Harlan Briggs

Harlan Briggs
Briggs in Made for Each Other (1939)
Born	(1879-08-17)August 17, 1879 Blissfield, Michigan, U.S.
Died	January 26, 1952(1952-01-26) (aged 72) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Glen Haven Memorial Park, Los Angeles County
Alma mater	University of Michigan Law School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1900–1952
Spouse	Viola Marguerite Scott ​ ​ (m. 1914)​
Children	4

Harlan Briggs (August 17, 1879 – January 26, 1952) was an American actor and Vaudeville performer who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1952. During the course of his career he appeared on Broadway, in over 100 films, as well as appearing on television once towards the end of his career.

Briggs was born on August 17, 1879, in Blissfield, Michigan. Although he was a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he chose to go into acting rather than pursue a career in law.^[1]

His acting career began in Vaudeville at around the beginning of the 20th century.^[2] He would make his Broadway debut in 1926, in the drama Up the Line.^[3] He worked steadily on Broadway through 1935. On August 6, 1929, he began a successful run in the featured role of G. A. Appleby in It's a Wise Child at the Belasco Theatre.^[4] In 1934 he had another featured role in the successful play, Dodsworth, as Tubby Pearson. The show opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 24, 1934, and ran for 147 performances, starring Walter Huston as Samuel Dodsworth.^[5] After a six-week hiatus, the show reopened at the Shubert on August 20 and ran for an additional 168 performances.^[6] When Samuel Goldwyn brought the rights to the play, Briggs was one of two of the original Broadway cast to reprise their roles in the film, the other being Huston in the title role.^[7] He would focus on his film career for the remainder of the 1930s, before returning to Broadway in the 1940s, combining both stage and screen performances during that decade. The most successful of his Broadway appearances in the 1940s was as Constable Small in Ramshackle Inn, which featured ZaSu Pitts in her Broadway debut.^[8][9]

The Story of Mary Surratt, in which Briggs appeared in 1947, was Briggs' 400th play.^[10]

His most famous role was as Dr. Stall in the 1940 comedy classic, The Bank Dick, starring W.C. Fields.^[2][11] Other notable films in which he appeared include: After the Thin Man (1936); Stella Dallas (1937); Having Wonderful Time (1938);^[12] The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); My Little Chickadee (1940); Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940); State Fair (1945); Night and Day (1946); Little Women (1949); Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) and Carrie (1952). The last film on which Briggs worked was The Sea Hornet, which was in production in April and May 1951, and released later that year.

Briggs married actress Viola Scott on July 3, 1914. They had four sons.^[13]

On January 26, 1952, Briggs died in Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital from complications resulting from a heart attack.^[14] He was buried in Glen Haven Memorial Park in Los Angeles County, California.^[15]

(Per AFI database)^[16][17]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harlan Briggs.

• Harlan Briggs at the Internet Broadway Database
• Harlan Briggs at IMDb