Walter Long (actor)

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire,[1] Long appeared in nearly 200 films.[2]

Hooded Klansmen catch "Gus", portrayed in blackface by Long in The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Long (sixth from left) with other cast members of Kick In (1922)

Long debuted in films in 1909 with Broncho Billy Anderson. He disliked the working conditions for making films, so after that project he returned to acting on stage.[3]

He appeared in many D. W. Griffith films, notably The Birth of a Nation (1915), where he appeared as Gus, an African American, in blackface make-up,[4] and Intolerance (1916). He also supported Rudolph Valentino in the films The Sheik, Moran of the Lady Letty, and Blood and Sand. He later appeared as a comic villain in four Laurel and Hardy films during the early 1930s.

On Broadway, Long appeared in Adonis (1899),[5] Leave It to Me! (1938), Very Warm for May (1939), Boys and Girls Together (1940),[6] Follow the Girls (1944),[7] and Toplitzky of Notre Dame (1946).[6]

In 1908, Long married Luray Grace Roblee, a stenographer from Wisconsin who later became an actress at Triangle/Fine Arts. She died in 1919 at age 29, due to the Spanish influenza epidemic. On October 16, 1923, he married Leta Amanda Held in Los Angeles, California.[7] They adopted a son whom they called John Huntley Long.

Long and Carol Dempster in Scarlet Days (1919)

Long served during World War I and World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel before receiving an honorable discharge at the end of World War II.[8]

Although he was often called upon to play antagonists and villains because of his gravel voice and rugged appearance, many people reported that he was actually a warm, kindhearted man off-camera.[8]

Long died of a heart attack on July 4, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, while watching the fireworks display at The Coliseum, during Fourth of July celebrations.

Long is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walter Long (actor).

• Walter Long at IMDb
• Walter Long at the TCM Movie Database
• Walter Long at Find a Grave