John LeRoy Atwell (1878 - 1962)

Born 2 May 1878 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Blanche Susan (Mecredy) Gregg — married 11 Jan 1907 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Husband of Dorothy (Young) Dresser — married 22 Feb 1913 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

Husband of Ethel (Smith) Atwell — married 25 Jul 1919 in Crown Point, Lake, Indiana, United States

Died 6 Feb 1962 at age 83 in New York City, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: David Randall [send private message]

Roy Atwell was a Classic Disney cast member. Join: Classic Disney Project Discuss: classic_disney

Biography

Roy Atwell is Notable.

Private Roy Atwell served with the United States Army during the Spanish-American War.
Service Started: unknown
Unit(s): unknown
Service Ended: unknown

Roy was an American Stage and Film Actor

John Atwell Was a noted American character actor, comedian and composer, known for playing characters who mis-delivered their lines or stammered. He is perhaps best remembered for having voiced Doc in Walt Disney's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Birth and Youth

Roy was born 2 May 1878 in Syracuse, New York. He was the third of four children born to Joseph A. Atwell and his wife, Louise M. (Reymon) Atwell. In 1880, he was a two-year-old boy, residing with his parents and three siblings in a home at 10 Jefferson, in Syracuse, where his father kept a grocery store.^[1] In his early years as a boy in Syracuse, it is said that Roy would organize amateur plays in a neighborhood barn, with another local named Edna Pettie - who would become the international stage actress, Edna May. It is also said that at the age of ten, he began playing flute with "Gilman's Band".^[2] Roy is said to have completed the 8th grade, but did not attend high school.

According to his Associated Press obituary, as a youth, Roy ran away from home with a theatrical wagon troupe that was snowed in during a harsh upstate New York winter. Later, he reportedly attended the Sargent School of Acting where he was a classmate of future film mogul, Cecil B. DeMille. Neither claim, however, has yet been verified. What we do know is that, in 1895, at age 17, Roy and his older brother, Joseph, were working as clerks at 100 Oneida, in Syracuse, although the name of the business where they worked is not stated. At the time, the brothers were still living at home with their widowed mother, at 329 W. Onondaga.^[3]

On 1 May 1898, John enlisted in the National Guard and served as a private in Company C of the 3rd Infantry during the Spanish American War. A month into his service, however, he found himself under arrest in the guard house; the charges are unclear, but he was released without trial the following day. He was briefly arrested again in September and then spent some time in the hospital. He has a ten day furlough in October, and was ultimately discharged after six months of service, on 30 Nov, 1898.After that he had several sick days and spent some time in the hospital.^[4]

In 1900, Roy and his older brother, Joseph, were residing in the boarding home of Betty Livingston, at 328 West Onondaga Street, in Syracuse. He was then working as a stage manager at a theater, while his brother was working as a commercial traveler. on was working as a stage-manager in Syracuse.^[5]

Career

Roy began his acting career on Broadway in 1901, beginning with the farce The Lash of a Whip, performed at the Lyceum Theater. Roy would perform in numerous addition produtions on Broadway over the next three decades, including The Little Missus, The Mimic World, Oh, My Dear!, The Firefly, and How's Your Health? In time, he became known as the stuttering or double-talk comedian, although he preferred to be called a "muddler" for mixing up his thoughts and words. Roy's final Broadway appearance was in the shot-luved peoduction of Onto Fortune in 1935.

In 1922, Roy was discovered by film director Clarence G. Badger and was given a film contract with Universal Studios. He would go on to appear in more than 30 motion pictures between 1922 and 1947. Roy would later become the voice of "Doc" in Walt Disney's 1937 classic animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Roy also achieved some success as a songwriter and was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Perhaps his best known composition was the song Some Little Bug is Going to Find You (1915).

Marriages

Roy married his first wife, actress Blanche S. Mecredy, 11 Jan 1907, at Manhattan, New York.^[6] The couple has not been found in the 1910 U.S. Federal Census and were divorced in about 1911.

On 22 Feb 1913, Roy married second his second wife, nineteen-year-old Dorothy Young, eloping to Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of banker George W. Young and the step-daughter of the famed opera singer, Madame Lillian Nordica.^[7] The couple divorced sometime around 1918.^[8] That September, Roy registered for the World War I draft at the Central Park Arsenal in New York City. He listed his address as the Players Club in Granary Park, and listed his place of employment as "various theaters". As his nearest relative, he listed his sister, Mrs. E.L. Wheatley.^[9]

On 25 Jul 1919, Roy married his third wife, Ethel Smith, at Crown Point, Indiana - despite the initial objections of her parents due to her young age (she was just 18 years old; he was 40). Like his first wife, Ethel is also said to have been a Ziegfeld Follies girl.^[10][11] In 1920, the couple was living in an apartment at 52 West 55th Street in Manhattan, New York.^[12]

Later Years

In 1923, Roy and his siblings inherited a share of a fortune left to them by their grandfather, John C. Reymon^[13]

In 1930, Roy and Ethel were residing in a home on River Lane in Westport, Fairfield, Connecticut, along with their nine year old daughter, June. That year, he was described as an independent playwright, rather than an actor.^[14] The couple appears to have separated in about 1935, when the Westport City Directory continues to list Ethel on River Lane, but states that Roy had moved to New York.^[15]

In 1935, Roy was residing in Studio City, California.

