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Herbert Marshall, Elizabeth Allan, and Henry Stephenson in Outcast Lady (1934)

Katharine Hepburn and Henry Stephenson in A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Henry Stephenson in A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Katharine Hepburn, John Barrymore, and Henry Stephenson in A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Maureen O'Sullivan, Ann Harding, Louis Hayward, and Henry Stephenson in The Flame Within (1935)

Ralph Bellamy, Tyrell Davis, and Henry Stephenson in Blind Adventure (1933)

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, and Henry Stephenson in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Myrna Loy, Neil Hamilton, and Henry Stephenson in The Animal Kingdom (1932)

Myrna Loy and Henry Stephenson in The Animal Kingdom (1932)

Katharine Hepburn, John Barrymore, Billie Burke, and Henry Stephenson in A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Robert Montgomery, Henry Stephenson, and Lewis Stone in The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

Lionel Atwill and Henry Stephenson in Secrets of Scotland Yard (1944)

Cesar Romero, Rosalind Russell, and Henry Stephenson in Rendezvous (1935)

Elizabeth Allan, Robert Montgomery, and Henry Stephenson in The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

Alice Faye, Richard Greene, Brenda Joyce, and Henry Stephenson in Little Old New York (1940)

Reginald Denny, Henry Stephenson, and Fay Wray in The Richest Girl in the World (1934)

Errol Flynn, Donald Crisp, Ralph Forbes, Henry Stephenson, James Stephenson, Robert Warwick, and Henry Daniel in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

David Niven, Errol Flynn, Charles Sedgwick, and Henry Stephenson in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

Luis Alberni, Catherine Doucet, Aline MacMahon, Grace Moore, Frank Puglia, and Henry Stephenson in When You're in Love (1937)

Lionel Barrymore, James Craig, and Henry Stephenson in Dark Delusion (1947)

Jean Harlow and Henry Stephenson in Red-Headed Woman (1932)

Ginger Rogers and Henry Stephenson in Heartbeat (1946)

Tyrone Power, Annabella, Maurice Moscovitch, Joseph Schildkraut, Henry Stephenson, and Loretta Young in Suez (1938)

Richard Greene, Brenda Joyce, and Henry Stephenson in Little Old New York (1940)

J. Edward Bromberg, Irene Hervey, Henry Stephenson, Kent Taylor, and George Zucco in Halfway to Shanghai (1942)

Reginald Denny, Miriam Hopkins, Henry Stephenson, and Fay Wray in The Richest Girl in the World (1934)

Katharine Hepburn, John Barrymore, Billie Burke, Paul Cavanagh, Bramwell Fletcher, Dick French, Julie Haydon, David Manners, Elizabeth Patterson, and Henry Stephenson in A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Greta Garbo, Alan Marshal, Reginald Owen, Henry Stephenson, and George Zucco in Conquest (1937)

Veronica Lake, Binnie Barnes, Philip Merivale, Henry Stephenson, John Sutton, and Franchot Tone in The Hour Before the Dawn (1944)

David Niven, Brian Aherne, Jerome Cowan, Donald Crisp, Karen Morley, Merle Oberon, and Henry Stephenson in Beloved Enemy (1936)

Allen Jenkins, Frank McHugh, Grant Mitchell, Chester Morris, Vivienne Osborne, and Henry Stephenson in Tomorrow at Seven (1933)

Charles Middleton, Chester Morris, Vivienne Osborne, and Henry Stephenson in Tomorrow at Seven (1933)

Richard Dix, Robert Edeson, Neil Hamilton, and Henry Stephenson in Men and Women (1925)

William Powell, Luise Rainer, and Henry Stephenson in The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)

Luise Rainer and Henry Stephenson in The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)

Ramon Novarro and Henry Stephenson in The Night Is Young (1935)

Edward Everett Horton, Ramon Novarro, Elspeth Dudgeon, and Henry Stephenson in The Night Is Young (1935)

John Wayne, Ray Middleton, Ona Munson, and Henry Stephenson in Lady from Louisiana (1941)

Elizabeth Allan, Henry Stephenson, and Lewis Stone in The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

J. Edward Bromberg, Irene Hervey, Henry Stephenson, Kent Taylor, Charlotte Wynters, and George Zucco in Halfway to Shanghai (1942)

Katharine Hepburn, Douglass Montgomery, and Henry Stephenson in Little Women (1933)

Stephenson was a firm, dignified, worldly presence in Hollywood's classic history-based films of the 30s and 40s. The tall British character actor Henry Stephenson could be both imposing and benevolent in his patrician portrayals, usually expounding words of wisdom or offering gentlemanly aid. He was born Henry S. Garroway in Granada, British West Indies on April 16, 1871 and studied at Rugby in England. His reputation was built solidly on the stage both in America and in England, making his Broadway debut around the turn of the century with "A Message from Mars" in 1901. While he did make a few silent pictures (from 1917), film audiences began taking a notice only in later years. After transferring a successful Broadway role to film with Cynara (1932), Stephenson settled in Hollywood where he distinguished himself in a variety of pictures for RKO, MGM and Warner Bros., among others. He appeared quite frequently in royal support for Warners' top star of the time, Errol Flynn, including Captain Blood (1935) as Lord Willoughby, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) as Sir Charles Macefield, The Prince and the Pauper (1937) as the Duke of Norfolk, and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Lord Burghley. His last film was the sentimental yarn Challenge to Lassie (1949). Long married to character actress Ann Shoemaker, Stephenson died on April 24, 1956 in San Francisco, California at age 85, and was survived by his widow and daughter.

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Henry Stephenson

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