Biography
Sidney Bracey (18 December 1877 – 5 August 1942) was an Australian-born American actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he appeared in 321 films between 1909 and 1942. Bracey was born in Melbourne, Victoria, with the name Sidney Bracy, later changing the spelling of his last name. He was the son of Welsh tenor Henry Bracy and English actress Clara T. Bracy. His aunt was actress and dancer Lydia Thompson. He began his stage career in Australia in the 1890s, with J. C. Williamson's comic opera companies. On Broadway, in 1900, he appeared as the tenor lead, Yussuf, in the first American production of The Rose of Persia at Daly's Theatre in New York. He then moved to England, appearing as Moreno in the Edwardian musical comedy hit The Toreador at the Gaiety Theatre, London in June 1901. He next joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour in Britain, playing Terence O'Brian in The Emerald Isle from September 1901 to May 1902. He then left the D'Oyly Carte, continuing his stage career in Britain. He appeared in Amorelle at London's Comedy Theatre in 1904, The Winter's Tale in 1904–05, and A Persian Princess at Queen's Theatre in 1909. Back on Broadway, in 1912, he played as Sir Guy of Gisborne in a revival of Reginald de Koven's Robin Hood at the New Amsterdam Theatre, followed by Rob Roy at the Liberty Theatre in 1913. He then moved into film acting, making first silent films and then "talkies", until his death in 1942. Early in his film career, he wrote and directed a silent movie called Sid Nee's Finish, (Thanhouser Company (1914), in which he played the title character. In 1916, he changed the spelling of his last name to "Bracey". Silent film authority Diane MacIntyre gave this description of him: "Bracey, a stately looking character man, was in big demand for authority like roles; such as movie directors, bosses and, most of the time, the most respectable and poised butler in all of Hollywood. He was thin, dark haired and had an earnest, yet sober, face that could break into a look of wide-eyed exasperation." Bracy died in Hollywood, California on 5 August 1942, aged 64.
Acted in 216
1940s
- 1944
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Wigged Courtier (uncredited)
- 1941
Dangerously They Live
Sidewalk Onlooker (uncredited)
The Body Disappears
Barrett
This Woman Is Mine
Clerk
Bullets for O'Hara
Lamson
The Great Mr. Nobody
Beggar
- 1940
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Limey
No Time for Comedy
Waiter at Wyler's Party (uncredited)
My Love Came Back
Butler
Brother Orchid
Steward Bringing Briefcase (uncredited)
1930s
- 1939
Four Wives
Extra at Wedding Reception (uncredited)
A Child is Born
Third Drugstore Clerk (uncredited)
We Are Not Alone
Ben, the Lamplighter
Smashing the Money Ring
Pop Dryden
Fast and Furious
Night Clerk (uncredited)
Espionage Agent
Ship Steward
Dust Be My Destiny
Nick's First Customer (uncredited)
Everybody's Hobby
Mr. Ferris
The Bill of Rights
Colonist
Indianapolis Speedway
Spectator
Naughty but Nice
Professor Listening to Radio (uncredited)
The Sun Never Sets
Minister of Colonial Affairs
Sweepstakes Winner
Mr. Simpkins (as Sidney Bracy)
Torchy Runs for Mayor
Dolan's Butler (uncredited)
Women in the Wind
Race Official / Spectator (uncredited)
On Trial
Joe Burke
Secret Service of the Air
John 'Joe' Vicary
Devil's Island
Soupy
- 1938
The Dawn Patrol
Major Brand's Orderly
The Girl Downstairs
Second Butler (uncredited)
Comet Over Broadway
English Porter (uncredited)
The Declaration of Independence
Congress Clerk (uncredited)
Hard to Get
Carl - Richards' Butler (uncredited)
My Bill
Jenner
Invisible Enemy
Kamarov's Butler
Arsène Lupin Returns
Squad Car Driver (uncredited)
Love Is a Headache
Waiter (uncredited)
- 1937
A Night at the Movies
Movie Patron (uncredited)
The Firefly
Secretary (uncredited)
Fight for Your Lady
Densmore's Servant (uncredited)
Breakfast for Two
Clarence - Blair's Butler (uncredited)
The Wrong Road
Waiter (Uncredited)
The Littlest Diplomat
Adjutant Potter
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Maria's Footman (uncredited)
She Had to Eat
Waiter (uncredited)
Rhythm in the Clouds
Butler
Three Smart Boys
O.T. Hertz, the veterinary doctor
Shall We Dance
First Steward (uncredited)
Call It a Day
Flower Shop Owner (uncredited)
Maid of Salem
Townsman (Uncredited)
Criminal Lawyer
Wilson - Walker's Butler (uncredited)
- 1936
Sinner Take All
Lampier's Butler (uncredited)
Isle of Fury
Sam
Sworn Enemy
Waiter (uncredited)
Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Waiter on ship
Trouble for Two
Noel's Henchman (Uncredited)
One Rainy Afternoon
George, Butler (Uncredited)
Second Childhood
Hobson
Sutter's Gold
Smythe - Sutter's Accountant
The Preview Murder Mystery
Du Beck's Valet (Uncredited)
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Court Clerk (uncredited)
- 1935
Magnificent Obsession
Butler
Rendezvous
Jackson's Assistant (uncredited)
Anna Karenina
Vronsky's Valet
Let 'em Have It
Butler at Spencer Home
Les Misérables
Mayor's Clerk
The Casino Murder Case
Waiter (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
The Winning Ticket
Bank Employee
- 1934
Mills of the Gods
Chauffeur
I'll Fix It
Reporter
What Every Woman Knows
Constituent Shouting 'Three Cheers' (uncredited)
Our Daily Bread
Rent Collector
Outcast Lady
Napier's Butler
The Notorious Sophie Lang
Waiter (uncredited)
He Was Her Man
Waiter
Many Happy Returns
Movie Butler (uncredited)
The Vanishing Shadow
Denny
A Very Honorable Guy
Waiter
Laughing Boy
White Father
The Poor Rich
Arbuthnot
The 9th Guest
Hawkins
Massacre
Norma's Butler (uncredited)
- 1933
Back Page
Edgar Ashe
Only Yesterday
Second Butler (Uncredited)
Broken Dreams
Hopkins
Saturday's Millions
Butler
The Phantom of the Air
James Munson
The Little Giant
Butler
The Woman Who Dared
Tom
What! No Beer?
