Dennis Hoey

Dennis Hoey
Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade
Born	Samuel David Hyams (1893-03-30)30 March 1893 London, England, UK
Died	25 July 1960(1960-07-25) (aged 67) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Kidney disease
Resting place	Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, Tampa, Florida
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1924–52
Spouse(s)	Josephine Hoey (1933–46) (divorced) 1 son

Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.

Hoey was born Samuel David Hyams in London to Russian parents (another source says Irish and Russian parents.) who owned a bed and breakfast in Brighton. He was educated at Brighton College, and he originally planned to be a teacher.

He served in the British Army during World War I. After a career as a singer, which included entertaining British troops during his war service, Hoey moved to acting on the stage in 1918 and later to films. In 1931, he moved to the United States and began appearing in Hollywood films.

Hoey's first film was Tell England. He is best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. He also portrayed the master of Harrow in The Foxes of Harrow and appeared in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.

Hoey "appeared frequently in London" stage productions, including those of Sydney Carroll's Shakespearean repertory company. He played Mr. Rochester opposite Katharine Hepburn in the American production of Helen Jerome's stage adaptation of Jane Eyre. He also wrote a play called The Haven and toured in it in 1946 with Melville Cooper, Valerie Cossart and Viola Roache.