Trivia

Made his theatrical debut in Edinburgh in 1898. Subsequently acted on stage in London and New York, as well as spending ten years in Australia as part of Sir Benjamin Fuller's troupe of players. He was a comedian and singer before graduating to dramatic parts, initially half of a double act with his wife Maude Courtney.

Appeared in seven films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: 49th Parallel (1941), Great Expectations (1946), Quo Vadis (1951), Ivanhoe (1952), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Ben-Hur (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). Of those, Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959) are winners in the category.

Lost the sight in his right eye, so is frequently, but not always, photographed from the left side to disguise his disability.

His remains were cremated at Breakspear Crematorium in Ruislip, Middlesex, England.

As he matured and before he claimed the oldest actor title he called himself 'The Currie with the fringe in top' because he kept his white hair shoulder length in readiness for Biblical roles. He once said 'I shall work until I drop, working is fun, more people die of boredom these days than anything else. I consider there's only one type of sleeping and that's at night.

Born in 1878, he started his career as part of a music hall act then went solo in 1902 as a baritone or soprano singer at the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin, under the name of Harry Caval, which he continued for 25 years.