Alan Dinehart was a tall, heavy-set character actor who dropped out of school to join a repertory company, acquiring extensive stage experience with 27 appearances on Broadway. By the time he was signed by Fox in 1931, he had worked as an actor, stage manager, and writer. On screen, he primarily appeared in "B" pictures, with notable exceptions being the MGM musical blockbuster Born to Dance (1936) and the 20th Century-Fox classic family drama Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).
Dinehart specialized in portraying blustering or shifty businessmen, crooked politicians, or racketeers, often playing supporting roles. However, he initially started out in the early 1930s playing leading roles opposite major female stars of the period. His characters were rarely sympathetic, as seen in Street of Women (1932),where he played an architect with a mistress, and Supernatural (1933),where he portrayed a phony spiritualist fleecing a wealthy socialite.
On occasion, Dinehart found employment as more benevolent characters, such as in Dance, Girl, Dance (1933),where he played a theatrical impressario. His performances received good reviews from Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times, ranging from "excellent" to "bearing up valiantly."
Contrary to his self-styled image as "Hollywood's most versatile villain," Dinehart had strong comedic inclinations, co-authoring several comedy plays towards the later stages of his career. The last and most successful of these, "Separate Rooms" (1940-1941),with Dinehart top-billed alongside Glenda Farrell and Lyle Talbot, became one of the longest-running non-musical plays on Broadway at the time, closing after 613 performances.
Dinehart's son, Mason Alan Dinehart, followed in his father's footsteps and also became an actor, featured in several westerns and on television from the late 1940s.
