Sydney Greenstreet
 Born December 27, 1879, Sandwich, Kent, England.
Died January 18, 1954, Hollywood, California, effects of diabetes and nephritis (aged 74).
My friend Pete complains to me that I hate fat people. Not true. I despise fat people. Kidding. Of course. The actual truth is, I hate fat. Or something like that. I used to be fat. I was fat in junior high and high school and through part of college. I hate fat. I hate what reminds me of the me I used to be -- the fat me. I think that saying, "I don't date fat chicks" is crude and tacky and mean. But at the same time, technically, I can't keep myself from feeling that way.
Child actors live a hard life -- that is a hard gig. But let's face it: necessary. As is being a fat, old man. Acting-wise. So in my first in this series of great fat actors, comes Sydney Greenstreet. And what's worth more, he didn't appear in a film until he was past 60. Before that he was a stage actor. But he'll never be forgotten. He appeared in 24 films in 8 years (2 of which were quick cameos). He worked on several projects with Bogart and several with Peter Lorre.
Often villainous; occasionally lovable. Lots of thrillers, but a few non-thrillers -- and enough to make us wish there had been more. He's the antagonist, an overbearing and demanding boss to Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut. But when it's all over, we can't help but love him. He's our fuddy duddy father or grandfather, but in a pinch he's a good guy and a sweetheart.
In his first film, arguably his best, The Maltese Falcon, he's a villain, but somehow, at the end, I'm still kinda sorry to hear the cops cornered him on the run. I like the idea of him and Lorre still out there searching for the bird.
After The Maltese Falcon, Greenstreet was as big a character player as a character player could be. No pun intended. Although, while not intended, I was aware of the fact that a pun could be read into the situation. Greenstreet received his only Oscar nomination ever for Best Supp. Actor for The Maltese Falcon.
The film's success led to reunions with cast members Lorre and Bogart. Most notably Greenstreet appeared in nine films with his newfound friend Peter Lorre: The Maltese Falcon (1941); Casablanca (1942); Background to Danger (1943); The Conspirators (1944); both had cameos in Hollywood Canteen (1944); The Mask of Dimitrios (1944); Passage to Marseille (1944); Three Strangers (1946); and The Verdict (1946).
And with Humphrey Bogart, SG made five films: The Maltese Falcon (1941); Across the Pacific (1942); Casablanca (1942); Passage to Marseille (1944); and Conflict (1945).
Greenstreet costarred with other players more than once, most notably with: James Flavin (5), Victor Francen (5), Paul Henreid (5), Zachary Scott (4), Eduardo Ciannelli (3), Helmut Dantine (3), John Hamilton (3), William Hopper (3), Dennis Morgan (3), John Ridgely (3), Robert Shayne (3), Ian Wolfe (3), and with the equally fat S.Z. Sakall in three films: their cameos in Hollywood Canteen (1944); Casablanca (1942); and most obviously in Christmas in Connecticut (1945), where our two obese supporting players were joined by a third magnificent fat man, Dick Elliott.
Directors Greenstreet has worked with include:
Michael Curtiz (3): Casablanca (1942), Passage to Marseille (1944), and Flamingo Road (1949).
Jean Negulesco (3): The Conspirators (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), and Three Strangers (1946).
Curtis Bernhardt (2): Conflict (1945) and Devotion (1946).
John Huston (2): The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Across the Pacific (1942).
Vincent Sherman(2): Across the Pacific (1942) and Pillow to Post (1945).
Raoul Walsh (2): They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and Background to Danger (1943).
Delmer Daves (1): Hollywood Canteen (1944).
Frederick De Cordova (1): That Way with Women (1947).
Don Siegel (1): The Verdict (1946).
Edgar G. Ulmer (1): Ruthless (1948).
Richard Thorpe (1): Malaya (1949).
Actor Filmography
1. The Maltese Falcon (1941) .... Kasper Gutman
2. They Died with Their Boots On (1941) .... Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
3. Casablanca (1942) .... Signor Ferrari
4. Across the Pacific (1942) .... Dr. Lorenz
5. Background to Danger (1943) .... Colonel Robinson
6. Hollywood Canteen (1944) .... Himself
7. The Conspirators (1944) .... Ricardo Quintanilla
8. The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) .... Mr. Peters
9. Between Two Worlds (1944) .... Reverend Tim Thompson
10. Passage to Marseille (1944) .... Maj. Duval
11. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) .... Alexander Yardley
12. Conflict (1945) .... Dr. Mark Hamilton
13. Pillow to Post (1945) .... Colonel Michael Otley
14. The Verdict (1946) .... Supt. George Edward Grodman
15. Devotion (1946) .... William Makepeace Thackeray
16. Three Strangers (1946) .... Jerome K. Arbutny
17. The Hucksters (1947) .... Evan Llewellyn Evans
18. That Way with Women (1947) .... James P. Alden
19. The Velvet Touch (1948) .... Capt. Danbury
20. The Woman in White (1948) .... Count Alessandro Fosco
21. Ruthless (1948) .... Buck Mansfield
22. It's a Great Feeling (1949) (uncredited) .... Himself
23. Malaya (1949) .... The Dutchman
24. Flamingo Road (1949) .... Sheriff Titus Semple
Fact Monster/Information Please: Tea-planter turned actor, Greenstreet's distinctive presence added weight to Warner Brothers films throughout the '40s. Often paired with Peter Lorre, the two appeared in The Maltese Falcon (1941), for which Greenstreet earned an Oscar nomination, Casablanca (1942), Background to Danger (1943), Passage to Marseille (1944), and Three Strangers (1946). Greenstreet also had roles in Christmas in Connecticut and Conflict (both 1945), The Hucksters (1947) for MGM, and The Woman in White (1948). He travelled extensively and in good company, meeting and befriending Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.
