Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men before he was of voting age.[1]

Lucien Littlefield
Littlefield on the lobby card for Heart to Heart (1928)
Born(1895-08-16)August 16, 1895
DiedJune 4, 1960(1960-06-04) (aged 64)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California
EducationStaunton Military Academy
OccupationActor
Years active1914–1960
Spouse
Constance Palmer
(m. 1925)

Life and career

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Lucien Littlefield was born in San Antonio, Texas and attended Staunton Military Academy. He started his movie career in 1913[2] and worked as an actor until his death in 1960. He usually portrayed comedic supporting characters, often much older than himself. His role of the doctor in The Cat and the Canary (1927) is one of his more notable performances. The character actor appeared with Laurel and Hardy, first as an eccentric professor in Dirty Work and finally as a veterinarian in Sons of the Desert, both made in 1933. He also played Mary Pickford's father in My Best Girl in 1927. Other roles include the western Tumbleweeds with William S. Hart, the comedy Ruggles of Red Gap with Charles Laughton, and Johnny Come Lately with James Cagney.

He played an eccentric inventor in an early episode of Adventures of Superman titled "The Runaway Robot". Littlefield played many character roles in other TV shows of the 1950s, such as Blondie, Lassie, Dragnet and Peter Gunn.

He died of natural causes in 1960 at a veterans' hospital[3] in Hollywood, California, and he was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.[4]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Lucien Littlefield at Rotten Tomatoes
  2. ^ "Lucien Littlefield Is Dead at 64; Film Character Actor Since '13". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 7, 1960. p. 35. ProQuest 114956514. Retrieved January 1, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "Lucien Littlefield, Actor 41 Years, Dies". The Bridgeport Post. Connecticut, Bridgeport. June 6, 1960. p. 52. Retrieved July 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries
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