Cecil Kellaway

(b. Cape Town, 27/08/1890 – d. Los Angeles, 28/02/1973). Actor. Though he was a hugely successful and popular actor in Hollywood, appearing in some 75 features and numerous television shows, Cecil Kellaway was born in Cape Town. His father was said to have been a caretaker at Parliament, which may be why Cecil John Rhodes was his godfather. He studied engineering and was actually employed by an engineering firm, but he soon switched to acting, joining a repertory company that toured both South Africa and the Far East. In 1918 he acted with Lew James and Naomi Rutherford in Business Before Pleasure at the Tivoli Theatre in Cape Town and in that year he also made his first film appearance in Bond and Word, directed by Dick Cruikshanks for African Film Productions. The following year he married Doreen Elizabeth Joubert (1902–1995).

He left for Australia in 1921, joining the J.C. Williamson Company and touring the country, primarily in musical comedies. Popular as a character actor, he also appeared in three films, one for Beaumont Smith and two for Ken G. Hall. In 1938 he departed for Hollywood and after acting in a number of run-of-the-mill films, he had his first great success in the role of Earnshaw in William Wyler’s 1939 version of Wuthering Heights. After that he was seldom out of work, acting in such major films as The Letter (William Wyler/1940), I Married a Witch (René Clair/1942), The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett/1946), Joan of Arc (Victor Fleming/1948) and Harvey (Henry Koster/1950). He was twice nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor, namely for The Luck of the Irish (Henry Koster/1948) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer/1967). He was actually offered the role of Kris Kringle in Miracle of 34th Street (George Seaton/1947), but turned it down. Instead the part went to his cousin, Edmund Gwenn.