Harry Rosenthal facts for kids

Harry Rosenthal (born May 15, 1893 – died May 10, 1953) was a very talented person. He was an orchestra leader, a composer who wrote music, a pianist who played the piano, and an actor in movies and plays.

His Amazing Life

Harry Rosenthal was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1893. By the 1920s, he was living in London, England. There, he had a very successful music career. He wrote five operettas, which are like short, light operas with singing and talking. These were very popular! He was also a great bandleader and pianist.

Around 1929, Harry moved to the United States. He started writing songs for a musical called Polly on Broadway, which is a famous theater district in New York City. In 1930, he also acted in a play called June Moon. A few years later, he met Edward, who was the Prince of Wales and would later become King of the United Kingdom. After their meeting, Harry even went on a world tour with the Prince!

What He Did in Movies

Harry Rosenthal's movie career began in 1931 and lasted until 1948. During this time, he worked on 19 different films. He often played characters who were musicians, like pianists or orchestra leaders. But he also acted in other types of roles. He even composed music for a movie called The Sin of Harold Diddlebock and conducted music for For Me and My Gal.

In the early 1940s, Harry was part of a special group of actors. They often worked with a famous writer and director named Preston Sturges. This group was sometimes called Sturges' "stock company." Harry appeared in almost all of Sturges' films from 1940 to 1947.

Even though he often played smaller parts in movies, Harry Rosenthal was quite well-known. People often talked about him in newspaper gossip columns in both New York and Hollywood. He passed away in 1953 from a heart attack.