Warner Oland House – Southborough, Massachusetts - Atlas Obscura

Warner Oland House

Southborough, Massachusetts

Former home of an actor most famous for playing various Chinese cinematic characters during the 1930's. 

1
0

Upon first glance it looks indistinguishable from so many other historical homes throughout the area. However, Oland Lane located right next to it gives a small clue as this beige house was once occupied by one of the most renowned Hollywood actors during the early 20th century.

Warner Oland was born in Sweden on October 3, 1879 and spent much of his early acting career in theater before making his cinematic debut in the 1912 silent film Pilgrim’s Progress. Despite being Swedish, Oland was often cast as various Chinese characters and he claimed his vaguely Asian appearance might’ve been due to distant Mongolian ancestry. He fit Hollywood’s racial expectations at the time and in 1929 starred in the film The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu in which he portrayed the titular character. The movie was a box office success making Oland a star and played the character three more times over the next two years. 

Oland’s most notable role of his career came in 1931 when he played Honolulu police detective lieutenant Charlie Chan in the film Charlie Chan Carries On. The heroic Chan was seen as a stark contrast to Oland’s previous role of Fu Manchu and earned him global fame with enormous box office success. Oland would play the character of Charlie Chan for a total of 16 films in which he would earn around $40,000 per film which was very considerable for the time. 

However, despite the fame and wealth, Oland continued to struggle with alcohol and in private may have been displeased of being typecasted as another ethnicity. In 1938 during the filming of Charlie Chan at the Ringside, he abruptly walked off set causing the film to be abandoned and also divorced his wife of thirty years during this time. He returned to Sweden but contracted bronchial pneumonia and died on August 6th at the age 58. 

After he was cremated his ashes were returned to the US and interred at the Southborough Rural Cemetery not far from his home which he purchased back in 1921. If you have watched any of the films starring Oland or have an interest in early cinematic history, the Warner Oland home is worth a visit if you’re ever in the area.