Harry Benham

Harry Benham (February 26, 1884 – July 17, 1969) was an American silent film actor.
Background
Benham was born in Valparaiso, Indiana. As a child, he and his family moved to Chicago, where he was raised and attended school. Benham had a talent for singing and sang in his local church choir.
In 1904, the production Peggy From Paris came to Chicago and, at age 20, Benham became a member of the chorus while earning a living in the wholesale paper business.
Benham was soon selected to play the leading role in the production and remained in that role throughout the production's three-year run. He was subsequently able to garner more roles in other plays, such as The Sultan of Sulu, Woodland, Marrying Mary, The Gay Musician,
H.M.S. Pinafore, Florodora, The Mayoress, and Madame Sherry.
In 1910 Benham joined the Thanhouser Company in New Rochelle, New York, for whom he played the leading role in many of the company's films through 1915. He married actress Ethyle Cooke, and together they had two children, Dorothy and Leland, who also became prominent Thanhouser personalities.
Benham died on July 17, 1969, in Sarasota, Florida, aged 85.
An article about his role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) appeared in Famous Monsters of Filmland (October 1963).
Filmography
1910s
The Old Curiosity Shop (1911)
The Mummy (1911)
The Regimental Ball (1911)
Get Rich Quick (1911) .... Undetermined Role
The Rescue of Mr. Henpeck (1911) .... Mr. Henpeck
The Smuggler (1911) .... The Secret Service Man
David Copperfield (1911)
The Satyr and the Lady (1911) .... The Artist
Their Burglar (1911) .... Jack
The Missing Heir (1911) .... The Policeman
The Lady from the Sea (1911)
The Tomboy (1911) .... The Guardian
Cinderella (1911) .... The Prince
She (1911)
The Expert's Report (1911) .... The Oil Expert
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) (uncredited) .... Mr. Hyde (some scenes)
Her Ladyship's Page (1912)
East Lynne (1912)
The Poacher (1912) .... The Poacher
Nicholas Nickleby (1912) .... Nicholas Nickleby
An Easy Mark (1912) .... The Crook
The Baby Bride (1912) .... The Bachelor
Dora Thorne (1912) .... Lord Rowland
Jilted (1912) .... The Fiancé
Her Secret (1912) .... The Loyal Sister's Husband
Why Tom Signed the Pledge (1912) .... Tom, the Deacon's Son
In Blossom Time (1912)
The Professor's Son (1912) .... The Professor
Out of the Dark (1912)
Under Two Flags (1912/I)
The Finger of Scorn (1912) .... The Drummer
The Portrait of Lady Anne (1912) .... Lady Anne's Suitor in 1912
The Merchant of Venice (1912) .... Bassanio
Big Sister (1912)
The Wrecked Taxi (1912)
When a Count Counted (1912) .... The Young Law Clerk, Her Sweetheart
The Voice of Conscience (1912) .... Suitor
Letters of a Lifetime (1912) .... The Brother
The Warning (1912) .... The Father
Miss Robinson Crusoe (1912) .... The American
Dotty, the Dancer (1912) .... Mademoiselle Cleo
In a Garden (1912) .... The Quarrel Maker
The Ladder of Life (1912) .... The Poor Man, as an Adult
A Noise Like a Fortune (1912) .... The Young Farmer
In Time of Peril (1912) .... The Engineer
Miss Taku of Tokyo (1912) .... Jack, the Son
The Forest Rose (1912)
A Romance of the U.S.N. (1912) .... The Sailor
At Liberty—Good Press Agent (1912) .... The Press Agent
Aurora Floyd (1912) .... John Mellish, Aurora's Second Husband
Brains vs. Brawn (1912) .... Brawn/The Young Athlete
The Repeater (1912) .... Jack, the Repeater
The Star of Bethlehem (1912) .... Angel Gabriel
