Herbert Mundin

Herbert Mundin
Herbert Mundin
	Mundin in the 1930s
Born	Herbert Thomas Mundin; 21 August 1898; St Helens, England
Died	5 March 1939 (aged 40); Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Resting place	Inglewood Park Cemetery
Years active	1930–1939
Spouse(s)	Hilda Frances Hoyes (1921–?); Kathleen Ann Reed (1925–1934)

Herbert Thomas Mundin (21 August 1898 – 5 March 1939) was an English character actor. He was frequently typecast in 1930s Hollywood films like The Adventures of Robin Hood as an older cheeky eccentric, a type helped by his jowled features and cheerful disposition.

Early life[edit]

Mundin was born in St Helens, then in Lancashire (now part of Merseyside). His father was a nomadic, Primitive Methodist home missionary. His family moved within a short time of his birth to St Albans in Hertfordshire (the 1901 census data reveal that the family lived at St Helens Villa, Paxton Road, St Albans; his parents William and Jane apparently naming their house after the town where they first met and where Herbert was born). Mundin was educated at St Albans School. During World War I he served with the Royal Navy.^[3]

Career[edit]

He began his acting career on the London stage during the 1920s. Mundin first travelled to America on 18 December 1923 for a series of theatrical engagements in New York. He sailed from Southampton on the RMS Aquitania and described himself in ship’s passenger manifest as 5'7" tall with a fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes and a scar over his left eye. His big break as an actor was arguably with Gertrude Lawrence and Beatrice Lillie in Charlot's Revue when it appeared on Broadway in 1925.^[3]

In 1931, after working in Australia and London, he permanently moved to the United States, where he received a contract with the Fox Film Corporation, where he had a successful career as a character actor in over fifty films. Perhaps his most celebrated role was as Much, the miller's son in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) alongside Errol Flynn. Other film appearances included Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and MGM's David Copperfield (1935) as Barkis.

Death[edit]

Mundin was killed in an auto accident on March 5, 1939. He was a passenger in a car which was hit in an intersection, and died of a fractured skull. ^[4]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1931	East Lynne on the Western Front	Bob Cox / Lady Isobel
1932	The Silent Witness	Henry Hammer
	Devil's Lottery	Trowbridge
	The Trial of Vivienne Ware	William Boggs
	Bachelor's Affairs	Jepson
	Almost Married	Jenkins, the butler	Uncredited
	Chandu the Magician	Albert Miggles
	Love Me Tonight	Groom	Uncredited
	The Painted Woman	Georgie, mess boy	Uncredited
	Life Begins	Mr. MacGilvairy	Uncredited
	One Way Passage	S.S. Maloa steward	Uncredited
	Sherlock Holmes	George
1933	Cavalcade	Alfred Bridges
	Dangerously Yours	Grove
	Pleasure Cruise	Henry
	Adorable	Pipac, the detective
	It's Great to Be Alive	Brooks
	The Devil's in Love	Bimby
	Arizona to Broadway	Kingfish Miller
	Shanghai Madness	Larsen
	Hoop-La	Hap Spissel
1934	Orient Express	Herbert Thomas Peters
	Ever Since Eve	Horace Saunders
	Bottoms Up	Limey Brook / Lord Brocklehurst
	All Men Are Enemies	Noggins
	Orient Express	Horatio Hollingsworth Wilson
	Call It Luck	Herbert Biggelwade
	Springtime for Henry	Trivers
	Love Time	Caesar
	Hell in the Heavens	Granny Biggs
1935	David Copperfield	Barkis
	Black Sheep	Oscar
	Spring Tonic	Thompson, the butler
	Ladies Love Danger	Giffins
	Mutiny on the Bounty	Smith
	The Imperfect Lady	Frederick Hitch
	The Widow from Monte Carlo	John Torrent
1936	King of Burlesque	English Impresario
	Charlie Chan's Secret	Baxter, the butler
	A Message to Garcia	Henry Piper
	Under Two Flags	Rake
	Champagne Charlie	Mr. Fipps
	Tarzan Escapes	Herbert Henry Rawlins
1937	Another Dawn	Wilkins
	You Can't Beat Love	Jasper 'Meadows' Hives
	Angel	Mr Greenwood
	That's My Story	Hiram
1938	Invisible Enemy	Sergeant Alfred M. Higgs
	The Adventures of Robin Hood	Much
	Lord Jeff	Bosun 'Crusty' Jelks
	Exposed	Skippy
1939	Society Lawyer	Layton	(final film role)

Theatre[edit]

Herbert Mundin, Freddie Bartholomew and Jessie Ralph in MGM's *David Copperfield* (1935)

Year	Title	Theatre	Notes
1921-1922	A to Z	Prince of Wales's Theatre	His London debut
1921-1922	Pot Luck	Vaudeville Theatre, London
1922-1923	Snap	Vaudeville Theatre, London
1923	Rats	Vaudeville Theatre, London
1923	Yes!	Vaudeville Theatre, London
1925	Charlot's Revue	Prince of Wales Theatre

References[edit]

^ "Herbert Mundin - A Tribute To The Hollywood Scene Stealer - Stage Years (1919 - 1930)". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013.
^ "Herbert Mundin - A Tribute To The Hollywood Scene Stealer - Film Years (1934 - 1935)". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Wearing, The London Stage 1920-1929, p. 355
^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/795178977/?match=1&terms=Herbert%20Mundin

Bibliography[edit]

Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers and Personnel. Rowman and Littlefield
Hischak, Thomas S. (2009). Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. McFarland

External links[edit]

Herbert Mundin at IMDb
Herbert Mundin at the Internet Broadway Database
Herbert Mundin the Hollywood Scene Stealer Archived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine - Herbert Mundin Website
Herbert Mundin at Find a Grave

[1] "Herbert Mundin - A Tribute To The Hollywood Scene Stealer - Stage Years (1919 - 1930)". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013.

[2] "Herbert Mundin - A Tribute To The Hollywood Scene Stealer - Film Years (1934 - 1935)". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2023.

[wearing-3] Wearing, The London Stage 1920-1929, p. 355

[4] ttps://www.newspapers.com/image/795178977/?match=1&terms=Herbert%20Mundin

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