H. Bruce Humberstone

Birth Name: Harry Bruce Humberstone

Date of Birth: November 18, 1901

Place of Birth: Buffalo, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: October 11, 1984

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, German, French

H. Bruce Humberstone, also known as Lucky Humberstone, was an American actor, script clerk, assistant director, and film director. Acting mostly as a child, he was a prolific director as an adult and co-founded the Directors Guild of America in 1936. Among his films as director are I Wake Up Screaming, as well as The Crooked Circle (1932), Goodbye Love (1933), Merry Wives of Reno, The Dragon Murder Case (1934), Three Live Ghosts (1936), Ladies Love Danger, Charlie Chan at the Race Track, and its sequels; Checkers (1937), Rascals (1938), Pardon Our Nerve, The Quarterback (1940), Lucky Cisco Kid, Sun Valley Serenade, Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941), Iceland (1942), To the Shores of Tripoli, Hello, Frisco, Hello; Wonder Man (1945), Three Little Girls in Blue, The Homestretch (1947), Fury at Furnace Creek, South Sea Sinner, Happy Go Lovely, She’s Working Her Way Through College, The Desert Song (1953), Ten Wanted Men, The Purple Mask, Tarzan and the Lost Safari, Tarzan’s Fight for Life, and Madison Avenue. He also co-directed King of the Jungle (1933) and Tarzan and the Trappers.

H. Bruce was the son of Mabelle/Mabel Eunice and Frank Butters Humberstone. His mother was born in Canada, to a French father and an American mother.

H. Bruce’s mother was said to have been related to actors Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth, the latter of whom assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. It is not clear if this is accurate.

H. Bruce’s paternal grandfather was named Thomas H. Humberstone (the son of John Humberstone and Elizabeth). Thomas lived in Buffalo, New York, and was the son of English parents. John was an upholsterer.

H. Bruce’s paternal grandmother was named Cecilia/Celia Eiss (the daughter of Johann Georg Eiss and Rosanna). Cecilia was born in Indiana, and moved to Buffalo, when she was nine. Johann was German, from Leonburg, and was a teamster.

H. Bruce’s maternal grandfather was named Charles De La Marsche. Charles was from France.

H. Bruce’s maternal grandmother was named Anna E. Sinclair. Anna was from New York or Kentucky.

Sources: https://www.genealogy.com

Genealogy of H. Bruce Humberstone – https://www.findagrave.com