Wikipedia: Sydney Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 - January 18, 1954) was an actor, originally from Sandwich, England. He worked as a comedian as a child, then emigrated to America and performed on the stage, making his stage debut in 1902. He is perhaps most famous for his first film role (aged 61) as the "Fat Man" in The Maltese Falcon. He also played Signor Ferrari, head of all that was illegal, in Casablanca. He died from diabetes and is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California.
All Movie Guide Biography:
Sydney Greenstreet ranked among Hollywood's consummate character actors, a classic rogue whose villainous turns in motion pictures like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon remain among the most memorable and enigmatic depictions of evil ever captured on film. Born December 27, 1879, in Sandwich, England, Greenstreet's initial ambition was to make his fortune as a tea planter, and toward that aim he moved to Sri Lanka at the age of 18. A drought left him penniless, however, and he soon returned to England, where he worked a variety of odd jobs while studying acting in the evening under Ben Greet. In 1902, he made his theatrical debut portraying a murderer in Sherlock Holmes, and two years later he traveled with Greet to the United States. After making his Broadway debut in Everyman, Greenstreet's American residency continued for the rest of his life.
Greenstreet remained exclusively a theatrical performer for over three decades. He shifted easily from musical comedy to Shakespeare, and in 1933 he joined the Lunts in Idiot's Delight, performing with their Theatre Guild for the duration of the decade. While appearing in Los Angeles in a touring production of There Shall Be No Night in 1940, Greenstreet met John Huston, who requested he play the ruthless Guttman in his 1941 film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. A heavy, imposing man, Greenstreet was perfectly cast as the massive yet strangely effete Guttman, a dignified dandy who was in truth the very essence of malevolence. Making his film debut at the age of 62, he appeared alongside the two actors with whom he would be forever connected, star Humphrey Bogart and fellow character actor Peter Lorre.
The acclaim afforded Greenstreet for The Maltese Falcon earned him a long-term contract with Warner Bros., where, after appearing in They Died With Their Boots On, he again played opposite Bogart in 1942's Across the Pacific. In 1942, he appeared briefly in Casablanca, another reunion with Bogart as well as Lorre. When Greenstreet and Lorre again reteamed in 1943's Background in Danger, their fate was sealed, and they appeared together numerous other times including 1944's Passage to Marseilles (again with Bogart), The Mask of Dimitrios, The Conspirators, and Hollywood Canteen, in which they portrayed themselves. Yearning to play comedy, Greenstreet got his wish in 1945's Pillow to Post, which cast him alongside Ida Lupino. He also appeared opposite Bogart again in the drama Conflict and with Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut. In 1952, he announced his retirement, and died two years later on January 18, 1954. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide.
* Of note, some trivia for John Huston's second film as director, In This Our Life (1942)... Again, as in The Maltese Falcon, the director's father had a cameo. Here Walter Huston played a bartender. Historically, a modern source includes Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Ward Bond, Barton MacLane and Elisha Cook Jr. as patrons of the Southside Tavern, where Walter Huston was a bartender in his cameo role. I saw this film many years ago and never remembered seeing these people. And now according to some imdb users, there were only 6 other men at the bar, and none of them remotely looked like any of these actors. And there were no women in the tavern except for Bette Davis. One viewer came to the conclusion: "These actors were just not in the film."
Another interesting note of this pic (even though, yes, SG appears to not even appear in it) Warner Bros. was named to the Honor Roll of Race Relations of 1942 because of their dignified portrayal of African-Americans in the movie (In This Our Life). However, scenes in which Ernest Anderson's character was treated in a friendly fashion were cut for showings in the south to avoid offending those viewers. The film was initially disapproved for export by the Office of Censorship in Washington, D.C., because the film suggests that the Negro's testimony would be totally disregarded by the jury when it was disputed by a white person.
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