Lionel Royce Biography

Polish-born actor Lionel Royce made his American screen bow in 1937. A Teutonic-villain assignment in 1939's Confessions of a Nazi Spy typecast Royce for the rest of his Hollywood career. Among many other assignments, the actor proved to be a memorable menace for Bob Hope in Road to Zanzibar (1941) and My Favorite Blonde (1942). Fans of Republic serials will remember Royce for his dual characterization of a kindly Sultan and the despicable Baron Von Rommer in Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943). Lionel Royce died while on a U.S.O. tour of the Philippines in 1946. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi