Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (27 December 1879 – 18 January 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting through the 1940s. Greenstreet is best remembered for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca (1942), and Passage to Marseille (1944). Greenstreet portrayed Nero Wolfe on radio during 1950 and 1951.
Greenstreet suffered from diabetes and a kidney disorder known as Bright's disease. He eventually died in 1954 in Hollywood due to complications from both conditions.
Expect a character based on Greenstreet to turn up in any Film Noir parody. He also provided inspiration for Marvel's Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin, as well as Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame.
Sydney Greenstreet on TV Tropes:
- The Maltese Falcon (1941) as Kasper Gutman
- They Died with Their Boots On (1941) as Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
- Across the Pacific (1942) as Dr. Lorenz
- Casablanca (1942) as Signor Ferrari
- Passage to Marseille (1944) as Major Duval
- The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) as Mr. Peters
- Christmas in Connecticut (1945) as Alexander Yardley
- The Hucksters (1947) as Evan
- The Velvet Touch (1948) as Capt. Danbury
- The Woman in White (1948) as Count Alessandro Fosco
- Ruthless (1948) as Buck Mansfield
