James Finlayson (actor)

James Finlayson
Finlayson in 1923
Born	James Henderson Finlayson (1887-08-27)27 August 1887 Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died	9 October 1953(1953-10-09) (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1910–1951
Spouse	Emily Cora Gilbert ​ (m. 1919)​

James Henderson Finlayson (27 August 1887 – 9 October 1953) was a Scottish actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, ^[1] Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is known for his squinting, outraged, "double take and fade away" head reaction, and characteristic expression "d'ooooooh", and as the best remembered comic foil of Laurel and Hardy.

Finlayson was known by a variety of nicknames. According to Laurel and Hardy scholar Randy Skretvedt, he "called himself Jimmy, was known around the lot as Jim and is usually referred to today as 'Fin'" ^[2] – as a truncated version of his surname, as author John McCabe presented it in his 1961 book biography Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy .

Early life and stage career

Born in Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland to Alexander and Isabella (née Henderson) Finlayson, ^[3] James worked as a tinsmith before pursuing an acting career. ^[4] As part of John Clyde's company, he played the part of Jamie Ratcliffe in Jeanie Deans at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh in 1910. ^[5]

The next year (1911) with both parents deceased, he emigrated (at age 24) to the United States, along with his brother, Robert. ^{[6] [7]} In May 1912 in New York City, he played the role of a detective disguised as a teuchter (person originating from the Scottish West Highlands or Western Isles) in the stage production The Great Game at Daly's Theatre: ^{[8] [9]} "James Finlayson had an excellent opportunity, which he did not miss, for developing two characters in his one role – the simple, naive Scotsman and the artful, determined detective. The remarkable thing is that he managed to do them both at the same time." ^{[10] [11]}

He later won the role of Rab Biggar in the Broadway production of Bunty Pulls the Strings by Graham Moffat, ^[10] and dropped out of a national tour in 1916 to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Film still from Down on the Farm (1920)

Film

Arriving in Los Angeles in 1916, he initially found film work at L-KO and Thomas H. Ince's studio. ^[10] In October 1919, he signed a contract with the Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation. ^[12] He appeared in numerous Sennett-produced comedies, including with the Keystone Kops. ^{[13] [14]}

The promotional newspaper article for the 1920 premiere of Sennett's Down on the Farm refers to Finlayson as "legitimate and screen player of international celebrity" and of his performance says: "The villian[ sic ] in the case – a sort of cross between a Turkish Don Juan and a 'loan shark' – is played with rare power and comic results of seriousness by James Finlayson". ^[15]

Finlayson sent to Scotland for his close friend Andy Clyde, urging him to come to America and join Finlayson at the Sennett studio. Clyde arrived in 1922 and became a fixture at Sennett, as a versatile character actor. Finlayson himself, however, did not establish himself as star material and left Sennett's employ later that year.

Hal Roach Studios

Finlayson was hired almost immediately by Sennett's rival, Hal Roach, who gave him supporting roles in his studio's Snub Pollard and Stan Laurel comedies. With Roach's biggest short-subject star Harold Lloyd moving on to features, Roach tried to start new series with Charley Chase (successfully) and James Finlayson (unsuccessfully). The next step came in 1927 when Roach's All-Star Comedy series gave Finlayson equal billing with up-and-coming co-stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, comedian Edna Marion, and others; ^[16] some studio publicity even referred to Finlayson, Hardy, and Laurel as a "famous comedy trio." ^[17] But Roach staff producer and future Academy Award director Leo McCarey recognized the great potential of a Laurel-and-Hardy pairing and began developing their characters and expanding their roles. ^[18] By the autumn of 1928, Laurel and Hardy had their own starring series while the All-Star Comedy series soldiered on with other comedians. ^[1] Nonetheless, Finlayson was still "considered by many to be an indispensable part of the Laurel & Hardy team." ^[19]

Altogether, Finlayson played roles in 33 Laurel and Hardy films, usually as a villain or an antagonist, in such films Big Business (1929) and Way Out West (1937). Beside that, he starred alongside Stan Laurel in 19 films and opposite Oliver Hardy in five films before Laurel and Hardy were teamed together; he appeared in dozens of Roach Studio films, with Charley Chase, Glenn Tryon, Snub Pollard, and Ben Turpin, and in several Our Gang shorts, including Mush and Milk , in which he and Spanky McFarland match wits in a comically adversarial phone conversation.

