Biography
Reginald Denny, born Reginald Leigh Dugmore, was an English actor who appeared in films from the silent era through the 1960s. He began his screen career in 1915 and became a leading man in silent comedies before transitioning to character roles in sound films, often portraying English gentlemen. He also worked extensively on stage and later in television.
Denny came from a theatrical family; his father was actor and singer W. H. Denny. Among his notable film roles were Frank Crawley in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), Sir Harry Percival in Cat Ballou (1965), and Commodore Schmidlapp in Batman: The Movie (1966). He appeared in other well-known productions including Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), and Of Human Bondage (1934).
Outside acting, Denny was an aviator who served in the Royal Air Force during the First World War and later became a pioneer in unmanned aerial vehicles, founding the Radioplane Company which produced target drones for the US military during the Second World War.