The Boomerang (1913/III) .... The Father
Sherlock Holmes Solves the Sign of the Four (1913) .... Sherlock Holmes
Just a Shabby Doll (1913) .... The Husband
King René's Daughter (1913)
Little Dorrit (1913)
The Girl of the Cabaret (1913)
The Medium's Nemesis (1913)
Robin Hood (1913) .... Alan-a-Dale
Moths (1913) .... Correze
The Children's Hour (1913)
He Couldn't Lose (1913)
Baby's Joy Ride (1913)
A Clothes-Line Quarrel (1913)
What Might Have Been (1913)
A Beauty Parlor Graduate (1913)
An Orphan's Romance (1913)
Pamela Congreve (1914)
Frou Frou (1914) .... Henri de Sartorys
Their Golden Wedding (1914)
The Runaway Princess (1914)
Coals of Fire (1914)
Her Love Letters (1914)
The Elevator Man (1914)
The Success of Selfishness (1914)
The Golden Cross (1914)
The Scientist's Doll (1914)
The Miser's Reversion (1914)
When Sorrow Fades (1914)
Repentance (1914)
The Musician's Daughter (1914)
The Infant Heart Snatcher (1914)
A Woman's Loyalty (1914)
Was She Right in Forgiving Him? (1914)
Rivalry (1914)
The Girl Across the Hall (1914)
The Man Without Fear (1914)
The Harlow Handicap (1914) .... Harry Allen
Harry's Waterloo (1914)
Stronger Than Death (1914)
Gold (1914)
The Mettle of a Man (1914)
The Harvest of Regrets (1914)
The Trail of the Love-Lorn (1914)
The Rescue (1914/I)
Zudora (1914) .... John Storm
Mrs. Van Ruyter's Stratagem (1914)
Graft vs. Love (1915)
The Heart of the Princess Marsari (1915)
Daughter of Kings (1915)
The Girl of the Sea (1915)
A Freight Car Honeymoon (1915)
The Country Girl (1915) .... Belville, Phyllis' Lover
Madame Blanche, Beauty Doctor (1915) .... Bob; Madame Blanche
His Two Patients (1915) .... The Doctor
When the Fleet Sailed (1915)
When Hungry Hamlet Fled (1915)
Helen's Babies (1915)
The Scoop at Bellville (1915)
The Man Inside (1916) .... Hunter
The Path of Happiness (1916) .... Merrill Day, the Intruder
The Doll Doctor (1916)
Mignonette (1916)
Held for Damages (1916)
Through Flames to Love (1916)
The Capital Prize (1916)
Her Wonderful Secret (1916)
A College Boomerang (1916)
The Heart Wrecker (1916)
Peggy and the Law (1916)
The Clever Mrs. Carter (1916)
The Little Grey Mouse (1916) .... Jack Stanley
Love's Masquerade (1916)
The Angel of the Attic (1916)
The Girl Who Didn't Tell (1916)
The Mischief Maker (1916) .... Al Tourney
Pamela's Past (1916)
Toto of the Byways (1916)
Souls United (1917)
When Thieves Fall Out (1917)
The Dancer's Peril (1917) .... Richard Moraino
The Warfare of the Flesh (1917) .... Frank Gregory
When You and I Were Young (1917) .... Artist
The Last of the Carnabys (1917) .... Johnn Rand
Putting the Bee in Herbert (1917) .... Herbert Macklin
The Outsider (1917) .... Donald Lyttleton
The Victim (1917) .... Undetermined Role
Convict 993 (1918) .... Rodney Travers
Cecilia of the Pink Roses (1918) .... Harry Twombly
The Love Craze (1918)
1920s
The Prey (1920) .... James Calvin
For Love or Money (1920) .... John T. Hamilton
The Dangerous Paradise (1920) .... Norman Kent
Polly With a Past (1920) .... Clay Cullum
Hush Money (1921) .... Bishop Deems
The Road to Arcady (1922) .... John T. Hamilton
Your Best Friend (1922) .... Robert Meyers
The Town That Forgot God (1922) .... Harry Adams
External links
1884 births
1969 deaths
Male actors from Chicago
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
Male actors from Indiana
Actors from Sarasota, Florida
People from Valparaiso, Indiana
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers