Cosmo Kyrle Bellew

Cosmo Kyrle Bellew (November 23, 1883[1]–January 25, 1948) was a British/American vaudeville and film actor.

Cosmo Bellew in 1925

Biography

Bellew claimed to have been born in London, England, and claimed to be the son of noted stage actor Kyrle Bellew (Kyrle Bellew, at his death, was reported to be "unmarried"- long divorced after a brief marriage- and "survived by a sister", with no mention of a son or any other children).[2][3] Cosmo Bellew's actual birth date is unclear- no birth record being apparent- with various subsequent official documents giving dates between 1874 and 1883. He immigrated to the United States in 1914,[1] and began his career as a vaudeville actor, appearing in The Devil's Mate in 1915.[4]

In 1917 he enlisted in the British Army in World War I.[5]

Following the war he continued his career in theater, appearing in the musical vaudeville skit Somewhere in France in 1918, when he was stranded in Omaha, Nebraska by the Spanish flu, and was reduced to working in a meat-packing plant and subsisting on free meals.[6][7] He appeared in the musicals Dearie[8] and The Canary in 1920,[9] and The Boy and Good Morning Judge in 1921,[10][11]

In 1926 he appeared on stage in the Ziegfeld musical Louie the Fourteenth,[12] and the Fox Film Summer Bachelors (as Bachelor No. 3).[13]

In 1927 he moved to Los Angeles and signed with Sam Goldwyn.[14] Following this, he appeared in a number of films, although never in a starring role. In 1928 he appeared in Hit of the Show, starring Joe E. Brown,[15] The Bellamy Trial,[16] The Magic Flame starring Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky,[17] and Man, Woman and Sin, which starred John Gilbert.[18]

Filmography
Year Title Role
1926 Summer Bachelors Bachelor No. 3
1927 The Magic Flame The husband[19]
1927 French Dressing [20]
1927 Man, Woman and Sin (uncredited)
1928 The Hit of the Show Henry Carson
1928 Black Butterflies Judge Davis[21]
1928 Midnight Life Harlan Phillips
1929 Disraeli Mr. Terle (uncredited)
1929 The Bellamy Trial Farwell
1929 Strange Cargo Sir Richard Barclay
1929 The Devil's Apple Tree the roué[20]
1930 Lummox John Bixby[22]
1930 The Second Floor Mystery [20]
1931 The Lady Who Dared Seton Boone-Fleming[23]
1931 The Love Contract Sir George
1933 Design for Living Basington's voice[24]: 123 
1934 The Merry Widow escort[24]: 127 
1934 Beloved doctor[23]
1934 Behold my Wife! Mr. Lawson[23]
1934 Now I'll Tell Oakley Evans[23]
1934 Riptide [23]
1935 The Perfect Gentleman English fop[23]
1935 Splendor guest at dinner[23]
1935 Here Comes Cookie dignified man[23]
1936 Collegiate [25]
1938 Vogues of 1938 man in tuxedo (uncredited)

Personal

Bellew was notable for his "young face" that was "emphasized by his snow-white hair, it having turned grey at the age of 18."[26] It was also reported that, as a singer, he had an "excellent voice."[7]

In 1925 he married Anita Blun in Greenwich, Connecticut.[27] She later appeared with him in Lummox. The couple had no children. In his later years Bellew suffered from a heart condition,[28] and died at home in Beverly Hills on January 25, 1948. Anita died on May 15, 1960.[29] The couple are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

References
  1. "Declaration of Intention - Cosmo Bellew". ancestry.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. San Francisco Call, vol. 110, no. 156, 3 Nov. 1911, p. 3
  3. "Cosmo Kyrle Bellew". U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  4. "Vaudeville at Hip all Summer". The Reading News-Times. June 21, 1915. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  5. "Victor of Boelke left Montreal as an Artillery Man". The Gazette. Montreal. June 14, 1917. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  6. "Free Meals Served to Stranded Actors". The Sun. October 29, 1919. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  7. "At the Theaters". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 3, 1919. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  8. "One New Play to be Shown". Philadelphia Inquirer. October 10, 1920. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  9. ""The Canary"". The Buffalo Enquirer. January 27, 1920. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  10. ""The Boy" will be at Russell". The Citizen. February 19, 1921. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  11. "Good Morning Judge". The Binghamton Press. January 28, 1921. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  12. ""Louie" at Werba's". The Brooklyn Daily Times. January 19, 1926. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  13. McGowen, Roscoe (December 21, 1926). "'Summer Bachelors' fills Capitol with Gay Sounds". Daily News. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  14. "Cosmo Bellew Signs". The Los Angeles Times. March 5, 1927. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  15. "Musical Comedy Star in Picture". The Pasadena Post. December 15, 1928. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  16. "Filmograms". The Evening Star. April 15, 1928. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  17. "Now at Savoy". The Courier-Journal. 26 Jul 1928. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  18. "John Gilbert at Strand". The Tribune. January 12, 1928. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  19. "THE MAGIC FLAME(1927) overview". tcm.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  20. "Cosmo Kyrle Bellew". BFI. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  21. ""black Butterflies"". The Film Daily. October 14, 1928. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  22. Alicoate, Jack, ed. (1931). The 1931 Film Daily Year Book. p. 111. Retrieved April 13, 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. "Overview for Cosmo Kyrle Bellew". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. Carringer, Robert; Sabath, Barry (1978). Ernst Lubitsch a guide to references and resources. Boston: G.K.Hall.&co. ISBN 0-8161-7895-X. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  25. "Productions in Work". Motion Picture Herald. September 14, 1935. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  26. Knight, Lass (February 19, 1927). "Kafe Kavortings of Lass Knight". Hollywood Topics. 1 (12): 29. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  27. "Anita Blun". Connecticut Marriage Records, 1897-1968. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  28. Parsons, Louella (January 29, 1948). "In Hollywood". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  29. "Snapshots of Hollywood collected at random". San Francisco Examiner. 19 May 1960. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
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