Donald Crisp
Biography
Donald Crisp, also known by the name George William Crisp, was born at his family home in Bow, London, on July 26, 1882. His parents were James Crisp and Elizabeth Crisp, and his birth was registered by his mother on September 4, 1882. He had sisters named Elizabeth, Ann, Alice, and Eliza, and brothers named James, John, and Mark. Family memories indicate that his brother-in-law James Needham provided him with the fare to travel to the United States. On February 16, 1937, Donald Crisp applied for a United States Social Security account number, listing his address on North Vista Street in Hollywood, California, and his employer as Warner Brothers Pictures in Burbank, California. Known for his work in acting, he had 193 known credits and passed away on May 25, 1974, at the age of 91.
Career overview
Donald Crisp, also known by the birth name George William Crisp, was an actor with a career spanning numerous known credits. Born in Bow, London, England, United Kingdom, on July 26, 1882, his birth was registered by his mother Elizabeth Crisp on September 4, 1882. His parents were James Crisp and Elizabeth Crisp, and he grew up with sisters Elizabeth, Ann, Alice, and Eliza, as well as brothers James, John, and Mark. According to family memories, his brother-in-law James Needham, who was married to Louisa, provided the fare for Donald to travel to the United States. A photo sent to Jimmy and signed by Donald remains in the family.
Later in his career and life in the United States, Donald Crisp worked as an actor. On February 16, 1937, he applied for a United States Social Security account number, listing his address on North Vista Street in Hollywood, California, and his employer as Warner Brothers Pictures in Burbank, California. Recognized for his acting work, he is also noted in connection with the year 1941 in a sequence of years alongside other industry figures such as Walter Brennan, Joseph Schildkraut, Thomas Mitchell, Van Heflin, Charles Coburn, Barry Fitzgerald, and James Dunn.
Throughout his life and career, Donald Crisp amassed a total of 193 known credits in acting. His life came to an end on May 25, 1974, at the age of 91 years old.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
208 titles- Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983) as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Spencer's Mountain (1963) as Grandpa Spencer
- Greyfriars Bobby (1961) as James Brown
- Pollyanna (1960) as Mayor Karl Warren
- A Dog of Flanders (1959) as Jehan Daas
- The Last Hurrah (1958) as The Cardinal
- Saddle the Wind (1958) as Dennis Deneen
- Drango (1957) as Judge Allen
- Fire on the Heather (1956)
- MGM Parade (1955) as Self
- The Man from Laramie (1955) as Alec Waggoman
- The Long Gray Line (1955) as Old Martin
- The Red, White and Blue Line (1955) as Self
- Prince Valiant (1954) as King Aguar
- A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954) as Self
- This Is Your Life (1952) as Self
- Home Town Story (1951) as John MacFarland
- Bright Leaf (1950) as Major Singleton
- Africa Screams (1949) Executive Producer
- Challenge to Lassie (1949) as 'Jock' Gray
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
- Whispering Smith (1948) as Barney Rebstock
- Hills of Home (1948) as Drumsheugh
- Ramrod (1947) as Jim Crew
- The Valley of Decision (1945) as William Scott
- National Velvet (1945) as Mr. Herbert Brown
- Son of Lassie (1945) as Sam Carraclough
- The Uninvited (1944) as Commander Beech
- The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) as J.B. Pond
- Lassie Come Home (1943) as Sam Carraclough
- Forever and a Day (1943) as Captain Martin
- The Battle of Midway (1942) as Main Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- The Gay Sisters (1942) as Ralph Pedloch
- How Green Was My Valley (1941) as Gwilym Morgan
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) as Sir Charles Emery
- Shining Victory (1941) as Dr. Drewett
- Knute Rockne All American (1940) as Father John Callahan, C.S.C
- The Sea Hawk (1940) as Admiral Sir John Burleson
- City for Conquest (1940) as Scotty MacPherson
- Brother Orchid (1940) as Brother Superior
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) as Minister Althoff
- Wuthering Heights (1939) as Dr. Kenneth
- Juarez (1939) as Maréchal Bazaine
- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Francis Bacon
- The Oklahoma Kid (1939) as Judge Hardwick
- The Old Maid (1939) as Doctor Lanskell
- Sons of Liberty (1939) as Alexander McDougall
- Daughters Courageous (1939) as Samuel 'Sam' Sloane
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) as Police Inspector Lewis Lane
- Jezebel (1938) as Dr. Livingstone
- Valley of the Giants (1938) as Andy Stone
- The Dawn Patrol (1938) as Phipps
- Comet Over Broadway (1938) as Grant
- The Sisters (1938) as Tim Hazelton
- The Beloved Brat (1938) as Mr. Morgan
- Sergeant Murphy (1938) as Col. Todd Carruthers
- The Life of Emile Zola (1937) as Maitre Labori
- Parnell (1937) as Michael Davitt
- That Certain Woman (1937) as Jack V. Merrick Sr.
