Before breaking into films, American character actor Berton Churchill was the former president of New York's Press Feeders' Union and a member of Tammany Hall's board of speakers before he began appearing on Broadway, circa 1910, where he played a variety of character and supporting roles. He also made infrequent appearances in silent movies, but did not really begin working steadily in film until talkies came to the forefront. During the '30s and '40s, Churchill appeared in about 150 films, with 30 of those during 1932. He was most frequently cast as a bad-humored businessman, or prominent citizen in a small town.