Guy Kibbee
| Guy Kibbee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Guy Bridges Kibbee March 6, 1882 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Died |
May 24, 1956 (aged 74) East Islip, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Kensico Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1931–1950 |
| Spouse(s) |
Helen Shea (m. 1918–23) 4 children Esther Reed (m. 1925–56) (his death), 3 children |
Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882[1] – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor.
History
Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas and began his entertainment career on Mississippi riverboats. He eventually became a successful Broadway actor. In the 1930s, Kibbee moved to California and became part of "Warner Bros.' stock company", contracted actors who cycled through different productions in supporting roles. Kibbee's specialty was daft and jovial characters, and he is perhaps best remembered for the films 42nd Street (1933), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Captain Blood (1935), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), though he also played the expat inn owner in Joan Crawford's Rain (1932).
He is also remembered for his performance as Mr. Webb, editor of the Grover's Corners, New Hampshire newspaper, and father of Emily Webb, played by Martha Scott, in the film version of the classic Thornton Wilder play Our Town.
Kibbee died from complications arising from Parkinson's disease in Long Island, New York in 1956. His younger brother was actor Milton Kibbee.
In popular culture
Guy Kibbee eggs[2] is the name for a breakfast dish which consists of a hole cut out of the center of a slice of bread, and an egg cracked into it, all of which is fried in a skillet. The actor prepared this dish in the 1935 Warner Bros. film Mary Jane's Pa, hence the eponym. This dish is also known by other names, such as "egg in a basket".
Guy Kibbee is also mentioned in the iconic "Hot August Night" concert/album performed by Neil Diamond in 1972 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California. "Thank you people in the audience! Tree people out there, God bless ya, I'm singin for you too! Are you still there tree people? ( laughter ) This is, this is the Greek Theatre,. This is the place that God made for performers when they die, they go to a place called the Greek Theatre. And you're met there by an MC, wearing a long robe and smoking a cigar, looks like Guy Kibbee, and that's what is is. It's performers paradise......"
Complete filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | For Sale | Mr. Hart (uncredited) | Short |
| Stolen Heaven | Police Commissioner | ||
| Man of the World | Harry Taylor | ||
| City Streets | Pop Cooley | ||
| Laughing Sinners | Cass Wheeler | ||
| How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 6: 'The Big Irons' | Uncredited | Short | |
| Side Show | Colonel Gowdy | ||
| New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford | Police Sergeant McGonigal | ||
| Flying High | Fred Smith | ||
| Blonde Crazy | A. Rupert Johnson Jr. | ||
| 1932 | Union Depot | Scrap Iron Scratch | Alternative title: Gentleman for a Day |
| Taxi! | Pop Riley | ||
| High Pressure | Clifford Gray | ||
| Fireman, Save My Child | Pop Devlin | ||
| Play Girl | Finkelwald | ||
| The Crowd Roars | Pop Greer | ||
| So Big | August Hemple | Scenes deleted | |
| The Mouthpiece | Bartender | ||
| Two Seconds | Bookie | ||
| The Strange Love of Molly Louvain | Pop | ||
| The Dark Horse | Zachary Hicks | ||
| Winner Take All | Pop Slavin | ||
| Crooner | Mike | ||
| Big City Blues | Hummell | ||
| Rain | Joe Horn | ||
| Scarlet Dawn | Mr. Murphy | ||
| The Conquerors | Dr. Blake | ||
| Central Park | Charlie Cabot | ||
| 1933 | Girl Missing | Kenneth Van Dusen | |
| 42nd Street | Abner Dillon | ||
| Lilly Turner | Doc McGill | ||
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | Faneul H. Peabody | ||
| The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Phlaxer | Alternative title: The Kid's Last Fight | |
| The Silk Express | Detective McDuff | ||