By 1940, Roy and Ethel had divorced. That year he was residing alone at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, and was working as a radio actor.^[16]

In 1942, Roy registered for the World War II draft at Prima Arizona, although he listed his permanent address as Herkimer, New York. By that year, at age 63, he had retired from show business. No longer married, he listed his nephew, Bronson Quackenbush, also of Herkimer, as the person who would always know his location.^[17]

Roy's final film was 1947's Where There's Life, after which he spent his time focusing on real estate ventures, was a chairman for ASCAP, sang in the choir of the Fortune Gallo's San Carlo Opera Company, and served on the council of the Episcopal Actors Guild.

Death

On 1 Jan 1962, it was announced that Roy had been added to the cast in a New York production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, to open in May. A month later, on 6 Feb 1962, Roy died at Veteran's Hospital in Manhattan, New York. He was 83 years old.^[18][19][20]

Sources

1. ↑ 1880 U.S. Federal Census, FamilySearch (database online with images). New York, Onondaga County, City of Syracuse, ED 217, page 35, dwelling 235, family 319, household of Joseph A. Atwell [NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,908.]
2. ↑ Stuttering Comic Roy Atwell Dies; Was Radio Star. The Capital Times (Madison, WI) 7 Feb 1962, p. 2.
3. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com (Database online with images). Boyd's Duplex Directory, New York, Syracuse, 1895, John LeRoy Atwell, Joseph A. Atwell, and Louise M. Atwell, p. 158.
4. ↑ New York Spanish American War Military and Naval Service Records 1898-1902.
5. ↑ 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com (database online with images). New York, Onondaga County, City of Syracuse, Ward 12, ED 124, page 13A, dwelling 221, family 296, LeRoy Atwell in boarding home of Betty Livingston [image 25].
6. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2496-D96 : 10 February 2018), certificate #1534, John L. Atwell and Blanche S. Mecredy, 11 Jan 1907; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,558,687.
7. ↑ Nordica's step-Daughter Weds, Quad-City Time (Davenport, IA) 23 Feb 1913, p.1.
8. ↑ "Wife Sues Leroy Atwell," The Times-Union, (Brooklyn, New York) 24 Jul 1918, p.6, col. 1. Digital images accessed 15 Jun 2021, Historical newspapers.
9. ↑ U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com (database online with images). New York, Manhattan City, Draft Board 163, serial #3790, order #A3959, John Leroy Atwell (1918).
10. ↑ Indiana Marriages, 1810-2001. Ancestry.com (database online). Marriage Registrations, page 245, John L. Atwell to Ethel Smith, (1919) FHL Film #002414696.
11. ↑ It's True, Roy Atwell a Benedict, Daily News (New York, NY) 15 Nov 1919, p. 5.
12. ↑ 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com (database online with images). New York, New York County, City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, Ward 15, ED 1052, page 8A, dwelling 101, family 124, household of Roy Atwell [image 15].
13. ↑ "Comedian Inherits Fortune," The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 25 Dec 1923, p. 17, col. 3, Digital images accessed 15 Jun 2021, Historical newspapers.
14. ↑ 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com (database online with images). Connecticut, Fairfield County, City of Westport, ED 220, page 24B, dwelling 466, family 559, household of Roy Atwell [image 48].
15. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com (Database online with images). The Price & Lee Co., Connecticut, Westport, 1935, Ethel S, Atwell and J. LeRoy Atwell, p. 40.
16. ↑ 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com (database online with images). New York, New York County, City of New York, ED 31-846, page 87B, line 73, John L. Atwell, guest at the Algonquin Hotel [image 22].
17. ↑ U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, Ancestry.com (database online with images). New York, Herkimer County, City of Herkimer, Local Draft Board 408, serial #1588, Roy Atwell (1942).
18. ↑ New York, New York Death Index, 1949-1965. Ancestry.com (database online with images) Certificate # 2988, John Atwell (1962).
19. ↑ The Daily News, 8 Feb 1962, p. 44, col. 3. Digital images. accessed 15 Jun 2021, Historical newspapers.
20. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #123113026

See also:

• Wikipedia: Roy Atwell
• Wikidata: Item Q2706678
• IMDB: Roy Atwell
• IBDB: Roy Atwell
• Disney Wiki: Roy Atwell
• WikiTree: Classic Disney Project