John Halliday(1884-1947)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
In his earlier days, Halliday seems to have relished the life of an adventurer. At one time he fought with the British Army during the Boer War. As a mining engineer he then dug for gold
nuggets in Nevada, rapidly made a fortune and lost it as quickly. He eventually switched to the more peaceful pursuit of acting, initially in Gilbert & Sullivan
operettas, then in dramatic plays on Broadway from 1912 to 1936 (lastly in "Tovarich", as Prince
Alexandrovitch). Though Brooklyn-born, Halliday was raised in England and often adopted an
upper-crust British accent. An incisive and debonair actor with a penchant
for sophisticated comedy, he received good reviews as co-star of
The Woman Accused (1933) with
Cary Grant and
Nancy Carroll. He was very much at home playing caddish bon vivants, gleeful
villains (such as in
Terror Aboard (1933)) or wily arch
rogues (notably Desire (1936) with
Marlene Dietrich). Halliday had another
pivotal role in
Intermezzo (1939)
and was then cast to best advantage as Katharine Hepburn's charming
philanderer of a father in
The Philadelphia Story (1940). He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, from a heart ailment in October 1947 at the age of 67.
