Charles Bennett (actor)

Charles Bennett
Charles Bennett (second from right) leading the chorus girls in "Oh, Mr. Kane!" in Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941)
Born	March 11, 1889 Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	February 15, 1943 (aged 53) Hollywood, California, USA
Years active	1912–1943

Charles Bennett (11 March 1889 – 15 February 1943) was a New Zealand-born American actor who was successful in silent films.

Biography

Bennett was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and died in Hollywood, California. He started his film career in Keystone comedies like Tillie's Punctured Romance and The Property Man. He also appeared in the Broadway musical Of Thee I Sing between 1931 and 1933. The sound film damaged his career and he got reduced to bit parts during his later film appearances. However, he was notable as the entertainer in the Inquirer party sequence in Citizen Kane (1941). He appeared in over 100 films between 1912 until his death in 1943. Bennett was married to actress Boots Mallory.

Selected filmography

• How States Are Made (1912)
• Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) as Uncle Banks, Tillie's millionaire uncle
• Mabel's Blunder (1914)
• The Property Man (1914)
• The Rainbow Girl (1917)
• The Adventures of Ruth (1919)
• The Top of New York (1922)
• America (1924)
• Treasure Island (1934)
• I Live My Life (1935)
• A Damsel in Distress (1937)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (uncredited) as Peddler at tournament
• Gunga Din (1939)
• Citizen Kane (1941)^[1] (uncredited) as the Entertainer at the head of the chorus line in the Inquirer party sequence
• Random Harvest (1942)
• Mrs. Miniver (1942) (uncredited) as Milkman
• It Ain't Hay (1943)

References

1. Naremore, James (1989). The Magic World of Orson Welles (2nd ed.). Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 087074299X.

External links

• Charles Bennett at the Internet Movie Database
• Charles Bennett at Find a Grave