Member
as First Partner
as The Station Agent
as The Stranger
as Beth's Brother
as The Actor
as The Switchman
as The Husband
as The Poor Man
as The Prospector
as The Wanderer
as The Father
as The First Rival
as The Valley Man
as The Poet
as First Bandit
as The Road Agent
as The Young Woman's Fiance
as The Idealist
as The Husband
as The Woodsman
as The Householder's Weakling Brother
as Indian Charlie
as Actor In Oliver Twist
as The False Brother
as The Husband
as The Husband
as Jim Watson
as A Psalm Singer
as In Club
as Dandy Jack
as The Father
as The Lover
as Macennas
as The Trapper
as Henri Prevost
as Vincent, as an Adult
as The Lord
as One of the Second Debtors
as Charles Randolph - The Confederate Soldier
as The Lord
as Younger John Rogers
as Ralph Bradford
as Confederate Corporal
as The Farmer
as Alessandro
as Pedro
as The Lord
as The Prospector
as A Horse Thief
as Walter Holden
as Man at Party
as Perdita's Son
as Estrada
as A Friend / At Station Reception
as William Standish
as The Father
as George Pickett Jr.
as Billy Harvey
as Mr. Wilson
as The Mexican Lover
as Party Guest
as Victor Ratazzi
as Arthur Rogers (uncredited)
as Wheat King's Assistant
as Robert, the Confederate son
as Mexican Man
as Miner
as The Troubador
as In Boarding House
as Sunbather
as Indian
as A Thief
as Woodsman
