Thurston Hall

Biography: As a teen he toured with various New England stage companies; later he moved to London and formed a small stage troupe, which toured New Zealand and South Africa. He returned to the U.S. and began appearing in films in 1915; his lead roles included that of Marc Antony, opposite Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917). He quit making films in the early '20s, devoting himself for much of the next 15 years to work on Broadway. In the mid '30s he returned to films, now playing character roles; he often portrayed no-nonsense, corrupt, cigar-smoking businessmen or powerful, crooked politicians. He continued appearing in films until shortly before his death; he was also a regular on the '50s TV series Topper.