Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 17, 1890
Died
Apr 22, 1951
Place of Birth
Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
Credits
57 titles
Stanley Ridges
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stanley Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was a British-born actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts. Born 17 July 1890 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK, Stanley Ridges became a protégé of Beatrice Lillie, a star of musical stage comedies, and spent many years learning and honing his craft on the stage. Eventually making his way to America, Ridges began as a song-and-dance man on Broadway, but later turned to dramatic roles onstage, appearing in such plays as Maxwell Anderson's Mary of Scotland (as Lord Morton) and Valley Forge (as Lieutenant Colonel Lucifer Tench), becoming a romantic leading man. Ridges' silent film debut was in Success (1923). With his excellent diction and rich speaking voice, he easily made the transition into sound films, with his career taking off at age 43, in Crime Without Passion (1934), with Claude Rains. Ridges found himself cast in character roles, as his greying hair put his romantic leading man days at an end. His most best known roles were probably two different characters in one film, one of them the kindly Professor Kingsley and the other the murderous Red Cannon in the thriller Black Friday (1940). The Jekyll and Hyde transformations gave Ridges a chance to display his acting ability. Ridges was often cast in supporting roles in many classic films, and played the lead only once, in the B-picture False Faces (1943). Among Ridges's other film roles were as the Scotland Yard inspector who is shadowing Charles Laughton in the film The Suspect (1944), as Major Buxton (Gary Cooper's commanding officer) in Sergeant York (1942), as Professor Siletsky in To Be or Not to Be (also 1942), and as Cary Travers Grayson, the official White House physician in Wilson (1944). By 1950, he had just begun appearing in television anthologies such as Studio One and Philco Television Playhouse. His last feature film, the Ginger Rogers comedy The Groom Wore Spurs, in which he played a mobster, was released a month before he died. Stanley Ridges died 22 April 1951, in Westbrook, Connecticut, aged 60.
Known For
Filmography
The Groom Wore Spurs
Harry Kallen
No Way Out
Sam Moreland
The Man Who Had Influence
J. C. Grant
Paid in Full
Dr. P.J. 'Phil' Winston
The File on Thelma Jordon
Kingsley Willis
Task Force
Sen. Bentley
You're My Everything
Mr. Henry Mercer
Streets of Laredo
Major Bailey
An Act of Murder
Doctor Walter Morrison
Studio One
Police Chief Scott Anderson
Possessed
Dr. Harvey Willard
Mr. Ace
Toomey
Canyon Passage
Jonas Overmire
Because of Him
Charles Gilbert
Captain Eddie
Col. Hans Adamson
The Phantom Speaks
Dr. Paul Renwick
God Is My Co-Pilot
Col. Merian 'Steve' Cooper
The Suspect
Inspector Huxley
The Master Race
Phil Carson
Wilson
Dr. Cary Grayson
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Cmdr. William B. 'Bill' Goggins
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Self (segment 'Sergeant York') (archive footage)
This Is the Army
John Davidson
False Faces
District Attorney Stanley S. Harding
Air Force
Maj. Mallory - Clark Field
Tarzan Triumphs
Colonel Von Reichart
Eyes in the Night
Hansen
Eagle Squadron
Air Minister
The Big Shot
Martin T. Fleming, Attorney
To Be or Not to Be
Professor Alexander Siletsky
The Lady Is Willing
Kenneth Hanline
They Died with Their Boots On
Maj. Romulus Taipe
Sergeant York
Major Buxton
Mr. District Attorney
District Attorney Tom F. Winton
The Sea Wolf
Johnson
Black Friday
Prof. George Kingsley / Red Cannon
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Doctor Frankton (as Stanley C. Ridges)
Espionage Agent
Hamilton Peyton
Dust Be My Destiny
Charles 'Charlie' Garreth
Each Dawn I Die
Mueller
I Stole a Million
Downs (uncredited)
Union Pacific
Gen. Casement
Silver on the Sage
Earl Brennan / Dave Talbot
Let Us Live
District Attorney
There's That Woman Again
Tony Croy
The Mad Miss Manton
Edward Norris
If I Were King
Rene de Montigny
They're Always Caught
Dr. John Pritchard
Yellow Jack
Dr. James Carroll
Internes Can't Take Money
Dan Innes