About Herbert Mundin - The Hollywood Scene Stealer
English character actor Herbert Mundin - born in St.Helens, Lancs and brought up in St.Albans, Herts
Herbert enjoyed a long association with French-born impresario André Charlot, appearing as the comedic interest in his many revues. 'Tommy', as he was known to his family and friends, also made a number of comic appearances on the fledgling BBC radio. Along with other members of Charlot's company, he made the very first live recording of a theatrical performance, which was released on gramophone disc in 1927 by the Columbia Company.
Mundin appeared in a number of Royal Command shows and his solo performances - which included monologues and songs such as The Last Cabby, The Chelsea Pensioner and The Day of the Lazy Golfer - were extremely popular. He had a strong sense of pathos, as well as comedy, that theatre-goers could relate to.
During the 1930s, Herbert - who had a short, penguin-like frame and bulbous nose - became an in-demand film actor, initially in England and then in Hollywood. In a short but prolific career, mainly for Fox Studios, Mundin appeared in sixty films including the Oscar-winning Cavalcade in 1933, Mutiny on The Bounty in 1935 with Charles Laughton and The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938 with Errol Flynn.
Mundin was described as 'rubber faced' and dubbed "The Man of a Thousand Faces" and "The Scene Stealer". The latter nickname was through his versatile acting that often led to him taking the limelight away from the leading players. One contemporary American magazine described Herbert as having:
A face for every role! And Herbert Mundin can change his face as quickly as a director can yell "Camera!" The versatile English comedian rarely changes his speech, however. It usually remains cockney. He learned the brogue from a London deck-hand during the War. Off the screen 'Erb speaks polished English. He's one of the busiest players on the Fox lot.
Herbert Mundin's Hollywood career was tragically cut short by his death in a car accident on March 4th, 1939 in Van Nuys, California at the age of 40. Although work had been thin on the ground during the previous few months, he had a number of contacts signed for future films and his prospects were excellent. Back in England his family heard the news of Herbert's death through the BBC Radio Sunday evening news, causing them severe shock. Although only one recorded monologue and a few stills of his stage performances have survived, many of Mundin's film performances still exist and can be enjoyed to this day.