Herbert Bunston

{{Short description|English actor}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}

{{More citations needed|date=November 2014}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Herbert Bunston

| image = Herbert Bunston in The Moonstone.jpg

| caption = Bunston in The Moonstone (1934)

| occupation = Actor

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1874|4|15}}

| birth_place = Dorset, England, UK

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1935|2|27|1874|4|15}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| yearsactive = 1929–1935

| spouse = Emily Fox Chaffey (1897-1935) (his death)

| children = 2

}}

Herbert Bunston (15 April 1874 – 27 February 1935) was an English stage and screen actor. He is remembered for his role as Dr. John Seward in the Broadway and film versions of Dracula.

Bunston was born in Charmouth{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/|title=Ancestry® {{!}} Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records|website=ancestry.co.uk|access-date=2020-02-23}} and briefly attended Cranleigh School in Surrey.{{Cite web|url=https://1865.cranleigh.org/herbert-bunston/|title=Herbert Bunston {{!}} Cranleigh School 1865|access-date=2020-02-25}} before working as an actor. Bunston emigrated to the United States in 1922. His first Broadway appearance was Arthur Wing Pinero's The Enchanted Cottage in 1923. Other short-running roles in That Awful Mrs. Eaton! and Simon Called Peter were followed by a critically noticed role in a run of 260 performances of 1925's Young Woodley. On 5 October 1927, Bunston debuted as Dr John Seward in a Broadway production of Dracula alongside Bela Lugosi.

Bunston's other Broadway credits include Young Woodley (1925), Simon Called Peter (1924), That Awful Mrs. Eaton (1924), The Enchanted Cottage (1923), and Drink (1903).{{cite web |title=Herbert Bunston |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/herbert-bunston-33618 |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |accessdate=23 October 2020 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20201023162337/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/herbert-bunston-33618 |archivedate=23 October 2020 |url-status=live }}

Bunston's stage success led to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Between 1929 and 1935 he had mainly character roles in over 30 films, and 1931 he re-created his Broadway role in the film adaptation of Dracula. Bunston died of a heart attack in 1935.{{Citation needed |date=October 2020}}

Bunston married Emily Fox Chaffey (1866-1939) in 1898 and they had two children, Margaret, and John.