Finlayson later played uncredited bit parts in films such as Foreign Correspondent (1940), To Be or Not to Be (1942), and Royal Wedding (1951). He was often called upon for silent-comedy reunions like Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) and The Perils of Pauline (1947).

Personal life and death

He married Emily Cora Gilbert, an American citizen from Iowa, in 1919 ^[20] and became a US citizen in 1942. ^[21]

English actress Stephanie Insall and Finlayson regularly took breakfast together. However, on the morning of 9 October 1953, Finlayson did not turn up at the usual time. Knowing that he had been ill from flu recently, Insall went to his home where she discovered his body. Finlayson had died of a heart attack. He was 66 years old. ^[22]

Legacy

One of Finlayson's trademarks was a drawn out "dohhhhhhh!" Finlayson had used the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!" A half-century later, it inspired Dan Castellaneta, the voice actor of Homer Simpson. During the voice recording session for a Tracey Ullman Show short, Castellaneta was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". He rendered it as a drawn out "dohhhhhhh". Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!" ^[23]

Artwork

James (as "Jimmy Finlayson") is incorporated into the Catchphases 1 section of the Comedy Carpet mosaic beside Blackpool Tower along with a "D'OH!" embossed star. ^[24]

A plaque by the Scottish Film Council honouring James was displayed in Bo'ness Library as part of the HippFest 2019 silent film festival. ^[25]

Portrayals

James Finlayson is one of the many entertainers portrayed by the English actor Timothy Spall in the 2018 film Stanley: a Man of Variety. ^{[26] [27]}

In the 2018 Laurel and Hardy biopic Stan & Ollie , Finlayson is portrayed on the set of Way Out West by Scottish actor Keith MacPherson.

