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Harry McCoy

{{Short description|American actor and screenwriter (1893–1937)}}

{{about|the actor|the fictional character|Harry McCoy (detective)}}

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{{Infobox person

| name = Harry McCoy

| image = Harry McCoy, film actor (SAYRE 6601).jpg

| caption = McCoy in 1919

| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|12|10}}

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

| death_date = {{death date and age|1937|9|1|1893|12|10}}

| death_place = Hollywood, California, US

| yearsactive = 1912–1935

| occupation = Actor

}}

Harry McCoy (December 10, 1893 – September 1, 1937) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1912 and 1935.

Early years

McCoy was born on December 10, 1893, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the firstborn of George Washington McCoy and Alberta Keel. His family moved to California in 1910. He had a sister, Alberta.

Career

McCoy's early experience in entertainment was in vaudeville, where he played a piano and sang.{{cite news |title=Moving Picture Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86494820/the-salt-lake-herald-republican/ |access-date=October 4, 2021 |work=The Salt Lake Herald-Republican |date=December 3, 1916 |page=10|via = Newspapers.com}}

He joined Universal's Joker Comedy brand in 1912, and the following year teamed with Max Asher to form Mike and Jake for Joker. In 1913, he worked at Universal and Keystone at the same time{{Citation needed |date=October 2021}} and was one of the original Keystone Cops.{{cite news |title=Screen Life in Hollywood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86493976/the-star-press/ |access-date=October 4, 2021 |work=The Star Press |date=November 4, 1928 |location=Indiana, Muncie |page=26|via = Newspapers.com}} At Triangle Keystone, McCoy directed 15 films. He stayed with the post-Sennett Keystone until August 1917, then made a brief return to vaudeville with the Pantages circuit. In 1920 he played opposite Sid Smith as one of CBC/Federated's "Hall-room Boys" before being replaced by Jimmie Adams.

He appeared in the Stern Bros. Century Comedies for Universal from 1924 to 1925, but he soon became Mack Sennett's writer.

He sued Sennett over some music he wrote in 1930, but the dispute apparently was settled before it came to court. In the mid-1930s, he played piano at Frank Kerwin's Merry-Go-Round nightclub.

McCoy joined Disney studio just months before his death.

Personal life and death

McCoy married Frances Josephine Anton in 1923 but the marriage did not go well. After a divorce, he married Mercedes Williams in 1927. He died on September 1, 1937, in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack.

Selected filmography

File:Mike and Jake at the Beach - A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen.jpg

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References

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External links

{{commons category|Harry McCoy}}

  • {{IMDb name|0566746}}

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Category:1893 births

Category:1937 deaths

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male silent film actors

Category:American male screenwriters

Category:Male actors from Philadelphia

Category:Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania

Category:Screenwriters from California

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century American screenwriters

Category:American vaudeville performers