Charles Edward Butterworth (July 26, 1896 – June 14, 1946) was an American actor specializing in comedic roles, often in musicals. His distinctive voice was the inspiration for the Cap'n Crunch commercials created by the Jay Ward studio: voice actor Daws Butler.
Early life Butterworth was the son of a physician in South Bend, Indiana. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1924 with a law degree.
Career After graduating, Butterworth became a newspaper reporter at the South Bend News-Times and subsequently Chicago.
One of Butterworth's more memorable film roles was in the Irving Berlin musical This Is the Army (1943) as bugle-playing Private Eddie Dibble. He was generally a supporting actor, though he had top billing in We Went to College (1936) and the title role in Baby Face Harrington (1935), and shared top billing (as the Sultan) with Ann Corio in The Sultan's Daughter (1944). In his obituary, he was described as "characterizing the man who could not make up his mind".
He is credited with the quip "Why don't you slip out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini?" from Every Day's a Holiday. In Forsaking All Others, when Clark Gable, quoting Benjamin Franklin, said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," Butterworth replied, "Ever take a good look at a milkman?"
Death Butterworth had a home in Palm Springs, California. He was killed in an automobile accident on June 13, 1946, when he lost control of his car on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles."Charles Butterworth Killed in Car's Crash – Comedian's Auto Skids into Lamp Post as He Returns from Party in Night Club", p. 11, The Los Angeles Times, Fri, June 14, 1946. He died en route to the hospital.
Legacy For his contributions to the film industry, Butterworth was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star at 7036 Hollywood Boulevard.
Partial filmography
Vital Subjects (1929, Short) Ladies of Leisure (1930) – Party Guest (uncredited) The Life of the Party (1930) – Colonel Joy Illicit (1931) – Georgie Evans The Bargain (1931) – Geoffrey Side Show (1931) – Sidney The Mad Genius (1931) – Karimsky Manhattan Parade (1931) – Herbert T. Herbert Beauty and the Boss (1932) – Ludwig Pfeffer Jr. Love Me Tonight (1932) – Count de Savignac The Nuisance (1933) – Floppy Phil Montague Penthouse (1933) – Layton My Weakness (1933) – Gerald Gregory The Cat and the Fiddle (1934) – Charles Hollywood Party (1934) – Harvey Clemp Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934) – Algy 'Mousey' Longworth Student Tour (1934) – Ethelred Lippincott – Professor of Philosophy Forsaking All Others (1934) – Shemp The Night Is Young (1935) – Willy Fitch Baby Face Harrington (1935) – Willie Orchids to You (1935) – Teddy Stuyvesant Magnificent Obsession (1935) – Tommy Masterson The Moon's Our Home (1936) – Horace Van Steedan Half Angel (1936) – Doc Felix We Went to College (1936) – Glenn Harvey Rainbow on the River (1936) – Barrett Swing High, Swing Low (1937) – Harry Every Day's a Holiday (1937) – Larmadou Graves Thanks for the Memory (1938) – Biney Let Freedom Ring (1939) – The Mackerel The Boys from Syracuse (1940) – Duke of Ephesus Second Chorus (1940) – Mr. Chisholm There's Nothing to It (1941) Blonde Inspiration (1941) – 'Bittsy' Conway Road Show (1941) – Harry Whitman Sis Hopkins (1941) – Horace Hopkins What's Cookin'? (1942) – J. P. Courtney Night in New Orleans (1942) – Edward Wallace Give Out, Sisters (1942) – Prof. Woof This Is the Army (1943) – Eddie Dibble Always a Bridesmaid (1943) – Col. Thaddeus Winchester The Sultan's Daughter (1944) – Sultan of Araband Follow the Boys (1944) – Louie Fairweather Bermuda Mystery (1944) – Dr. Randolph Tilford Dixie Jamboree (1944) – Professor (final film role)
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