Biography
Berton Churchill (also credited as Burton Churchill) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he began performing in stock companies around 1903 and appeared on Broadway from 1909 until 1930. He was an early member of Actors' Equity and served on its council, including during the 1919 strike.
In the early 1930s he moved to Hollywood and appeared in more than 125 films, typically in supporting roles as stern or pompous authority figures such as bankers, judges and governors. He worked with directors including John Ford and Frank Capra, and with stars including Bette Davis and Will Rogers. Churchill is best known for his role as the embezzling banker Ellsworth Henry Gatewood in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939). He also appeared in films such as I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) and In Old Chicago (1938).
Churchill died in New York City in 1940.
