Sydney Greenstreet Overview:

Legendary character actor, Sydney Greenstreet, was born Sydney Hughes Greenstreet on Dec 27, 1879 in Sandwich, Kent. Greenstreet died at the age of 74 on Jan 18, 1954 in Hollywood, CA and was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Cemetery in Glendale, CA.

MINI BIO:

Huge English actor with impeccable diction and tiny, hostile features above a bulky body that at one time reached 325 pounds. A massive hit in more ways than one as the fat man in The Maltese Falcon - his first film at 61 - and a regular in Warner Brothers films after that throughout the forties. Ill-health forced him to retire earlier than the studio would have wished. Most popular of all in films that teamed him with Peter Lorre - a kind of Laurel and Hardy in Hell. He was once a tea planter in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Died from Bright's Disease complicated by diabetes. Oscar-nominated for The Maltese Falcon.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Although Greenstreet was nominated for one Oscar, he never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1941Best Supporting ActorThe Maltese Falcon (1941)Kaspar GutmanNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

By Amanda Garrett on Dec 17, 2016 From Old Hollywood Films

Today, I'm looking at the life and career of character actor . This article is part of the Fifth Annual What a Character! Blogathon hosted by Paula's Cinema Club, Once Upon a Screen, and Outspoken and Freckled. The wonderful character actor didn't make his ... Read full article


Flamingo Road (1949) with Joan Crawford and

By Orson De Welles on Jun 9, 2016 From Classic Film Freak

Share This! A wrong girl for the right side of the tracks. Director Michael Curtiz reunited with Mildred Pierce star Joan Crawford for 1949?s Flamingo Road, a Southern story with noir leanings full of politics and intrigue.? Thankfully the politics never take center stage and stay in the near backgr... Read full article


How many Films did and Peter Lorre Star in Together?

By Annmarie Gatti on Dec 27, 2015 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

An Iconic Pair: and Peter Lorre made his Feature Film Debut in 1941 at the age of 62 as “Fat Man” Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon.?The film also featured Peter Lorre, as the shady Joel Cairo, and of course Humphrey Bogart as private eye Sam Spade... Read full article


Seven Things to Know About

By Rick29 on Nov 19, 2015 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

1. did not appear in a movie until he was 62. His film debut was pretty memorable, though—he played Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon. 2. Despite a number of popular supporting performances (e.g., Casablanca, Christmas in Connecticut, Devotion), etc., he received only one... Read full article


By Bogart Fan on Aug 10, 2014 From The Bogie Film Blog

Birth Name: Sydney Hughes Greenstreet Birthdate: December 27, 1879 Date of Death: January 18, 1954 Number of Films made with Humphrey Bogart: 5 The Actor The son of a leather merchant, spent some time working in both the tea industry and a brewery before finall... Read full article


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Sydney Greenstreet Quotes:

Dr. Mark Hamilton: Never having been married myself, I've always had a warm spot in my heart for those who have achieved it.
Evelyn Turner: Achieved it?
Dr. Mark Hamilton: Certainly, as a psychologist I can assure you a happy marriage is indeed a rare achievement.
Evelyn Turner: Isn't that rather cynical?
Dr. Mark Hamilton: Well perhaps it is but you see marriage is a very tricky business. People have impulses, compulsions, drives that to say towards escape, escape from loneliness. They seek their escape in the companionship of someone else and lo just when they think they've achieved it, they find they put on their own handcuffs.


Senor Ferrari: As the leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected man.


Sam Spade: If you kill me, how are you going get the bird? And if I know you can't afford to kill me, how are you going to scare me into giving it to you?
Kasper Gutman: Well, sir, there are other means of persuasion besides killing and threatening to kill.
Sam Spade: Yes, that's... That's true. But, there're none of them any good unless the threat of death is behind them. You see what I mean? If you start something, I'll make it a matter of your having to kill me or call it off.
Kasper Gutman: That's an attitude, sir, that calls for the most delicate judgment on both sides. Because, as you know, sir, in the heat of action men are likely to forget where their best interests lie and let their emotions carry them away.
Sam Spade: Then the trick from my angle is to make my play strong enough to tie you up, but not make you mad enough to bump me off against your better judgment.
Kasper Gutman: By gad, sir, you are a character.


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Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1941






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Sydney Greenstreet Facts
His little-known Cyrus Redblock role was recycled into another same-name character for the series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), episode "The Big Good-Bye". Played fittingly by the late Lawrence Tierney.

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Utility Columbarium area of the Great Mausoleum (not accessible for public viewing).

Starred as the title character on NBC Radio's "The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe" (1950-1951).

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