Eugene Borden


Eugene Borden was an American character actor of both the silent and sound film eras. Born in France, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager, and entered the film industry a short time later. During his prolific career he appeared in over 150 films, as well as shorts, serials, and numerous television shows.

Life and career

Born in Paris, France, on March 21, 1897, Borden immigrated to the United States in 1914 at the age of 17. By 1917 he had entered the film industry, appearing in a featured role in Christy Cabanne's The Slacker. Over the next 43 years, Borden appeared in 160 feature films, usually in uncredited roles, many of which were as characters do menial labor, such as headwaiters, porters, pursers and coachmen.
During his long career in films, Borden appeared in many notable movies. During the silent era, he appeared in such notable productions as: George D. Baker's Revelation ; Blue Blood, directed by Scott R. Dunlap; and the original film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, directed by Malcolm St. Clair. During this time, Borden also appeared in two successful Broadway plays: The Better 'Ole, a musical comedy which ran for over 350 performances in 1918–19; and 1922's musical comedy, The French Maid, with music by George Gershwin and Gus Edwards.
Borden smoothly made the transition to sound films, appearing in numerous notable films, in some of which he had significant roles. Notable films of the 1930s in which he appeared include: 1934's Marie Galante, directed by Henry King and starring Spencer Tracy; the 1936 comedy Wife vs. Secretary, starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy, and featuring Jimmy Stewart in one of his first film appearances; Café Metropole, a 1937 romantic comedy starring Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, and Adolphe Menjou; the 1938 Sonja Henie vehicle, Happy Landing, which also stars Don Ameche; and the 1939 version of The Three Musketeers, starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers. Borden continued his prolific ways in the 1940s, appearing in dozens of films, some of which included: the classic The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Basil Rathbone, in which Borden had a featured role; the 1942 screwball comedy The Lady is Willing, starring Fred MacMurray and Marlene Dietrich; The Song of Bernadette, starring Jennifer Jones and an all-star cast; as the Quartermaster in the Bogart and Bacall classic To Have and Have Not; in the classic The Razor's Edge, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney; Rita Hayworth's tour de force, Gilda in 1946; as Michel, the owner of the French restaurant, in The Bishop's Wife, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven; and the 1949 classic musical On the Town, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, and Ann Miller.
Borden remained active in films throughout the 1950s, as well as transitioning into the new medium of television. One of this most notable roles would occur in 1951's classic musical, An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant, when he had the featured role as Kelly and Levant's landlord, Georges Mattieu. Other notable films in which he appeared during this decade include: All About Eve, starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter; the Bob Hope comedy, My Favorite Spy; Howard Hawks' The Big Sky, starring Kirk Douglas; The Far Country, directed by Anthony Mann in 1955, starring Jimmy Stewart, Ruth Roman, and Walter Brennan; To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly; another Jimmy Stewart film, The Spirit of St. Louis, directed by Billy Wilder; and the 1958 horror classic, The Fly, starring Al Hedison and Vincent Price. Borden appeared in several films in the 1960s, although most of his work in that decade was on the small screen. His notable films include: 1960's Can-Can, starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, and Louis Jourdan; Take Her, She's Mine, starring Jimmy Stewart and Sandra Dee; and the Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis comedy, Boeing, Boeing. His final big screen appearance would be in the 1966 spy spoof, Our Man Flint, starring James Coburn.
In addition to his film work, Borden appeared in numerous television shows during the 1950s and 1960s. Some of the shows on which he performed included My Little Margie, Climax!, The Millionaire, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Have Gun - Will Travel, Perry Mason, the original Twilight Zone, Combat!, The Farmer's Daughter, and Rawhide. Borden's last performance was in 1966 on the television series Run for Your Life.
After his retirement, Borden lived at the Motion Picture Home, in Woodland Hills, California. He died there on July 21, 1971 at the age of 74, and is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Santa Monica.

Filmography