Dennis Hoey

Dennis Hoey
Hoey as Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)
Born	Samuel David Hyams (1893-03-30)30 March 1893 London, England
Died	25 July 1960(1960-07-25) (aged 67) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Resting place	Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, Tampa, Florida
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1924–1952
Spouses	Josephine Marta Ricca (m. 1933; div. 1946) Sarah Pearl Lyons
Children	1

Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best remembered for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.

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Early life

Hoey was born Samuel David Hyams in London to Ellis and Leah (Green) Hyams, both of Russian Jewish descent,^[1]^[2] who ran a bed and breakfast in Brighton, East Sussex.

Hoey received his formal education at Brighton College, and originally planned to be a teacher.^[3] He served in the British Army during World War I. After a career as a singer, which included entertaining British troops during his war service, he moved into theatre-acting in 1918, and later into cinema films. In 1931, Hoey moved to the United States and commenced a career in Hollywood.^{[citation needed]}

Film

Hoey's first film was Tell England.^[2] He is best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. He also portrayed the master of Harrow in The Foxes of Harrow and appeared in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.^{[citation needed]}

Stage

Hoey "appeared frequently in London" stage productions, including those of Sydney Carroll's Shakespearean repertory company.^[4] He played Mr. Rochester opposite Katharine Hepburn in the American production of Helen Jerome's stage adaptation of Jane Eyre.^[5] He also wrote a play called The Haven and toured in it in 1946 with Melville Cooper, Valerie Cossart and Viola Roache.

Hoey's Broadway credits include Hassan (1924), Katja (1926–1927), Green Waters (1936), Virginia (1937), Empress of Destiny (1938), The Circle (1938), Lorelei (1938), The Burning Deck (1940), Heart of a City (1942), The Haven (1946), and Getting Married (1951).^[6]

Radio

On radio, Hoey played Mr. Welby in Pretty Kitty Kelly on CBS.^[7]

Personal life

Issue No. 45 of Films of the Golden Age (magazine) features an interview with Hoey's son, Michael (1934–2014), who extensively discusses his father's life and career. In Michael's book, Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood (Bear Manor Media-2007), he discusses his father's career and their sometimes turbulent relationship.^[8]

Death

Hoey died at the age of 67 in Palm Beach, Florida, of kidney disease on 25 July 1960. His body was buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park cemetery, in Tampa, Florida.^[9]

Filmography

Tip Toes (1927) as Hotelier (film debut)
The Man from Chicago (1930) as Jimmy Donovan
Tell England (1931) as The Padre
Never Trouble Trouble (1931) as Stranger
Love Lies (1932) as Cyrus Watt
Life Goes On (1932) as Anthony Carlisle
The Maid of the Mountains (1932) as Orsino
Baroud (1933) as Captain Sabry
The Good Companions (1933) as Joe Brundit
The Wandering Jew (1933) as Lord de Beaudricourt
Maid Happy (1933) as Sir Rudolph Bartlett
Facing the Music (1933) as Capradossi
My Old Duchess (1934) as Montagu Neilson
Lily of Killarney (1934) as Miles-Na-Copaleen
Chu Chin Chow (1934) as Rakham, chief henchman
I Spy (1934) as MNT
Jew Süss (1934) as Dieterle
Brewster's Millions (1935) as Mario
Immortal Gentleman (1935) as Soldier/Toby Belch
Honeymoon for Three (1935) as Mons Daumery
The Tunnel (1935) as Worker (uncredited)
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) as Tom Goodschard
Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935) as Gambling Winner
Black Roses (1935) as Nikander
Uncivilised (1937) as Mara the White Chief
A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941) as Intelligence Officer
Confirm or Deny (1941) as Duffield, Ministry of Information
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) as Lord Tarrant
This Above All (1942) as Parsons
Cairo (1942) as Colonel Woodhue
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) as Inspector Lestrade
Forever and a Day (1943) as Mover
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) as Inspector Owen
They Came to Blow Up America (1943) as Col. Taeger
Bomber's Moon (1943) as Colonel von Grunow
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) as Inspector Lestrade
The Spider Woman (1944) as Inspector Lestrade
Uncertain Glory (1944) as Father Le Clerc
The Pearl of Death (1944) as Inspector Lestrade
National Velvet (1944) as Mr. Greenford
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) as Alec Chisholm (uncredited)
Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945) as Inspector Lestrade
A Thousand and One Nights (1945) as Sultan Kamar Al-Kir/Prince Hadji
Kitty (1945) as Mr. Jonathan Selby
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) as Commissioner
Terror by Night (1946) as Inspector Lestrade
She-Wolf of London (1946) as Inspector Pierce
Anna and the King of Siam (1946) as Sir Edward
Roll on Texas Moon (1946) as Cole Gregory
The Strange Woman (1946) as Tim Hager
The Crimson Key (1947) as Steven Loring
Second Chance (1947) as Roger Elwood
Golden Earrings (1947) as Hoff
The Foxes of Harrow (1947) as Master of Harrow
Christmas Eve (1947) as Williams-Butler
Where There's Life (1947) as Minister of War Grubitch
If Winter Comes (1947) as Tiny Wilson
Ruthless (1948) as Mr. Burnside
Joan of Arc (1948) as Sir William Glasdale
Wake of the Red Witch (1948) as Captain Munsey
Bad Men of Tombstone (1949) as Mr. Smith
The Secret Garden (1949) as Mr. Pitcher
The Kid from Texas (1950) as Major Harper
The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1950, TV) as Ronny Sinclair
David and Bathsheba (1951) as Joab
Caribbean Gold (1952) as Burford
Plymouth Adventure (1952) as Head Constable (final film, uncredited)
Omnibus (1956, TV) as Arthur Conan Doyle

Stage

Hassan (1924), Masrur
Katja (1926), Ivo
Green Waters (1936), Ian McRuvie
Jane Eyre (1936), Mr. Rochester
Virginia (1937), Sir Guy Carleton
Empress of Destiny (1938), Potemkin
The Circle (1938), Lord Porteous
Lorelei (1938), Reprecht Eisenkranz
The Burning Deck (1940), Captain Applegate
Heart of a City (1942), Leo Saddle
The Haven (1946), Edmund Durward
Getting Married (1951), The General

References

^ One source, most likely citing his acting name (Hoey), incorrectly says Irish and Russian-Jewish parents.
^ ^a ^b "Actor for 'Uncivilised'". The Age. Australia, Melbourne, Victoria: Newspapers.com. 26 November 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
^ "Career Thrown in Reverse". New York, Brooklyn: Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 6 March 1938. p. 39. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
^ "Stage Entrants". New York, Brooklyn: Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 8 December 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
^ Mann, William J. Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn. (2007) Macmillan. p. 257.
^ "Dennis Hoey". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
^ "Monday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 13 (4): 43. February 1940. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
^ Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I Survived Growing Up in Hollywood, bearmanor-digital.myshopify.com. Accessed 26 September 2023.
^ NNDB