Freddie Bartholomew
Birthday: Born in 1924-03-28 in Harlesden, London, England, UK
Deathday: 1992-01-23
Freddie Bartholomew was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywood films. His most famous starring roles are in Captains Courageous and Little Lord Fauntleroy. He was born in London and for the title role of David Copperfield, he emigrated to the United States in 1934, living there the rest of his life. He became an American citizen in 1943 following World War II military service. Despite his great success and acclaim following David Copperfield, his childhood film stardom was marred by nearly constant legal battles and payouts which eventually took a huge toll on both his finances and his career. In adulthood, after World War II service, his film career dwindled rapidly, and he switched from performing to directing and producing in the medium of television.
TV Credits
MGM: When the Lion Roars
Character:
On April 24, 1924, the movies changed forever: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio opened and soon assembled “more stars than there are in the heavens.” Patrick Stewart hosts this enthralling Emmy® winner as Outstanding Informational Series, a three-part story of M-G-M’s reign as Hollywood’s class act and legendary entertainment empire. Bursting with memorable film clips, rare interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and insider info, this is a mother lode for film fans, profiling perfectionist moguls, ...
Lights Out
Character:
Lights Out was an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. Versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at various times, from January 1934 to the summer of 1947 and the series eventually made the transition to television. In 1946, NBC Television brought Lights Out to TV in a series of four specials, broadcast live and produced by Fred Coe, who also contribu...
Movie Credits
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Character: Cedric 'Ceddie' Erroll aka Lord Fauntleroy
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather....
Tom Brown's School Days
Character: East
When private tutor Thomas Arnold (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) becomes headmaster at Rugby, a boy's preparatory school in England, he puts into place a policy of strict punishment for unruliness and bulying. Arnold finds an ally in Tom Brown (Jimmy Lydon), a new student who is subjected to hazing and abuse by a group of older boys and is pressured by his friends to keep quiet about it. Fed up, he leads his fellow classmates in an underground rebellion against their tormentors. But certain unspoken rule...
David Copperfield
Character: David Copperfield as a Boy
Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an ordinary young man who lives an extraordinary life, filled with people who help and hinder him....
Captains Courageous
Character: Harvey Cheyne
Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man....
Anna Karenina
Character: Sergei
In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a senior statesman must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier....
Lloyd's of London
Character: Young Jonathan Blake
Norfolk, England, 1770. The nephew of an innkeeper and the son of a reverend maintain a very close friendship until, after living a great adventure, they must separate their paths. The former will head his footsteps to London and bound his destiny to Lloyd's, a thriving insurance company; the latter will eventually become one of the greatest heroes in the history of the British Empire....
Listen, Darling
Character: Buzz Mitchell
To stop Pinkie's widowed, struggling mother Dottie from marrying a well-off older man they know she doesn't love, teenager Pinkie and her best friend Buzz kidnap her in the family travel trailer to live a carefree life on the open road. They then get the idea to find Dottie a financially secure husband whom both she and Pinkie would like....
Kidnapped
Character: David Balfour
Robert Louis Stevenson's hero David Balfour joins rebel Alan Breck Stewart in 18th-century Scotland....
Lord Jeff
Character: Geoffrey Braemer
Spoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat and steal jewelry from exclusive shops. During a a caper, Geoffrey is caught and is sentenced to a reformatory where young men are trained to be sailors. He is befriended by model in-mate Terry O'Mulvaney but soon starts to get them both in trouble....
Professional Soldier
Character: King Peter II
Mercenary Donovan is hired to kidnap King Peter II. He learns that the party in power is evil and that the King is in danger, so kidnaps the King to keep him safe while a revolution is planned....
The Town Went Wild
Character: David Conway
Comedy concerning two feuding fathers dealing with the shocking news that their sons were switched at birth, meaning that one of their daughters is about to marry her own brother....
Hollywood Party
Character: Himself
Elissa Landi and Charley Chase host an East Asian themed garden tea party in Hollywood. After introducing a few Hollywood luminaries who are attending the party, they present a number of musical and/or dance performances to entertain the crowd. This set of performances also includes ethnic Chinese actress Anna May Wong modeling some fashions she brought back from her first ever trip to China. Through it all, one of the guests, already inebriated, is having a few problems mixing and serving the c...
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4
Character: Self
Fourth film in the Hedda Hopper series....
Swiss Family Robinson
Character: Jack Robinson
A family setting out for a new life across the sea is shipwrecked on a deserted island. The family members collaborate to create a home for themselves in the jungle environment....
St. Benny the Dip
Character: Reverend Wilbur
A gang of con artists disguise themselves as clerics in order to pull off a job, but soon find that even pretending to be religious people is having an effect on them....
The Devil Is a Sissy
Character: Claude Pierce
A well-bred young English lad living in lower Manhattan tries to gain acceptance from his not-so-well-bred peers at school....
The Spirit of Culver
Character: Bob Randolph
Tom Allen, an orphan accustomed to waiting in bread lines is awarded a scholarship to the Culver Military Academy. Talked into attending so that he can have free room and board, Allen initially resists the rigid discipline but later softens as he makes friends and sees the value to the hard work and discipline....
A Yank at Eton
Character: Peter Carlton
An American playboy is sent to a British boarding school to learn discipline....
Fascination
Character: Child
Story of a vampish actress who comes between a happily married couple in this light-hearted melodrama....
Junior Army
Character: Freddie Hewlett
An English refugee and a street thug go to military school together....
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
Character: Himself
Hedda Hopper guides us through some of Hollywood's sights; the home of William S. Hart and a Kay Kyser recording-session being among them....
Sepia Cinderella
Character:
A struggling songwriter abandons his girlfriend for a flashy woman after landing a hit....
A Dream Comes True
Character: Himself (uncredited)
A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)....
That's Entertainment, Part II
Character: (archive footage)
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers....
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
Character: Self (archive footage)
In this tribute to her frequent co-star and longtime love, Katharine Hepburn hosts a behind-the-scenes look at Spencer Tracy's personal and professional life that features intimate personal accounts, interviews and clips from his most acclaimed work on the silver screen....
Hollywood Goes to Town
Character: Self
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a garden that might be seen in a French palace. This includes the placement of trees and other foliage, as well as large statues along the route. Grandstands are set up so fans can see their favorite stars as they arrive for the premiere. ...
Naval Academy
Character: Steve Kendall
...
Cadets on Parade
Character: Austin Shannon
A military school cadet runs away after failing to fit in at sports or school life. He's befriended by a newsboy and they tutor each other, but soon get embroiled in a ransom scheme....
Another Romance of Celluloid
Character: Self (uncredited)
This second entry in MGM's "Romance of Film" series documents how celluloid movie film is processed and features behind-the-scenes glimpses of current MGM productions....
The Big Parade of Comedy
Character: David Copperfield in 'David Copperfield' (archive footage)
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history....
Hollywood’s Children
Character: Self (archive footage)
A documentary about child actors, since the beginning of motion pictures (narrated by Roddy McDowell)....
Two Bright Boys
Character: David Harrington
A young man inherits a valuable piece of Texas land that an oil man plots to steal away....