Cyril Ring (December 5, 1892July 17, 1967) was an American actor. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in more than 350 films, nearly all of them in small and/or uncredited bit parts.
Ring is probably best known today for his featured role as Harvey Yates, a swindler and accomplice to fellow swindler Penelope, played by Kay Francis in the Marx Brothers' first film The Cocoanuts (1929). He also appeared in uncredited small parts in two other Marx films, Monkey Business (1931) and A Day at the Races (1937).
Early life Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ring began his stage career as a young man, following his older sister Blanche Ring into show business. In 1915 he married comedienne and dancer Charlotte Greenwood. During their marriage Ring acted as her personal manager;Variety, Nov. 19, 1915, p. 40. they divorced in 1922. Although a studio biography states that Ring entered motion pictures in 1917,Press Sheets for Paramount and Metro Extended Season Releases, 1923. his wedding announcement of 1915 identifies him as already working in this field. He also appeared in many hit plays including The Yankee Girl, So Long Letty, Linger Longer, and Madam Sherry. Ring's nephew was prominent film director Eddie Sutherland.Jerome Weatherby, "The Nephew of Seven Stars", Picture Play, August 1920, p. 58.
Career By 1929 Ring had been with Paramount Pictures for several years as a member of its stock company, and with the new talking pictures requiring stage-trained actors who could deliver dialogue persuasively, Ring was a qualified candidate for the villainous role in The Cocoanuts. It turned out to be Ring's best-remembered screen role. In the New York Times review on May 25, 1929, Mordaunt Hall singled Ring out for criticism: "Cyril Ring, in an amateurish fashion, does the honors as the conspiring Mr. Yates, whose great hope in this adventure is to cash in on Mrs. Potter's gems. Mr. Ring, who has impersonated regiments of villains on the silent screen, here plays his part as though everybody but his determined female partner were both sightless and deaf."
Marx Brothers historian Matthew Coniam observes, "It seems to me he makes a perfectly good job of villainous Harvey Yates in The Cocoanuts. But for some reason he got the most terrible reviews, and his career didn't so much decline as nosedive almost immediately afterwards."
Successful bit player The Cocoanuts didn't lead to further major roles, but Ring's well-tailored and businesslike appearance guaranteed him steady work in motion pictures. He began freelancing at most of the Hollywood studios, playing any number of incidental characters. His nephew Eddie Sutherland cast him in Sutherland's pictures (like International House with W. C. Fields).
Ring is usually seen as a desk clerk or reporter, but can also be spotted in restaurant or theater scenes (either as a staff member or a patron), or just as a recognizable face in the crowd (as in Laurel and Hardy's Block-Heads, where a crowded elevator opens to reveal Ring standing quietly and pleasantly in the front row). Many directors often sent out casting calls for big crowd scenes, and Ring could be depended upon to report for duty. In the 1937 film Nothing Sacred, for example, director William A. Wellman needed 18 bit players and 193 extras for a banquet scene;Nothing Sacred pressbook, "Huge Banquet Scene in Nothing Sacred, United Artists, 1937, p. 11. and Ring answered the call. One of his few leads was in a Gertrude Niesen musical short filmed for coin-operated jukeboxes in 1940, co-produced by singer Rudy Vallee and businessman William Kemble; Niesen sings the current hit "Jim" longingly while Ring (as Jim) gleefully enjoys the company of every girl but Niesen.
Ring was extraordinarily prolific, with 33 documented appearances in 1937 alone, and 36 more in 1939. He worked steadily through 1945. After World War II most studios decided to make fewer lower-budget pictures, leaving Ring with fewer assignments, but he continued to work in pictures until 1951.
Death Ring died on July 17, 1967, in Hollywood, California, at age 74.
