Walter Leland Catlett was born to a locally prominent San Francisco, California family in 1889. He won his first stage role as a thirteen year-old in a comedic opera; this early stage career lasted over twenty years. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1920s to make films and by 1930 was in demand as a character actor. After a foray behind the camera, directing a series of comedy shorts for RKO, Catlett returned to acting. His film career spanned another thirty years and 163 films. Catlett died in 1960.

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