The Character Actor Appreciation Society's topics - tribe.net

RIP James Whitmore

BabeSoDelicious — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:06:00 GMT

Fine character actor: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-james-whitmore7-2009feb07,0,1015401.story

Will never forget that performance of his in the "The Twilight Zone," where he was the leader of a space mission that was stranded on a planet. When help came, he told the others to stay. They left him there on the planet all by himself.

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Pat Hingle

kubbie — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:59:49 GMT

(put a few pics in the gallery)
LA Times obit
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-hingle5-2009jan05,0,3930028.story

wiki bio

Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American actor.

Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Denver, Colorado, the son of Marvin Louise (née Patterson), a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of the University of Texas. He served on the destroyer USS Marshall during World War II. He returned to the University of Texas after the war and earned a degree in radio broadcasting.

Elmer Gantry/Near Fatal Accident

In 1960, he had been offered the title role in Elmer Gantry, but could not do it due to a near fatal accident; caught in an elevator in his West End Avenue apartment building that had stalled between the second and third floors, he crawled out, trying to reach the second floor corridor, lost his balance and fell 54 feet down the shaft, fracturing his skull, wrist, hip and most of the ribs on his left side, breaking his left leg in three places and losing the little finger on his left hand. He lay near death for two weeks and his recovery took more than a year.

Career

Hingle was traditionally known for playing judges, police officers, and other authority figures. One of his notable roles was the father of the character played by Warren Beatty in Splendor in the Grass (1961). While he was probably best known in recent times for playing Commissioner Gordon in the 1989 film Batman and its three sequels, Hingle had a long list of television and movie credits to his name, going back to 1948. Among them are Hang 'Em High (1968), Sudden Impact (1983), Road To Redemption (2001), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979), Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (1986), The Grifters (1990), Citizen Cohn (1992), Muppets from Space, and Shaft (2000). Along with Michael Gough, who played Alfred Pennyworth, he was one of only two actors to appear in four Batman films.

Other Roles

Hingle originated the role of Gooper in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . He also starred as Victor Franz in the premiere production of The Price by Arthur Miller .In the 1997 revival of the musical 1776, Hingle played Benjamin Franklin, with Brent Spiner as John Adams. In 2002, he was a regular cast member of ABC's series The Court. He also played Horace in 1995's The Quick and the Dead. He also played the head cop in San Palo in the fourth Dirty Harry installment, Sudden Impact.

Recently, he appeared in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, as the original owner of Dennit Racing.

Death

He died at his home in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, of leukemia on January 3, 2009, having been diagnosed with myelodysplasia in November 2006.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0385757/

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RIP B-Movie & TV actress Beverly Garland

kubbie — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:54:55 GMT

LA TIMES OBIT (wiki bio and imdb link at bottom)
http://www.legacy.com/LADailyNews/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=121104844

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beverly Garland, the B-movie actress who starred in 1950s cult hits like "Swamp Women" and "Not of This Earth" and who went on to play Fred MacMurray's TV wife on "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82.

Garland died Friday at her Hollywood Hills home after a lengthy illness, her son-in-law Packy Smith told the Los Angeles Times.

Garland made her film debut in the 1950 noir classic "D.O.A.," launching a 50-year career that included 40 movies and dozens of television shows.

She gained cult status for playing gutsy women in low-budget exploitation films such as "The Alligator People" and a number of Roger Corman movies including "Gunslinger," "It Conquered the World" and "Naked Paradise."

"I never considered myself very much of a passive kind of actress," she said in a 1985 interview with Fangoria magazine. "I was never very comfortable in love scenes, never comfortable playing a sweet, lovable lady."

Garland showed her comedic chops as Bing Crosby's wife in the short-lived sitcom "The Bing Crosby Show" in the mid-'60s.

She went on to be cast in "My Three Sons" as the second wife of MacMurray's widower Steve Douglas during the last three seasons of the popular series that aired from 1960 to 1972.

Her television credits also include "Remington Steele," ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King," ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "7th Heaven."

Garland was born Beverly Fessenden in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1926, and grew up in Glendale. She became Beverly Garland when she married actor Richard Garland. They were divorced in 1953 after less than four years of marriage.

In 1960, she married real estate developer Fillmore Crank, and the couple built a mission-style hotel in North Hollywood, now called Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. Garland, whose husband died in 1999, remained involved in running the North Hollywood hotel.

She was the honorary mayor of North Hollywood and served on the boards of the California Tourism Corp. and the Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau.

WIKI BIO

Beverly Garland (October 17, 1926 - December 5, 2008) was an American film and
television actress, businesswoman and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas," in the long-running 1960s sitcom, My Three Sons (a role she played from 1969 until the series ended in 1972). In the 1980s, she co-starred as Kate Jackson's widowed mother, "Dotty West," in the television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, on CBS. She also had a recurring role on the WB series, 7th Heaven.

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden, in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose, who worked in business, and James Atkins Fessenden, a singer and salesman. Garland grew up in Glendale, California. Her 1950s acting roles tended to be tough women who could handle themselves in violent situations. 1956 was a busy year for Garland as she played a female sheriff in the Western Gunslinger, a prison escapee in Swamp Women and a scientist's wife who battles an alien in It Conquered the World (All three movies were directed by Roger Corman and were spoofed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000.). Garland then starred as undercover police officer, "Casey Jones," in the syndicated TV series Decoy.

Television success
In 1957, Beverly made television history as the star of the syndicated TV series Decoy, the first American television police series with a woman in the starring role. It, however only lasted a single season, with 39 episodes made. This groundbreaking series,despite its relatively short run, paved the way for many future police/detective shows starring women, such as NBC's Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson , ABC's Honey West starring Anne Francis,CBS's Cagney and Lacey, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless , and ABC'S Charlie's Angels starring Kate Jackson .

Although Garland co-starred with Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld in the 1968 feature film Pretty Poison, she is best known for playing suburban moms on several TV series. Garland appeared as "Barbara Harper Douglas," second wife of "Steve Douglas" (Fred MacMurray), for the final three seasons of My Three Sons (1969-72) and as "Dotty West," mother of "Mrs. King" (Kate Jackson) on all four seasons of the lighthearted espionage drama, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983-87). Garland was also featured in the successful series Remington Steele as the mother of Stephanie Zimbalist's character, detective Laura Holt.

Her decades of TV guest appearances range from the first-season Twilight Zone episode "The Four of Us Are Dying," about a con artist with a thousand faces (1960). Garland also guest starred in an episode in the final season of Kung Fu. She reprised her earlier Western personae as a tough gun-slinging widow. She appeared on the Mary Tyler Moore Show as a long-ago girlfriend of Lou Grant. Garland also had a recurring role as "Lois Lane's" mother on the 1990s TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, starring Teri Hatcher. On 7th Heaven, she appeared opposite Peter Graves, the brother of James Arness who played "Marshal Matt Dillon" on Gunsmoke. Garland was a frequent guest star during "Gunsmoke's" long run, which ended in 1975.

On radio, Garland is an original player of the California Actors Radio Theatre. C.A.R.T. often records its programs on the grounds of Garland's hotel in The Beverly Garland Little Theater which is decorated with large movie posters from many of Garland's feature films.

For her contribution to the television industry, Garland has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.

Garland owned and operated the Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn (4222 Vineland Avenue) in North Hollywood at the time of her death.

In 1999 her husband of 39 years, businessman Filmore Crank, died. Subsequently, Garland combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel Crank built and named for her. Situated on the former Gene Autry property, the sprawling 255-room Spanish-Mission style resort Beverly Garland Holiday Inn and Conference Center is located in North Hollywood.

Garland's daughter, actress Carrington Garland is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the third Kelly Capwell on the soap opera Santa Barbara.

Death

On December 5, 2008, Garland died in her Hollywood Hills, California home. [5] A memorial service and lavish reception was attended by several hundred people on December 13th at her namesake hotel property, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood.

Beverly at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307500/

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RIP Paul Benedict

kubbie — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:14:19 GMT

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-benedict5-2008dec05,0,2329529.story

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RIP Nina Foch

kubbie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:18:57 GMT

Actress and drama teacher Nina Foch dies at 84

By BOB THOMAS
AP
LOS ANGELES (2008-Dec-04) — Nina Foch, the Dutch-born actress who often played cool, calculating women in films, theater and television and was a respected coach of aspiring actors and directors, has died. She was 84.

Foch died Friday at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia, her son, Dr. Dirk De Brito, told the Los Angeles Times. She became ill last week while teaching at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Foch had taught at the school for 40 years. In her youth, she was a concert pianist and painter before taking up acting studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

After appearing in summer theater productions and touring companies, she moved to Hollywood and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, where she made her movie debut in 1943's "Wagon Wheels West."

Although she never achieved star status, Foch became a distinguished supporting player, often as "the other woman" or figures of wealth and connivance. She was nominated for an Academy Award for supporting actress for "Executive Suite" in 1955.

Other film credits included "The Ten Commandments," "Spartacus," "Rich and Famous" and "Sliver."

On Broadway, she performed in "Tonight at 8:30," "A Second String," "Twelfth Night" and "King Lear," and on television she appeared in "Murder, She Wrote," "The Outer Limits," "Hawaii 5-0," "L.A. Law" and "Just Shoot Me." She appeared last year in an episode of "The Closer."

Foch was born on April 20, 1924, in Leyden, Netherlands, as Nina Consuelo Maud Fock. She was the daughter of conductor-composer Dirk Fock, who moved the family to New York when she was a child. Her mother, Consuelo Flowerton, became a well-known actress in New York, and Nina followed her into the theater world.

Foch said in a 1992 interview that she wanted to diversify her career by directing. She worked as an assistant to producer John Houseman and with directors George Stevens, Ron Woodward, and Randal Kleiser, but she eventually gave up that ambition in favor of teaching.

"I love them and they love me," she once said of her students. "I have one son, but I really don't. I have hundreds of children."

Foch's son is from her second marriage, to Dennis Brite. She married and divorced three times.

WIKI BIO

Nina Foch (April 20, 1924 - December 5, 2008) was an Academy Award-nominated Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.

Nina Foch was born Nina Consuela Maud Fock in Leiden. Her mother was American actress Consuelo Flowerton, who returned to the U.S. after her marriage to Dutch classical music conductor Dirk Fock; they divorced when Nina was a toddler. Growing up in New York, her mother encouraged her artistic talent. She played the piano and enjoyed art but was more interested in acting.

CAREER

Foch's movie fame came during the height of the 1940s when she played cool, aloof and often foreign women of sophistication. She ultimately would be featured in over 80 feature films and hundreds of television shows.

The actress was a regular in John Houseman's CBS Playhouse 90 television series. In 1951, she appeared with Gene Kelly in the award-winning musical An American in Paris. Foch played Marie Antoinette in Scaramouche, Bithiah in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, in which she played the Pharaoh's sister who found the baby Moses in the bullrushes and adopted him as her son.

Foch received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1954 boardroom drama Executive Suite, starring William Holden. She appeared in 1960's Spartacus opposite Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier as a woman who chooses gladiators to fight to the death in the ring, simply for her entertainment. In 1975, she appeared in the film Mahogany starring Diana Ross.

She was cast as "Eva Frazier" in the Outer Limits episode "The Borderland". On television, she was cast as the first murder victim of the Columbo mystery series starring Peter Falk, appearing in the pilot movie, Prescription: Murder (1968), with Gene Barry as her husband, a homicidal psychiatrist.

More recently, she appeared on the television series Just Shoot Me, Bull and NCIS.

Nina Foch taught "Directing the Actor" classes at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, classes she had taught since the 1960s up to her death. She also worked as an independent script-breakdown consultant for many prominent Hollywood directors. She lived in Beverly Hills, California, for forty years, and had one child, a son, Dr. Dirk de Brito.

Foch married 3 times, the first to James Lipton, host of Inside the Actor's Studio. She married Dennis Brite in 1959. The couple had one child before divorcing in 1963. Her last marriage, to Michael Dewell in 1967 ended in divorce in 1993.

Nina Foch died Friday, December 5, 2008, of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, her son, Dr. Dirk De Brito, told the Los Angeles Times. She became ill last week while teaching at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Partial Filmography

Cry of the Werewolf (1944)
The Return of the Vampire (1944)
A Song to Remember (1945)
I Love a Mystery (1945)
My Name is Julia Ross (1945)
The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)
The Dark Past (1948)
Johnny Allegro (1949)
An American in Paris (1951)
Scaramouche (1952)
Executive Suite (1954)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Cash McCall (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
Mahogany ( 1975)
Hush (1998)
How to Deal (2003)

Nina at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001225/

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RIP Harvey Korman

spidra — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:19:02 GMT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/29/BAVU110AI2.DTL

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RIP Sydney Pollack

spidra — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:13:48 GMT

One of my favorite character actors.

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What have you see lateley?

kubbie — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:37:28 GMT

Last night I watch a movie on TCM at about 2am called "Mrs OMalley and Mr Malone" starring Marjorie Main and James Whitmore. Odd little B Movie Who Done It. It is a forgettable movie. But watched it anyhow since I love Main and I had never heard of it. Also very weird to see a young James Whitmore in a "comedy".

He plays a lawyer and she is a school teacher. Run into each other on a train from Chicago. He is after a client on the lamb and she is a teacher on her way to NY to get a prize. Bodies start turning up, they drink, they look for clues, a little more drinking, bodies start playing musical chairs. Beginning of movie Whitmore seemed to be totally out of his skin and almost unwatchable. But toward middle of movie had settled into his character. Main was interesting to see A)because she was in contemporary clothes B) was not playing a hick or butch dowager type character, though she was still a broad. Even though it is a forgettable movie Main gets in some good one liners as does Whitmore at Mains expence. Also Main does some good non vocal acting and comic gags.

Ann Dvorak and Dorothy Malone have small parts in it.
IMDB link to it
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042755/

Last week I saw "Lonely Wives" from 1931, pre code movie.
Starring Edward Everett Horton in a dual role. Strick no nonsense lawyer by day who after 8pm becomes a womanizer. Then as a womaninzing stage actor. The best parts of the movie is where both of the Horton characters are interacting with the Butler , played by Spencer Charters, a boozing servant privy to all secrets. Also the scenes where Horton acts with himself are very smile worthy. The 4 female characters in the movie are rather run of the mill 20's card board cut out characters I found. But the precode sexual innuendos and shenagins were nice to see. Refreshing in a way.

this movie is availabe on Netflix. I didnt check to see if the Whitmore/Main movie is.
Hereis the link to the Lonely Wives IMDB page
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022086/

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RIP Richard Widmark

kubbie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:47:03 GMT

Richard Widmark, movie star, dies at 93

By Aljean Harmetz
Published: March 27, 2008

OBITUARIES
Richard Widmark, whose movie debut as a giggling killer made him an overnight star, giving rise to an enduring Hollywood career playing a gallery of nasty hoodlums and flawed heroes, died Monday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 93.
His death was announced Wednesday by his wife, Susan Blanchard. His health had been declining since he fractured a vertebra in recent months, she said.

For the rest of the obit go here
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/27/america/obits.php

Wiki bio and links

Richard Widmark (December 26, 1914 – March 24, 2008) was an American actor of films, stage, radio and television. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6800 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2002, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Biography
Widmark was born in Sunrise Township, Minnesota, grew up in Princeton, Illinois, and also lived in Henry, Illinois for a short time. He attended Lake Forest College, where he studied acting and also taught acting after he graduated.

