Melbourne MacDowell

An imposing, 200-pound character actor from New Jersey, Melbourne McDowell had appeared on stage opposite Sarah Bernhardt in Victorien Sardou's Tosca. In films from around 1917, the veteran actor would usually find himself playing the heroine's much put-upon father or uncle and most often in B-Westerns. The husband of stage star Fanny Davenport and an uncle of Griffith actress Claire McDowell, Melbourne McDowell retired from the screen prior to sound.