Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 â€" July 29, 1983) was a Canadian
actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead
role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Massey was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor. He also was well known for playing Dr.
Gillespie in the NBC television series Dr. Kildare (1961â€"1966).
Today, he is most often seen in the film Arsenic and Old Lace (1944),
in his role as the malevolent Jonathan Brewster, who looks like Boris
Karloff, and violently attacks anyone who mentions the
resemblance.Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna (née
Vincent), who was American-born, and Chester Daniel Massey, the
wealthy owner of the Massey-Harris Tractor Company. He was the
grandson of businessman Hart Massey and great-grandson of founder
Daniel Massey. His branch of the Massey family immigrated to Canada
from New England a few years before the War of 1812, their ancestors
having migrated from England to the Massachusetts colony in the 1630s.
He attended secondary school briefly at Upper Canada College before
transferring to Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario, and taking
several courses at University of Toronto, where he was an active
member of the Kappa Alpha Society.Massey joined the Canadian Army at
the outbreak of World War I, and served on the Western Front in the
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Lieutenant Massey returned to
Canada after being wounded at Zillebeke in Belgium during the Battle
of Mont Sorrel in 1916 and was engaged as an army instructor for
American officers at Yale University. In 1918, he was recalled to
active service and joined the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force
that went to Siberia during the Allied intervention in the Russian
Civil War. On the orders of his commanding general, he organized a
minstrel show troupe with himself as end man in blackface to bolster
morale of allied troops on occupation duty in Vladivostok.After
returning home in 1919, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford. He
later went to work in the family business, selling farm implements,
but he was drawn to the theater. He persuaded his reluctant family to
allow him to pursue this career.
actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead
role in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), Massey was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor. He also was well known for playing Dr.
Gillespie in the NBC television series Dr. Kildare (1961â€"1966).
Today, he is most often seen in the film Arsenic and Old Lace (1944),
in his role as the malevolent Jonathan Brewster, who looks like Boris
Karloff, and violently attacks anyone who mentions the
resemblance.Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna (née
Vincent), who was American-born, and Chester Daniel Massey, the
wealthy owner of the Massey-Harris Tractor Company. He was the
grandson of businessman Hart Massey and great-grandson of founder
Daniel Massey. His branch of the Massey family immigrated to Canada
from New England a few years before the War of 1812, their ancestors
having migrated from England to the Massachusetts colony in the 1630s.
He attended secondary school briefly at Upper Canada College before
transferring to Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario, and taking
several courses at University of Toronto, where he was an active
member of the Kappa Alpha Society.Massey joined the Canadian Army at
the outbreak of World War I, and served on the Western Front in the
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Lieutenant Massey returned to
Canada after being wounded at Zillebeke in Belgium during the Battle
of Mont Sorrel in 1916 and was engaged as an army instructor for
American officers at Yale University. In 1918, he was recalled to
active service and joined the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force
that went to Siberia during the Allied intervention in the Russian
Civil War. On the orders of his commanding general, he organized a
minstrel show troupe with himself as end man in blackface to bolster
morale of allied troops on occupation duty in Vladivostok.After
returning home in 1919, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford. He
later went to work in the family business, selling farm implements,
but he was drawn to the theater. He persuaded his reluctant family to
allow him to pursue this career.
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