Sons of the Desert Tent

An international "tent" (chapter) of the Sons of the Desert fraternity was formed in Glasgow in 2019 by and for relatives of James Finlayson. It was named Our Relations after the Laurel and Hardy film. ^{[28] [29]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1920	Down on the Farm	The Sportive Banker with Mortgage	produced by Mack Sennett
	Married Life	Man Who Made Good
	Love, Honor and Behave	Artist
1921	A Small Town Idol	J. Wellington Jones	Mack Sennett Comedies; with Ben Turpin
	Home Talent	Stranded Actor
1922	The Crossroads of New York	Lawyer
1923	The Noon Whistle	O'Hallahan, the foreman	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	White Wings	Dental patient	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Pick and Shovel	The foreman	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Oranges and Lemons	Worker	Short, Uncredited, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Hollywood	Himself	Paramount Pictures
	A Man About Town	Humko, store detective	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Roughest Africa	Lt. Hans Downe (Little Boss)	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Frozen Hearts	General Sappovitch	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	The Whole Truth	Defense lawyer	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	The Soilers	Smacknamara	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Scorching Sands	James	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Mother's Joy	Baron Buttontop	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
1924	Smithy	Sergeant	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Postage Due	Postal inspector	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Zeb vs. Paprika	Trainer	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Brothers Under the Chin		Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Wide Open Spaces	Jack McQueen	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Rupert of Hee Haw	Rupert of Hee Haw	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Our Congressman	Dinner Party Guest	Short, Uncredited, Hal Roach Studios
	Short Kilts	McGregor's son	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
	Near Dublin	Brick merchant	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Stan Laurel
1925	The Haunted Honeymoon		Short, Hal Roach Studios
	Innocent Husbands	The Desk Clerk	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Charley Chase
	Welcome Home	Minor Role
	Yes, Yes, Nanette	Hillory, the new husband	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Oliver Hardy
1926	Madame Mystery	Struggling author	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Theda Bara
	Dizzy Daddies	Jonathan Haig	Short, Hal Roach Studios
	Wife Tamers	Waiter	Short, Hal Roach Studios. with Lionel Barrymore and Gertrude Astor
	Ukulele Sheiks		Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Glenn Tryon and Vivien Oakland
	Thundering Fleas	Justice of the Peace	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Oliver Hardy and Charley Chase
	Raggedy Rose	Simpson Sniffle	Hal Roach Studios; with Mabel Normand
1927	Seeing the World	James Finlayson, teacher	Short, Hal Roach Studios; Our Gang series
	One Hour Married		Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Mabel Normand
	The Honorable Mr. Buggs		Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Oliver Hardy
	The Second Hundred Years	Gov. Browne Van Dyke	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	No Man's Law	Jack Belcher	Hal Roach Studios; with Oliver Hardy
	Love 'em and Weep	Titus Tilbury	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	With Love and Hisses	Captain Bustle	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Do Detectives Think?	Judge Foozle	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
1928	Bachelor's Paradise	Pat Malone	Tiffany Pictures
	Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath	Pa Slocum	First National Pictures
	Lady Be Good	Trelawney West	First National Pictures
	Show Girl	Mr. Dugan	First National Pictures
1929	Liberty	Store Keeper	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Big Business	Homeowner	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Two Weeks Off	Pa Weaver
	Hard to Get	Pa Martin	First National Pictures
	Wall Street	Andy
1930	Night Owls	Meadows, the butler	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Young Eagles	Scotty
	The Dawn Patrol	Field Sergeant
	For the Defense	Parrott
	El príncipe del dólar
	Chercheuses d'or
	Feet First	Painter	Uncredited
	Another Fine Mess	Colonel Buckshot	Short, Uncredited, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
1931	Chickens Come Home	Butler	Short, Uncredited, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Politiquerías	Criado
	Our Wife	Father of Dulce	Short, Uncredited, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Pardon Us	Teacher	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	One Good Turn	A Community Player	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Hasty Marriage	Kitty's Father	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Charley Chase
1932	Thunder Below	Scotty
	Pack Up Your Troubles	The General	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Zwei Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel	1 Short
1933	Me and My Pal	Peter Cucumber	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	His Silent Racket	Himself	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Charley Chase
	Fra Diavolo	Lord Rocberg	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Mush and Milk	Mr. Brown, the banker	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Our Gang
1934	Trouble in Store	The Watchman (leading role)	(U.K Comedy Short), Warner Brothers
	The Girl in Possession	Minor Role	Uncredited
	Oh No Doctor!	Axminster
	Dick Turpin	Jeremy
	Nine Forty-Five	Police Constable Doyle
	What Happened to Harkness?	Police Constable Gallun
	Father and Son	Bildad
	Big Business	Police Constable
1935	Thicker Than Water	Mr. Finlayson	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Handle with Care	Jimmy
	Who's Your Father		Uncredited
	Bonnie Scotland	Sergeant Major Finlayson	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Manhattan Monkey Business	Joyce's Father	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Charley Chase
	Life Hesitates at 40	Dr. Finlayson	Short, Hal Roach Studios; with Charley Chase
1936	The Bohemian Girl	Finn, Captain of the Guard	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Our Relations	Finn, Chief Engineer	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
1937	Way Out West	Mickey Finn	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Pick a Star	Director	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
	The Toast of New York	Trick-Hat Inventor	Uncredited
	All Over Town	MacDougal
	This Way Please	Policeman	Uncredited
	Angel	Barker's Second Butler	Uncredited
	Wise Girl	Jailer	Uncredited, RKO Radio
1938	Block-Heads	Finn - Man on Stairs	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Carefree	Man on golf course	Uncredited, RKO Pictures; with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
1939	Hollywood Cavalcade	Himself	20th Century Fox
	The Flying Deuces	Jailer	RKO Pictures; with Laurel and Hardy
	Raffles	Hansom Cab Driver	Uncredited, United Artists
	The Great Victor Herbert	Lamplighter
	A Chump at Oxford	Baldy Vandevere	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
1940	Saps at Sea	Dr J.H. Finlayson	Hal Roach Studios; with Laurel and Hardy
	Foreign Correspondent	Dutch Peasant	Uncredited, United Artists
1941	Nice Girl?	Loafer at Train Station	Uncredited
	One Night in Lisbon	Air Raid Warden	Uncredited
	New Wine	Minor Role	Uncredited
1942	To Be or Not to Be	Scottish Farmer	Uncredited, United Artists
	Yanks Ahoy	Cook Flynn	Uncredited
1946	Two Sisters from Boston	Street Cleaner	Uncredited
	She-Wolf of London	Constable With Hobbs and Latham	Uncredited
	Till the Clouds Roll By	Candy Vendor	Uncredited
1947	Thunder in the Valley	Court Judge	Uncredited
	The Perils of Pauline	Comic Chef	Paramount Pictures
1948	Julia Misbehaves	Bill Collector	Uncredited, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
	Grand Canyon Trail	Sheriff
	Hills of Home	Minor Role	Uncredited
1949	Challenge to Lassie	Newspaper Reporter	Uncredited, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1951	Here Comes the Groom	Drunken Sailor / Wedding Guest	Uncredited, Paramount Pictures
	Royal Wedding	Cabby	Uncredited, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