- The Great O'Malley (1937) as Police Captain Cromwell
- Confession (1937) as Presiding Judge
- Mary of Scotland (1936) as Huntly
- The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) as Colonel Campbell
- The White Angel (1936) as Dr. Hunt
- A Woman Rebels (1936) as Judge Byron Thistlewaite
- Beloved Enemy (1936) as Liam Burke
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) as Thomas Burkitt
- Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) as J.T. McCarger
- Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935) as George
- Laddie (1935) as Mr. Pryor
- The Crime Doctor (1934) as Mr. Anthony, District Attorney
- The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) as Mike Davey
- The Little Minister (1934) as Docteur McQueen
- What Every Woman Knows (1934) as David Wylie
- The Key (1934) as Peadar Conlan
- Broadway Bad (1933) as Darrall
- Hamlet, Act I: Scenes IV and V (1933) as Marcellus
- Red Dust (1932) as Guidon
- A Passport to Hell (1932) as Sgt. Snyder
- Svengali (1931) as The Laird
- Kick In (1931) as Garvey
- Scotland Yard (1930) as Charles Fox
- The Runaway Bride (1930) Director
- The Pagan (1929) as Roger Slater
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929) as Colonel Moran
- Trent's Last Case (1929) as Sigsbee Manderson
- The Cop (1928) Director
- The River Pirate (1928) as Caxton
- Stand and Deliver (1928) as London Club Member (uncredited)
- Stand and Deliver (1928) Director
- The Viking (1928) as Leif Ericsson
- Vanity (1927) Director
- Dress Parade (1927) Director
- Man Bait (1927) Director
- The Fighting Eagle (1927) Director
- Nobody's Widow (1927) Director
- The Black Pirate (1926) as MacTavish
- Young April (1926) Director
- Sunny Side Up (1926) Director
- Don Q Son of Zorro (1925) as Don Sebastian
- Don Q Son of Zorro (1925) Director
- The Navigator (1924) Director
- Ponjola (1923) Director
- Tell Your Children (1922) Director
- The Princess of New York (1921) Director
- The Bonnie Brier Bush (1921) as Lachlan Campbell
- The Bonnie Brier Bush (1921) Director
- The Barbarian (1921) Director
- The Six Best Cellars (1920) Director
- Held by the Enemy (1920) Director
- Miss Hobbs (1920) Director
- Love Insurance (1919) Director
- Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919) as Battling Burrows
- It Pays to Advertise (1919) Director
- Why Smith Left Home (1919) Director
- The Poor Boob (1919) Director
- Something to Do (1919) Director
- A Very Good Young Man (1919) Director
- Venus in the East (1919) Director
- Under the Top (1919) Director
- Too Much Johnson (1919) Director
- Putting It Over (1919) Director
- Johnny Get Your Gun (1919) Director
- Rimrock Jones (1918) Director
- Believe Me, Xantippe (1918) Director
- The House of Silence (1918) Director
- Jules of the Strong Heart (1918) Director
- The Firefly of France (1918) Director
- The Goat (1918) Director
- The Way of a Man with a Maid (1918) Director
- Less Than Kin (1918) Director
- His Sweetheart (1917) Director
- The Cook of Canyon Camp (1917) Director
- The Cook of Canyon Camp (1917) Screenplay
- The Countess Charming (1917) Director
- Lost in Transit (1917) Director
- The Bond Between (1917) Director
- The Eyes of the World (1917) Director
- The Marcellini Millions (1917) Director
- The Clever Mrs. Carfax (1917) Director
- Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) as Extra (uncredited)
- Ramona (1916) as Jim Farrar
- Ramona (1916) Director
- The Birth of a Nation (1915) as Gen. U.S. Grant
- The Birth of a Nation (1915) Assistant Director
- May Blossom (1915) as Steve Harland
- A Girl of Yesterday (1915) as A.H. Monroe
- An Old-Fashioned Girl (1915)
- An Old-Fashioned Girl (1915) Director
- The Commanding Officer (1915) as Col. Archer (the Commandant)