Dr. Smith (uncredited)
- 1932
Little Orphan Annie
Butler (as Sidney Bracy)
Tangled Destinies
McGinnis, posing as Professor Marmont
The Washington Masquerade
Benedict
Red-Headed Woman
Man Wanting to Use Phone Booth (uncredited)
Letty Lynton
Waiter (Uncredited)
The Airmail Mystery
Driscoll
The Monster Walks
Herbert Wilkes
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
The Waiter
- 1931
A Dangerous Affair
Plunkett
Shanghaied Love
The Rat
The Phantom of Paris
Volunteer from Audience (uncredited)
Sporting Blood
The Tout (uncredited)
Subway Express
Herman Stevens
The Avenger
Windy
Thundering Tenors
The Butler
Dance, Fools, Dance
Albert (uncredited)
Inspiration
Waiter (uncredited)
Ten Cents a Dance
Wilson, Carlton's Butler
Reducing
Beasley's Butler
The Lion and the Lamb
Stanton
- 1930
Along Came Youth
Bit Role (uncredited)
Free Love
Butler
Playboy of Paris
Irate Customer (uncredited)
Doughboys
Recruiter (uncredited)
Monte Carlo
Hunchback at Casino (uncredited)
Anybody's Woman
Butler
Wild Company
Waiter
The Flirting Widow
The Second Butler (uncredited)
The Second Floor Mystery
Alfred
Children of Pleasure
Miles the Butler (uncredited)
Redemption
Waiter
1920s
- 1929
Queen Kelly
Prince Wolfram's Lackey (uncredited)
The Bishop Murder Case
Pyne (as Sydney Bracey)
The Honeymoon
Navratil
Sioux Blood
Cheyenne Jones
His Captive Woman
Means
- 1928
The Haunted House
Tully
Home, James
Haskins (the butler)
Win That Girl
Larry Brawn I
Man-Made Women
Owens
Midnight Madness
Bream's Valet
The Matinee Idol
Don's Valet (uncredited)
While the City Sleeps
Short Order Cook
- 1927
The 13th Juror
The Butler
My Best Girl
Butler Serving Dinner (uncredited)
The Woman on Trial
Brideaux
Painting the Town
Secretary
Birds of Prey
Gaston
- 1926
My Official Wife
Valet to Sascha
You Never Know Women
Manager
The Mystery Club
Detective
A Man Four-Square
Homer Webb
The Devil's Circus
Movie
The Blackbird
Bertie's No. 1 Man
- 1925
The Merry Widow
Danilo's Footman (uncredited)
A Slave of Fashion
Hobson (as Sidney Bracy)
Her Market Value
Banks
- 1924
So This Is Marriage?
Hawkins
Her Night of Romance
Butler
Being Respectable
Philip Deaby
Why Men Leave Home
Sam Neilson
By Divine Right
The Hireling
Leap Year
Loris Keene's Press Agent (uncredited)
- 1923
The Wild Party
Jasper Johnston
Ruggles of Red Gap
Sam Henshaw
Merry-Go-Round
Gisella's Groom
Nobody's Bride
Smithy
The Social Buccaneer
Bentley Craven
- 1922
Manslaughter
Member of the Jury (uncredited)
The Dictator
Henry Bolton
Is Matrimony a Failure?
Bank President
- 1921
Morals
Stinson
Crazy to Marry
Col. Landis
The March Hare
Meadows
The Outside Woman
Mr. Cambridge
Passion Fruit
The Ancient
- 1920
An Amateur Devil
Hopkins
Food for Scandal
Padre
The Invisible Ray
Jean Deaux
1910s
- 1918
The House of Mirth
Percy Gryce
A Man's World
Emile Grimeaux
My Own United States
Capt. Rene Gautier
- 1917
The Long Trail
Paul Graham
The Deemster
Bishop, Father of Dan
Crime and Punishment
Andreas Valeskoff
- 1916
The Ragged Princess
Toby Rice
Little Miss Happiness
Jim Butterfield
Temptation and the Man
Jim Crosby
Elusive Isabel
Luiigi
A Huntress of Men
Ned Ashley
The Path of Happiness
Grekko
The Man Inside
Winthrop
- 1914
Zudora
Tom Hunt
The Million Dollar Mystery
Jones - Hargreave's Butler / Stanley Hargreave
- 1913
Uncle's Namesakes
Uncle John
Robin Hood
The Baron