
John Roche
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Roche (February 6, 1893 – November 10, 1952) was an American actor of the stage and screen. Roche was born in the small village of Penn Yan, New York, on February 6, 1893. He graduated from the University of Rochester, after which he began his acting career touring with stock companies during the 1910s and early 1920s. In 1922, he broke into the film industry with a featured role in The Good Provider. During the 1920s, he acted in both films and on stage, including several roles in Broadway productions. He acted steadily in films until 1936, in both featured and supporting roles. In the mid-1930s he took a break from films, focusing on the stage, including directing the play, Mackerel Skies, which had a short run at the Playhouse Theatre in New York in 1936. Roche returned to films in 1941, with a small role in the Norma Shearer vehicle, We Were Dancing (1942), based on the Noël Coward play of the same name. Over the course of his career he was involved in over half a dozen Broadway productions and appeared in over 50 films. His final screen appearance was in 1946's The Brute Man. Roche died on November 10, 1952, in Los Angeles, California.
Known For

Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider.
The Spider Woman

Fight promoter Nick Donati grooms a bellhop as a future champ, but has second thoughts when the 'kid' falls for his sister.
Kid Galahad

While an escaped convict, Moose Malloy, goes in search of his ex-girlfriend Velma, police inspector Michael O'Hara attempts to track him assuming him to be a prime suspect for a number of mishaps.
The Falcon Takes Over

A wealthy girl hires a male escort to make one of her male friends jealous. She spreads rumours about her character that makes her popular amongst all bachelors in the city including her friend.
Lady with a Past

If there was one thing that Don Juan de Marana learned from his father Don Jose, it was that women gave you three things - life, disillusionment and death. In his father's case it was his wife, Donna Isobel, and Donna Elvira who supplied the latter. Don Juan settled in Rome after attending the University of Pisa. Rome was run by the tyrannical Borgia family consisting of Caesar, Lucrezia and the Count Donati. Juan has his way with and was pursued by many women, but it is the one that he could not have that haunts him. It will be for her that he suffers the wrath of Borgia for ignoring Lucrezia and then killing Count Donati in a duel. For Adriana, they will both be condemned to death in the prison on the river Tigre.
Don Juan

A beautiful woman lands a job at an exclusive salon that deals with the wives of wealthy businessmen. Her contact with these men leads to a series of affairs.
Beauty for Sale

Dowdy Sylvia accepts her boss' marriage proposal, even though he only asked her to avoid marriage to another woman. As a wealthy wife, Sylvia changes from plain to uninhibited swan and even contemplates having an affair.
Sin Takes a Holiday

A prosperous small-town peddler accedes to his family's wish to move from their secure existence to the uncertainty of New York City. It proves fruitless and eventually his kin sees the error of their ways and return to their true home.
The Good Provider

In 1856, slave Eliza plans to marry George with the consent of the Shelbys, her masters, but George's owner prevents the wedding. A few years later, Eliza flees with her son, Harry, after learning the Shelbys plan to hand them over to a crooked creditor to prevent foreclosure. George also escapes and goes on the run while Eliza and Harry are captured and brought back home. Mother and son are separated as George tries to find them both.
Uncle Tom's Cabin

Longtime friends become feuding mothers-in-law when their children marry.
Prosperity

When a rash of murders depletes their number, a billionaire's employees are brought together at an Englishman's estate.
The Unholy Night

A countess fleeing her husband mistakes a count for her hairdresser at a Monte Carlo casino.
Monte Carlo

In South Africa, a worker in a diamond mine is sentenced to death for stealing a huge diamond he found in the mine. Before he dies he passes the stone to a local girl, Musa. Known as the "Shah" diamond, it eventually winds up in New York City. Complications ensue, involving a wealthy society matron, her jealous husband, a gang of vicious jewel thieves and a brutal gangster who owns a nightclub. A lost film.
Diamond Handcuffs

A romance runs into difficulties because the girl has seen a great deal of the turbulence in her sister's household, and has no illusions about married bliss.
This Thing Called Love

Clergyman Peter leaves the pulpit to enter World War I to be near Julie, the woman he loves. They are separated, but after the war she nurses him through a long illness. He will not marry her because it would hinder the humanitarian work that he plans. She keeps her faith in him, which prompts him to return to her and marry her. A lost film.
Recompense

In a wealthy society family, the mother is forced to sit by and watch while her husband and son both compete for the affections of a pretty young temptress.
My Wife and I

A pair of professional thieves discover that their accomplice, Mary Brennan, is a dead-ringer for wealthy heiress Margaret Waring. They wait until Margaret is absent from the house, then place Mary there to make their heist easier. Unfortunately, Margaret returns before they've finished the job and gets shot. When the police get there, both women claim to be Margaret Waring and accuse the other of being the thief--and they look so much alike that no one can tell the difference.
Cornered

When a hardened businesswoman who goes by the initials A.B. overhears someone calling her an “Amazon” because of her butch ways, she agrees to a more “feminine” makeover. In the end she learns that no matter how she looks she’s still the smartest person in any room.
The Clinging Vine

"Old Peter Grimm makes his ward Katie promise to marry his nephew Frederik [ sic ] and then dies. Frederik proves to be a scapegrace and Peter's spirit returns to right matters and finally succeeds in doing so by communicating with Jimmie who is in a delirium." ( Moving Picture World, 20 Nov 1926, p164.) Peter thus thwarts selfishness and greed and rewards virtue.
The Return of Peter Grimm

The Man Upstairs is a lost 1926 silent film comedy directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Monte Blue. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film is based on a novel, The Agony Column by Earl Derr Biggers.