Maysville has its fair share of famous people and visitors, the result of being one Kentucky’s earliest towns along the Ohio River.
One local celebrity that has faded into the background is Joseph Henry Wadsworth. He was known to his Maysville friends as Joe, but known in the acting and movie industry as Henry.
Henry Wadsworth was the descendant of one of Kentucky’s and Maysville’s most distinguished citizens — William Henry Wadsworth. Born in 1821, W.H. Wadsworth became a prominent lawyer, orator, and Congressman. The Wadsworth ancestry in America dates to 1632, when brothers William and Christopher Wadsworth arrived in Hartford, Conn., from England on the ship “Lion.”
Christopher Wadsworth was the forefather of the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Adna Anson Wadsworth settled in Maysville and was Henry’s great-grandfather.
His parents were John Gray Wadsworth and Ida Power Wadsworth, who married in 1894. His grandfather, W.H. died in 1893.
He graduated from Maysville High School in 1921 and attended University of Kentucky.
Henry Wadsworth died in December 1974 at the age of 71. Until the time of his death, he always made his summer home in Maysville at the house his grandfather W.H. built, Buffalo Trace. Henry was the last of his family to reside at Buffalo Trace.
The stately, two-story red brick home overlooks Maysville and the Ohio River Valley from its perch at the end of Hillcrest and Buffalo Trace roads. W.H. Wadsworth and his family moved into the house in 1862. The place received its name from the fact it was built beside the trail of the buffalo who made their way from the Ohio River to the salt lick at Blue Licks.
Henry Wadsworth was the younger of John and Ida’s two sons and was born June 18, 1903.
According to a news story published Dec. 6, 1974, following his death, Henry made his first starring appearance on Broadway in the late 1920s.
He then went to Paramount (Studios) to appear in “Applause,” which marked the movie debut of Helen Morgan. The 1929 movie was one of the first released with sound.
He also had roles in “Operator 13” with Marion Davies; “Fast and Loose” with Carole Lombard ; and he had a role in the original “Thin Man.” He moved to Metro Goldwyn Mayer for a seven-year contract and had a role in the movie “The Voice of Bugle Ann.”
Before retiring in the late 1950s, Henry played summer stock in the East and Bermuda. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and after the war went with the USO to Japan to entertain the armed forces stationed there. In his early years of acting, he was with touring companies such as Stuart Walker.
A variety of interesting tidbits about Henry’s acting career are on file at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center. One article notes Henry being cast with Carole Lombard, Frank Morgan, Charles Starrett and Mariam Hopkins in an “All-Legit Cast” produced by Paramount.
Henry was also cast in Paramount’s “Big Broadcast 1936.” The series began in 1932 and continued in late 1935 with “The Big Broadcast of 1936” (1935), which was released on Sept. 20, 1935.
Henry was cast alongside George Burns, Jackie Oakie, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman and Bing Crosby. Henry played “Smiley” and sang the song, “Why Dream.”
He also appeared in “This Side of Heaven,” (1934) directed by William K. Howard, with Lionel Barrymore, Fay Bainter and Mae Clarke.
Perhaps the most well-known production Henry appeared in was MGM’s “Thin Man” (1934) with William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. The cast also included Maureen O’Sullivan as Dorothy Wynant. Henry was cast as Tommy.
The “Thin Man” is an American comedy-mystery film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.
Other movie/acting credits of Henry’s include “Mark of the Vampire,””Sitting on the Moon,” “Dr. Kildare Goes Home” in which he played Dr. Collins, and “Dangerous Corner” in which he played Gordon Whitehouse.
Information obtained from the Research Library at Kentucky Gateway Museum Center and internet research.
This stately home, Buffalo Trace was built by William Henry Wadsworth, grandfather of Maysville native and actor Joseph Henry Wadsworth. It is now the home of Dr. and Mrs. Rick Hartman.
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