Radio
Widmark made his debut as a radio actor in 1938 on Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories. In 1941-42 he was heard daily on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the title role of the daytime serial Front Page Farrell, introduced each afternoon as "the exciting, unforgettable radio drama... the story of a crack newspaperman and his wife, the story of David and Sally Farrell." Farrell was a top reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle. When the series moved to NBC, Widmark turned the role over to Carleton G. Young and Staats Cotsworth.

During the 1940s, Widmark was also heard on such network radio programs as Gang Busters, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Joyce Jordan, M.D., Molle Mystery Theater, Suspense and Ethel and Albert. He returned to radio drama decades later, performing on CBS Radio Mystery Theater (1974-82), and was also one of the five hosts on Sears Radio Theater (as the Friday "adventure night" host) from 1979-81.

Broadway and Films

Widmark appeared on Broadway in 1943 in Kiss and Tell. He was unable to join the military during World War II because of a perforated eardrum. He was in Chicago appearing in a stage production of Dream Girl with June Havoc when 20th Century Fox signed him to a seven-year contract.

Widmark's first movie appearance was in 1947's Kiss of Death, as the giggling, sociopathic villain Tommy Udo. His most notorious scene in the film found Udo pushing a wheelchair-bound woman (played by Mildred Dunnock) down a flight of stairs to her death.

Widmark was almost not cast in the "Kiss of Death" role. He said, "The director, Henry Hathaway, didn't want me. I have a high forehead; he thought I looked too intellectual." Hathaway was overruled by studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck. "Hathaway gave me kind of a bad time," recalled Widmark. [3] Kiss of Death was a commercial and critical success: Widmark won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Widmark's character was also the inspiration for the song "The Ballad of Tommy Udo" by the band Kaleidoscope.

In 1950, Widmark co-starred with Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance and Zero Mostel in Elia Kazan's Panic in the Streets, and he appeared opposite Gene Tierney in Jules Dassin's Night and the City. Both are considered classic examples of film noir.

In 1952, Widmark had his handprints cast in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. During his stint at Fox, he appeared in Pickup on South Street, The Street with No Name and Don't Bother to Knock with Marilyn Monroe. He also appeared in Vincente Minnelli's 1955 cult film The Cobweb with Lauren Bacall.

In a drama set during the Cold War, The Bedford Incident (1965), he starred and was also an uncredited producer. He was however credited with producing his films The Secret Ways and Time Limit. Other notable films in the 1960s were Judgment at Nuremberg, How the West was Won and Cheyenne Autumn. During the 1970s, Widmark's films included Murder on the Orient Express, The Swarm and Coma. In all, Widmark appeared in over 60 films before making his final movie appearance in the 1991 thriller True Colors.

A retrospective of his films was held at the Museum of Modern Art in May 2001.

Television

Widmark was a guest on What's My Line? in 1954, and the following year he made a rare foray into comedy on I Love Lucy, portraying himself when a star-struck Lucy trespasses onto his property to steal a souvenir. Widmark finds Lucy sprawled out on his living room floor underneath a bear skin rug.

Returning to television in the early 1970s, Widmark received an Emmy nomination for his performance as the U.S. President in the TV movie Vanished (1971), a Fletcher Knebel political thriller. In 1972-73, he reprised his detective from Madigan (1968) with six 90-minute episodes on the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. The mini-series Benjamin Franklin (1974) was a unique experiment of four 90-minute dramas, each with a different actor doing the title role: Widmark, Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, Eddie Albert, Melvyn Douglas and Willie Aames (Franklin at age 12). The series won a Peabody Award and five Emmys. During the 1980s Widamrk returned to TV with a half-dozen TV movies.

Personal life

Widmark was married to his first wife, playwright Jean Hazlewood, for almost 55 years, from April 5, 1942 until her death on March 2, 1997. Their daughter, Anne Heath Widmark, an artist and author, married baseball legend Sandy Koufax on January 1, 1969 (but divorced in 1982). In September 1999, Widmark married Susan Blanchard, which made him the stepfather of Amy Fonda, the daughter of Blanchard and Henry Fonda. From the 1950s until his death on March 24, 2008, Widmark resided in Roxbury, Connecticut. Widmark was and remained a very private man, vowing to never appear on a TV talk show, and he never did.

Widmark died at home after a long illness, according to his wife.

Filmography
· Kiss of Death (1947) · The Street with No Name (1948) · Road House (1948) · Yellow Sky (1948) · Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) · Slattery's Hurricane (1949) · Night and the City (1950) · Panic in the Streets (1950) · No Way Out (1950) · Halls of Montezuma (1950) · The Frogmen (1951) · Red Skies of Montana (1952) · Don't Bother to Knock (1952) · O. Henry's Full House (1952) · My Pal Gus (1952) · Destination Gobi (1953) · Pickup on South Street (1953) · Take the High Ground! (1953) · Hell and High Water (1954) · Garden of Evil (1954) · Broken Lance (1954) · A Prize of Gold (1955) · The Cobweb (1955) · Backlash (1956) · Run for the Sun (1956) · The Last Wagon (1956) · Saint Joan (1957) · Time Limit (1957) · The Law and Jake Wade (1958) · The Tunnel of Love (1958) · The Trap (1959) · Warlock (1959)
· The Alamo (1960)
· The Secret Ways (1961)
· Two Rode Together (1961)
· Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
· How the West Was Won (1962)
· The Long Ships (1964)
· Flight from Ashiya (1964)
· Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
· The Bedford Incident (1965)
· Alvarez Kelly (1966)
· The Way West (1967)
· Madigan (1968)
· A Talent for Loving (1969)
· Death of a Gunfighter (1969)
· The Moonshine War (1970)
· Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
· To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
· The Sell-Out (1976)
· Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
· The Domino Principle (1977)
· Rollercoaster (1977)
· Coma (1978)
· The Swarm (1978)
· Bear Island (1979)
· National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1982)
· Hanky Panky (1982)
· Who Dares Wins (1982)
· Against All Odds (1984)
· True Colors (1991)
· Lincoln (1992) (voice, documentary)
· Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) (documentary)

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001847/

TCM
http://www.tcmdb.com/participant/participant.jsp?participantId=205803

At Classic Movies the Golden Years
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/widmark.html

IBDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=64894

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

LARRY STORCH FILES

confetta — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:19:34 GMT

http://www.f-troop.net/larrys_page.htm

Larry Storch

Born: 8-Jan-1923
Birthplace: New York City, NY

Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Level of fame: Somewhat
Executive summary: Corporal Agarn on F Troop

Military service: US Navy (WWII, aboard submarine)

Wife: Norma Storch (b. 6-Apr-1922, m. 10-Jul-1961, d. 28-Aug-2003)
Daughter: June Cross (mulatto stepdaughter)

Friars Club

TELEVISION
F Troop Corporal Agarn
Car 54, Where Are You? Charlie 1953

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Silence of the Hams (13-Jul-1994)
A Fine Mess (8-Aug-1986)
The Flight of Dragons (1982)
S. O. B. (1-Jul-1981)
Without Warning (26-Nov-1980)
The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (7-Sep-1977)
Airport 1975 (18-Oct-1974)
Journey Back to Oz (5-Dec-1974) [VOICE]
The Great Bank Robbery (10-Sep-1969)
That Funny Feeling (16-Aug-1965)
The Great Race (1-Jul-1965)
Sex and the Single Girl (25-Dec-1964)
Captain Newman, M.D. (25-Dec-1963)
40 Pounds of Trouble (31-Dec-1962)
Who Was That Lady? (8-Apr-1960)

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 5 replies

122 spankings for Edward Everett Horton

kubbie — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:30:04 GMT

Edward Everett Horton (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor with a long career including motion pictures, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons.

Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella S. Diack and Edward Everett Horton. His mother was born in Matanzas, Cuba to Mary Orr and George Diack, immigrants from Scotland.[1] Horton attended Brooklyn Polytechnic and Columbia University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.

Horton started his stage career in 1906, singing and dancing and playing small parts in Vaudeville and in Broadway productions. In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and started getting roles in Hollywood films. His first starring role was in the 1922 comedy film Too Much Business, and he portrayed the lead role of an idealistic young classical composer in Beggar on Horseback in 1925. In the late 1920s he starred in two-reel silent comedies for Educational Pictures, and made the transition to talking pictures with Educational in 1929. As a stage-trained performer, he found more movie work easily, and appeared in some of Warner Brothers' early talkies, including The Hottentot and Sonny Boy.

Horton originally went under his given name, Edward Horton. His father persuaded him to adopt his full name professionally, reasoning that there might be other actors named Edward Horton, but only one named Edward Everett Horton.

Horton's screen character was instantly defined from his earliest talkies: pleasant and dignified, but politely hesitant when faced with a potentially embarrassing situation. Horton soon cultivated his own special variation of the time-honored double take (an actor's reaction to something, followed by a delayed, more extreme reaction). In Horton's version, he would smile ingratiatingly and nod in agreement with what just happened; then, when realization set in, his facial features collapsed entirely into a sober, troubled mask.

Horton starred in many unpretentious comedy features in the 1930s, usually playing a mousy fellow who put up with domestic or professional problems up to a certain point, and then finally asserted himself for a happy ending. The actor is best known, however, for his work as a character actor in supporting roles. Some of his noteworthy films include The Front Page, Trouble in Paradise, Top Hat (one of several Astaire – Rogers movies Horton was in), Holiday, Lost Horizon, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Pocketful of Miracles.

Horton continued to appear in stage productions, often in summer stock. His performance in the play "Springtime for Henry" became a perennial in summer theaters.

In the 1950s Horton started doing television work. One of his most famous appearances is an I Love Lucy episode, where he is cast against type as a frisky, amorous suitor. (Horton, a last-minute replacement for another actor, received a special, appreciative credit in this episode.) Beginning in 1959 he narrated the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment of the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon show. In 1965 he played the medicine man, Roaring Chicken, in the sitcom F Troop. He parodied this role, portraying "Chief Screaming Chicken" on Batman as a pawn to Vincent Price's "Egghead" in the villain's attempt to take control of Gotham City. His last role, as a moribund tobacco company president in a wheelchair, was in the motion picture Cold Turkey, released after his death.

Edward Everett Horton died of cancer at age 84 in Encino, California.

Shortly after he died, the city of Los Angeles, California renamed a portion of Amestoy Avenue, the dead-end street where he lived in the district of Encino, "Edward Everett Horton Lane"

Partial Filmography
· Beggar on Horseback (1925)
· La Bohème (1926)
· Sonny Boy (1929)
· Holiday (1930)
· Kiss Me Again (1931)
· The Front Page (1931)
· Trouble in Paradise (1932)
· A Bedtime Story (1933)
· Alice in Wonderland (1933)
· Design for Living (1933)
· The Merry Widow (1934)
· The Gay Divorcee (1934)
· The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
· Top Hat (1935)
· Lost Horizon (1937)
· Shall We Dance (1937)
· The Great Garrick (1937)
· Angel (1937)
· Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
· College Swing (1938)
· Holiday (1938)
· That’s Right You’re Wrong (1939)
· Sunny (1941)
· Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
· Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
· Forever and a Day (1943)
· Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
· The Gang's All Here (1943)
· Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
· Down to Earth (1947)
· The Story of Mankind (1957)
· Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
· One Got Fat (1963)
· It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
· Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
· Cold Turkey (1971)

Horton at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002143/

Edward Everett Horton's grandfather and namesake was Edward Everett Hale, author of "The Man Without a Country."

Horton at Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Edward.Everett&actor_last=Horton

I know I have posted this clip a lot but Horton is priceless in this and he doesn’t even speak
The Lady In Red
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3glSBmLk9A

Here Comes Mr Jordan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWEkC3Til2I

The Gay Divorcee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9fHz8fOIPQ

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

2/14 Thelma Ritter

kubbie — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:52:39 GMT

Belated Birthday to Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was a Tony Award winning , and Academy Award Nominated American character actress of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Early life

Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York. After appearing in high school plays and stock companies, she trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She went on to establish a stage career but took a hiatus to raise her two children (her daughter is the actress Monica Moran) by her advertising-executive husband, Joseph Moran. Ritter then resumed her career on radio in the early 1940s.

Career

Ritter did stock theater and radio shows early in her career, without much impact. Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). The 45-year-old made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised to her son. Her second role, in writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives (1949), also left a mark, although Ritter was again not listed in the credits.

Mankiewicz kept Ritter in mind, and cast her in his All About Eve the following year. An Oscar nomination led to popularity, and a second Oscar nomination followed for Mitchell Leisen's' classic screwball comedy The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney, John Lund and Miriam Hopkins. Ritter enjoyed steady film work for the next dozen years. She also appeared in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950s, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, and The United States Steel Hour.

Throughout her career, Ritter was nominated for an Academy Award six times but never received one. She co-hosted the Oscar ceremony in 1954, trading wisecracks with Bob Hope.

The diminutive, gravel-voiced Ritter gained great acclaim as a premiere character actress, known for her comic timing and sassy one-liners. She was most typically cast as the sardonic, seen-it-all housekeeper who saw through her boss's vanity and frequently told him or her so. But she was also fiercely protective, and neither trusted nor tolerated fools or con men. Ritter would trade on this irascible screen persona for the rest of her life.

Her unsentimental, hard-boiled fatalism could be used in other ways. In occasional non-comedic turns, she projected an unglamorous world-weariness, notably in Pickup on South Street (1953).

Some of her best - known roles include Bette Davis's devoted maid in All About Eve (1950), as Gene Tierney's maid/mother-in-law in The Mating Season (1951), James Stewart's nurse in Rear Window (1954), and as Doris Day's housekeeper in Pillow Talk (1959). Her turn in John Huston's The Misfits (1961), where she played opposite Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, also garnered favorable reviews.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards
Nominated Best Actress in a Supporting Role for:
· All About Eve (1950)
· The Mating Season (1951)
· With a Song in My Heart (1952)
· Pickup on South Street (1953)
· Pillow Talk (1959)
· Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

(Having never actually won the award, she is tied with Deborah Kerr for the most nominations for an actress for an acting award without winning. The record for all actors is Peter O'Toole with eight.) Deborah Kerr and Peter O'Toole would both be given Honorary Oscars.

Emmy Awards
Nominated Emmy Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Goodyear Television Playhouse for episode "The Catered Affair"

Golden Globe Awards
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for:
· All About Eve (1950)
· The Mating Season (1951)
· Boeing Boeing (1965)
·
Tony Awards
Awarded Best Actress (Musical) (1957) for New Girl in Town in a tie with her co-star, Gwen Verdon

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728812/

Thelma at The Golden Years
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/ritter.html

Thelma at Reel Classics
http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ritter/ritter.htm

Thelma at Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Thelma&actor_last=Ritter

Thelma at Scene Stealers
http://www.cinematical.com/2006/06/26/scene-stealers-thelma-ritter/

Quotes

When a man and a woman see each other and like each other they ought to come together - wham - like a couple of taxis on Broadway, not sit around analyzing each other like two specimens in a bottle.”

"We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?"

"Intelligence. Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence."

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

From the "I thought he was dead" column:Ernest Borgnine

kubbie — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:28:37 GMT

Ermes Effron Borgnino or better known as Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Academy Award-winning American actor.

Early life

Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Anna (née Bosselli) and Charles B. Borgnino, who immigrated to the U.S. from Modena, Italy. His parents divorced when he was two years old and he and his mother went to live in Italy, but five years later they returned to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended public schools.

Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935 after high school. He was discharged in 1941, but he re-enlisted when the United States entered World War II and served until 1945 (a total of ten years), reaching the rank of Gunner's Mate 1st Class. In 2004, Borgnine received the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott -- the Navy's highest ranking enlisted sailor at the time -- for Borgnine's support of the Navy and Navy families worldwide.