| How to Break 90 #2: Position and Back Swing | Uncredited | Short | |
| Lady for a Day | Judge Henry G. Blake | ||
| Footlight Parade | Si Gould | ||
| Havana Widows | Deacon R. Jones | ||
| The World Changes | James Clafflin | ||
| Convention City | George Ellerbe | Lost film | |
| 1934 | Easy to Love | Justice of the Peace | |
| Wonder Bar | Simpson | ||
| Harold Teen | Joe "Pa" Lovewell | ||
| Merry Wives of Reno | Tom Fraser | ||
| The Merry Frinks | Uncle Newt Frink | ||
| Dames | Horace Peter Hemingway | ||
| Big Hearted Herbert | Herbert [Kalness] | ||
| Babbitt | George F. Babbitt | Title role | |
| 1935 | While the Patient Slept | [Police Lieutenant] Lance O'Leary | |
| Mary Jane's Pa | Sam Preston | ||
| Going Highbrow | Matt Upshaw | ||
| Don't Bet on Blondes | Colonel Jefferson Davis Youngblood | ||
| I Live for Love | Henderson | ||
| Captain Blood | Hagthorpe | ||
| 1936 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Silas Hobbs | |
| Captain January | Captain January | ||
| I Married a Doctor | Samuel Clark | ||
| The Big Noise | Julius Trent | ||
| Earthworm Tractors | Sam Johnson | ||
| M'Liss | Washoe Smith | ||
| The Captain's Kid | Asa Plunkett | ||
| Three Men on a Horse | Carver | ||
| 1937 | Mama Steps Out | Leonard "Len" Cuppy | |
| Don't Tell the Wife | Malcom J. "Dinky" Winthrop | ||
| Jim Hanvey, Detective | James Woolford "Jim" Hanvey | ||
| Mountain Justice | Doctor John Aloysius Barnard | ||
| Riding on Air | J. Rutherford "Doc" Waddington | ||
| The Big Shot | Dr. Bertram Simms | ||
| The Bad Man of Brimstone | Francis X. "Eight Ball" Harrison | ||
| 1938 | Of Human Hearts | George Ames | |
| Joy of Living | Dennis | ||
| Three Comrades | Alfons | ||
| Rich Man, Poor Girl | Pa Thayer | ||
| Three Loves Has Nancy | Pa Briggs | ||
| 1939 | Let Freedom Ring | David Bronson | |
| It's a Wonderful World | "Cap" Streeter | ||
| Babes in Arms | Judge John Black | ||
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper | ||
| Bad Little Angel | Luther Marvin | ||
| Henry Goes Arizona | Judge Van Treece | ||
| 1940 | Our Town | Mr. Webb | |
| Street of Memories | Harry Brent | ||
| Chad Hanna | Huguenine | ||
| 1941 | Scattergood Baines | Scattergood Baines | |
| Scattergood Pulls the Strings | Scattergood Baines | ||
| Scattergood Meets Broadway | Scattergood Baines | ||
| It Started with Eve | Bishop Maxwell | ||
| Design for Scandal | Judge Graham | ||
| 1942 | This Time for Keeps | Harry Bryant | |
| Sunday Punch | "Pops" Muller | ||
| Scattergood Rides High | Scattergood Baines | ||
| Miss Annie Rooney | Grandpa Rooney | ||
| There's One Born Every Minute | Lester Cadwalader, Sr. | ||
| Tish | Judge Horace Bowser | ||
| Scattergood Survives a Murder | Scattergood Baines | ||
| Whistling in Dixie | Judge George Lee | ||
| 1943 | Cinderella Swings It | Scattergood Baines | |
| Power of the Press | Ulysses Bradford | ||
| Girl Crazy | Dean Phineas Armour | ||
| Learn and Live | Angel | ||
| 1944 | Dixie Jamboree | Captain Jackson of the Ellabella | |
| 1945 | The Horn Blows at Midnight | Radio Director/The Chief | |
| 1946 | Cowboy Blues | Dusty Nelson | |
| Singing on the Trail | Dusty Wyatt | Alternative title: Lookin' for Someone | |
| Gentleman Joe Palooka | Uncle Charlie | ||
| Lone Star Moonlight | Amos Norton | Alternative title: Amongst the Thieves | |
| 1947 | Over the Santa Fe Trail | Biscuits | |
| The Red Stallion | Ed Thompson | ||
| The Romance of Rosy Ridge | Cal Baggett | ||
| 1948 | Fort Apache | Captain Dr. Wilkens | Alternative title: War Party |
| 3 Godfathers | Judge |
Television appearances
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Kraft Television Theatre | 1 episode |
| 1949–1950 | The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre | 4 episodes |
| 1950 | The Billy Rose Show | 1 episode |
References
- ↑ Rainho, Manny (March 2015). "This Month in Movie History". Classic Images (477): 26.
- ↑ "Guy Kibbee Eggs". seriouseats.com. Retrieved Dec 16, 2011.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guy Kibbee. |
- Guy Kibbee at the Internet Movie Database
- Guy Kibbee at the Internet Broadway Database
- Guy Kibbee at the TCM Movie Database