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(May 20, 1883 - 31 December 1951)
 Born
in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five
years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown
Purple. Arthur's screen personality was nebulous enough to allow him
to play the romantic lead in the Lon Chaney vehicle The Monster
(1925).
With the coming of sound, Arthur developed his first comedic image,
a limp-wristed, ultra-effeminate "Nancy Boy" in films such as The
Desert Song and Penrod and Sam. When the Production Code took effect
on July 1, 1934, the "pansy" characters played by Arthur were banned
from all Hollywood movies. He spent the rest of the 1930s playing
fussy, long-suffering wimps, albeit certifiably "masculine roles".
This new character served him well in low budget films like The
Ghost Walks, The Natzy Nuisance and Danger on the Air, as well as
big budget pictures like Crime and Punishment and Road to Singapore.
Arthur is perhaps most remembered for his appearances as Darla
Hood's father in Hal Roach's Our Gang shorts. Most of his later
roles were unbilled bits, with the notable exception of the 1942
serial The Masked Marvel. |