- The Love Route (1915) as Harry Marshall
- How Hazel Got Even (1915) Director
- Her Father's Silent Partner (1914) Director
- The Sisters (1914)
- Home, Sweet Home (1914) as The Mother's Son
- The Warning (1914) as Mr. Edwards
- The Warning (1914) Director
- The Avenging Conscience (1914)
- The Mountain Rat (1914) as Steve
- Over the Ledge (1914)
- The Little Country Mouse (1914) Director
- The Battle of the Sexes (1914) as Frank Andrews
- The Different Man (1914) as The Ranch Foreman
- The Availing Prayer (1914) Director
- The Niggard (1914) Director
- Their First Acquaintance (1914)
- Their First Acquaintance (1914) Director
- Her Mother's Necklace (1914) as The Burglar
- Her Mother's Necklace (1914) Director
- The Tavern of Tragedy (1914) as Bob Jameson - the Spy
- The Tavern of Tragedy (1914) Director
- Down the Hill to Creditville (1914)
- Down the Hill to Creditville (1914) Director
- Sands of Fate (1914) Director
- The Escape (1914) as 'Bull' McGee
- The Newer Woman (1914) as Cop
- The Newer Woman (1914) Director
- The Mysterious Shot (1914) as Buck
- The Mysterious Shot (1914) Director
- A Lesson in Mechanics (1914)
- At Dawn (1914) Director
- Another Chance (1914) as The Tramp
- Another Chance (1914) Director
- Near To Earth (1913)
- Black and White (1913)
- Olaf—An Atom (1913) as The Beggar
- The Blue or the Gray (1913) as Southern Rival
- Pirate Gold (1913)
- By Man's Law (1913) as Lee Calvert - Brother Owner
- The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) as Rival Gang Member (uncredited)
- The Failure (1911) as Bank Employee
- The Two Paths (1911) as Footman
- The Battle (1911) as A Union soldier (uncredited)
- Fate's Turning (1911) as The Valet
- What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911) as Night Court Bailiff
- Swords and Hearts (1911) as At Frazier House/Bushwacker (uncredited)
- The Long Road (1911) as A Servant / The Landlord
- The Adventures of Billy (1911) as First Tramp
- Heart Beats of Long Ago (1911) as Courtier
- The Making of a Man (1911) as Actor / Backstage
- The Miser's Heart (1911) as Policeman
- The Primal Call (1911) as At Club
- Her Awakening (1911) as Accident Witness
- The Italian Barber (1911) as At Ball
- Sunshine Sue (1910) as Head of the Sweatshop
- The Golden Supper (1910) as Courtier/Monk
- Winning Back His Love (1910) as At Stage Door
- Through the Breakers (1909) as At the Club
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Donald Crisp best known for?
Donald Crisp is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Spencer's Mountain (1963), Greyfriars Bobby (1961), Pollyanna (1960), The Last Hurrah (1958).
When and where was Donald Crisp born?
Donald Crisp was born on July 26, 1882 in Bow, London, England, UK. They passed away on May 25, 1974.
How many credits does Donald Crisp have?
Donald Crisp has accumulated over 208 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1920 to 1983.
What is Donald Crisp's background in cinema and television?
Donald Crisp, also known by the name George William Crisp, was born at his family home in Bow, London, on July 26, 1882. His parents were James Crisp and Elizabeth Crisp, and his birth was registered by his mother on September 4, 1882. He had sisters named Elizabeth, Ann, Alice, and Eliza, and brothers named James, Joh...
Donald Crisp by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954) as Self — aged about 71
- MGM Parade (1955) as Self — aged about 72
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) as Thomas Burkitt — aged about 52
- How Green Was My Valley (1941) as Gwilym Morgan — aged about 58
- The Last Hurrah (1958) as The Cardinal — aged about 75
- The Man from Laramie (1955) as Alec Waggoman — aged about 72
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