Acting career

After a few years of drifting, Borgnine attended the Randall School of Drama in Hartford, Connecticut. Following graduation, he went to the famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. His first role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie". In 1949, he debuted on Broadway in the role of a nurse in the hit play Harvey.

In 1951, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he received his big break in From Here to Eternity (1953), playing the cruel Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, in charge of the stockade, who taunts fellow soldier Angelo Maggio (played by Frank Sinatra). After Maggio ends up in the stockade for being drunk on duty, Fatso beats him to death. However, Fatso meets his own end in a knife fight with Maggio's best friend, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) as payback for Maggio's death. He built a reputation as a dependable character actor and appeared in such films as Johnny Guitar (1954) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). In 1955, Borgnine starred in the film version of the television play Marty, which gained him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He subsequently appeared in many movies, sometimes in lead roles, but more often as a supporting major star.

Later film roles include The Vikings (1958), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Black Hole (1979).

From 1962 through 1966, he starred in the popular situation comedy television series McHale's Navy, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, in 1963. Borgnine later starred in the 1964 film version of the series.

Borgnine's later television work included a co-starring role (with Jan-Michael Vincent) as veteran helicopter pilot Dominic Santini in the action/espionage series Airwolf. The series ran from 1984 to 1986.

He was the first center square in the original version of the television game show Hollywood Squares, with host Peter Marshall.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ernest Borgnine has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6324 Hollywood Blvd. In 1996, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Also in 1996, Borgnine toured the U.S. in a bus to meet his fans and see the country. The trip was the subject of a 1997 documentary, Ernest Borgnine on the Bus. He also served one year as the Chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, visiting patients in Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Since 1999, Borgnine has provided his voice talent to the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man (where he is once again paired up with his McHale's Navy co-star, Tim Conway, who voices Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy). Borgnine has also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons as himself in addition to a number of television commercials. In 2000, he was the executive producer of Hoover, in which he is the only credited actor.

Personal life

Borgnine has married five times.
1. Rhoda Kemins (1948–1959), whom he met while serving in the Navy;[5] They had one daughter, Gina, together.
2. The actress Katy Jurado (1959–1963)
3. The singer Ethel Merman (1964), which lasted barely over a month.
4. Donna Rancourt (1965-1972), with whom he had a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Sharon.
5. Tova Traesnaes (1972 to date)
6.
He holds the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite of Masonry and has long been active in the Craft and is also a member of the Shriners. Borgnine is also a recipient of the Grand Cross, which is the highest honor for service to the Scottish Rite.

Awards
· Academy Award 1956 Best Actor in a Leading Role - Marty

Filmography

· China Corsair (1951)
· The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951)
· The Mob (1951)
· From Here to Eternity (1953)
· The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)
· Johnny Guitar (1954)
· Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
· The Bounty Hunter (1954)
· Vera Cruz (1954)
· Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
· Marty (1955)
· Run for Cover (1955)
· Violent Saturday (1955)
· The Last Command (1955)
· The Square Jungle (1955)
· Jubal (1956)
· The Catered Affair (1956)
· The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)
· Three Brave Men (1956)
· The Vikings (1958)
· The Badlanders (1958)
· Torpedo Run (1958)
· Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959)
· The Rabbit Trap (1959)
· Man on a String (1960)
· Pay or Die (1960)
· Black City (1961)
· The Italian Brigands (1961)
· Go Naked in the World (1961)
· The Last Judgement (1961)
· Barabbas (1962)
· McHale's Navy (1964)
· The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
· The Oscar (1966)
· McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force
· The Dirty Dozen (1967)
· Chuka (1967)
· The Man Who Makes the Difference (1968) (short subject)
· The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)
· Ice Station Zebra (1968)
· The Split (1968)
· The Wild Bunch (1969)
· A Bullet for Sandoval (1969)
· The Adventurers (1970)
· Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970)
· Murder in the Ring (1971)
· Rain for a Dusty Summer (1971)
· Willard (1971)
· Bunny O'Hare (1971)
· Hannie Caulder (1971)
· The World of Sport Fishing (1972) (documentary)
· Film Portrait (1972) (documentary)
· The Revengers (1972)
· The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
· Emperor of the North Pole (1973)
· The Neptune Factor (1973)
· Law and Disorder (1974)
· Vegeance Is Mine (1974)
· The Devil's Rain (1975)
· Hustle (1975 film) (1975)
· Shoot (1976)
· The Greatest (1977)
· Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
· Crossed Swords (1978)
· Convoy (1978)
· All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
· Ravagers (1979)
· The Double McGuffin (1979)
· The Black Hole (1979)
· When Time Ran Out... (1980)
· Super Fuzz (1980)
· High Risk (1981)
· Escape from New York (1981)
· Deadly Blessing (1981)
· Young Warriors (1983)
· Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
· The Manhunt (1985)
· Skeleton Coast (1987)
· Isola del tesoro (1987) (treasure island) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179577/)
· The Opponent (1987)
· The Big Turnaround (1988)
· Moving Target (1988)
· Any Man's Death (1988)
· Spike of Bensonhurst (1988)
· Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears (1989)
· The Last Match (1990)
· Tides of War (1990)
· Laser Mission (1990)
· Mistress (1992) (Cameo)
· The Outlaws: Legend of O.B. Taggart (1994)
· Captiva Island (1995)
· The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage (1996) (documentary)
· Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996)
· All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996) (voice)
· Ernest Borgnine On the Bus (1997)
· McHale's Navy (1997)
· Gattaca (1997)
· 12 Bucks (1998)
· Small Soldiers (1998) (voice)
· BASEketball (1998)
· Mel (1998)
· The Last Great Ride (1999)
· Abilene (1999)
· The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island (1999)
· The Kiss of Debt (2000)
· Castlerock (2000)
· Hoover (2000) (also executive producer)
· Whiplash (2002)
· 11'9"01 September 11 (2002)
· Rail Kings (2002)
· Barn Red (2003)
· The American Hobo (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
· The Long Ride Home (2003)
· Blueberry (2004)
· 3 Below (2005)
· Rail Kings (2005)
· Chinaman's Chance (2006)
· Cura del gorilla, La (2006)
· Strange Wilderness (2008)

TV work
· McHale's Navy (1962-1966)
· Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster? (1971)
· The Trackers (1971)
· Legend in Granite (1973)
· Twice in a Lifetime (1974)
· Holiday Hookers (1976)
· Future Cop (1976) (pilot for series)
· Jesus of Nazareth (1977) (miniseries)
· Fire! (1977)
· Future Cop (1977) (canceled after 7 episodes)
· Little House on the Prairie (the "Jonathan's Mountain" episode)
· The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978)
· Cops and Robin (1978)
· All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
· Blood Feud (1983)
· Carpool (1983)
· Masquerade (1983) (pilot for series)
· Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984)
· The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (miniseries)
· Airwolf (1984-1986)
· The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985)
· Alice in Wonderland (1985)
· Space Island (1987) (miniseries)
· The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987)
· The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988)
· Ocean (1989) (miniseries)
· Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989)
· Appearances (1990)
· Home Improvement (1991)
· Mountain of Diamonds (1991)
· Tierarztin Christine (1993)
· Hunt for the Blue Diamond (1993)
· The Simpsons (voice) (1993)
· Tierarztin Christine II: The Temptation (1995)
· The Single Guy (1995-1997)
· All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996-1999) (voice, Carface)
· SpongeBob SquarePants (voice, Mermaid Man) (1999-present)
· The Blue Light (2004)
· The Trail to Hope Rose (2004)
· A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)

Turner Classic Movie profile
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=161123

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

RIP Allan Melvin (Magilla Gorilla, Sam The Butcher)

kubbie — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:52:35 GMT

LA Times Obit
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 19, 2008

Allan Melvin, a popular character actor who played Cpl. Henshaw on the classic 1950s sitcom "The Phil Silvers Show" and later portrayed Archie Bunker's neighbor and friend Barney on "All in the Family," has died. He was 84.

Melvin, who was in the original Broadway cast of "Stalag 17" in the early 1950s, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Brentwood, said his wife of 64 years, Amalia.

During his five-decade career, Melvin made guest appearances on numerous TV shows, including playing different roles on at least eight episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" and playing Dick Van Dyke's old Army buddy on "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

He also played Sgt. Charlie Hacker on "Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C."; portrayed butcher Sam Franklin -- Alice the housekeeper's boyfriend -- on "The Brady Bunch"; and continued playing Barney when the hit "All in the Family" became "Archie Bunker's Place."

Melvin, who appeared in only one movie -- the 1968 Doris Day comedy "With Six You Get Eggroll" -- also did voice-over work in cartoons, including providing the voices of Magilla Gorilla and Bluto on "Popeye."

He worked on numerous TV commercials as well, including playing Al the Plumber in the Liquid-Plumr commercials for 15 years.

After launching his show business career in the sound effects department of NBC radio in New York in 1944, Melvin began acting on radio soap operas and then moved into live television.

At the same time, he did movie star impressions in Manhattan in a nightclub act written by his friend Richard Condon, who later wrote "The Manchurian Candidate."

Melvin's stand-up act led to his winning "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" radio show in the late 1940s.

He was playing Reed in "Stalag 17," the hit 1951-52 Broadway play set in a German POW camp during World War II, when he first caught Silvers' attention.

"The Phil Silvers Show," originally titled "You'll Never Get Rich," was set on an Army base in Kansas and ran from 1955 to 1959.

As Cpl. Henshaw, Melvin was the right-hand man to Silvers' con-man extraordinaire, Sgt. Ernie Bilko.

"He was brilliant" as Henshaw, Mickey Freeman, who played Pvt. Zimmerman on the show, told The Times on Friday.

In recent years, when fans would ask Freeman how many surviving cast members were left, he would reply, "Allan Melvin and me -- that's a high mortality rate for a noncombatant unit."

Noting that Melvin "was a great mimic of voices," Freeman recalled an episode in which an officer arrived at Ft. Baxter to stop the men from gambling. One of the ways the officer did that, Freeman said, was to make them listen to his wife lecture on art.

But the woman had an unusual twitch -- pulling on her skirt -- and Bilko and the other soldiers placed bets on how many times she would do that during her lecture.

Freeman recalled that Melvin, as Henshaw, was positioned outside the lecture hall with a microphone, broadcasting to the other soldiers on the base -- " 'She's up to 42 now . . . 43 . . . 44, and she's not even breathing heavy.' He made a whole racetrack thing out of it," Freeman said. "He was wonderful."

Melvin was born Feb. 18, 1923, in Kansas City, Mo. His family soon moved to New York City, where he graduated from Columbia University as a journalism major.

Melvin retired from acting about 10 years ago -- long after becoming a household face who was used to people spotting him in public and saying, "Hey, Henshaw" or "Hey, Sam the Butcher."

"I've enjoyed the stuff I've done," he told People magazine in 1996, "but the one you're getting paid for, that's what you enjoy most."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Hanson; and a grandson.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0578510/

Wiki Bio

Allan Melvin (February 18, 1923 - January 17, 2008) was an American character actor who appeared in several television shows and may be best remembered for his role as Sam the Butcher, Alice's boyfriend on The Brady Bunch, the voice of Magilla Gorilla and Sergeant Hacker on Gomer Pyle USMC.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in New York City Melvin attended Columbia University. After graduation he served with the United States Navy and married his wife, Amalia, in 1943.

While working at a job in the sound effects department of NBC Radio, he did a nightclub act and appeared and won on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio show. While appearing on Broadway in Stalag 17, he got his break into television by getting the role of Cpl. Henshaw on the popular The Phil Silvers Show program. TV fans of this era usually best remember his role as Henshaw, Sergeant Bilko's right hand man on that show. "He was proudest of that show," Amalia Melvin said. "I think the camaraderie of all those guys made it such a pleasant way to work. They were so relaxed."

During this period, in addition to his role on The Phil Silvers Show, Melvin was often cast in slightly loud, occasionally abrasive, but generally friendly second banana roles. Melvin was also adept at "tough guy" roles; in an example of his range as an actor, one episode of Sergeant Bilko featured Melvin doing a recognizable impersonation of Humphrey Bogart.

In the 1960s, Melvin played Staff Sergeant Charley Hacker for four seasons on Gomer Pyle, USMC. He also made appearances as Rob Petrie's old Army buddy, Sol Pomerantz, on the Dick Van Dyke Show. He also provided the voices of cartoon character Magilla Gorilla, the lion Drooper on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, and Bluto on The All-New Popeye Hour. Melvin also made eight guest appearances on The Andy Griffith Show in eight different roles.

Melvin is remembered for supporting roles on two popular 1970s sitcoms. He played Sam Franklin, the owner of a local butcher shop and boyfriend of Alice Nelson (the Bradys' housekeeper) on The Brady Bunch, and Barney Hefner, Archie Bunker's neighbor and friend on All in the Family. In other contributions to 1970s pop culture, he was a Mel's Diner patron on Alice and worked as a voice artist (under the name "Al Melvin"). He provided several characters' voices for the TV show H.R. Pufnstuf and the voice of Vultan, King of the Hawk Men on The New Adventures of Flash Gordon.

Some of his most prolific work has been in television commercials, for products as diverse as Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes and Remington electric razors. In the latter commercial, he sang a few bars of Frank Loesser's song "I Believe in You" with a modified lyric.

In the early 1980s, Melvin appeared as a regular in Archie Bunker's Place, a successor to All in the Family, in which he played a more important role. When this series ended in 1983, Melvin's work was exclusively devoted to cartoon voice-overs.

Allan Melvin died of cancer on January 17, 2008.

Melvin at Voice Chacers.com
http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1915

at Doug Macaulay’s character actors page
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Allan&actor_last=Melvin

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

Vinyl Characters

kubbie — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:15:49 GMT

Some fine characters on vinyl I am about to enjoy

I purchased a 1952 2 record set of Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Agnes Moorehead and Charles Boyers production of Bernard Shaws "Don Juan In Hell"

and

a production (sometime in the 50's) of Judith Anderson (Vera Allen and others) in MEDEA.

Does anyone else listen to old productions like this on vinyl? I have a few old things on tape (thanks MD) and have 6 cds of "The Big SHow" with Bankhead. A few Judy Canova shows and Phil Harris and Alice Faye shows on tape tooLove listening to these things. But for some reason I still cant listen to a book on tape/cd.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

NEW BOOK Joan Blondell:A Life Between Takes

kubbie — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:08:25 GMT

There is a Hollywood Legends Series of books out there with books on people like Dick Powell, and Alice Faye. Their newest release (October 2007) is on Joan BLondell. I just bought it today so I havent read it and cant give a review. Here is some of the books info I stole from Amazon.

Book Description
Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes is the first major biography of the effervescent, scene-stealing actress (1906-1979) who conquered motion pictures, vaudeville, Broadway, summer stock, television, and radio.

Born the child of itinerant vaudevillians, she was on stage by age three. With her casual sex appeal, distinctive cello voice, megawatt smile, luminous saucer eyes, and flawless timing, she came into widespread fame in Warner Bros. musicals and comedies of the 1930s, including Blonde Crazy, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Footlight Parade.

Frequent co-star to James Cagney, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart, friend to Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Bette Davis, and wife of Dick Powell and Mike Todd, Joan Blondell was a true Hollywood insider. By the time of her death, she had made nearly 100 films in a career that spanned over fifty years.

Privately, she was unerringly loving and generous, while her life was touched by financial, medical, and emotional upheavals. Meticulously researched, expertly weaving the public and private, and featuring numerous interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes traces the changing face of Twentieth Century American entertainment through the career of this extraordinary actress.

