Enjoyed a successful career on Broadway as a playwright, actor and director; active there from 1916-44.
He had, in essence, two successful film careers, appearing in 42 films between 1911 and 1917. He then pursued a career on Broadway, where he became a star in both musical comedies and dramas. His invitation to play the murder victim in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) restarted his career in movies and he appeared in an additional 62 films before his death in 1955.