---
name: "Ernest Cossart"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ernest-cossart"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 September 1876"
died: "21 January 1951"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 70
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-20T00:36:52.917647+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ernest Cossart

Actor. Born 24 September 1876 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK. Died 21 January 1951.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 September 1876, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
- **Died:** 21 January 1951
- **Active:** 1936–1942
- **Also known as:** Emil Gottfried von Holst
- **Average Fi1m score:** 70, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 68 (2), 1940s 71 (3)
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 4, Music 2, Comedy 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $5m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Cossart, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3056912, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0181960/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/100588

## Biography

Ernest Cossart (born Emil Gottfried von Holst, 24 September 1876 – 21 January 1951) was an English-American actor. Born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, he was the younger brother of composer Gustav Holst. He began his stage career in Britain before moving to the United States in 1908, where he appeared in numerous Broadway productions and toured extensively. During the First World War he served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Cossart entered films in the mid-1930s and became known for character roles, frequently playing butlers and valets, though he also took on a range of other parts. His credits include *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936) as Sidney, *Desire* (1936) as Aristide Duvalle, *Angel* (1937) as Christopher 'Chris' Wilton, *Kitty Foyle* (1940) as Pop, *Kings Row* (1942) as Pa Monaghan, *Tower of London* (1939) as Tom Clink and *Cluny Brown* (1946) as Syrette. He remained active on stage and screen until 1950.

He was married to actress Maude Davis from 1906 until his death; their daughter Valerie Cossart was also an actress. Cossart died in New York City.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Kings Row* (1942), Fi1m 70, as Pa Monaghan — [page](https://film.one/film/kings-row.md)
- *One Foot in Heaven* (1941), Fi1m 74, as John E. Morris — [page](https://film.one/film/one-foot-in-heaven.md)
- *Kitty Foyle* (1940), Fi1m 70, as Pop — [page](https://film.one/film/kitty-foyle.md)
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), Fi1m 64, as Sidney — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)
- *Three Smart Girls* (1936), Fi1m 72, as Binns — [page](https://film.one/film/three-smart-girls.md)

## Complete filmography (39)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *John Loves Mary* (1949), as Oscar Dugan
- *Love from a Stranger* (1947), as Billings
- *The Jolson Story* (1946), as Father McGee
- *It's Your America* (1946), as English Pub Proprietor (uncredited)
- *Cluny Brown* (1946), as Syrette
- *Love Letters* (1945), as Bishop
- *The Girl of the Limberlost* (1945), as Roger Henley
- *Tonight and Every Night* (1945), as Sam Royce
- *Knickerbocker Holiday* (1944), as Tienhoven
- *Kings Row* (1942), as Pa Monaghan — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/kings-row.md)
- *Skylark* (1941), as Theodore
- *One Foot in Heaven* (1941), as John E. Morris — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/one-foot-in-heaven.md)
- *Charley's Aunt* (1941), as Brassett
- *Kitty Foyle* (1940), as Pop — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/kitty-foyle.md)
- *Tom Brown's School Days* (1940), as Squire Brown
- *A Bill of Divorcement* (1940), as Rev. Dr. Pumphrey
- *The Light That Failed* (1939), as Beeton
- *Tower of London* (1939), as Tom Clink
- *Lady of the Tropics* (1939), as Father Antoine
- *The Magnificent Fraud* (1939), as Duval
- *Three Smart Girls Grow Up* (1939), as Binns
- *Never Say Die* (1939), as Jeepers
- *Zaza* (1939), as Marchand
- *Letter of Introduction* (1938), as Andrews, the Butler
- *Angel* (1937), as Christopher 'Chris' Wilton
- *Carnival Queen* (1937), as Spaulding
- *The Lady Fights Back* (1937), as Commissioner Allan
- *As Good as Married* (1937), as Quinn
- *Top of the Town* (1937), as Augustus Borden
- *Champagne Waltz* (1937), as Waiter
- *Three Smart Girls* (1936), as Binns — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/three-smart-girls.md)
- *Murder with Pictures* (1936), as Stanley Redfield
- *My American Wife* (1936), as Adolphe
- *Palm Springs* (1936), as Starkey
- *Desire* (1936), as Aristide Duvalle
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), as Sidney — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)
- *Two for Tonight* (1935), as Homps
- *Accent on Youth* (1935), as Flogdell
- *The Scoundrel* (1935), as Jimmy Clay

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ernest-cossart