From the Publisher
This book about an actress with a long and lustrous career
---Provides the first major biography of this enduring Hollywood star
---Offers extensive research and insights gained from the cooperation of Blondell's friends, family, and colleagues
---Includes over 25 photographs
---Expands the Hollywood Legends Series

Product Details
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (October 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1578069610
ISBN-13: 978-1578069613
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Happy Birthday Elsa Lanchester!

Marisa — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:06:08 GMT

Born 28th October, 1902. One of my all time favourite actors, certainly best known as The Bride - and I liked her being included as a character in "Gods and Monsters", but my personal favourite role of hers was Queenie in "Bell, Book and Candle". I have recently re-read her autobiography "Elsa Lanchester - Herself" and am currently reading Simon Callow's "Charles Laughton, a Difficult Actor", which can't help but refer to Elsa occasionally. Elsa also had an extensive repertoire of eccentric/bawdy songs. She was a fascinating person and one of my style icons. Happy Birthday Elsa!

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

Skippy:Let A Dog Have His Day

kubbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:20:21 GMT

The character actor. Know the face, but not the name. Hazard of the profession. Never is it so true as for todays spotlight. Skippy, the alpha dog of character actors. Costarring with such luminaries as Grant, Dunne, Hepburn, Powell and Loy.

Skippy was a Wire-Haired Fox Terrier best known for his acting work in the 1934 detective comedy The Thin Man. He was trained by owners Henry East and Gale Henry East, and Frank Weatherwax. His other notable film performances include The Awful Truth (1937), as Mr. Smith, the subject of a custody dispute between Cary Grant and Irene Dunne; Bringing Up Baby (1938), as George, the bone-hiding pup belonging to Katharine Hepburn's aunt; and Topper Takes a Trip (1938), as Mr. Atlas. Due to the enormous popularity of Asta, interest in pet terriers skyrocketed.

As a character in the movie The Thin Man, Asta was the playful pet dog of Nick and Nora Charles, tugging them around town on his walks, hiding from danger, and sniffing out corpses. ("Asta, you're not a terrier, you're a police dog," Nick tells him.) The character later appeared in the sequels After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, Song of the Thin Man, as well as the 1950s television show The Thin Man. Although Skippy played Asta in the first two Thin Man films, it is believed multiple terriers were used for subsequent films in the series, and he wasn't involved in the television show.

Interestingly, the original character of Asta in Dashiell Hammett's book of the The Thin Man was not a male Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, but a female Schnauzer.

The American Magazine detailed Asta's professional life in an August 1938 profile of the East kennels, titled "A Dog's Life in Hollywood":

Movie actresses stroke Skippy lovingly. They coo at him and murmur endearing terms in his ears. He takes it all in his stride, because, what with contracts, options, and exacting work before the movie cameras, he hasn't much time for the attentions of Hollywood's most beautiful stars. But if he's paid for it and given the proper cue he will snuggle in the arms of the loveliest of stars, gaze into her limpid eyes, and, if necessary — howl.

Skippy, a smart little wire-haired terrier, is one of the leading stars in pictures. He leads a glamorous life — a dog's life de luxe. He is rated as one of the smartest dogs in the world, and when contracts are signed for his appearance in a picture he gets $200 a week for putting his paw-print on the dotted line. His trainer gets a mere $60.

His owner is Mrs. Gale Henry East , once a prominent movie comedienne. ... "When Skippy has to drink water in a scene, the first time he does it he really drinks, If there are retakes and he's had all the water he can drink, he'll go through the scene just as enthusiastically as though his throat were parched, but he'll fake it. If you watch closely you'll see he's just going through the motions of lapping and isn't really picking up water at all. And, because he has a sense of humor, he loves it when you laugh and tell him you've caught him faking but that it's all right with you.

"Treat a dog kindly and he'll do anything in the world for you."

At The IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1208817/

The I Love ASTA Fansite
http://www.iloveasta.com/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Barbara La Marr -- "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful"

BabeSoDelicious — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:22:59 GMT

Don't know if she was a real star or a character actress, but the L.A. Times ran a good story on her today:

Altadena cemetery breathes new life into Hollywood legend
Portrayal of Barbara La Marr, a silent-film-era writer and actress who was called 'The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful,' headlines a tour put on by the Pasadena Museum of History.
By Cecilia Rasmussen, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 30, 2007

Silent-film actress and screenwriter Barbara La Marr once said, "I take lovers like roses . . . by the dozen."

And she was hardly exaggerating: By age 19 she had been married three times, divorced and widowed. In her 20s, she married twice more. Still, she found time to become a world-famous actress, only to die at 29 a few months after collapsing on a movie set.

Despite the fact that the Jazz Age screen goddess died in Altadena more than 80 years ago, she will "return" as "hostess" of a cemetery tour there in November.

The tour is the centerpiece of the third annual "Walk Through Time," presented by the Pasadena Museum of History and the Pasadena Playhouse. This year's version is titled "Channeling Hollywood." With the Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum as the setting, the tour will feature actors portraying long-dead Hollywood personalities, most of whom occupy final resting places at the Altadena cemetery.

La Marr was one of those silent-film stars who disappeared from the world's consciousness almost as swiftly as she entered it, dying the year before the first "talkie" appeared.

During her brief career, she danced with Hollywood's greatest romantic idols, including Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro, and starred with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Even before she appeared in front of the cameras, La Marr wrote film scenarios and screenplays, according to newspaper accounts of the time.

Once she appeared on screen, she sizzled as a sexy vamp. According to her son, Don Gallery, La Marr lived with abandon, keeping a container of cocaine on her piano and bingeing on heroin and highballs. Friends and family members said she became hooked on drugs after being given painkillers for an injury.

Official accounts of her death in 1926 at her Altadena home on Boston Street list the cause as tuberculosis and nephritis -- inflammation of the kidney.

She may have been the only screenwriter to persuade a dictator to appear in a film: Benito Mussolini played himself in the now-vanished 1923 film "The Eternal City," which La Marr starred in and for which she was reported to have done uncredited writing and producing.

Years after her death, La Marr is a subject of fascination for Sherri Snyder, the actress and model who will portray her on the cemetery tour.

"I enjoy historically based roles that help bring history to life," said Snyder, who researched and wrote her monologue for the tour. La Marr "was such a talented, intriguing person." Even with La Marr's liberal use of alcohol and drugs, Snyder said, "her work never suffered; she was able to keep herself going.

"Acting and writing entire scenarios at that time was a tall order for a woman. Audiences didn't want their vamps to have intelligence, so a lot of her writings went uncredited," Snyder said.

Gallery, La Marr's illegitimate son, was 4 years old when his mother died, and he was then adopted by actress ZaSu Pitts and her husband, Tom Gallery.

The facts of La Marr's life are sketchy at best, pieced together by Don Gallery from family stories and newspaper accounts as well as his mother's personal papers.

She was born Reatha Dale Watson in Yakima, Wash., in 1896. Around 1910, her father, newspaperman William Wright Watson, brought his family to Los Angeles. It didn't take long for the aspiring actress, then a teenager, to get into trouble.

She was arrested for dancing in a burlesque show, which provoked a juvenile court judge to remark that she was "too beautiful to be in a big city alone and unprotected." Studio publicists later seized on the phrase and trumpeted her as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful."

Three years later, at 17, she ran away from home and began dancing again. She married the first of five husbands, an Arizona rancher named Jack Lytell.

A few months later, Lytell died of pneumonia, and his teenage widow returned to the bright lights of L.A. That same year, 1914, she married Lawrence Converse of Glendora, who already had a wife and children. Both used false names on the marriage license. He was jailed the day after their wedding on bigamy charges.

Within two weeks, he was dying in surgery as doctors operated on a blood clot, according to The Times.

The twice-widowed teenager went back to dancing in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

In San Francisco she met and married her third husband, dancer and comic Phil Ainsworth. He soon began forging checks, sold her car out from under her and spent time in prison, according to Times stories.

In 1918, she was married a fourth time -- before the ink on her divorce from Ainsworth was dry -- to another dance partner, Ben Deely, who was twice her age but shared her love of literature and art.

Around that time, she changed her name to Barbara La Marr and began writing scenarios and screenplays, among them "Rose of Nome" and "The Mother of His Children."

She was lured into silent films in 1920 by film producer Louis B. Mayer and by Fairbanks and his wife, Mary Pickford, who said La Marr was too beautiful not to be in front of a camera. On her path to screen stardom, La Marr played the roles of vamp, spy, seductress and gangster's moll.

In 1921, La Marr and Deely separated.

Gallery, her son, was born July 29, 1922, in Los Angeles.

While his birth certificate does not list La Marr as his mother, Gallery said in a telephone interview from his Puerto Vallarta home that his adoptive parents, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and other celebrities "always told me that [La Marr] was my birth mother."

Gallery, who says he has all of his mother's papers, is writing a screenplay about her. He said he learned from Hollywood friends of his mother's plan to cover up his birth: He was 7 months old when she sent him to Hope Cottage, a Dallas orphanage. It was just weeks before she was to be crowned queen of the city's car show.

"Through contacts, she made sure she got a tour of the orphanage. A Dallas newspaper reported how this one particular baby touched her heart," Gallery chuckled, recalling how La Marr then "adopted" him.

In March 1923, La Marr arrived home in Los Angeles with her son.

"I have no idea who my real father was, but I can guess -- Paul Bern," a studio executive who later married actress Jean Harlow and killed himself two months later. "He was my godfather and visited me every Sunday" until his death in 1932, Gallery said.

In May 1923, La Marr married cowboy star Jack Daugherty. During the filming of a dance sequence in "Souls For Sale," she sprained her ankle. "For the pain, studio doctors gave her all sorts of drugs, including . . . heroin," Gallery said. "It was important to keep filming and not let her hold up production."

She soon was hooked on the drugs, Gallery said. La Marr herself is reported to have once boasted, "I cheat nature. I never sleep more than two hours per night. I have better things to do."

But her nonstop pace took its toll. In late 1925, she collapsed on the set of her final film, "The Girl From Montmartre." Before sinking into a coma, she turned over the care of her son to her best friend, the actress Pitts.

La Marr died Jan. 30, 1926, several months before Valentino's death from a perforated ulcer. She was buried at what is now the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and in 1960 she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

But her character will appear at the Altadena cemetery along with actors portraying other Pasadena-area notables who are buried there -- mystery writer Earl Derr Biggers, who created the fictional detective character Charlie Chan; television's first Superman, actor George Reeves, who grew up in the area and attended Pasadena schools; Pasadena Playhouse founder Gilmore Brown; and actress Maudie Prickett, who performed at the Playhouse and was married to a Pasadena mayor.

cecilia.rasmussen@latimes.com

The Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, with its grand staircase and stained glass windows, will host "Channeling Hollywood: The Vamp, The Impresario, Superman and More" Nov. 3 and 4. Reservations are required and are available at (626) 794-7133 or www.pasadenahistory.org.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-then30sep30,0,1966146,full.story?coll=la-headlines-california

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

Iconic Characters

kubbie — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:47:51 GMT

There is an endless line of great character actors. But what characters do you find iconic because it found the right actor?

Agnes The Gooch from Auntie Mame played by Peggy Cass
Wicked WItch of the West played by Margaret Hamilton

have more but have to go do something

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

RIP Alice Ghostley

spidra — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:52:41 GMT

We haven't really talked about folks in a while so this thread is becoming more of an obit thread.

Alice, you rocked.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_en_tv/obit_alice_ghostley

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

RIP Miyoshi Umeki

kubbie — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:10:36 GMT

The legacy of Miyoshi Umeki from SF Chronicle

When Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "Babel" earlier this year, it was a historic occasion -- she became the second Asian actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, and the first in nearly 50 years. The first? The incomparable Miyoshi Umeki, in the same category, for 1957's "Sayonara."

So it was sad news when it was announced Wednesday that Umeki had died of cancer at age 78 in Missouri on Aug. 28. San Franciscans might remember her for her lovely portrayal of Mei Li, the irrepressibly optimistic Chinese immigrant in The City's Chinatown, singing "A Hundred Million Miracles" in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Flower Drum Song," a role the Japanese-born actress and recording artist originated on Broadway.

As with many nonwhite actors, Oscar gold didn't translate into much of a career boost -- not even with a Time magazine cover after she won. "Flower Drum Song" was the high point; she quit acting a decade later after four years as the housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston, on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father."

The question is, why haven't more Asians been nominated, or have won? There have only been seven nominated ever, and only two wins (Haing S. Ngor is the only Asian male to win, for 1984's "The Killing Fields.")The others? Sessue Hayakawa ("The Bridge on the River Kwai") was nominated the same year as Umeki, followed by Mako ("The Sand Pebbles," 1966), Pat Morita ("The Karate Kid," the same year as Ngor's win), Ken Watanabe ("The Last Samurai," 2003) and Kikuchi. That's it.

There have now been several wins and nominations (though still not enough) by black actors -- 7 wins and 27 nominations in the last 20 years, and Hispanic or Spanish-speaking actors have about a dozen nominations and a win (Benicio Del Toro for 2000's "Traffic"). In addition, there have been several nominations for foreign-language performances in foreign-language films, even the occasional win (Roberto Benigni in "Life Is Beautiful," for example).

Meanwhile, there have been egregious omissions for performances by Asian actors. In 1988, "The Last Emperor" swept the Academy Awards, winning nine Oscars. And yet magnificent performances by John Lone and Joan Chen were not even nominated. And, of course, in 2001, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had the most nominations -- 10 -- but none in the acting category, despite excellent work by Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-Fat and Zhang Ziyi. Gong Li has gone unrecognized after several great foreign-language performances.

Umeki's achievement, it appears, looms larger than ever, a half-century down the pike.

Wiki Bio

Umecki was an Academy Award-winning Japanese actress best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly (Red Buttons), in the 1957 film Sayonara, and as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper in the TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

She began her career as a nightclub singer in Japan making several records for RCA Victor Japan and appearing in several musical shorts under the name "Nancy Umeki". After moving to the United States and appearing on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts (she was a series regular for one season), she signed with the Mercury Records label and released several singles and two albums.

In 1958, Umeki won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her first U.S. film role, Sayonara. She was the first Asian performer ever nominated. In 1958, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway premiere production of the musical Flower Drum Song.

She appeared in only four more motion pictures through 1962, including the film version of Flower Drum Song (1961), before turning to television work. From 1969-1972 she appeared in The Courtship of Eddie's Father as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper. She retired from acting following that series' end.

Her first marriage was to television director Wynn Opie in 1958; they adopted one son before their marraige ended in divorce. She later married Randall Hood; the couple ran a theatrical lighting business that was dissolved following Hood's death in 1976.

Umeki had lived for some time in Hawaii, before moving to the small town of Licking, Missouri to be near her only son and his family. She died of cancer complications at a nursing home in Licking, aged 78.

Umeki at Classic Movies The Golden Years
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/umeki.html

Umeki at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880855/

a few more images of Umeki at The Character Actor Appreciation Society Tribe
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos

Umeki at TV.COm
http://www.tv.com/person/38415/summary.html

Umeki at Notable Names
http://www.nndb.com/people/091/000063899/

Umeki at IMDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=62909

NY Times bio
http://movies.nytimes.com/person/72422/Miyoshi-Umeki/biography

Washington Post Obit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090501484.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 6 replies

Happy Birthday, Meinhardt Raabe

davidvonshmavid — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:00:19 GMT

He's 92 today.

From Wikipedia:

He is one of the oldest surviving Munchkin-actors from The Wizard of Oz, and is now the only surviving cast member with any significant dialogue in the film.

Raabe graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1937. He was the Coroner in The Wizard of Oz in 1939, with his only lines being:

As coroner, I must aver
I thoroughly examined her
And she's not only merely dead
She's really, most sincerely dead!

