Eugene Pallette Biography

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Eugene Pallette

Lou Sabini once referred to Eugene Pallette as "One of my favorite character actors." A lot of other people seem to think the same way. With his deep rasping voice and his ample physique, Pallette was easily recognized and universally admired. But Pallette was not always categorized as a character actor.

Eugene Pallette was born in Winfield, Kansas, on July 8, 1889. He began working in legitimate theater about 1910 and became an accomplished actor. About 1912 he began making one- and two-reel adventure films and westerns. In 1913 he made at least fifteen films, the earliest of which appears to have been The Tattooed Arm.

At this time he was a thin, handsome leading man, a status he retained for the next 7 or 8 years. He appeared in major spectacles for D.W. Griffith, such as Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Tarzan of the Apes (with Elmo Lincoln), and Terror Island (with Harry Houdini).

Pallette took a break during World War I to serve in the military. After his return to films in 1920 he became strictly a supporting player, his formidable size effectively removed him from leading man roles. But Pallette was very successful as a supporting player. He was easily recognized and was in much demand for supporting roles. He appeared in The Three Musketeers with Douglas Fairbanks, (1921), The Wolf Man with John Gilbert (1924) and Mantrap with Clara Bow (1926).

In 1927 he appeared in three Laurel and Hardy films, Sugar Daddies, The Second Hundred Years and Battle of the Century (pictured, above). In 1931 he appeared with Laurel and Hardy in The Stolen Jools, a promotional film for the National Variety Artists to raise funds for tuberculosis research.

In the decades that followed, Pallette appeared in supporting roles for such major artists as Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, William Powell, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Tyrone Power, and many others. He made a total of well over 230 films. The Internet Movie Database lists his last film as Silver River (Warner Bros., 1948), starring Errol Flynn. Pallette apparently retired after making Silver River and died in Los Angeles on September 3, 1954.

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