Douglas Wood (actor)


Douglas Wood was an American actor of stage and screen during the first six decades of the 20th century. Born on Halloween 1880, his mother, Ida Jeffreys, was a stage actress. During the course of his career, Wood would appear in dozens of Broadway productions, and well over 100 films. Towards the end of his career, he would also make several guest appearances on television. Wood died in 1966.

Career

Early career on Broadway

Wood would make his Broadway acting debut in the revival of a pair of plays being produced at the Garden Theatre: Cyrano de Bergerac and Beau Brummell. Over the next thirty years he would appear in dozens of plays on The Great White Way. He was in the original production of Du Barry, written, directed, and produced by David Belasco, which had a successful run in 1901-02. After appearing in several plays with short runs, he was in another successful play from 1904–05, The College Widow, written by George Ade and directed by George Marion again at the Garden Theatre. In 1910 he appeared in the role of Marc Antony in a repertory production of Julius Caesar at the Garden. In 1913 he began a successful run of The Family Cupboard, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Owen Davis, which ran until 1915. He starred in the musical Maytime, produced by Lee and J.J. Shubert, and written by Rida Johnson Young, who also wrote the words to music composed by Sigmund Romberg. The show ran for almost 500 performances at five different theaters from 1917-18. He followed this with another Young hit, Little Old New York, which ran during 1920 and 1921 at Plymouth Theatre. Other hits Wood appeared in included: Give and Take, written by Aaron Hoffman; the 1924 John Henry Mears' production, Sweet Seventeen; the 1927 musical, Bye, Bye, Bonnie, which was also notable as the first Broadway role for Ruby Keeler; and The Good Fairy, produced and directed by Gilbert Miller, and performed in the theater named after Miller's father, which also starred Helen Hayes. After another successful run in the musical-comedy Take a Chance at the Apollo Theatre which ran from 1932–33, and starred Ethel Merman, Wood would take a 25-year hiatus from the Broadway stage, and devote his creative talents to Hollywood.

Broadway performances

At the end of 1933, Wood began work on his first film, with a supporting role in David Butler's comedy, Bottom's Up, starring Spencer Tracy. The following year he would originate the role in talking pictures of Wopsle in Stuart Walker's 1934 production of Great Expectations. Over the next 20 years he would appear in over 125 films, mostly in smaller and supporting roles. In 1937 he would appear in a small role in Maytime, the sound version of the 1910s play in which he had starred. Other notable films in which he appeared include: Two Against the World, starring Humphrey Bogart; the Abbott and Costello vehicle, Buck Privates ; Here Comes Mr. Jordan, starring Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, and Claude Rains; Howard Hawk's 1941 classic, Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper; and The Adventures of Mark Twain, starring Fredric March.

Late career and death

During the 1950s, Wood appeared in a handful of pictures, mostly B-films. During the early and mid-1950s Wood would make several guest appearances on several television series, including The Lone Ranger, Fireside Theater, and Topper. His final screen performance would be in a small role in That Certain Feeling, starring Bob Hope, Eva Marie Saint, and George Sanders. In 1958 Wood returned to the Broadway stage with a supporting role in Jane Eyre, it would be his final acting performance. Wood died on January 13, 1966 in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, California.

Filmography