From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Osgood Perkins (May 16, 1892 – September 21, 1937) was an American actor. Perkins was born James Ripley Osgood Perkins in West Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Helen Virginia (née Anthony) and Henry Phelps Perkins. He is a descendant of a Mayflower passenger John Howland. Perkins made his Broadway debut in 1924 in the George S. Kaufman – Marc Connelly play Beggar on Horseback. Within the next dozen years he would appear in 24 productions, including The Front Page and Uncle Vanya. Description above from the Wikipedia article Osgood Perkins licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.