On August 6, 1929, he began a successful run in the featured role of G. A. Appleby in It's a Wise Child at the Belasco Theatre.

The show opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 24, 1934, and ran for 147 performances, starring Walter Huston as Samuel Dodsworth.

[7] He would focus on his film career for the remainder of the 1930s, before returning to Broadway in the 1940s, combining both stage and screen performances during that decade.

[2][11] Other notable films in which he appeared include: After the Thin Man (1936); Stella Dallas (1937); Having Wonderful Time (1938);[12] The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); My Little Chickadee (1940); Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940); State Fair (1945); Night and Day (1946); Little Women (1949); Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) and Carrie (1952).

[13] On January 26, 1952, Briggs died in Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital from complications resulting from a heart attack.