These lines, like most of those delivered by the Munchkins, were dubbed over with the sped-up voices of other performers. In addition to his role in the film, Raabe worked for many decades as a spokesman for Oscar Mayer.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

8/30th Joan Blondell

kubbie — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:16:06 GMT

Loved this woman from her Golddigger movies to The Opposite Sex to her final role in Grease (with fellow comic character actress Eve Arden). Was a blast to watch her. Confetta already did a great write up on Joan so I am just going to link you to that

http://people.tribe.net/confetta/blog/c87e23b7-478e-43f7-9964-4f3b028b3f31

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

7/23 - Coral Browne

jackoften — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:05:52 GMT

From a promo for "Another Coral Browne Story" by Barbara Angell:

"Coral Browne was Australian and incredibly mega-famous, though few Australians have heard of her. Australia had a habit of writing-off anyone with the cheek to leave Australia and actually make good abroad - especially if they remained abroad. Coral was one of those and the media here stopped reporting anything about her from around 1940 - which happened to coincide with some of her greatest triumphs at the Savoy Theatre including My Sister Eileen.
Coral Browne left Australia in 1934 at age 20 and went to London with a return boat ticket, to try her luck. She re-visited Oz only twice: in 1948 to attend her grandmother’s wedding - yes, wedding - and in 1980 as the wife of Vincent Price.
She had a string of lovers, occasionally dabbling in her own sex, and was simply outrageous. For nearly 50 years smart London dinner parties were not complete without repeating the latest hilarious “Coral Browne story”. She was ultra-glamorous, had a razor wit and was the friend and confidant of, and sometimes slept with, the most important people in theatre. She died in 1991 a multi-millionairess, much to the amazement of Vincent Price who had no idea that his wife was loaded.
There is her wit - much of it well known and often repeated but some of it never reported before and re-discovered in letters to her from friends such as Julie Harris, Alan Bennett, Alan Bates, Joan Rivers (the list is endless). There are her lovers, Maurice Chevalier, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Jack Buchanan and many others. There is her sparkling career - she wowed Broadway with her Lady Macbeth and Moscow with her Gertrude. She had hit plays written for her, notably Simon and Laura by her good mate Alan Melville which she would have repeated in Australia if JC Williamson hadn’t jumped the gun by mounting an Aussie production without approaching her. She caused a stir by performing the very first lesbian movie love scene (outside of the porn market) with Susannah York in the The Killing of Sister George and she knocked ‘em sideways with Rosalind Russell in the movie Auntie Mame, in which she damn near stole the show as Vera Charles.
And you haven’t heard of Coral Browne? Shame!"

IMDB Bio:

Australian actress who worked primarily in Britain and specialized in superior, upper-crust sorts. Browne began her stage career in Melbourne but moved to England at the age of 21 and quickly brightened the West End with her sharp delivery and stylish sense of comedy. Her film appearances were sporadic, though she made several pictures memorable with her presence, particularly The Ruling Class (1972) as the libidinous Lady Claire.
While touring the Soviet Union in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Hamlet, " Browne encountered the expatriate British spy Guy Burgess, and this bizarre meeting became the basis of the television film An Englishman Abroad (1983) (TV), for which Browne won the BAFTA Best Actress award for playing herself. She met Vincent Price when they co-starred in Theater of Blood (1973), and married him in 1974. He was at her side when she died at 77 following a long struggle with breast cancer.

Selected Filmography:

Coral Browne: Caviar for the General (1989) (TV) .... Herself
Dreamchild (1985) .... Alice Hargreaves
American Dreamer (1984) .... Margaret McMann
An Englishman Abroad (1983) (TV) .... Herself
Eleanor, First Lady of the World (1982) (TV) .... Lady Reading
Xanadu (1980) (voice) .... Female Heavenly Voice
"Time Express" (1979) TV Series .... Margaret
The Drowning Pool (1975) .... Olivia Devereaux
"Play of the Month" ....(4 episodes, 1969-1974)
- The Importance of Being Earnest (1974) .... Lady Bracknell
- Mrs. Warren's Profession (1972) .... Mrs. Warren
- Lady Windermere's Fan (1972) .... Mrs. Erlynne*
- Charley's Aunt (1969) .... Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez
Theater of Blood (1973) .... Miss Chloe Moon*
The Ruling Class (1972) .... Lady Claire Gurney*
The Killing of Sister George (1968) .... Mercy Croft*
The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) .... Molly Luther
The Night of the Generals (1967) .... Eleanore von Seidli
Dr. Crippen (1962) .... Belle Crippen
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961) .... Meg*
Auntie Mame (1958) .... Vera Charles*
Beautiful Stranger (1954) ..Helen
The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947) .... Valerie
Piccadilly Incident (1946) .... Virginia Pearson
Yellow Sands (1938) .... Emma Copplestone
Black Limelight (1938) .... Lily James
Guilty Melody (1936) .... Cecile
Charing Cross Road (1935) .... Lady Ruston
Waltzing Matilda (1933)

Alan Bates on Coral Browne (memorial service):
http://www.alanbates.com/abarchive/tv/coral.html

Fan Site:
http://www.coralbrowne.com/

Coral on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Browne

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

1/26 Happy 102nd Birthday, Charles Lane!

SilverUnicorn — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:08:33 GMT

I was amazed to find out this guy is still alive!

Charles Lane on IMDb:
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0485272/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 6 replies

Put on your movie buff caps. Tell me who this man is

kubbie — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 07:30:12 GMT

I picked up some Arcade Exhibit cards last week of actors musicians and comedians. I have figured out who they all are,people (like Jack Carson, Joanne Dru, Eileen Barton, and Louis Hayward, and a scattering of more B list people) except for one man.

I dont know and cant find anything on him. The name appears to be Bob Hawk. His face looks really familiar. But all the Bob Hawks I can find are not him.

So anyone of you have the nugget of info on this guy. Its driving me crazy for some reason.

Here is his mug.
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/eb543c88-76c7-4c75-a5e8-688726e4453f

"Signature"
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/746a79ff-5bb2-4527-b565-cfd530d5b097

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 5 replies

RIP Peter Boyle

BabeSoDelicious — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:29:52 GMT

Posted on Wed, Dec. 13, 2006

`Raymond' dad Peter Boyle dies in NYC

DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press

NEW YORK - Peter Boyle, the actor who transformed from an angry workingman in "Joe" to a tap-dancing monster in "Young Frankenstein" and finally the comically grouchy father on "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died. He was 71.

Boyle died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, said his publicist, Jennifer Plante.

"It's like losing a spouse," Doris Roberts, who played his wife on "Raymond," said in a statement. "I'm going to miss my dear friend, so unlike the character he played on television. He's a brilliant actor, a gentleman, incredibly intelligent, wonderfully well read and a loving friend."

A member of the Christian Brothers religious order who turned to acting, the tall, prematurely balding Boyle gained notice in the title role of the 1970 sleeper hit "Joe," playing an angry, murderous bigot at odds with the emerging hippie youth culture.

Briefly typecast in tough, irascible roles, Boyle began to escape the image as Robert Redford's campaign manager in "The Candidate" and left it behind entirely after "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks' 1974 send-up of horror films. The latter movie's defining moment came when Gene Wilder, as scientist Frederick Frankenstein, introduced his creation to an upscale audience. Boyle, decked out in tails, performed a song-and-dance routine to the Irving Berlin classic "Puttin' On the Ritz."

It showed another side of Boyle, one that would be best exploited in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," in which he played curmudgeonly paterfamilias Frank Barone for 10 years.

"He's just obnoxious in a nice way, just for laughs," Boyle said of the character in a 2001 interview. "It's a very sweet experience having this (success) happen at a time when you basically go back over your life and see every mistake you ever made."

When Boyle tried out for the role opposite series star Ray Romano's Ray Barone, however, he was kept waiting for his audition - and he was not happy.

"He came in all hot and angry," recalled the show's creator, Phil Rosenthal, "and I hired him because I was afraid of him." But Rosenthal also noted: "I knew right away that he had a comic presence."

Boyle had first come to the public's attention more than a quarter century before, in the critically acclaimed "Joe." He met his wife, Loraine Alterman, on the set of "Young Frankenstein" when she visited as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and Boyle, still in monster makeup, asked her for a date.

On television, he starred in "Joe Bash," an acclaimed but short-lived 1986 "dramedy" in which he played a lonely beat cop. He won an Emmy in 1996 for his guest-starring role in an episode of "The X Files," and he was nominated for "Everybody Loves Raymond" and for the 1977 TV film "Tail Gunner Joe," in which he played Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

In the 1976 film "Taxi Driver," he was the cabbie-philosopher Wizard, who counseled Robert DeNiro's violent Travis Bickle.

He did dozens of other films, including "T.R. Baskin," "F.I.S.T.," "Johnny Dangerously," "Conspiracy: Trial of the Chicago 8" (as activist David Dellinger), "The Dream Team," "Monster's Ball," "The Santa Claus," "The Santa Claus 2," "While You Were Sleeping" (in a charming turn as Sandra Bullock's future father-in-law) and "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed."

The son of a local TV personality in Philadelphia, Boyle was educated in Roman Catholic schools and spent three years in a monastery before abandoning his religious studies. He later described the experience as similar to "living in the Middle Ages."

He explained his decision to leave in 1991: "I felt the call for awhile; then I felt the normal pull of the world and the flesh."

He traveled to New York to study with Uta Hagen, supporting himself for five years with various jobs, including postal worker, waiter, maitre d' and office temp. Finally, he was cast in a road company version of "The Odd Couple." When the play reached Chicago he quit to study with that city's famed improvisational troupe Second City.

Upon returning to New York, he began to land roles in TV commercials, off-Broadway plays and finally films.

Through his wife, a friend of Yoko Ono, the actor became close friends with John Lennon. "We were both seekers after a truth, looking for a quick way to enlightenment," Boyle once said of Lennon, who was best man at his wedding.

In 1990, Boyle had a stroke and couldn't talk for six months. In 1999, he had a heart attack on the "Raymond" set. He soon regained his health, however, and returned to the series.

Despite his work in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and other Hollywood productions, Boyle made New York City his home. He and his wife had two daughters, Lucy and Amy.

---

Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16230527.htm

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

Boris Karloff's Shiver Show (he sings YIKES)

kubbie — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:22:20 GMT

this is from bits done on the Dinah Shore show with Art Carney, Betty Hutton and Dinah Shore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haczROtS8HM

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

6/11 Max Schreck

kubbie — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:09:06 GMT

Maximilian "Max" Schreck (June 11, 1879 Berlin – November 26, 1936 Munich ) was a German actor. He is most often remembered today for his lead role in Nosferatu.

Biography

Schreck received his training at the Staatstheater in Berlin. He made his stage debut in Messeritz and Speyer, and then toured Germany for two years appearing at theatres in Zittau, Erfurt, Bremen, Lucerne, Gera, and Frankfurt am Main. Schreck then joined Max Reinhardt's celebrated company of performers back in Berlin. Many of Reinhardt's troupe made a huge contribution to the cinema.

For three years between 1919 and 1922, Schreck appeared at the Munich Kammerspiele while working on his first film Der Richter von Zalamea, adapted from a six act play, for Decla Bioscop. In 1922 he was hired by Prana Film for their first and only production, Nosferatu. The company declared themselves bankrupt after the film's release to avoid paying copyright infringement costs to an irate Florence Stoker, the widow of Dracula author Bram Stoker. Schreck's Count Orlok, with his bald, rat-shaped head and long spidery fingers, remains a haunting character.

In 1923, Schreck appeared as a blind man in the acclaimed film Die Straße. Schreck's second collaboration with Nosferatu director F.W. Murnau was decidedly less successful with the ill-conceived 1924 comedy Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs (The Finances of the Grand Duke). Even Murnau did not hesitate to declare his contempt for the picture.

In 1926, Schreck returned to the Kammerspiele in Munich and continued to act in films right through the advent of sound until his death. He was married to actress Fanny Normann, who appeared in a few films, often credited as Fanny Schreck

Curiously, the word Schreck is also the German word for fright, or terror. It comes from the Middle High German word schrecken: to frighten, or terrify. Because of this, many authors who were unaware of Schreck's on-stage credits (and ignorant of the rather sparse details of his personal life) speculated that there was really no such person, and that Schreck was, in fact, some well-known actor who had chosen to adopt a pseudonym for his role in "Nosferatu". One of the prime 'suspects' was Alfred Abel; however, a careful examination of the photographs of these two actors is sufficient to dispel such notions. Schreck died on 26 November 1936, Munich, Bavaria, Germany of a heart attack

Trivia

Schreck is portrayed by actor Willem Dafoe in E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire. In a sort of secret history, Shadow posits that Schreck gave such a terrifying performance as Orlok because he actually was a vampire.

In the 1992 film Batman Returns, the character Max Shreck was named as an in-joke by director Tim Burton. The part was played by Christopher Walken.

A vampire character in the film Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is named Maxine Schreck, as an homage to the actor.

Long list of films he appeared in at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0775180/

Max at the History of Horror
http://eric.b.olsen.tripod.com/schreck.html

Max at LeninImports
http://www.leninimports.com/max_schreck.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

This is a VERY ExCLuSiVE TriBE!

confetta — Wed, 25 May 2005 02:56:19 GMT

JusT us STORCHERS in here!!

I think you should
make it so
people have to

ASK to JOIN...

Make them
answer a
questionaire...

Take the
STORCH
SURVEY.
ObsCuRe
F-TRooP
TRiVIA.

Y'kneauuuuuu?

Make sure
that they are

STORCH
MATERIAL.

And then
DECLINE
them
MEMBERSHIP ; )

Keep it eXCLuSIVe.

Just OUR LARRY STORCH TRIBE.

Let's get territorial.

EXCOMMUNICATE people
WHO
don't make a STORCH FACE
for their AVATAR,'

nKaaaaaaaaaaaaaY?

hehe

a

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 18 replies

April 30, 1974

Tue, 01 May 2007 03:46:21 GMT

Agnes Moorehead passed away at 4pm. Take a moment to remember her.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

5/7 George "Gabby" Hayes

kubbie — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:25:36 GMT

George Francis 'Gabby' Hayes (May 7, 1885 – February 9, 1969) was an American actor. He was best known for his numerous appearances in western movies as the colorful sidekick to the leading man. (Not to be confused with British character actor George Hayes [1888-1967], who made a few movies in the U.S.)

Early years

Hayes was born the third of seven children in Wellsville, New York, and did not come from a cowboy background. In fact, he did not know how to ride a horse until he was in his forties and had to learn for movie roles. His father, Clark Hayes, operated a hotel and was also involved in oil production. George Hayes played semi-professional baseball while in high school, then ran away from home in 1902, at 17. He joined a stock company, apparently traveled for a time with a circus, and became a successful vaudevillian. He had become so successful that by 1928 he was able, at 43, to retire to a home on Long Island in Baldwin, New York. He lost all his savings the next year in the 1929 stock-market crash and returned to acting.

Hayes married Olive E. Ireland, daughter of a New Jersey glass finisher, on March 4, 1914. She joined him in vaudeville, performing under the name Dorothy Earle (not to be confused with film actress/writer Dorothy Earle). She convinced him in 1929 to try his luck in motion pictures, and the couple moved to Los Angeles. They remained together until her death July 5, 1957. The couple had no children.

Film career

On his move to Los Angeles, according to later interviews, Hayes had a chance meeting with producer Trem Carr, who liked his look and gave him thirty roles over the next six years. In his early career, Hayes was cast in a variety of roles, including villains, and occasionally played two roles in a single film. He found a niche in the growing genre of western films, many of which were series with recurring characters. Ironically, Hayes would admit he had never been a big fan of westerns.

