From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Hobart Cavanaugh September 22 1886 April 26 1950 was an American character actor in films and on stage He was born in Virginia City Nevada on September 22 1886 Cavanaugh attended the University of California He worked in vaudeville teaming with Walter Catlett at some point He appeared in numerous Broadway productions including the original 1919 musical Irene and the longrunning 1948 musical As the Girls Go He made his film debut in San Francisco Nights 1928 Over the next few years he established himself as a supporting actor and although many of his roles were small and received no film credit he played more substantial roles in films such as I Cover the Waterfront 1933 and Mary Stevens MD 1933 By the mid1930s he was appearing in more prestigious productions such as A Midsummer Nights Dream 1935 Captain Blood 1935 Wife vs Secretary 1936 and A Letter to Three Wives 1949 He continued playing small often comical roles until the end of his life mostly as downtrodden or henpecked little men His last performance was in Stella 1950 he knew he did not have long to live and collapsed twice on set but was determined to see it through By the end of his life he had appeared in more than 180 films He died following an operation at the Motion Picture Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills California He was survived by his wife Florence and a daughter