# Curtis Benton

Horatio Curtis Benton (August 26, 1885 – September 14, 1938) was an American actor and screenwriter for silent films and early talkies.

## Biography

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Benton, attended Vanderbilt University and embarked upon a stage career in 1903, appearing with Robert Hilliard in A Fool There Was, and two seasons with Cohan and Harris' company where he played parts in The Fortune Hunter, Broadway Jones, and others. His film career included supporting roles in The Pursuit Eternal (1915), Conscience (1915) (which he also wrote), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916), Jealousy (1916), The Siren (1917), Fireman, Save My Child (1932) and Kid Galahad (1937). His writing credits include The Uninvited Guest (1924), It Is the Law (1924), and The Phantom Bullet (1926). In his later years he was a boxing announcer at the Hollywood Stadium.

## Death

He died in Hollywood in 1938 after a six-months illness.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Actor | Writer | Note |
| 1915 | The Story the Silk Hats Told | — | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1915 | Everygirl | Love | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | The Mystery of the Man Who Slept | Jack Christie | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | The Honor of the Ormsbys | Varden | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | The Girl Who Had a Soul | undetermined role | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | A Witch of Salem Town | The Governor | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | The Pursuit Eternal | Stanlon Leeds | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | Conscience | undetermined role | Yes | Yes | |
| 1915 | The Wrong Label | Detective Farnum | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | Not a Lamb Shall Stray | The Husband | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1915 | Capital Punishment | | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1916 | Madame Cubist | Tom Decker | Yes | No | |
| 1916 | The Strength of the Weak | Tom Dare | Yes | No | |
| 1916 | Scorched Wings | Robert Blair | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1916 | The Girl Who Feared Daylight | Bruce Hilton | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1916 | Just Kitty | George Jennings | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1916 | The Devil's Image | James Mortimer | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1916 | A Stranger in His Own Home | Percival Green | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1916 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Ned Land | Yes | No | |
| 1916 | Jealousy | Roland Carney | Yes | No | |
| 1917 | The Siren | undetermined role | Yes | No | |
| 1922 | The Fast Freight | — | No | Yes | |
| 1923 | Mighty Lak' a Rose | — | No | Yes | |
| 1924 | Half-A-Dollar-Bill | — | No | Yes | |
| 1924 | The Uninvited Guest | — | No | Yes | |
| 1924 | It Is the Law | — | No | Yes | |
| 1925 | Sporting Life | — | No | Yes | |
| 1926 | The Phantom Bullet | — | No | Yes | |
| 1926 | The Runaway Express | — | No | Yes | |
| 1927 | Down the Stretch | — | No | Yes | |
| 1927 | The Sunset Derby | — | No | Yes | |
| 1927 | The Life of Riley | — | No | Yes | |
| 1927 | Clancy's Kosher Wedding | — | No | Yes | |
| 1928 | Bachelor's Paradise | — | No | Yes | |
| United States Smith | — | No | Yes | |
| A Dumb Waiter | — | No | Yes | Short film |
| Freedom of the Press | — | No | Uncredited | |
| A Jim Jam Janitor | — | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1929 | Clunked on the Corner | — | No | Short film | Yes |
| A Close Shave | — | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1931 | Slide, Speedy, Slide | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | Short film, uncredited |
| 1931 | The Pottsville Palooka | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | Short film, uncredited |
| 1931 | Local Boy Makes Good | Announcer at Track Meet | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1932 | Fireman, Save My Child! | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | |
| 1932 | High Speed | Car Racing Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1932 | The Animal Kingdom | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | voice role, uncredited |
| 1933 | Thru Thin and Thicket, or Who's Zoo in Africa | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | Short film |
| 1934 | Manhattan Melodrama | Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1935 | Don't Bet on Blondes | Announcer of Caprice Race | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1936 | It Had to Happen | Radio Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1936 | Cain and Mabel | Fight Radio Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited |
| 1936 | Three Men on a Horse | Racetrack Announcer | Yes | No | voice role, uncredited |
| 1937 | Kid Galahad | Announcer | Yes | No | uncredited, final film role |