Hayes, in real life an intelligent, well groomed, and articulate man, was cast as a grizzled codger who uttered phrases like "consarn it", "yer durn tootin", "durn persnickety female", and "young whippersnapper".

Hayes played the part of Windy Halliday, the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd), from 1935 to 1939. In 1939, Hayes left Paramount Pictures in a dispute over his salary and moved to Republic Pictures. Paramount held the rights to the name Windy Halliday, so a new nickname was created for Hayes' character; Gabby. As Gabby Whitaker, Hayes appeared in more than 40 pictures between 1939 and 1946, usually with Roy Rogers but also with Gene Autry or Bill Elliot, often working under the directorship of Joseph Kane.

Hayes was also repeatedly cast as a sidekick to western icons Randolph Scott and John Wayne. In fact, Wayne and Hayes made numerous films together in the very early 1930s with Hayes playing "straight" pre-sidekick roles, and sometimes even the villain. Hayes became a popular performer and consistently appeared among the ten favorite actors in polls taken of movie-goers of the period. He appeared in either or both the Motion Picture Herald and Boxoffice Magazine lists of Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars for twelve straight years and a thirteenth time in 1954, four years after his last movie.

The western film genre declined in the late 1940s and Hayes made his last film appearance in The Cariboo Trail (1950). He moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a children's western series, from 1950 to 1954, and a new version in 1956. When the series ended he retired from show business. He lent his name to a comic book series and to a children's summer camp in New York. Following his wife's death in 1957, he lived in and managed a ten-unit apartment building he owned in North Hollywood, California. In early 1969, he entered St. John Hospital in Burbank, California for treatment of cardiovascular disease. He died there on February 9, 1969, at the age of 83. George 'Gabby' Hayes was interred in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Honors

For his contribution to radio, Gabby Hayes has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6427 Hollywood Blvd. and a second star at 1724 Vine Street for his contribution to the television industry. In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Homages

Homage was paid to Hayes in a different way in the 1974 satirical western Blazing Saddles. A look-a-like actor named Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr. played a Gabby Hayes-like character. In keeping with one running joke in the movie, the character was called Gabby Johnson. After he delivered a rousing, though largely unintelligible speech to the townspeople ("You get back here you pious candy-ass sidewinder. Ain't no way that nobody is gonna' to leave this town. Hell, I was born here, an' I was raished here, an' dad gum it, I am gonna die here an' no sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, cracker croaker is gonna rouin me biscuit cutter."), David Huddleston's character proclaimed, "Now, who can argue with that?!" and described it as "authentic frontier gibberish."

Gabby at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0371025/

Gabby at TCM
http://tcmdb.com/participant/participant.jsp?participantId=83323

Gabby at Saddlepals and Sidekicks
http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/pals-gh.htm

Gabby Hayes.com
http://www.gabbyhayes.org/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

4/28/07 - Dabbs Greer passes away at age 90.

SilverUnicorn — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:14:42 GMT

Many will remember him as Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie. He was in many, many TV shows and movies. One of my favorite "Character Actors". (I never knew he was so old. )
----------------------------------------------------------------
Character Actor Dabbs Greer Dies At 90
Roles Included Minister On "Little House On The Prairie"

PASADENA, Calif., May. 1, 2007

Dabbs Greer, a veteran character actor who played the Rev. Robert Alden in the TV show "Little House on the Prairie," has died. He was 90.

Greer, a Missouri native, died Saturday at Huntington Hospital after a battle with kidney and heart disease, his neighbor, Bill Klukken, told the Los Angeles Times. B.J. Goodwin, coroner for McDonald County, Mo., confirmed the death to The Associated Press.

Greer played "everyman" roles, from bus drivers to preachers and shopkeepers, in nearly 100 movies and hundreds of TV show episodes. He played a prison guard in the 1999 movie "The Green Mile."
(More here: www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stori....shtml )

-----------------------------------------------------------------

At least he will live on in the many roles he played.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Susan Tyrrell - 3/18

jackoften — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 09:43:41 GMT

**Susan Tyrrell**
-----------------

A bizarre, one-of-a-kind Hollywood gypsy and self-affirmed outcast, actress Susan Tyrrell was a teenager when she made her stage debut in "Time Out for Ginger." A product of the entertainment industry, her father was a top agent at one time with the William Morris firm. She built up her resumé in summer stock and regional plays usually cast in standard ingénue roles. Her nascent career took an abrupt shift in direction, however, when, as a member of New York's Lincoln Repertory Company, she was cast in an array of seamy, salty-tongued, highly dysfunctional character parts. After striking performances on and off Broadway in such fare as "The Rimers of Eldritch" (1967), "A Cry of Players" (1968), "The Time of Your Life" (1969) and "Camino Real" (1970) Hollywood took keen notice of this special talent and, in the early 1970s, began to cast her in their more offbeat projects.

In only her fourth film, Susan earned an Academy Award nomination for her powerhouse portrayal of a cynical, low-life boozer girlfriend opposite Stacy Keach's has-been boxer in John Huston's potent but high depressing Fat City (1972). Pulling out all the stops after this, she continued to show her fearless attraction toward the dark side throughout the late 1970s with flashy roles in The Killer Inside Me (1976), Andy Warhol's Bad (1977), Islands in the Stream (1977), and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) as various whores, harridans and grotesques. The 1980s proved no different with manic behavior on full display in Storie di ordinaria follia (1981) [Tales of Ordinary Madness], Liar's Moon (1982), Fast-Walking (1982), Night Warning (1983), and Big Top Pee-wee (1988), many of which have now achieved cult status.

Real-life tragedy struck in late April of 2000 when Susan contracted a near-fatal illness. Both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee as a result of multiple blood clots due to a rare blood disease -- essential thrombocythemia. Never say die, she has valiantly tried to maintain a positive outlook. She has continued to perform on occasion while going through rehabilitation. She also spends time writing and painting. A wild, boisterous trooper still today, she is the definitive underground raconteur for those who desire the more sordid side of Hollywood. (IMDB)

Quote:

"I'm a loner. I don't like beautiful people, but I find beauty in the grotesque. And in the sweet soul inside someone who has been able to get through their life without being a rat's ass. Such people should be collected, should be swept up immediately and kept in a box of broken people. I've collected people my whole life. Sometimes it ends badly, but it's absolutely never on my part. Because I know how fabulous I am. You're just going to have to take my word for it - I'm an incredible person. I do good deeds, and I love people, but the only way I can do these things is to stay apart. Because you can just stand so much. But the people who you meet in your life, who cross your path, the ones who are decent, should be collected."

Selected filmography:

Masked and Anonymous (2003)
Relax... It's Just Sex (1998)
Powder (1995)
Cry-Baby (1990)
Far from Home (1989)
Tapeheads (1988)
Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
Windmills of the Gods (1988)
The Offspring (1987)
Flesh+Blood (1985)
Avenging Angel (1985)
Angel (1984)
Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981)
Forbidden Zone (1980)
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
Andy Warhol's Bad (1977)
The Killer Inside Me (1976)
Fat City (1972)

"My So-Called Rotten LIfe" - LA Weekly
www.laweekly.com/general/f...life/5300/

Wiki:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Tyrrell

Imdb:
www.imdb.com/name/nm0879073/

Cinemorgue:
www.cinemorgue.com/susantyrrell.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

4/29 Tom Ewell

kubbie — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 07:23:47 GMT

Tom Ewell (April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was a Tony Award-winning American actor.

Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, Ewell began acting in Summer Stock in 1928 with Don Ameche, before moving to New York in 1931. He enrolled in the Actors Studio alongside classmates Montgomery Clift and Karl Malden. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 and his film debut in 1940, and for several years played comic supporting roles. He attracted attention with a strong performance in the film Adam's Rib (1949) and he began to receive Hollywood roles more frequently.

His most successful and arguably most identifiable role came in 1952 when he began the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch. With Vanessa Brown as "The Girl", the show ran for almost three years, and Ewell played the part more than 750 times. He won a 1953 Tony Award for this role. He reprised his role in the 1955 film version, with Brown replaced by Marilyn Monroe. The scene of Ewell slyly admiring Monroe as she stood over a subway grate with her skirt billowing has become one of the most iconic moments in films. He won a Golden Globe Award for his performance.

He enjoyed another film success in The Girl Can't Help It (1956) opposite Jayne Mansfield. He co-starred in the U.S. premiere of Waiting for Godot with Bert Lahr in 1956 at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida. However, as his film and theater careers seemed to have reached their peaks, he turned his attention to television. Over several years he played guest roles in numerous series, and received an Emmy Award nomination for his continuing role in the television series Baretta, with Ewell commenting that working on that series had given him greater pleasure than any project he had ever worked on. His final acting performance was in a 1986 episode of Murder, She Wrote.

In a 1983 interview Ewell stated that the theater was the only arena in which actors could be creative, because films were the work of directors, and television was the work of technicians. He said he did not hold any particular regard for any of his films, with the exception of The Seven Year Itch. He also spoke highly of his co-star Monroe, saying that he "adored" her and that she was "such a lovely person to work with". He claimed never to have seen any of his films, including The Seven Year Itch, and had only ever seen glimpses of himself onscreen when his wife was watching television. He said he suffered from an inferiority complex and could not bear to see himself on screen as he was too critical of himself.

He died in Woodland Hills, California, aged 85, of undisclosed causes.

Tom at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263885/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

RIP Roscoe Lee Browne 1925-2007

kubbie — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:28:49 GMT

This man had a killer voice.

Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1925 - April 11, 2007) was an American actor known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.

Biography

Browne was the son of Baptist minister Sylvanus Browne and his wife Lovie (born Lovie Lee). Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Browne first attended historically black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1946. He undertook postgraduate work at Middlebury College in Vermont, Columbia University in New York City, and at the University of Florence in Italy. Also an outstanding middle-distance runner, Browne won the Amateur Athletic Union 1000-yard national indoor championship in 1949. He occasionally returned to Lincoln University between 1946 to 1952 to instruct classes in comparative literature, French, and English. Upon leaving academe he earned a living for several years selling wine for Schenley Import Corporation. Despite his limited amateur acting experience, in 1956 he stunned guests at a party — among them opera singer Leontyne Price — when he announced his intention to quit his secure job with Schenley to become a full-time professional actor.

Acting career

Despite the apprehensions of his friends, Browne managed to land the roles of soothsayer and Pindarus in Julius Caesar, directed by Joseph Papp for New York City's first Shakespeare Festival Theater. More work with the Shakespeare Festival Theater followed, and in 1961 he starred as J. J. Burden in The Connection (1961), his first movie role. Despite lacking the physical attractiveness of a leading man, numerous film roles established his reputation as an exceptionally versatile character actor who was also capable of performing scene-stealing cameos.

Endowed with a resonant, baritone voice and able to project cynicism and a haughty, patrician tone cultivated over the years from reciting lines from Shakespeare, Browne was much in demand for narration and voice-over parts in film and on vinyl albums, audio tapes and CDs he recorded poetry readings, passages from the Bible, and assorted literary works. He returned time and again to the stage to act in Shakespearean plays, and in on- and off-Broadway modern dramas and musical comedies.

With a strong sense of himself, Browne was determined not to accept stereotyped and demeaning roles that had routinely been offered to black actors, and he resisted emulating fellow actors. Browne also desired to do more than act and narrate, and in 1966 he wrote and made his directorial stage debut with A Hand is On the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music starring Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Moses Gunn and other rising black talent. A lifelong bachelor who coveted his privacy, in the turbulent decades of the civil rights revolution Browne avoided participation in public protests preferring instead to be “more effective on stage with metaphor…than in the streets with an editorial” (Troupe, 92).

His theatrical work brought him to the attention of producer Leland Hayward, and in 1964 he began a regular stint as a cast member on Hayward's satirical NBC-TV series That Was the Week That Was. Starting in the late 1960s, Browne increasingly became a guest star on TV on both comedy and dramatic shows like Mannix, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Cosby Show and dozens of other shows. He also was a regular on the sitcom Soap where he played Saunders, the erudite butler from 1979 to 1981, replacing Robert Guillaume who went on to his own show Benson. Incidentally, Browne guest starred on Benson with Guillaume. His appearances on The Cosby Show also drew acclaim as well winning an Emmy Award in 1986 for his guest role as Professor Foster.

He and fellow actor Anthony Zerbe toured the United States with their poetry performance piece, "Behind The Broken Words", which included readings of poetry, some of it written by Browne, as well as performances of comedy and dramatic works.

Death
Browne died of cancer in Los Angeles on April 11, 2007, aged 81

Filmography
Black Like Me (1964)
Graham Greene's The Comedians (1967)
Topaz (1969)
The Liberation of L. B. Jones (1970)
The Cowboys (1972)
The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Logan's Run (1976)
Legal Eagles (1986)
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
The Mambo Kings (1992)
Naked in New York (1993)

[
Television appearances
Eastside/Westside (1963)
That Was The Week That Was (1964)
NET Playhouse (1967)
The Invaders (1968)
Mannix (1968)
Espionage (1968)
Name of the Game (1969)
The Outcasts (1969)
The Name of the Game (TV series) (1971)
Insight (1971)
Bonanza (1972)
All in the Family (1972)
Sanford and Son (1972)
The Streets of San Francisco (1973)
Good Times (1974)
Barney Miller (1975)
Starsky and Hutch (1977)
Maude (1977)
Miss Winslow and Son (1979)
Soap (1979-1981), regular as Saunders, the butler
Hart to Hart (1981)
Santa Barbara (1980s)
Falcon Crest (1980s)
The Cosby Show (1980s)
Benson (1980s)
Magnum, P.I. (1983)
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)
227 (1987)
Highway to Heaven (1988)
Falcon Crest (1988)
Ring Raiders (1989)
Columbo (1990)
Father Dowling Mysteries (1990)
A Different World (1992)
SeaQuest DSV (1993)
The John Larroquette Show (1994)
New York Undercover (1996)
Hope Island (1999)
ER (1999)
The Wild Thornberrys (1999)
Law & Order (2003)
Will and Grace (2004)

Voice work
The Ra Expeditions (1972)
Logan's Run (1976) Box the robot
The Story of Star Wars (1977) Narrator
Disney's Oliver & Company (1988)
Babe (1995)
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Galapagos: Beyond Darwin (1996)
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Spider-Man (1995-1998)
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story (2000)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
Epic Movie (2007)

Awards and recognition

Obie Award (1965) - Best Performance for his role as the deceitful, mutinous slave Babu in the Robert Lowell play Benito Cereno

Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor Award for his roles as Makak the mountain hermit in Derek Walcott's The Dream on Monkey Mountain (1970) and the voodoo priest Bynum Walker in Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1989)

Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977

Roscoe at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001975/

Roscoe at Voice Chasers
http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1385

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Preston Sturges' Stock Company

davidvonshmavid — Fri, 27 May 2005 06:29:11 GMT

There's a nice piece on the Criterion website about the actors Preston Sturges liked to work with:

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/in_focus_essay.asp?id=7&eid=167

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 6 replies

3/8 Louise Beavers, Claire Trevor, Lynn Redgrave

kubbie — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:43:53 GMT

Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 - October 26, 1962) was a prolific African-American film actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. She was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Among the many films she appeared in were Freaks (1932), She Done Him Wrong (1933), General Spanky (1936), Holiday Inn (1942), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), and The Facts of Life (1960). Beavers' most famous and noted role was her portrayal of Delilah Johnson, the housekeeper/cook whose employer transforms her into an Aunt Jemima-like celebrity in the 1934 film Imitation of Life. One of the film's main conflicts was that between Delilah and her light-skinned daughter Peola (played by Fredi Washington), who wanted to pass for white. Imitation of Life was the first time in American cinema history that a black woman's problems were given major emotional weight in a major Hollywood motion picture.

