William Harrigan (1929)

William Harrigan was considered in theatrical circles as “a reliable, general, all-purpose actor on stage and screen who never became a star but remained a familiar face for decades… By 1920, he was playing adult characters on Broadway, and he continued to play supporting roles or solid leading men for the next thirty-five years.

[Borrillo, Theodore A., (2012). Denver’s historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times). pp. 157.]

Elitch’s 1929 leading man, William Harrigan (1894–1966), came from one of the great acting families of the American stage. His father was Edward Harrigan, half of the celebrated vaudeville and musical-theatre team of Harrigan and Hart. His sister was actress Nedda Harrigan, who married director and playwright Joshua Logan. William made his stage debut at age five, appearing with his father in Reilly and the Four Hundred, one of the elder Harrigan’s biggest successes. He went on to perform in vaudeville, on Broadway and in Hollywood, and his family’s roots in the theatre reach back generations.

By 1920 Harrigan was playing adult roles on Broadway, and for the next thirty-five years he worked steadily as a supporting player and dependable leading man. He was in films from 1917 and appeared in dozens over the decades, including Nix on Dames, Born Reckless, The Invisible Man (1933) and G Men (1935). He also served as a captain with the 77th Division in World War I. Theatrical circles described him as a reliable, all-purpose actor who never became a marquee star but remained a familiar face for decades.

In the summer of 1929 Harrigan came to Denver as leading man of the Elitch Gardens Stock Company, sharing the top billing with the English actress Isobel Elsom under the direction of Melville Burke. The company that season also included a number of performers who would later find wider fame, among them Alan Campbell, George Brent, Madge Evans and Lea Penman. The season opened with Philip Barry’s Paris Bound, and Harrigan headlined a slate of plays that ranged from Broadway comedy to J. M. Barrie and the tough-guy crime drama The Racket. His summer at Elitch’s came just before his most productive years in Hollywood, and he joined the long line of Broadway veterans who spent a season on the Elitch stage.

Harrigan’s most celebrated stage role came after his Elitch season. He created the domineering Captain in Mister Roberts, the Broadway hit co-written and directed by his brother-in-law Joshua Logan. He played the part throughout the play’s long original run of more than a thousand performances and again in the 1956 revival. It remains the role for which he is best remembered. Harrigan died in New York City on February 1, 1966, at age 71, having spent more than six decades in the theatre.

Seasons at the Theatre

1929 (leading man)

Elitch Theatre Productions/Roles:

1929 Season (directed by Melville Burke; William Harrigan and Isobel Elsom, leads):

Paris Bound by Philip Barry (season opener)
Whispering Friends by George M. Cohan
The Racket by Bartlett Cormack (with guest star Victor Jory)
What Every Woman Knows by J. M. Barrie
Precious by James Forbes

Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:

Child stage debut (1899): Appeared at age five alongside his father in Reilly and the Four Hundred.
Broadway career (1906 onward): Made his Broadway debut in Old Lavender and went on to perform in dozens of Broadway productions over more than four decades.
Vaudeville: Performed on the vaudeville circuit, including a 1927 appearance at the Palace Theatre in New York singing Irish ballads.
Charlie Chan on Broadway (1933): Played the detective in a stage adaptation of Keeper of the Keys.
The Invisible Man (1933): Played Dr. Arthur Kemp in the classic Universal horror film.
G Men (1935): Played “Mac” McKay in the James Cagney crime film.
Other film work: Appeared in more than thirty films, including Nix on Dames, Born Reckless, The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), Desert Fury (1947) and Flying Leathernecks (1951).
Mister Roberts (1948–1951, and the 1956 revival): Created the role of the Captain, playing it through the play’s entire run of 1,158 performances. This is his signature role.

Elitch Theatre Connections:

The Girl in 419 (film, 1933): George Somnes (HET 1936, the Elitch director from 1936 to 1947 and 1951 to 1954) co-directed the film in which Harrigan played gangster Peter Lawton. This is a director connection rather than a cast overlap.
Pick-Up (film, 1933): Sylvia Sidney (HET 1928) starred as Mary Richards, and Harrigan played her husband, Jim Richards.
The Dark Tower (Broadway, 1933): Margalo Gillmore (HET 1933) played Jessica Wells, and Harrigan played Ben Weston, in the same original cast.
Stranded (film, 1935): George Brent (HET 1929) and Donald Woods (HET 1933) were both in the cast, with Harrigan as Updyke.
Whipsaw (film, 1935): Myrna Loy (HET 1967) starred as Vivian Palmer, and Harrigan played the rival crook “Doc” Evans.
Frankie and Johnnie (film, 1936): Cora Witherspoon (HET 1926) played Mrs. Lumpy Thornton, and Harrigan played Curley in the same cast.
Days to Come (Broadway, 1936): Florence Eldridge (HET 1925) played Julie Rodman, and Harrigan played Andrew Rodman, her husband, in the original cast.
The Farmer’s Daughter (film, 1947): Rose Hobart (HET 1938) and Tom Powers (HET 1925) were both in the cast, with Harrigan as Ward Hughes.
A Shadow of My Enemy (Broadway, 1957): Gene Raymond (HET 1962) played Horace Smith, and Harrigan played The First Interrogator, per photo captions from the Museum of the City of New York.