Henry B. Walthall: The Right Man for the Job

Henry B. Walthall, who gained great fame as Ben "the little colonel" Cameron in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, was apparently well-suited for the role. Wathall, born on an Alabama cotton plantation and educated privately, had all the opportunities of a privileged plantation gentleman - but chose a career in acting. Go figure. The parts he played early in his career, whether by intentionally seeking them out or simply by happenstance, seemed to revolve around the Civil War and the Old South. None of this was lost on Griffith, who when casting the role of the little colonel, thought Walthall perfectly suited for the gig. In a sense it was the role he was born to play.

With compliments,

Keith