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Harold George Bryant Davenport was an American film and stage actor who worked in show business from the age of six until his death. After a long and prolific Broadway career, he came to Hollywood in the 1930s, where he often played grandfathers, judges, doctors, and ministers. His roles include Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Grandpa in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). Bette Davis once called Davenport "without a doubt [. . .] the greatest character actor of all time."
Birth Name
Harold George Bryant Davenport
Born
Friday, 19 January 1866
Died
Tuesday, 09 August 1949
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| John Ford Goes to War | (archive footage) | 2002 |
| Riding High | Johnson | 1950 |
| Tell It to the Judge | Judge MacKenzie Meredith | 1949 |
| That Forsyte Woman | Old Jolyon Forsyte | 1949 |
| Little Women | Dr. Barnes | 1949 |
| Down to the Sea in Ships | Benjamin Harris | 1949 |
| The Decision of Christopher Blake | Courtroom Attendant | 1948 |
| For the Love of Mary | Justice Peabody | 1948 |
| That Lady in Ermine | Luigi | 1948 |
| The Man from Texas | 'Pop' Hickey / Pop Hickey | 1948 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| John Ford Goes to War | (archive footage) | 2002 |
| Riding High | Johnson | 1950 |
| Tell It to the Judge | Judge MacKenzie Meredith | 1949 |
| That Forsyte Woman | Old Jolyon Forsyte | 1949 |
| Little Women | Dr. Barnes | 1949 |
| Down to the Sea in Ships | Benjamin Harris | 1949 |
| The Decision of Christopher Blake | Courtroom Attendant | 1948 |
| For the Love of Mary | Justice Peabody | 1948 |
| That Lady in Ermine | Luigi | 1948 |
| The Man from Texas | 'Pop' Hickey / Pop Hickey | 1948 |
| Three Daring Daughters | Dr. Cannon | 1948 |
| The Fabulous Texan | Rev. Baker | 1947 |
| That Hagen Girl | Judge Merrivale | 1947 |
| The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer | Judge Thaddeus Turner | 1947 |
| Keeper of the Bees | Michael Worthington | 1947 |
| Stallion Road | Dr. Stevens | 1947 |
| The Farmer's Daughter | Dr. Matthew Sutven / Dr. Matthew Sulven | 1947 |
| A Boy and His Dog | Squire Jim Kirby | 1946 |
| Lady Luck | Judge Martin | 1946 |
| Three Wise Fools | The Ancient | 1946 |
| Faithful in My Fashion | Great Grandpa | 1946 |
| G.I. War Brides | Grandpa Giles | 1946 |
| Courage of Lassie | Judge Payson | 1946 |
| A Boy, a Girl and a Dog | Gramps | 1946 |
| Claudia and David | Dr. Harry | 1946 |
| Pardon My Past | Grandpa Pemberton | 1946 |
| Adventure | Dr. Ashlon / Dr. Ashton | 1945 |
| The Enchanted Forest | Old John | 1945 |
| Too Young to Know | Judge Boller | 1945 |
| She Wouldn't Say Yes | Albert | 1945 |
| This Love of Ours | Dr. Wilkerson | 1945 |
| Music for Millions | Doctor | 1944 |
| Meet Me in St. Louis | Grandpa | 1944 |
| The Thin Man Goes Home | Dr. Bertram Charles | 1944 |
| The Impatient Years | Minister | 1944 |
| Kismet | Agha | 1944 |
| Jack London | Prof. Hilliard | 1943 |
| Government Girl | Senator MacVickers | 1943 |
| Gangway for Tomorrow | Fred Taylor | 1943 |
| Princess O'Rourke | Supreme Court Judge | 1943 |
| We've Never Been Licked | Pop Lambert | 1943 |
| Headin' for God's Country | Clem Adams | 1943 |
| Shantytown | 'Doc' Herndon | 1943 |
| The Amazing Mrs. Holliday | Commodore Thomas Spencer Holliday | 1943 |
| December 7th | Mr. 'C' | 1943 |
| The Ox-Bow Incident | Arthur Davies | 1942 |
| Tales of Manhattan | Professor Lyons / Prof. Lyons | 1942 |
| Ten Gentlemen from West Point | Bane | 1942 |
| Larceny, Inc | Homer Bigelow | 1942 |
| Kings Row | Colonel Skeffington | 1942 |
| Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake | Amos Kidder | 1942 |
