Greenstreet's stage debut was as a murderer in a 1902 production of a
Sherlock Holmes story at the Marina Theatre,
Ramsgate, Kent. He toured Britain with
Ben Greet's Shakespearean company, and in 1905 made his New York City debut in
Everyman. He appeared in such plays as a revival of
As You Like It (1914). He appeared in numerous plays in Britain and America, working through most of the 1930s with
Alfred Lunt and
Lynn Fontanne at the
Theatre Guild. His stage roles ranged from musical comedy to Shakespeare, and years of such versatile acting on two continents led to many offers to appear in films. He refused until he was 61. in
The Maltese Falcon (1941) '' (1942) in
Casablanca (1942) In 1941, Greenstreet began working for
Warner Bros. His debut film role was as Kasper Gutman ("The Fat Man") co-starring with
Humphrey Bogart in
The Maltese Falcon. In
Casablanca (1942), Greenstreet played crooked club owner Signor Ferrari (for which he received a salary of $3,750 per week—equivalent to $82,972 in 2026 dollars—for seven weeks' work). He also appeared in
Background to Danger (1943), with
George Raft;
Passage to Marseille (1944), reuniting with
Casablanca stars Bogart,
Peter Lorre and
Claude Rains;
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944);
The Conspirators (1944) with
Hedy Lamarr and
Paul Henreid;
Hollywood Canteen (1944);
Conflict (1945), again with Bogart;
Three Strangers (1946); and
The Verdict (1946). In the last two, and
The Mask of Dimitrios, he received top billing. He had dramatic roles, such as
William Makepeace Thackeray in
Devotion (1946), and witty performances in
screwball comedies, such as Alexander Yardley in
Christmas in Connecticut (1944). Near the end of his film career, he played opposite
Joan Crawford in
Flamingo Road (1949). After little more than eight years, Greenstreet's film career ended with
Malaya (also 1949), in which he was billed fourth, after
Spencer Tracy,
James Stewart and
Valentina Cortese. In those years, he worked with stars ranging from
Clark Gable to
Ava Gardner to
Joan Crawford. Author
Tennessee Williams wrote his one-act play
The Last of My Solid Gold Watches with Greenstreet in mind, and dedicated it to him. During 1950–1951, Greenstreet played
Nero Wolfe on the radio program
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, based loosely on the rotund detective genius created by
Rex Stout. ==Death and legacy==