Otis Harlan

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Otis Harlan
Harlan in 1922
Born(1865-12-29)December 29, 1865
Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 20, 1940(1940-01-20) (aged 74)
Martinsville, Indiana, U.S.
Resting place
New South Park Cemetery, Martinsville, Indiana, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1893–1940
SpouseNellie Harvey
Children1
RelativesKenneth Harlan (nephew)
Signature

Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 20, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[1] This made him the earliest born actor to feature in a Disney film and one of the earliest born known American voice actors.

Early years

Harlan was born on December 29, 1865,[2] in Zanesville, Ohio.[1] Harlan was the uncle of the silent film era leading man, Kenneth Harlan.[3] He studied at Gambier Military Academy, Kenyon College, and Yale.[4]

Career

Harlan, c. 1892

Harlan debuted on stage on September 12, 1887, in "The Hole in the Ground" at the Fourteenth Street Theatre.[4] In 1893, he appeared in Victor Herbert's The Magic Knight. In 1911 he starred in Little Boy Blue on Broadway. He was playing in vaudeville shows by 1911, appearing in Irving Berlin's ragtime musicals. Harlan also played the role of Cap'n Andy in the first, part-talkie film version of "Show Boat" (1929). He was also seen as the Master of Ceremonies in the sound prologue that accompanied the film. In 1935, Harlan played the role of Starveling in Max Reinhardt's 1935 film version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 1937, Harlan provided the voice of "Happy", one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[1] In the same year he also appeared in the Our Gang short Roamin' Holiday. Contrary to popular belief, Harlan did not voice Mr. Mole in Bambi. Mr. Mole was voiced by Bambi's story director, Perce Pearce.[5]

Harlan retired in the summer of 1939.[4]

Personal life and death

Harlan married Nellie Harvey in Camden, New Jersey and had a daughter named Marion.

In April 1938 Harlan had a stroke during a rehearsal. He was in critical condition in Hollywood Hospital, "conscious at intervals".[6]

Harlan died from a heart attack on January 20, 1940, in Martinsville, Indiana, aged 74.[4]

Selected filmography

References

  1. Hischak, Thomas S. (2011), Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary, McFarland, p. 95, ISBN 978-0786462711.
  2. "Otis Harlan". The Evansville Courier. March 21, 1896. p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Klepper, Robert K. (1999), Silent films, 1877-1996: a critical guide to 646 movies, McFarland, p. 95, ISBN 0786405953.
  4. "Otis Harlan Dies; Noted Comedian, 75". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 21, 1940. p. 38. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  5. "Animation Anecdotes #282". Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  6. "Otis Harlan, Actor, Ill". The New York Times. April 27, 1938. p. 17. Retrieved August 21, 2026.