Harry Woods

Harry Woods

Harry Lewis Woods (May 5, 1889 – December 28, 1968) was an American film actor. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Woods served in the military prior to becoming an actor. He appeared in nearly 250 films between 1923 and 1958. During his 35-year film career he acquired a reputation as a screen villain par excellence; his imposing size, powerful build, piercing eyes and snarling voice typed him as a bad guy to be reckoned with. He seldom played ordinary henchmen, usually cast as both the brains (the banker or saloon owner who secretly runs the bandit gang terrorizing the area) and the brawn behind the local villainy. He was well respected by his peers, another prime screen villain, Roy Barcroft, once said of him, "Everything I know about being a bad guy I learned from Harry Woods." He enjoyed a long career in films before retiring in 1958, and he died in Los Angeles ten years later from uremia. His son, Harry Lewis Woods, Jr., followed in his footsteps and acted in the 1940s and 1950s as Craig Woods.

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