References

1. Mitchell, p. 102
2. Skretvedt, p. 77
3. Scotland Statutory Registers: Births in the Parish of Larbert in the County of Stirling, 1887 – page 51, Item #151
4. 1901 Census of the Household of Alexander FINLAYSON in the Hamlet of North Broomage, Parish of Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland; ScotlandsPeople (Census 1901 485/0A 001/00 043)
5. The Scotsman ; 3 May 1910; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Scotsman (1817–1950); p. 5
6. Ship manifest for the California, sailing from Glasgow, arrived New York on 5 June 1911; page 766; line: 3
7. National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887–1940; Microfilm Serial: M1524; Microfilm Roll: 8
8. Review in New York Tribune, 12 May 1912
9. Review in New York Herald , 17 May 1912.
10. Louvish, Simon (2001); Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy; London: Faber and Faber; ISBN   0-571-20352-3; p. 157
11. Review in New York Dramatic Mirror, 22 May 1912; retrieved 25 January 2012.
12. Mack Sennett papers 1912-1933 Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
13. Jimmy Finlayson of Old Keystone Kops Fame Dies, Obituary in Los Angeles Times, 10 October 1953; retrieved 17 March 2016.
14. James H. Finlayson of 'Keystone Kops', Obituary in New York Times, 10 October 1953; retrieved 17 March 2016.
15. "Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette". 4 April 1920. p. 3 (Section 4).
16. Skretvedt, Randy, (1996). Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies. Beverly Hills: Past Times Publishing. ISBN   0-940410-29-X. p 93
17. Skretvedt, p. 98
18. Skretvedt, pp. 95–97
19. Mitchell, p. 101
20. California, County Marriages, 1850–1952; page 209; film number: 1033287; digital folder number: 004540626; image number: 00664
21. "Ancestry Library Edition".
22. "California, Death Index, 1940-1997" . Retrieved 12 May 2017.
23. Devine, Cate (21 July 2007). "What's the story with ... Homer's D'oh!". The Herald . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
24. "CATCHPHRASES 1". The Comedy Carpet, Blackpool. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
25. Wilson, Charlene (14 March 2019). "Laurel and Hardy mosaics unveiled in Bo'ness ahead of Scotland's only silent film festival". The Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
26. Unsworth, Martin (28 March 2019). "STANLEY: A MAN OF VARIETY". STARBURST Magazine. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
27. "Stanley A Man of Variety". Caution: Spoilers. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
28. Young, Alistair. "Fin Tent". Bowler Dessert Online. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
29. "Our Relations Tent of James Finlayson". Larbert Loon. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.

External links

• James Finlayson at IMDb
• James Finlayson at the TCM Movie Database
• James Finlayson at the Complete Index to World Film
• James Finlayson at the Internet Broadway Database
• James Finlayson discography at Discogs