Henry Wilcoxon

Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associate producer on his later films. Early life Wilcoxon was born on 8 September 1905 in Roseau, Dominica. His father was English-born Robert Stanley 'Tan' Wilcoxon, manager of the Colonial Bank in Jamaica and his mother, Lurline Mignonette Nunes, was a Jamaican amateur theatre actress, descendant of a wealthy Spanish merchant family. As important in his life as his parents, but closer, was his older brother Robert Owen Wilcoxon, known as 'Owen'. Henry (known then by his born name, Harry) had a difficult childhood. His mother "disappeared suddenly and mysteriously" (presumably she died) when he was about a year old, and his father took him and Owen (aged four) to England with the intention that his own mother, Ann Wilcoxon, would care for them. But because the grandmother was too frail to care for the children, they were first sent to a bad foster home, where they became ill from malnutrition and neglect until this was discovered by the authorities, and they were moved to an orphanage. Harry suffered from rickets, and Owen developed a stutter and had epileptic fits. They were rescued from the orphanage to a new foster home run by the more caring Stewart family, at Springfield House in Acton, London. After several years Harry's father 'Tan', with his new wife Rosamond took the children home with them to Bridgetown, Barbados, where they were educated. Harry was sent to Wolmer's Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica and Harrison College, Barbados. Harry later claimed that at 14 he was 'almost' the underwater swimming champion of Barbados and good enough to become a salvage diver. Harry and his brother Owen were known as 'Biff' and 'Bang' to friends and family due to fighting skills gained in amateur boxing.