Actor · Acting

James Finlayson

Born 1887-08-26

Died 1953-10-09

📍 Larbert, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK

James Henderson "Jimmy" Finlayson (August 27, 1887 – October 9, 1953) was a Scottish actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is famous for his squinting, outraged, "double take and fade away" head reaction, and characteristic expression "d'ooooooh", and as the most famous comic foil of Laurel and Hardy.

Filmography 152

Laurel & Hardy - Highlights

Dance of the Cookoos

as Man with Toothache / Christmas Tree Customer

The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy

The Big Parade of Comedy

as Sergeant Major Finlayson in 'Bonnie Scotland' (archive footage)

Here We Go Again

as Plato's Rival

The Slappiest Days of Our Lives

as (archive footage)

as Cabby (uncredited)

Grand Canyon Trail

The Perils of Pauline

Two Sisters from Boston

as Street Cleaner (uncredited)

She-Wolf of London

as Constable (uncredited)

as Cook Flynn (uncredited)

Happy Times and Jolly Moments

as (archive footage)

To Be or Not to Be

as Scottish Farmer with Mustache (uncredited)

Foreign Correspondent

as Dutch Peasant (uncredited)

as Dr. J.H. Finlayson (uncredited)

A Chump at Oxford

as Baldy Vandevere (uncredited)

The Great Victor Herbert

as Hansom Cab Driver (uncredited)

The Flying Deuces

Hollywood Cavalcade

as Keystone Cop

as Man on Stairs

as Barker's 2nd Butler (uncredited)

The Toast of New York

as Trick-Hat Inventor (uncredited)

The Bohemian Girl

as Captain Finn

Manhattan Monkey Business

as Joyce's Father

Bonnie Scotland

as Sgt. Maj. Finlayson

Thicker Than Water

as Auction Manager

So This Is Harris!

The Gay Nighties

as Mr. Amos Pipp

as Mr. Brown, the banker

The Devil's Brother

as Lord Rocburg

His Silent Racket

as Peter Cucumber

Nature in the Wrong

as Voice of lion (uncredited)

Pack Up Your Troubles

as Ringmaster (uncredited)

as Kitty's Father

Scratch-As-Catch-Can

as A Community Player

as Schoolteacher

One of the Smiths

as Wine Brewer (uncredited)

as Father of the bride (uncredited)

Playing at Politics

Chickens Come Home

as Butler (uncredited)

Another Fine Mess

as Col. Wilburforce Buckshot (uncredited)

as House Detective

For the Defense

The Dawn Patrol

as Field Sergeant

as Andy (as Jimmy Finalyson)

as Governor (uncredited)

as Homeowner (uncredited)

as Store keeper

as Spooky Wall Painting

as Trelawney West

Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath

Bachelor’s Paradise

Galloping Ghosts

as Police Commissioner

Flying Elephants

as Saxophonus (uncredited)

Should Tall Men Marry?

Do Detectives Think?

as Judge Foozle (uncredited)

as Proprietor, Kwickway Washing Machine Co.

Call of the Cuckoo

as Asylum Inmate

The Second 100 Years

as Browne Van Dyke

as Oil tycoon Cyrus Brittle

With Love and Hisses

as Captain Bustle

Don't Tell Everything

as Lawyer Goldblum

Love 'Em and Weep

as Titus Tillsbury

as Jack Belcher

Forgotten Sweeties

One Hour Married

Seeing the World

as 'Old Buzz-Fuzz,' teacher

as Mabel's Boss

The Nickel-Hopper

as Simpson Sniffle

Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes

as Dean of Pinkham University

Thundering Fleas

as Justice of the Peace

Don Key (Son of Burro)

as Vivien's Suitor

as Jonathan Haig

as Struggling Author

What's the World Coming To?

as The Father-in-Law

A Punch in the Nose

Flaming Flappers

The Caretaker's Daughter

as The Prohibition Sleuth (as Jimmie Finlayson)

Moonlight and Noses

as Professor Sniff

Unfriendly Enemies

as The Cameraman

Mary, Queen of Tots

Madame Sans Jane

as The Girl's Father

Innocent Husbands

as The Desk Clerk (as Jimmie Finlayson)

Yes, Yes, Nanette

as Hillory, the new husband

Chasing the Chaser

as Gilroy (the husband)

Thundering Landlords

as The Landlord

as The Floorwalker

The Haunted Honeymoon

as McGregor's Son

Wide Open Spaces

as Jack McQueen

Rupert of Hee-Haw

as Rupert of Hee Haw

Brothers Under the Chin

Zeb vs. Paprika

as Major Glanders Botts

as Postal Inspector Hawke

as Baron Buttontop

Scorching Sands

The Whole Truth

as Defense lawyer

as General Sappovitch

Jus' Passin' Through

as Drunk (uncredited)

Roughest Africa

A Man About Town

as Humko, Store Detective

Pitfalls of a Big City

as The Hired Man

as James Finlayson

Oranges and Lemons

as Wicked Man from the Wicked City

Where's My Wandering Boy This Evening?

as The Hired Man

Courtship of Miles Sandwich

as Miles Sandwich

Pick and Shovel

Sold at Auction!

as The Man Who WAS Sold

as Dental Patient

California or Bust

as Campground neighbor

The Noon Whistle

The Crossroads of New York

Hard Knocks and Love Taps

as Plato's Rival

She Sighed by the Seaside

A Small Town Idol

as J. Wellington Jones

Love, Honor and Behave

as Lightfingered Luke - Professor Yonson's Assistant

as Man Who Made Good

Down on the Farm

as The Sportive Banker with the Mortgage

Trying to Get Along

as The Beauty Parlor Operator

Yankee Doodle in Berlin

as Commander's Officer (uncredited)

The World of Laurel and Hardy