Published November 16, 2024
By Arlis Dittmer
Joseph Henry Kolker or Henry Joseph Kolker was born in Berlin or Quincy in 1870 or 1874. The source material varies on name, place of birth, and birth date. His World War II draft card says he was born in 1884. Like many actors, Henry Kolker, as he was known on stage and screen, shaved off 10 years to be younger than he actually was. Adding to the conundrum are the baptismal records of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Quincy which say he was baptized on November 18, 1870.
There are some established facts. His parents, William and Katherine, were born in Germany. In Quincy, his father was described as prominent in the grocery business. He had three younger siblings. Henry was the only one in his family to leave Quincy. His sister was a librarian at the Quincy Public Library. He was taught by the monks of St. Francis Solanus College, now Quincy University. While there, he performed in several plays with his fellow students. He married twice and had one child. He died in 1947 and is buried in the famous California cemetery, Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
An early Who’s Who in Music and Drama published in 1914 list his stage accomplishments beginning with a German theater group in Milwaukee in 1894. That publication covers his career through 1913. He played in theaters in Denver, Philadelphia, Montreal, Buffalo, Syracuse and New Your City. During those early years as an actor, he received $3 per “acting” day. He also appeared with touring theater groups as far away as Australia. He lived in New York City. He had steady stage work and was known for comedy early in his career.
The Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual published in 1921 says he had a 20-year stage career often as a leading man in Broadway productions. After that substantial career, he moved on to film appearing in several silent movies as early as 1914. At that time he was living at the Lambs Club, a social club for actors and others involved in theater work, in New York City.
Kolker was also a director. His most important early work was for Disraeli in 1921, now considered a lost silent film. Shortly after that success, he was picked to direct a movie in Italy about the lives of expatriated Americans living there. Prior to leaving for Italy he was in charge of the directing department of the Selznick Studio in New York where the silent film industry was based, before it moved to California. During an interview with the Quincy Whig Journal in 1920, “He said that the stage had been kind to him, and he would never be able to give it up entirely, but he has become so impressed with the possibilities and the magnitude of the moving picture game that he could not help but feel it was destined for wonderful achievements in the future.”
His 1923 passport renewal said he was working as a director for the Ideal Film Corporation in Great Britain and traveling to other European countries. His passport stated his age as 48 and included a picture. Interestingly, the description section listed facial features such as complexion, eyes, and hair color. We know Henry had grey eyes, brown hair, a straight nose, and a high forehead from that passport description.
At some point in the 1930s he started changing his birth year. On the manifest list for a return trip from China, he said he was born in1880 as does his later social security application.
His profile in the online database of information about films, IMDb, states that Henry had 150 known film credits both as an actor and a director. He directed 13 films between 1919 and 1924. Early on he was a romantic lead. Later in his career he was in demand as a supporting actor. He played the stern judge, the father, the priest, the banker, and the betrayed husband. He was generally somber, and his character would glower at the other actors. He was extremely busy throughout the 1930s performing in numerous films per year. His best role was considered to be as Katherine Hepburn’s father in the 1938 film Holiday, also starring Cary Gant.
A 1933 Salt Lake Tribune article calls Kolker an “old-time star” with a “stormy marital life.” The article goes on to say that his ex-wife, Lillian Carroll was penniless and had recently committed suicide. The courts ordered him to pay the mother of his ex-wife $40,441.80 which would be $979, 301.30 in today’s money. The late Mrs. Kolker had said that he had not paid her alimony in many years and then later that she thought the divorce was not legal. Henry said he did not have the money and could not possibly pay the back alimony.
The local Quincy papers followed the career of Henry Kolker beginning in the 1890s, usually just a few lines telling where he was and in what acting company. The March 30, 1897 Quincy Daily Herald commented on a play he was in at the Empire Theater, “… J. Henry Kolker has the making of a good actor… .” The December 22, 1914, Quincy Daily Whig featured a large article on him and also a picture commenting on the wonderful play he was in at the Empire Hippodrome. The play was soon to move to Chicago and other cities. The article called Henry “Quincy’s best-known actor.”
By 1919, articles in the Quincy papers talked about Henry Kolker as a screen actor. The May 10, 1919 Quincy Daily Herald called him, “ … long a stage actor and now a screen actor with several notable successes to his credit.” By the 1930s the Quincy newspapers had columns, such as At The Theaters which frequently listed films featuring Henry Kolker. 1933 and 1934 were his busiest film years.
As he aged, he appeared in fewer and fewer films. He was living in Tarzana California when he died in July 1947.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources:
“At The Theaters.” Quincy Daily Herald, May 10, 1919, 7.
California, U. S., arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1859-1882.
“A Few Hot Liners.” Quincy Daily Herald, March 30, 1897,1.
“A Forgotten Flirtation.” Salt Lake Tribune, October 20, 1933, 3.
“Henry Kolker Gives First Presentation of New Play in His Home Town.” Quincy Whig, December 22, 1914, 14.
“Henry Kolker, Quincyan, To Go To Italy To Direct The F. Marion Crawford Films.” Quincy Whig Journal, November 9, 1921, 7.
“Hollywood’s Quincyans To Be Honored In Exhibit.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 5, 1978, 16A.
“Quincy Actor’s Return.” Quincy Morning Whig, July 21, 1898,8.
Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual, 1921. New York: Motion Picture News Inc.
Who’s Who in Music and Drama. Edited by Dixie Hines and Harry Prescott Hanaford. New York: J. P. Hanaford, 1914.
- S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925.