The vast majority of Beavers' other film roles, however, were not as prestigious. Along with Hattie McDaniel, she became the on-screen personification of the "mammy" stereotype: a large, matronly black woman with a quick temper, a large laugh, and a subservient manner. Beavers' employers had her overeat so that she could maintain her "mammy"-like figure. Although Beavers did not approve of how her characters were scripted, she nonetheless continued appearing in films, because, as her contemporary McDaniel once stated, "it's better to play a maid than be a maid." [1].

Beavers was one of four actresses (including McDaniel, Ethel Waters, and Amanda Randolph) to portray housekeeper Beulah on the Beulah television show. That show was the first television sitcom to star an African American, even though the role was a somewhat subservient one.

Louise Beavers died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California on October 26, 1962 at the age of 60.

She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities.

Louise at the African American Registry
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/736/Cincinnatis_own_actress_Louise_Beavers

Louise at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0064792/

LB at Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Louise&actor_last=Beavers

Beavers at What A Character
http://www.what-a-character.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=BeaversL

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 4 replies

Abe Vigoda - 86 Today

davidvonshmavid — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:21:29 GMT

He's he's still alive.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 7 replies

3/4 Catherine O'Hara

kubbie — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 10:13:45 GMT

Catherine O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is well known for her appearances in many roles on the TV series SCTV, as well as for her film roles as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988), Kate McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and her various roles in the films of Christopher Guest. She also provides voiceover in Over the Hedge, Chicken Little and Brother Bear 2.

Career overview

She started her acting career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto. In 1976, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which O'Hara became a regular performer. Memorable O'Hara characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.

In the late 1970s, she did various voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. She was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981 following Jean Doumanian's disastrous stint as executive producer. However, O'Hara quit the show without ever having made an appearance on it, primarily due to her shock after witnessing a long, loud diatribe by SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue. Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.

Celebrities impersonated by O'Hara on SCTV include: Liv Ullmann, Katharine Hepburn, Diane Keaton, Joey Heatherton, Lola Falana, Elizabeth Taylor, Brooke Shields, Morgan Fairchild, Barbara Billingsley, Phyllis George, Charlotte Rampling, Monica Vitti, Jane Pauley, Rona Barrett, Tammy Faye Bakker, Angie Dickinson, Dorothy Kilgallen, Jessica Savitch, Linda Blair, Judith Crist, Rusty Warren, Gilda Radner, Joan Sutherland, Jane Fonda, Joan Embry and Candice Bergen.

She had a role in The Last of the High Kings as a staunch Irish nationalist in 1970s Dublin. In 2006, O'Hara starred in her fourth Christopher Guest film, For Your Consideration (following Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind).

Personal life
She was born and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, but is a naturalized U.S. citizen.[1] She is a third-generation Irish Canadian and Catholic.[2] O'Hara married Bo Welch in 1992. They have two sons, born in 1994 and 1997. She is the sister of singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in the 2003 film A Mighty Wind.

OHara at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001573/

OHara at Voice Chasers
http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=3626

Fan Site
http://catherine_ohara_fan.tripod.com/

OHara at Northern Stars
http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsmno/ohara.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

Cass Daley

kubbie — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:04:35 GMT

Cass Daley (Birthname: Catherine Dailey b. July 17, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - d. March 22, 1975 in Hollywood, California) was an American radio and movie actress.

The daughter of a streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s. She endeared movie audiences during this period as well as the 1950s, most notably in Crazy Horse in 1943. She was also noted for her buck teeth and her outsized rear end, according to Hollywood author Richard Lamparski. She later retired and made occasional appearances in the 1970s. She died in a freak accident when she fell over on a glass table that slashed her neck and she bled to death.

For her work on radio, she received a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Quote
"Marriage is a matter of give and take, but so far I haven't been able to find anybody who'll take what I have to give.”
"I've sometimes thought of marrying, and then I've thought again."
"Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.”
"The dread of loneliness is greater than the fear of bondage, so we get married.”
"Any woman who still thinks marriage is a fifty-fifty proposition is only proving that she doesn't understand either men or percentages”
"After a few years of marriage a man can look right at a woman without seeing her and a woman can see right through a man without looking at him.”

Sample some of her musical mayhem.
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6833011/a/Queen+Of+Musical+Mayhem.htm

there is another cd availabe but there arnet any samples, but I have it and its alot of fun
http://www.amazon.com/You-Cant-Blame-Girl-Trying/dp/B00006RHR9/sr=1-1/qid=1172126687/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5147918-0616662?ie=UTF8&s=music

Actress:
1970s
1960s
1950s
1940s
Norwood (1970) .... Mrs. Remley

The Spirit Is Willing (1967) .... Felicity Twitchell
"Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" .... Patsy Willis (1 episode, 1964)
... aka The Chrysler Theater
... aka Universal Star Time (syndication title)
- Her School for Bachelors (1964) TV Episode .... Patsy Willis

Red Garters (1954) .... Minnie Redwing

Ladies' Man (1947) .... Geraldine Ryan
Out of This World (1945) .... Fanny (drummer)
Riding High (1943) .... Tess Connors
... aka Melody Inn (UK)
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) .... Mimi
The Fleet's In (1942) .... Cissie

Self:
1970s
1950s
1940s
The Phynx (1970) .... Herself

"The Jimmy Durante Show" .... Herself (1 episode, 1955)
- Episode #1.17 (1955) TV Episode .... Herself
"The Bob Hope Show" .... Herself (1 episode, 1954)
- Episode dated 16 March 1954 (1954) TV Episode .... Herself
Here Comes the Groom (1951) (uncredited) .... Herself, Cameo Appearance
"The Ed Wynn Show" .... Herself (1 episode, 1950)
- Episode #1.34 (1950) TV Episode .... Herself

Variety Girl (1947) .... Herself
Unusual Occupations (1946/III) (uncredited) .... Herself
Screen Snapshots Series 25, No. 2: Radio Shows (1945) .... Herself - The Sunday Bandwagon Program
Duffy's Tavern (1945) .... Herself
Crazy House (1943) .... Herself/Sadie Silverfish

So many years of making people laugh...one moment that literally shatters it all...

The Citadel book "Comic Support" describes this great film comedienne as...

"A variation on the Martha Raye type of efferverscent-but-plain man hunter.Cass Daley had teeth as prominent as Raye's, but usually less prominent comedy relief roles.

"When she was in her teens, kids made fun of her beanpole body, jutting butt and buck teeth. She got some measure of revenge by winning amateur contests with her jokes and singing. The teenager worked in a factory, but her clowning -- which included an imitation of the foreman -- got her fired. At 17 she became a hatcheck girl in a New Jersey nightclub, getting a chance to occasionally perform on stage. One of her favorite early numbers was "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" while strumming the ukulele."

To further talk about her while she's gone...Daley became famous in films, usually getting a laugh the moment she appeared. She had a thin body, a big butt, and those teeth. But as she said: "I was never sensitive about my rear or my teeth. They made money for me...have you ever noticed that all comediennes have buck teeth or a big mouth? Look at them: Martha Raye, Judy Canova, Carol Burnett, Kaye Ballard, right down the line..."

Her best known film these days is probably Olsen & Johnson's "Crazy House," though her own personal favorite was "Riding High" with Victor Moore.

After raising her son in the 50's, she tried for a comeback. The 70's saw her touring in "The Music Man," "The Apple of His Eye" with Buddy Ebsen and 1972's nostalgic "The Big Show of 1936." Her comeback ended with a shatter of glass in 1975. Alone in her apartment, the 59 year-old comedienne apparently fell and landed on her glass coffee table. A shard of glass jammed into her throat and she bled to death before her husband came home and discovered her.

NY Times filmography and reviews
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=16646

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

1/8 Larry Storch AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:59:02 GMT

Larry Storch (born January 8, 1923) is an American actor best known for his comedic television roles, including voiceover work for cartoons, and his live-action role the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop. He has also made guest appearances on dozens of different television shows, including Get Smart, Bewitched, That Girl, I Dream of Jeannie, Married... with Children, and The Love Boat. In 2005, he appeared with dozens of other comedians in the documentary feature The Aristocrats, about a famous dirty joke.

Bio from All Movie Guide

From All Movie Guide: Dialect comedians may not be politically acceptable these days, but American comic actor Larry Storch has never lacked work all the same. A product of the New York ethnic "melting pot," Storch amused his childhood friends (including lifelong chum Don Adams) with his dead-on impressions of the many Italians, Hispanics, Germans and Jews in his neighborhood. He advanced his skills for mimicry by virtually living in the local movie houses, memorizing the speech patterns of such character actors as Victor McLaglen, Guy Kibbee and Charley Grapewin. One of his first jobs after World War II navy service was as a writer on The Kraft Music Hall, where he was frequently required to substitute for the star, blustery actor Frank Morgan; years later, he revived his Morgan impression as Chumley on the cartoon series Tennessee Tuxedo (in which his old pal Don Adams voiced the title character). In 1951 Storch appeared in the Chicago revue Red White and Blue, which led to a stint as summer replacement for Jackie Gleason on the Dumont TV series Cavalcade of Stars. Storch's most common stamping grounds in the '50s was the nightclub stage; at one point he even ran his own club. Storch made his film bow in The Prince who was a Thief (51) which starred a friend from his Navy days, Tony Curtis. When Storch's career was on the wane in the early '60s, Curtis cast him in several of his vehicles of that period, including Who was That Lady (1960), wherein Storch recreated his Broadway role as an emotional Russian spy. After a semi-recurring role as Charlie the Drunk (who became besotted simply by talking about drinking) on the early '60s sitcom Car 54, Where are You?, Storch was cast as Corporal Agarn, comic sidekick of conniving cavalry sergeant O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) on the western comedy weekly F Troop (1965-66). In addition to Agarn, Storch was permitted to play various foreign branches of the Agarn family, with appropriate broad accents. Since the cancellation of F Troop in 1966, Larry Storch has been a regular on The Queen and I (1969) and The Ghost Busters (1976), has worked periodically in films, and has appeared with great frequency in clubs (still doing "characterization" routines rather than one-liners) and on stage. In 1991, Larry Storch garnered excellent notices for his brief character turn in the off-Broadway play Breaking Legs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Larry at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0832415/

Larry's page at F-Troop.net
http://www.f-troop.net/larrys_page.htm

Larry at NNDB
http://www.nndb.com/people/933/000022867/

Larry at TV.com
http://www.tv.com/larry-storch/person/8004/summary.html

Larry Storch's scene from Aristocrats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMdCpNQVgEw

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

`Munsters' star Yvonne De Carlo dies

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 20:47:04 GMT

AP
`Munsters' star Yvonne De Carlo dies

By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES -
Yvonne De Carlo, the beautiful star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" but achieved her greatest popularity on TV's "The Munsters," has died. She was 84.
ADVERTISEMENT

De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture & Television facility in suburban Los Angeles, longtime friend and television producer Kevin Burns said Wednesday.

De Carlo, whose shapely figure helped launch her career in B-movie desert adventures and Westerns, rose to more important roles in the 1950s. Later, she had a key role in a landmark Broadway musical, Stephen Sondheim's "Follies."

But for TV viewers, she will always be known as Lily Munster in the 1964-1966 slapstick horror-movie spoof "The Munsters." The series (the name allegedly derived from "fun-monsters") offered a gallery of Universal Pictures grotesques, including Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, in a cobwebbed gothic setting.

Lily, vampire-like in a black gown, presided over the faux scary household and was a rock for her gentle but often bumbling husband, Herman, played by 6-foot-5-inch character actor Fred Gwynne (decked out as the Frankenstein monster).

While it lasted only two years, the series had a long life in syndication and resulted in two feature movies, "Munster Go Home!" (1966) and "The Munsters' Revenge." (1981, for TV).

At the series' end, De Carlo commented: "It meant security. It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn't have had otherwise. It made me `hot' again, which I wasn't for a while."

"I think she will best remembered as the definitive Lily Munster. She was the vampire mom to millions of baby boomers. In that sense, she's iconic," Burns said Wednesday.

"But it would be a shame if that's the only way she is remembered. She was also one of the biggest beauty queens of the `40s and `50s, one of the most beautiful women in the world. This was one of the great glamour queens of Hollywood, one of the last ones."

De Carlo was able to sustain a long career by repeatedly reinventing herself. A longtime student of voice, she sang opera at the Hollywood Bowl. When movie roles became scarce, she ventured into stage musicals.

Her greatest stage triumph came on Broadway in 1971 with "Follies," which won the 1972 Tony award for best original musical score. She belted out Sondheim's showstopping number, "I'm Still Here," a former star's defiant recounting of the highs and lows of her life and career.

Over the years, De Carlo augmented her stardom by shrewd use of publicity. Gossip columnists reported her dates with famous men. In her 1987 book, "Yvonne: An Autobiography," she listed 22 of her lovers, who included Howard Hughes, Burt Lancaster, Robert Stack, Robert Taylor, Billy Wilder, Aly Khan and an Iranian prince.

The Canadian-born De Carlo began her career with a parade of bit parts in films of the early 1940s, then emerged as a star in 1945 with "Salome — Where She Danced," a routine movie about a dancer from Vienna who becomes a spy in the wild West.

She recalled her entrance in the film: "I came through these beaded curtains, wearing a Japanese kimono and a Japanese headpiece, and then performed a Siamese dance. Nobody seemed to know quite why."

Universal Pictures exploited her slightly exotic looks and a shape that looked ideal in a harem dress in such "sex-and-sand" programmers as "Song of Scheherazade," "Slave Girl," "Casbah" and "Desert Hawk."

The studio also employed her to add zest to Westerns, usually as a dance-hall girl or a gun-toting sharpshooter. Among the titles: "Frontier Gal," "Black Bart" (as Lola Montez), "River Lady," "Calamity Jane and Sam Bass" (as Calamity Jane) and "The Gal Who Took the West."

In 1956 she veered from her former image when Cecil B. DeMille chose her to play Sephora, wife to
Charlton Heston's Moses in "The Ten Commandments." The following year she co-starred with Clark Gable and
Sidney Poitier in "Band of Angels" as Gable's upper-class sweetheart who learns of her black forebears.

Among her later films: "McClintock" (starring John Wayne), "A Global Affair" (Bob Hope), "Hostile Guns" (George Montgomery), "The Power" (George Hamilton), "American Gothic" (Rod Steiger) and "Oscar" (
Sylvester Stallone).

De Carlo was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 1, 1922, (some sources say 1924). Abandoned by her father, she was raised by her mother in poor circumstances. The girl took dancing lessons and dropped out of high school to work in night clubs and local theaters. She continued dancing in clubs when she and her mother moved to Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures signed her to a contract in 1942, and she adopted her middle name and her mother's middle name. Dropped by Paramount after 20 minor roles, she landed at Universal, which cast her as the B-picture version of the studio's sultry star Maria Montez.

In 1955, De Carlo married Bob Morgan, a topflight stunt man, and the marriage produced two sons, Bruce and Michael, as well as much-publicized separations and reconciliations.

During a stunt aboard a moving log train for "How the West Was Won," Morgan was thrown underneath the wheels. The accident cost him a leg, and for a time De Carlo abandoned her career to care for him. They later divorced.

In her late years, De Carlo lived in semiretirement near Solvang, north of Santa Barbara. Her son Michael died in 1997, and she suffered a stroke the following year.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Terrific read on Max Baer, Jr.

