John Farrell MacDonald
John Farrell MacDonald
J. Farrell MacDonald was one of the most beloved and prolific character actors in Hollywood history. A former minstrel singer, MacDonald toured the U.S. in stage productions for nearly two decades before he ever set foot in Tinseltown. He made his earliest film appearances in 1911 with Carl Laemmle's IMP company (the forerunner of Universal); within two years he was a firmly established lead actor and director. While functioning in the latter capacity with L. Frank Baum's Oz Film Company, MacDonald gave much-needed work to up-and-coming extras Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd. When Roach set up his own production company in 1915 with Lloyd as his star, he signed MacDonald as director (both Roach and Lloyd would hire their one-time employer as character actor well into the sound era). In the 1920's, MacDonald had returned to acting full time, appearing extensively in westerns and Irish-flavored comedies. A particular favorite of director John Ford, he was prominently featured in such Ford silents as The Iron Horse (1924), The Bad Man (1926) and Riley the Cop (1927, as Riley). He also showed up as Kelly in some of Universal's culture-clash "Cohens and Kellys" comedies. With a voice that matched his personality perfectly, MacDonald was busier than ever in the early-talkie era, usually playing such workaday roles as cops and railroad engineers; in 1932 alone, he showed up in 18 films! Even when his footage was limited, he was always given a moment or two to shine, as witness his emotional curtain speech in Shirley Temple's Our Little Girl. He kept up his workload into the 1940s, often popping up in the films of John Ford and Preston Sturges. His later roles often went unbilled, but he gave his all no matter how fleeting the assignment. One of his choicest roles of the 1940s was as the Dodge City barkeep in Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946). J. Farrell MacDonald continued working right up to his death in 1952; one of his last assignments was a continuing character on the Gene Autry-produced TV series Range Rider. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of John Farrell MacDonald:
- The Last Alarm with Warren Hull , Mary Gordon
- 13th Guest with Ginger Rogers , Lyle Talbot
- Tiger Fangs with June duPrez , Duncan Renaldo
- Meet John Doe with Gary Cooper , Barbara Stanwyck , Edward Arnold , Walter Brennan , Spring Byington , James Gleason , Gene Lockhart , Rod LaRocque , Regis Toomey , Stanley Andrews , Sterling Holloway , Mike J. Frankovich , Gary Cooper , Billy Curtis , Harry Davenport , Vernon Dent , Ann Doran , Edward Earle , Bess Flowers , William Forrest , John Hamilton , John Ince , Frank Jaquet , Alphonse Martell , Edward McWade , Gene Morgan , Forbes Murray , Paul Panzer , Edward Sr. Peil , Bob Perry , Susan Peters , Hal Price , Jack Richardson , Henry Roquemore , Cliff Saum , Walter Soderling , Wyndham Standing , Edwin Stanley , Fredrik Vogeding , Stanley Price
- My Darling Clementine with Henry Fonda , Linda Darnell , Victor Mature , Jane Darwell , Walter Brennan , Cathy Downs , Ward Bond , Ben Hall , Tim Holt , John Ireland , Louis Mercier , Alan Mowbray , Roy Roberts , Mickey Simpson , Mae Marsh
- Sullivan's Travels with Joel D. McCrea , Veronica Lake , William Demarest , Franklin Pangborn , Porter Hall , Robert Warwick , Eric Blore , Margaret Hayes , Richard Webb , Charles Moore , Roscoe Ates , Monte Blue , Edgar Dearing , Elsa Lanchester , Perc Launders , Howard M. Mitchell , Paul "Tiny" Newlan , Georges Renavent , Dewey Robinson , Harry Seymour , Pat West , Frank Mills , Preston Sturges
- Reap the Wild Wind with Ray Milland , John Wayne , Paulette Goddard , Raymond Massey , Robert Preston , Susan Hayward , Lynne Overman , Charles Bickford , Walter Hampden , Martha O'Driscoll , Louise Beavers , Elizabeth Risdon , Hedda Hopper , Davison Clark , Milburn Stone , Stanley Andrews , Monte Blue , Barbara Britton , Billy Elmer , James Flavin , Fred Graham , Raymond Hatton , Frank Lackteen , George H. Reed , John M. St. Polis , Dorothy Sebastian , Dale vanSickel , Victor Varconi
- The Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert , Joel D. McCrea , Mary Astor , Rudy Vallee , William Demarest , Robert Warwick , Franklin Pangborn , Monte Blue , Dewey Robinson , Roscoe Ates , Frank Faylen , John Holland , Howard M. Mitchell , Charles Moore , Mantan Moreland , Fred "Snowflake" Toones , Max Wagner
- It's a Wonderful Life with James Stewart , Donna Reed , Lionel Barrymore , Thomas Mitchell , Henry Travers , Beulah Bondi , Ward Bond , Gloria Grahame , Frank Faylen , Frank S. Hagney , Sheldon Leonard , Larry Simms , H.B. Warner , Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer , Stanley Andrews , Ellen Corby , Dick Elliott , Bert Moorhouse
- The Healer with Ralph Bellamy , Mickey Rooney
John Farrell MacDonald Trivia
