SYDNEY GREENSTREET

Englishman Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (1879-54) made his stage debut as a murderer in a 1902 production of a Sherlock Holmes play. He toured England with Ben Greet's Shakespearian company and in 1905 made his New York debut. Thereafter, Greenstreet appeared in numerous plays in England and America, working through most of the '30s with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Throughout his stage career his parts ranged from musical comedy to Shakespeare, and years of such versatile acting on two continents led to many offers to appear in films. These he refused until he was 62. But in 1941, Greenstreet gave in and signed with Warner Bros. His debut film role turned out to be his most famous: Kasper Gutman (aka "The Fat Man") in THE MALTESE FALCON. His co-star (besides Bogart) was Peter Lorre as the twitchy Joel Cairo, a pairing that would be repeated in nine films including CASABLANCA, in which Greenstreet played Signor Ferrari, the sleazy bar owner, BACKGROUND TO DANGER, PASSAGE TO MARSEILLE and THE VERDICT.