Ernest Cossart

Ernest Cossart was an English actor. After a stage career in England he moved to the US, appearing on Broadway and all around the country. In the 1930s and 1940s he appeared in films, specialising in playing butlers, valets and similar roles, but playing a range of other parts.

Cossart was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire as Emil Gottfried von Holst, the younger of the two children of Adolph von Holst , a professional musician, and his first wife, Clara ne Lediard . The elder child, Gustavus, later known as Gustav Holst, became a leading English composer. Emil attended Cheltenham Grammar School and then became a clerk in a wine companys office. When he decided to pursue an acting career he took the stage name Ernest Cossart, appearing on stage in Britain before moving to the US in 1908, working in Broadway productions and all over the country. During the First World War he served in the Canadian army and was severely wounded. After the war he appeared in musical comedy in the West End, before returning to Broadway in 1919.

Source: Wikipedia