Selected filmography
The Conquest of Canaan (1921) as Gene Louden Divorce Coupons (1922) as Conrad Fontaine Back Home and Broke (1922) as Eustace Grimley The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923) The Exciters (1923) as Roger Patton Homeward Bound (1923) as Rufus Brent Jr. Pied Piper Malone (1924) as Charles Crosby Jr. The Breaking Point (1924) as Louis Bassett The Guilty One (1924) as H. Beverly Graves Hit and Run (1924) as George Collins In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924) as Partington Tongues of Flame (1924) as Clayton Mismates (1926) as Helwig News Parade (1928) as Prince Oscar The Cocoanuts (1929) as Yates The Social Lion (1930) as Ralph Williams Top Speed (1930) as Vincent Colgate (uncredited) Millie (1931) as Bailey (uncredited) Don't Bet on Women (1931) as Jeanne's Dancing Partner (uncredited) Bad Sister (1931) as Doctor (uncredited) Monkey Business (1931) as Party Guest (uncredited) Union Depot (1932) as Track 4 Ticket Taker (uncredited) Sky Devils (1932) as Military Policeman (uncredited) Business and Pleasure (1932) as Arthur Jones Disorderly Conduct (1932) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited) It's Tough to Be Famous (1932) as Reporter from the Star (uncredited) The Dark Horse (1932) as Airport Clerk (uncredited) The Purchase Price (1932) as Second Man Joan Sings To (uncredited) Madison Square Garden (1932) as Sports Reporter (uncredited) Secrets of the French Police (1932) as Minor Role (uncredited) The Half-Naked Truth (1932) as Phelps (uncredited) Two Lips and Juleps (1932) Murders in the Zoo (1933) as Banquet Guest (uncredited) Emergency Call (1933) as Dr. Lenehan (uncredited) International House (1933) as Mr. Brown as Assistant Hotel Manager (uncredited) A Shriek in the Night (1933) as Eddie, Morgue Attendant (uncredited) Neighbors' Wives (1933) as Bill Cooper Too Much Harmony (1933) as Stage Manager (uncredited) Tillie and Gus (1933) as Poker Player (uncredited) Meet the Baron (1933) as Mayor's 'Yes' Man (uncredited) Dark Hazard (1934) as Man at Third Roulette Table (uncredited) No More Bridge! (1934, Short) Sisters Under the Skin (1934) as Bored Man The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) as Motel Clerk (uncredited) Hollywood Hoodlum (1934) as Duke as Tony's Assistant Call It Luck (1934) as Man at Window (uncredited) Behold My Wife! (1934) as Society Man at Party (uncredited) The Gilded Lily (1935) as Headwaiter (uncredited) Goin' to Town (1935) as Stage Manager (uncredited) Black Sheep (1935) as Passenger (uncredited) Hooray for Love (1935) as Second Radio Official Firing Doug (uncredited) Love Me Forever (1935) as Auction Spectator (uncredited) The Murder Man (1935) as Man at Defense Table (uncredited) Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) as Man with $30,000 Bettor (uncredited) Shanghai (1935) as Reporter from 'Free Press' (uncredited) Dante's Inferno (1935) as Drunk in Cabin (uncredited) Page Miss Glory (1935) as Reporter (uncredited) Diamond Jim (1935) as Fireman (uncredited) Navy Wife (1935) as Ship Passenger (uncredited) Two-Fisted (1935) as Companion to Briggs (uncredited) It's in the Air (1935) as Drake's Assistant (uncredited) Rendezvous (1935) as Orderly (uncredited) The Payoff (1935) as Reporter (uncredited) Music Is Magic (1935) as Cafe Patron (uncredited) Thanks a Million (1935) as Audience Member (uncredited) The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935) as Casino Bar Patron (uncredited) Man of Iron (1935) as Golfer (uncredited) The Bride Comes Home (1935) as Party Guest (uncredited) Dangerous (1935) as Rehearsal Observer (uncredited) Hitch Hike Lady (1935) as Information Clerk (uncredited) King of Burlesque (1936) as Auctioneer's Assistant (uncredited) Song and Dance Man (1936) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited) Everybody's Old Man (1936) as Salesman (uncredited) Colleen (1936) as Client with Ames Company Official (uncredited) The Great Ziegfeld (1936) as Reporter (uncredited) The First Baby (1936) as Wedding Guest (uncredited) Gentle Julia (1936) as Neighbor