| One Foot in Heaven | Elias Samson | 1941 |
| Hurricane Smith | Robert Ingersoll Reed | 1941 |
| The Bride Came C.O.D. | Pop Tolliver | 1941 |
| That Uncertain Feeling | Jones | 1941 |
| I Wanted Wings | 'Sandbags' Riley | 1941 |
| Meet John Doe | Former Bulletin Owner | 1941 |
| I Want a Divorce | Grandpa Brokaw | 1940 |
| Earl of Puddlestone | Grandpa Ed Carson | 1940 |
| Foreign Correspondent | Mr. Powers | 1940 |
| Lucky Partners | Judge | 1940 |
| All This, and Heaven Too | Pierre | 1940 |
| Grandpa Goes to Town | Grandpa | 1940 |
| Too Many Husbands | George | 1940 |
| Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | Judge | 1940 |
| Granny Get Your Gun | Nate / Nathaniel "Nate" Paulson | 1940 |
| Gone with the Wind | Dr. Meade | 1940 |
| Money to Burn | Grandpa Ed Carson | 1939 |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | King Louis XI | 1939 |
| The Covered Trailer | Grandpa Ed Carson | 1939 |
| Death of a Champion | Guy Lanyard | 1939 |
| Should Husbands Work? | Grandpa Higgins | 1939 |
| Juarez | Dr. Samuel Basch | 1939 |
| Exile Express | Dr. Hite | 1939 |
| My Wife's Relatives | Grandpa Ed Carson | 1939 |
| The Story of Alexander Graham Bell | Judge Rider | 1939 |
| Tail Spin | T.P. Lester | 1939 |
| Made for Each Other | Dr. Healy | 1939 |
| Long Shot | Henry Sharon | 1939 |
| Orphans of the Street | Doc Will Ramsey | 1938 |
| The Cowboy and the Lady | Uncle Hannibal Smith | 1938 |
| The Sisters | Doc Moore | 1938 |
| You Can't Take It with You | Judge | 1938 |
| Marie Antoinette | Monsieur de Cosse | 1938 |
| Young Fugitives | Joel Bentham | 1938 |
| The Rage of Paris | Pop - the Caretaker / Pop, Caretaker | 1938 |
| The Higgins Family | Grandpa William Jordan | 1938 |
| The First Hundred Years | Uncle Dawson | 1938 |
| Reckless Living | 'General' Jeff | 1938 |
| Gold Is Where You Find It | Dr. Parsons | 1938 |
| Saleslady | Miles Cannon | 1938 |
| Man-Proof | Hitch-Hiking Old Man | 1938 |
| Wells Fargo | Ingalls - Banker / Ingalls, banker | 1937 |
| First Lady | Charles | 1937 |
| The Great Garrick | Innkeeper of Turk's Head | 1937 |
| The Perfect Specimen | Carl Carter | 1937 |
| Radio Patrol | John P. Adams / John P. Adams, inventor | 1937 |
| The Life of Emile Zola | Chief of Staff | 1937 |
| Fit for a King | Archduke Julio | 1937 |
| Mr. Dodd Takes the Air | Doc Jeremiah George Quinn / Doc Quinn | 1937 |
| White Bondage | Pop Craig | 1937 |
| They Won't Forget | Confederate Soldier | 1937 |
| Fly Away Baby | Colonel Higgam | 1937 |
| Armored Car | Pop Logan | 1937 |
| As Good as Married | Jessup | 1937 |
| Mountain Justice | Printer | 1937 |
| Maytime | Opera Director | 1937 |
| Her Husband's Secretary | Dan Kingdon | 1937 |
| Paradise Express | Jed Carson | 1937 |
| Under Southern Stars | Party Guest | 1937 |
| Under Cover of Night | Dr. Reed | 1937 |
| King of Hockey | Tom McKenna | 1936 |
| Four Days Wonder | Ticket Agent | 1936 |
| Three Men on a Horse | Williams | 1936 |
| Legion of Terror | Senator Morton | 1936 |
| The Case of the Black Cat | Peter Laxter | 1936 |
| The Scoundrel | Slezack | 1935 |
| Get That Venus | Mr. Rendleby | 1933 |
| The Wiser Sex | Rolfe's Defense Attorney | 1932 |
| His Woman | Customs Inspector | 1931 |
| My Sin | Roger Metcalf | 1931 |
| Her Unborn Child | Dr. Remington | 1930 |
| The Unknown Quantity | Septimus Kinsolving | 1919 |
| Sowers and Reapers | Henry Ainsworth | 1917 |
| The Wheel of the Law | John Daniels | 1916 |
Director Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| A Son of the Hills | 1917 |
| The False Friend | 1917 |
| The Millionaire's Double | 1917 |
| Tillie Wakes Up | 1917 |
| The Supreme Temptation | 1916 |
| The Making Over of Geoffrey Manning | 1915 |
| The Island of Regeneration | 1915 |
