From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Douglass Rupert Dumbrille October 13 1889 April 2 1974 was a Canadian actor and one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood In 1913 the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film What Eighty Million Women Want but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again In 1924 he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories tea insurance real estate and books During the Great Depression Dumbrille moved to the West Coast of the US where he specialized in playing secondary character roles alongside the great stars of the day His physical appearance and suave voice equipped him for roles as slick politician corrupt businessman crooked sheriff or unscrupulous lawyer He was highly regarded by the studios and was sought out by Cecil B DeMille Frank Capra Hal Roach and other prominent Hollywood filmmakers A friend of fellow Canadianborn director Allan Dwan Dumbrille played Athos in Dwans 1939 adaptation of The Three Musketeers Dumbrille had roles in more than 200 motion pictures and with the advent of television made numerous appearances in the 1950s and 1960s He had the ability to project a balance of menace and pomposity in roles as the heavy in comedy films such as those of the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello
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