at Dance (uncredited) Palm Springs (1936) as Reception Clerk (uncredited) The Border Patrolman (1936) as Ed Hendricks (uncredited) A Son Comes Home (1936) as Reporter (uncredited) Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) as Race Track Patron (uncredited) The Man Who Lived Twice (1936) as Heifetz Concert Attendee (uncredited) Wedding Present (1936) as Reporter (uncredited) 15 Maiden Lane (1936) as Party Guest (uncredited) Pigskin Parade (1936) as Professor at Meeting (uncredited) Polo Joe (1936) as Spectator (uncredited) Go West, Young Man (1936) as Reporter (uncredited) Love on the Run (1936) as Wally as a Reporter (uncredited) More Than a Secretary (1936) as Department Head (uncredited) College Holiday (1936) as Customer (uncredited) After the Thin Man (1936) as Reporter (uncredited) God's Country and the Woman (1937) as Passerby (uncredited) Criminal Lawyer (1937) as Extra at Larkin's Nightclub (uncredited) Time Out for Romance (1937) as Reporter (uncredited) When You're in Love (1937) as Man Outside Dressing Room (uncredited) A Doctor's Diary (1937) as Dr. Merrick (uncredited) When's Your Birthday? (1937) as Charity Bazarr Extra (uncredited) A Family Affair (1937) as Convention Delegate on Platform (uncredited) Swing High, Swing Low (1937) as Visitor Leaving Ship (uncredited) Nobody's Baby (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited) Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) as Guest in Vogard Hotel Lobby (uncredited) Melody for Two (1937) as Nightclub Table Extra (uncredited) There Goes My Girl (1937) as Wedding Guest (uncredited) It May Happen to You (1937, Short) as Intern (uncredited) A Day at the Races (1937) as Racetrack Spectator (uncredited) Married Before Breakfast (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited) Slim (1937) as Extra Dancing in Nightclub (uncredited) Wake Up and Live (1937) as Radio Man in Control Booth (uncredited) Topper (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited) That Certain Woman (1937) as Hotel Lobby Extra (uncredited) The Life of the Party (1937) as Night Club Extra (uncredited) One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) as Concert Attendee (uncredited) It Happened in Hollywood (1937) as Rudy as Cameraman (uncredited) The Women Men Marry (1937) as Doorman (uncredited) Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) as Candid Camera Fan at Hottentot Club (uncredited) There Goes the Groom (1937) as Class Reunion Greeter (uncredited) Fight for Your Lady (1937) as Wrestling Spectator (uncredited) 52nd Street (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited) Navy Blue and Gold (1937) as Naval Officer at Football Game (uncredited) Blossoms on Broadway (1937) as Reporter (uncredited) Nothing Sacred (1937) as Pilot (uncredited) She Married an Artist (1937) as Reporter (uncredited) Wells Fargo (1937) as Minor Role (uncredited) The Last Gangster (1937) City Girl (1938) as Cigar Stand Proprietor (uncredited) Love Is a Headache (1938) as Reporter (uncredited) Little Miss Roughneck (1938) as Ward (uncredited) Dangerous to Know (1938) as Guest at Party (uncredited) The First Hundred Years (1938) as Night Club Patron (uncredited) King of the Newsboys (1938) as Businessman (uncredited) Goodbye Broadway (1938) as Minor Role (uncredited) Test Pilot (1938) as N.A.A. Official (uncredited) Joy of Living (1938) as Man in Margaret's Dressing Room (uncredited) Hold That Kiss (1938) as Dog Show Attendee (uncredited) Holiday (1938) as Churchgoer (uncredited) One Wild Night (1938) as Bank Employee (uncredited) Always Goodbye (1938) as Fashion Show Patron (uncredited) The Crowd Roars (1938) as Ringsider (uncredited) Block-Heads (1938) as Elevator Passenger (uncredited) I Am the Law (1938) as Photographer (uncredited) Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) as Man at Party (uncredited) Too Hot to Handle (1938) as Cameraman (uncredited) Hold That Co-ed (1938) as Radio Reporter on Football Field (uncredited) The Spider's Web (1938) as Henry Blake (uncredited) Young Dr. Kildare (1938) as Intern (uncredited)