Harry Morey

A veteran stage actor who, according to his publicity, had been "associated with many well-known stars and attractions," Harry T. Morey became an important figure in early films who was equally adept at playing heroes or villains. Onscreen with Vitagraph from 1909, Morey made a dashing Fenimore Cooper protagonist in The Deerslayer (1913) but was then cruel and wicked opposite Earle Williams in Battle of the Weak (1914). Often cast opposite the likes of Alice Joyce, the "Madonna of the Screen," and Clara Kimball Young, Morey himself preferred character roles but reportedly accepted playing romantic leads because of public demand. A true character star in the 1920s, Morey was especially good as the tough café owner in Rex Ingram's Where the Pavement Ends (1923) and as Professor Moriarty in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide