James Henderson Finlayson (27 August 1887 – 9 October 1953) was a Scottish actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Balding, with a fake moustache,[1] he had many trademark comic mannerisms—including his squinting, outraged double-take reactions, and his characteristic exclamation: "D'ooooooh!" He is the best remembered comic foil of Laurel and Hardy.
Finlayson was known by a variety of nicknames. According to Laurel and Hardy scholar Randy Skretvedt, he "called himself Jimmy, was known around the lot as Jim and is usually referred to today as 'Fin'"[2]—a truncated version of his surname, as author John McCabe also noted in his 1961 biography Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy.
Early life and stage career
Born in Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland to Alexander and Isabella (née Henderson) Finlayson,[3] James worked as a tinsmith before pursuing an acting career.[4] As part of John Clyde's company, he played Jamie Ratcliffe in Jeanie Deans at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh in 1910.[5]
The next year (1911), with both parents deceased, he emigrated at age 24 to the United States, along with his brother, Robert.[6][7] In May 1912 in New York City, he played a detective disguised as a teuchter (person originating from the Scottish West Highlands or Western Isles) in the stage production The Great Game at Daly's Theatre:[8][9] A reviewer in the Daily Mirror wrote: "Finlayson had an excellent opportunity, which he did not miss, for developing two characters in his one role—the simple, naive Scotsman and the artful, determined detective. The remarkable thing is that he managed to do them both at the same time."[10][11]
Arriving in Los Angeles in 1916, Finlayson found film work at L-KO and Thomas H. Ince's studio.[10]
In October 1919, he signed a contract with the Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation[12] and appeared in numerous Sennett comedies, including with the Keystone Cops.[13][14]
The promotional newspaper article for the 1920 premiere of Sennett's Down on the Farm refers to Finlayson as "legitimate and screen player of international celebrity", and of his performance says: "The villian [sic] in the case—a sort of cross between a Turkish Don Juan and a 'loan shark'—is played with rare power and comic results of seriousness by James Finlayson".[15]
Finlayson sent to Scotland for his close friend Andy Clyde, urging him to join him at the Sennett studio. Clyde arrived in 1922 and became a Sennett fixture as a versatile character actor. Finlayson, however, did not establish himself as star material, and left Sennett's employ later that year.
Hal Roach Studios
Finlayson was hired almost immediately by Sennett's rival, Hal Roach, who gave him supporting roles in his studio's Snub Pollard and Stan Laurel comedies. With Roach's biggest short-subject star Harold Lloyd moving on to features, Roach tried to start new series with Charley Chase (successfully) and Finlayson (unsuccessfully). The next step came in 1927 when Roach's All-Star Comedy series gave Finlayson equal billing with up-and-coming co-stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, comedian Edna Marion, and others;[16] some studio publicity even referred to Finlayson, Hardy, and Laurel as a "famous comedy trio."[17] But Roach staff producer and future Academy Award director Leo McCarey recognized the great potential of a Laurel-and-Hardy pairing and began developing their characters and expanding their roles.[18] By the autumn of 1928, Laurel and Hardy had their own starring series while the All-Star Comedy series soldiered on with other comedians.[1] Nonetheless, Finlayson was still "considered by many to be an indispensable part of the Laurel & Hardy team."[19]
Finlayson married Emily Cora Gilbert, an American citizen from Iowa, in 1919[20] and became a US citizen in 1942.[21]
English actress Stephanie Insall and Finlayson regularly took breakfast together. However, on the morning of 9 October 1953, Finlayson did not turn up at the usual time. Knowing he had recently been ill from flu, she went to his home where she discovered his body, he had died of a heart attack the night before. He was 66 years old.[22]
Legacy
One of Finlayson's trademarks was a comic drawn-out "Dohhhhhhh!" response to frustration or insult. He had used the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!" A half-century later, it inspired Dan Castellaneta, the voice actor of Homer Simpson. During the voice recording session for a Tracey Ullman Show short, Castellaneta was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". He rendered it as a drawn out "Dohhhhhhh!" Matt Groening felt it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster, so Castellaneta shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!"[23]
Accolades
In 1996, as part its celebrations of a century of cinema in Scotland, the Scottish Film Council presented a plaque commemorating James to Falkirk Council.[24] It reads: "James (Jimmie) Finlayson. Outstanding comic screen actor. The foil to Laurel and Hardy in many films. Born in Larbert in 1887".[24] The plaque was initially erected in Falkirk Town Hall,[24] but was subsequently displayed in Bo'ness Library as part of the HippFest 2019 silent film festival.[25]
In 2011, James (as "Jimmy Finlayson") was incorporated into the Catchphases 1 section of the Comedy Carpet mosaic beside Blackpool Tower along with a "D'OH!" embossed star.[26]
Finlayson is one of the many entertainers portrayed by English actor Timothy Spall in the 2018 film Stanley: a Man of Variety.[28][29]
In the 2018 Laurel and Hardy biopic Stan & Ollie, Finlayson is portrayed on the set of Way Out West by Scottish actor Keith MacPherson.
Sons of the Desert Tent
An international "tent" (chapter) of the Sons of the Desert fraternity was formed in Glasgow in 2019 by and for relatives of Finlayson, and named Our Relations after the Laurel and Hardy film in which Finlayson co-starred.[30][31]
^Scotland Statutory Registers: Births in the Parish of Larbert in the County of Stirling, 1887 – page 51, Item #151
^1901 Census of the Household of Alexander FINLAYSON in the Hamlet of North Broomage, Parish of Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland; ScotlandsPeople (Census 1901 485/0A 001/00 043)
^The Scotsman; 3 May 1910; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Scotsman (1817–1950); p. 5
^Ship manifest for the California, sailing from Glasgow, arrived New York on 5 June 1911; page 766; line: 3
^National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887–1940; Microfilm Serial: M1524; Microfilm Roll: 8
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