Jean Hersholt (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956) was a Danish actor who lived in the United States where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi. Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "In English, her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult." Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films. He appeared in ...
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Jean Hersholt (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956) was a Danish actor who lived in the United States where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi. Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "In English, her'sholt; in Danish, hairs'hult." Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films. He appeared in 140 films and directed four.
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark to a well-known Danish stage family, Hersholt toured Europe performing with his family when he was young. He then graduated from the Copenhagen Art School. His first two films were made in Germany in 1906. He emigrated to the US in 1913, and the remainder of his movies were made in America.
Hersholt's best remembered film roles included Marcus Schouler in Erich von Stroheim's 1924 in Greed and Shirley Temple's beloved grandfather in the 1937 film version of the 1880 children's book,...
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