Jerry Verno(1895-1975)

Jerry Verno was one of those picturesque cockney actors that made British pictures irresistible. Michael Powell gave him leading parts in four of his first films before using him again in his classic The Red Shoes (1948) as George, the stage door keeper. But as of the mid-thirties Verno only got minor parts, although very conspicuous ones: a Cockney never goes unnoticed. Impossible to miss him as the commercial traveler in his two Hitchcock films The 39 Steps (1935) and as the lorry driver in Young and Innocent (1937). All in all, Verno's film career may seem modest but it must not be overlooked that he worked from childhood (he started as a boy vocalist) to old age in variety, pantomime, theater, musicals and television. You can't be everywhere at the same time!