Worried-looking, balding, moustachioed and usually bespectacled small
part character actor, prolific during the 1930s and 40s. Hobart
Cavanaugh played downtrodden or henpecked little men -- the perennial
victim, forever nervous or bewildered -- to absolute perfection. He was
most at home as clerks, mailmen, minor officials, undertakers,
shopkeepers and bank tellers. However, when called upon, he could be
just as convincing as a sneaky or vaguely sinister villain's
accomplice.
A former engineering student at the University of California, Cavanaugh
began his acting career on the stage, making his debut on Broadway in
1916. He entered films, somewhat inauspiciously, with a forgotten
B-picture, which was shot in New York by the independent Gotham
Company. It took another five years, until he was signed by First
National/Warner Brothers, where he remained under contract until 1936,
thereafter free-lancing. His mild-mannered personae remained in
constant demand in Hollywood, for he tallied up an impressive 190
screen appearances -- though often uncredited -- right up until his
death in 1950.
