Cyril Delevanti

Harry Cyril Delevanti (23 February 1889 – 13 December 1975) was an English character actor with a long career in American films. He was sometimes credited as Syril Delevanti.

Cyril Delevanti
Cyril Delevanti in The Phantom of 42nd Street (1945)
Born
Harry Cyril Delevanti

(1889-02-23)23 February 1889
London, UK
Died13 December 1975(1975-12-13) (aged 86)
Hollywood
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, US
Other namesSyril Delevanti
OccupationActor
Years active1931–1974
Spouse(s)
Eva Kittie Peel
​
​
(m. 1913; died 1975)​
Children3

Early years

Delevanti was born in London to the Anglo-Italian music professor, Edward Prospero Richard Delevanti (1859–1911) and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (née Rowbotham).[1]

Career

Delevanti had a career as an actor on the English stage and, after his emigration to the United States in 1921, performed on the American stage throughout the 1920s. His first film appearance was in Devotion (1931). In 1938 he appeared in Red Barry for director Ford Beebe, who would later marry Delevanti's daughter, Kitty, thus becoming the actor's son-in-law. From the 1940s, he appeared in many small roles, frequently uncredited, in such films as Phantom of the Opera (1943), Confidential Agent (1945), Deception (1946), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Forever Amber (1947), David and Bathsheba (1951), Limelight (1952), Les Girls (1957), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and Mary Poppins (1964).

In 1958, Delevanti was cast as the printer Lucius Coin in all twenty-six episodes of the NBC western television series, Jefferson Drum, starring Jeff Richards.[2] He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason during the first and final (ninth) seasons of the series. In 1957 he played florist Mr. Tulloch in "The Case of the Silent Partner". In 1965, he played bookie Craig Jefferson in "The Case of the Silent Six".

Delevanti made guest-starring appearances on Dennis the Menace; US Marshal; The Fugitive; Gunsmoke; Have Gun, Will Travel; The Tall Man; Bourbon Street Beat; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; The Virginian; Daniel Boone; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Mission: Impossible; Ironside; The Untouchables; Science Fiction Theater; Adventures of Superman; The Twilight Zone (in the episodes "A Penny for Your Thoughts"; "The Silence"; "Passage on the Lady Anne"; and "A Piano in the House"); Dundee and the Culhane; Peter Gunn; and Dragnet.

He continued to act in films, such as The Night of the Iguana (1964, nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor), Mary Poppins (1964), The Killing of Sister George (1968), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Personal life

In 1913, Delevanti married Eva Kitty Peel; they had three children: Kitty, Cyril, and Harry.[1] In the early 1950s, they operated a toy shop in the Los Angeles area.[3]

Death

On 13 December 1975, Delevanti died in Hollywood of lung cancer,.[1] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Credited filmography

References
  1. "Cyril Delevanti". MyHeritage. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 528. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  3. Broomfield, Fred (15 October 1951). "Delevanti Would Start Little Theater In Valley". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. p. 7. Retrieved 27 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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