BabeSoDelicious — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:50:15 GMT

http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-baer01jan07,0,4406121.story?coll=la-home-magazine

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

1/7 Butterfly McQueen

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 07:40:03 GMT

Butterfly McQueen (January 7, 1911 – December 22, 1995) was an American film and television actress.

Born Thelma McQueen in Tampa, Florida, she trained as a dancer and took her stage name from the "Butterfly Dance" after performing it in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

McQueen made her first film in 1939 in what would become her most identifiable role—as Prissy, the young maid in Gone with the Wind, uttering the famous words: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!" She also played an uncredited bit part as a sales assistant in The Women, filmed after Gone With the Wind but released before it. She continued to play maids and small parts in various films including Since You Went Away (1944), Mildred Pierce (1945) and Duel in the Sun (1946). She also played Butterfly, Mary Livingstone's maid in the Jack Benny radio program, for a time during World War II. But by 1947 had grown tired of the ethnic stereotypes she was required to play and ended her film career.

By 1950 she had played another racially-stereotyped role for two years on the television series Beulah, which reunited her with her Gone with the Wind co-star Hattie McDaniel.

Her acting roles after this were very few, and she devoted herself to other pursuits including study, and received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1975. She had one more role of some substance in the 1986 film The Mosquito Coast.

McQueen lived in Aiken, South Carolina and died in Augusta, Georgia as a result of burns received when a kerosene heater she was attempting to light exploded and burst into flames. A lifelong atheist, she donated her body to medical science and remembered the Freedom From Religion Foundation in her will.

Butterfly at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574335/

Butterfly at The African American Registry
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/651/Butterfly_McQueen_an_actress_who_wanted_more___

Butterfly at Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Butterfly&actor_last=McQueen

Butterfly page for the Free Thought Heroine Award
http://ffrf.org/awards/heroine/1989_mcqueen.php

Butterfly at Reel Classics
http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Butterfly/butterfly.htm

reveiws of some of the films Butterfly appeared in can be read here at the NYTImes.com
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=48035

Butterfly's page at Philosopedia.org
http://www.philosopedia.org/index.php?title=Butterfly_McQueen

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

Malachi Throne

spidra — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:28:50 GMT

What a name, huh? I've never seen him in the films he's been in. Just "The West Wing". But, man, has he got a great voice. Plus he's a good actor.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

1/3 Zasu Pitts

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 10:48:19 GMT

Happy 113th

ZaSu Pitts (January 3, 1894 (?) – June 7, 1963) was a United States movie actress. She was one of the more popular stars of the early motion picture era.

Name and birth date

Her unusual first name was coined from parts of the names "Eliza" and "Susan", female relatives who both wanted Pitts's mother to name the child after them. In many film credits and articles, her name was rendered as Zazu Pitts or Zasu Pitts. Though her name is commonly mispronounced as "Zazz-oo", in her 1930s film shorts with Thelma Todd (see below) it is clearly pronounced on-screen (by Todd) as "ZAY-sue;" her name was also consistently pronounced "ZAY-sue" during her recurrent guest appearences on Fibber McGee and Molly's show in 1939.

There is some disagreement as to her birth date: some on-line biographies claim Pitts was born January 3, 1894, but the Internet Broadway Database gives her birth date as January 3, 1898. Her California death record claims she was born January 3, 1901, and making matters more confusing, the Social Security Death Record reflects a birthdate of January 3, 1900.

Biography

Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas and grew up in Santa Cruz, California.

Pitts was discovered by screenwriter Frances Marion and made her debut in the silent film The Little Princess (1917), starring Mary Pickford. Pitts became a leading lady in Erich von Stroheim's masterpiece Greed (1924); based on this performance, von Stroheim labelled Pitts "the greatest dramatic actress". Von Stroheim also featured her in his films The Wedding March (1928) and Walking Down Broadway (1933), which was re-edited by Alfred L. Werker and released as Hello Sister.

Pitts enjoyed her greatest fame, however, in the 1930's, often starring in B movies and comedy shorts, often teamed with Thelma Todd. She also played secondary parts in many films. Her stock persona (a fretful, flustered, worrisome spinster) made her instantly recognizable and was often imitated in cartoons and other films. She starred in a number of Hal Roach shorts and features that were popular, but her brief stint in the Hildegarde Withers mystery series was not well received.

Films featuring Pitts include Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) and two film adaptations of No, No, Nanette - one in 1930 and another in 1940. Pitts achieved renewed fame in television in the 1950's, notably costarring in Gale Storm's sitcom Oh, Susanna. Her last role, shortly before her death, was as a voice actress (switchboard operator) in the Stanley Kramer comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963).

Marriage

Pitts was married to actor Tom Gallery from 1920 to 1932. They had two children: a daughter, Ann Gallery, and a son, Don Gallery (né Marvin Carville La Marr), whom they adopted after the 1926 death of his mother, silent film actress Barbara La Marr.

Death

Pitts died of cancer in Hollywood, California in 1963. She was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery although she was not known to be a Roman Catholic.

Trivia

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1994, she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

When Hollywood switched to talkies Pitts, who had a distinctive nasal voice with a wavering vibrato, switched from dramas to comedy roles.

Mae Questel characatured Pitt's voice for the character "Olive Oyl" for the Fleischer Studios animated cartoon version of the comic strip "Popeye".

From the 1940s through the early 1960s, Pitts also made numerous television appearances, including her role in Oh! Susanna (1956-1960), with Gale Storm as her niece.

She was on radio, appearing several times on the earliest Fibber McGee and Molly show. Her character was a somewhat dipsy dame who was constantly looking for a husband.

Referred to sadistic gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as a "ferret".

Conservative both politically and financially, she left her lucrative job with Thelma Todd over a money dispute with Hal Roach, and often complained about taxes.

Filmography
1917
Uneasy Money (short subject)
Tillie of the Nine Lives (short subject)
A Desert Dilemma (short subject)
His Fatal Beauty (short subject)
Canning the Cannibal King (short subject)
He Had 'em Buffaloed (short subject)
The Battling Bellboy (short subject)
O-My the Tent Mover (short subject)
Behind the Map (short subject)
Why They Left Home (short subject)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (role unconfirmed)
'49-'17
The Little Princess
A Modern Musketeer (short subject)
1918
A Dog's Life (short subject) (scenes deleted)
Who's Your Wife?
Good Night, Paul (role unconfirmed)
How Could You, Jean?
The Pie Eyed Piper (short subject)
A Society Sensation (short subject)
The Talk of the Town
The Greatest Thing in Life (scenes deleted)
A Lady's Name
1919
As the Sun Went Down (1919)
Sunnyside (short subject) (scenes deleted)
Men, Women, and Money
Better Times
Poor Relations
1920
Seeing It Through
Bright Skies
Heart of Twenty
1921
Patsy
1922
Is Matrimony a Failure?
For the Defense
Youth to Youth
A Daughter of Luxury
1923
Poor Men's Wives
Souls for Sale (Cameo)
The Girl Who Came Back
Mary of the Movies (Cameo)
Three Wise Fools
Hollywood (Cameo)
Tea: With a Kick!
West of the Water Tower
1924
Daughters of Today
The Goldfish
Triumph
Changing Husbands
Legend of Hollywood
Wine of Youth (scenes deleted)
The Fast Set
Secrets of the Night
Greed
1925
1925 Studio Tour (short subject)
The Great Divide
The Re-Creation of Brian Kent
Old Shoes
Pretty Ladies
A Woman's Faith
The Business of Love
Thunder Mountain
Lazybones
Wages for Wives
The Great Love
1926
Mannequin
What Happened to Jones
Monte Carlo
Early to Wed
Sunny Side Up
Risky Business
Her Big Night
1927
Casey at the Bat
1928
13 Washington Run
Wife Savers
Buck Privates
The Wedding March
Sins of the Fathers
1929
The Dummy
The Squall
Twin Beds
The Argyle Case
Her Private Life
Oh, Yeah!
Paris
The Locked Door
This Thing Called Love
1930
No, No, Nanette
Honey
All Quiet on the Western Front (appeared in silent version)
The Devil's Holiday
Little Accident
The Squealer
Monte Carlo
War Nurse
The Lottery Bride
River's End
Sin Takes a Holiday
Passion Flower
Free Love
1931
Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 6 (1931) (short subject)
Finn and Hattie
The Bad Sister
Beyond Victory
Seed
Let's Do Things (short subject)
A Woman of Experience
Their Mad Moment
Catch as Catch Can (short subject)
The Big Gamble
Penrod and Sam
The Pajama Party (short subject)
The Guardsman
War Mamas (short subject)
The Secret Witness
On the Loose (short subject)
1932
The Unexpected Father
Broken Lullaby
Seal Skins (short subject)
Steady Company
Red Noses (short subject)
Shopworn
Destry Rides Again
Strictly Unreliable
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
Strangers of the Evening
Westward Passage
The Old Bull (short subject)
Is My Face Red?
Make Me a Star
Roar of the Dragon
The Vanishing Frontier
Show Business (short subject)
Blondie of the Follies
Back Street
Alum and Eve (short subject)
The Crooked Circle
Once in a Lifetime
The Soilers (short subject)
Madison Sq. Garden
Sneak Easily (short subject)
1933
They Just Had to Get Married
Asleep in the Feet (short subject)
Maids a la Mode (short subject)
Out All Night
The Bargain of the Century (short subject)
Hello, Sister
One Track Minds (short subject)
Professional Sweethearts
Her First Mate
Love, Honor and Oh Baby!
Aggie Appleby Maker of Men
Meet the Baron
Mr. Skitch
1934
The Meanest Gal in Town
Two Alone
Three on a Honeymoon
Sing and Like It
Love Birds
Private Scandal
Dames
Their Big Moment
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
The Gay Bride
1935
Ruggles of Red Gap
Spring Tonic
She Gets Her Man
Hot Tip
Going Highbrow
The Affair of Susan
1936
Thirteen Hours by Air
Mad Holiday
The Plot Thickens
Sing Me a Love Song
1937
Merry Comes to Town
Wanted
Forty Naughty Girls
52nd Street
1939
The Lady's from Kentucky
Naughty But Nice
Mickey the Kid
Nurse Edith Cavell
Eternally Yours
1940s '1940
It All Came True
No, No, Nanette
1941
Uncle Joe
Broadway Limited
Niagara Falls
Weekend for Three
Miss Polly
Mexican Spitfire's Baby
1942
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
The Bashful Bachelor
So's Your Aunt Emma
Tish
1943
Let's Face It
1946
Breakfast in Hollywood
1947
The Perfect Marriage
Life with Father
1950s
Francis (1950)
Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
Francis Joins the WACs (1954)
This Could Be the Night (1957)
1960s
The Teenage Millionaire (1961)
The Thrill Of It All (1963)
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

Zasu at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0686032/

Photo Gallery
http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/films/zaphoto.shtml

Zasu at Golden SIlents
http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/zasupitts.html

Gallery at Silent Ladies and Gents
http://www.silent-movies.com/Ladies/PPitts.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

Terri Garr

BabeSoDelicious — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 06:02:39 GMT

Was in the news the other day. Seems she suffered an aneurysm and had to have surgery. She also has MS.

Get well, Terri!

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

1/3 Anna May Wong Happy 102nd

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 10:35:20 GMT

To see the post about Anna May Wong I am redirecting you to Robowans Tribe on her

http://tribes.tribe.net/annamaywong

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

MISS Jeff Donnell

Wade — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 06:54:20 GMT

THE JEFF DONNELL STORY by Wade Ballard

Character actress and light comedienne Jeff Donnell was christened Jean Marie Donnell on July 10, 1921, at South Windham Boys' Reformatory in Maine. It couldn't be helped, as her father Harold was the superintendent of the institution. Harold and his wife Mildred, a school teacher, moved Jeff and her older sister Doris to Towson, Maryland when she was two years old.

When "Jean" grew old enough to enjoy the funnies, which her favorite uncle, Phineas O. Baker, read to her, she was so entranced with the smaller character in the "Mutt and Jeff" strip that he took to calling her "Little Jeff." The nickname stuck and she liked it so well that when she grew up, she kept it. Her mother hoped that she would want to be a nurse or enroll at Fanny Farmer's and pursue a course in domestic art, but Jeff yearned for dramatic art. Her mother didn't oppose her ambition and provided her daughter with piano, tap, ballet and toe dancing lessons.

Jeff's interest in acting really started in Baltimore, Maryland where she saw every play that she could that was performed at the Ford Theatre. Once, after seeing Katharine Hepburn as "Jane Eyre", Jeff ran after her as she left the building to get into a limousine. Jeff handed Hepburn her new Parker Pen to autograph her program. After Miss Hepburn signed her name, she rode off with the pen. Jeff was afraid to tell her mother, so she borrowed some money and bought another one just like it. Years later, Jeff sat next to Kate on a plane from New York to Los Angeles, and both laughed when Jeff told her that she still had her pen!

Jeff graduated from high school in Towson in 1938 and received three scholarships. Being homesick for New England, she decided to enroll at the Leland Powers School of the Theatre with her award money. During the two-year course she took classes in Expressions, Diction, Make-up, Fencing, and the History of the Theatre. One of the professors was a young man named William R. Anderson, and the first thing he asked Jeff to do in his class was to stand on her feet and "laugh." She emitted a high, nervous giggle. Glaring at her, he opined caustically that it had been one of the most unconvincing and artificial laughs he had ever had the misfortune to hear. Churning inside with rage that was not the least artificial, Jeff sat down muttering, "The man's a goon!" Her feelings for Professor Anderson remained bitter during her entire first term at the school, although she did get "A's" in his classes.

At the beginning of her second term, he suddenly invited her to go to dinner and the symphony with him. She was taken aback, but she went and her grades promptly dropped to "B's." Professor Bill swore that she simply wasn't as good that second term.

At age nineteen, Jeff enrolled at the Yale School of Drama and did some teaching herself. In the interim, she and Bill were married on December 21, 1940. Bill wanted to start a summer stock company at the Farragut Playhouse right outside of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After hiring Leland Powers' students for cast and crew, the first show they chose to produce was "Lady of Letters" because Jeff had performed in that play at school and Bill knew Jeff could do this comedy to showcase her talents.

It was the 8th of July, 1941, and Max Gordon from New York and Max Arnow from Columbia Pictures were touring, looking for talent. Word got out that a pair of talent scouts would be in the audience, and the cast took bets on who the scouts would ask to interview. A dumb, blue-eyed blonde with a 36-inch bust got the most votes. It was raining that night, and both Maxes were thinking about not showing up for the show, but they did catch the third act, and they surprised the cast and crew when they asked Jeff to come see them at thier hotel the next day. She did, and they offered her a trip to New York to do a screen test. At 20, Jeff was skinny, flat-chested, had enormous brown eyes, brown hair and what is commonly referred to as a button nose.

The screen test they chose for Jeff was a scene from "Claudia", and it was directed by none other than the president of Columbia Pictures, Inc., Harry Cohn, only because the scheduled director, Charles Vidor, didn't arrive in time. For the test, Jeff chose a typically Boston navy blue tailored suit to wear, which was fine for "Claudia", but Mr. Cohn didn't think she looked jazzy enough, so he borrowed a long string of pearls from Josephine Johnson and draped them around her neck. He also asked her to remove her shoes since at 5' 6" she stood taller than the leading man they had chosen for her. Jeff thought it was just ridiculous and was so embarrassed, but she did "Claudia" bare-footed with pearls floundering on her chest.

The next day Jeff and her husband sat in a small viewing room in the back to watch her test on the screen, and all she could hear was Cohn and his assistant tear her apart. "She's got to have her nose fixed", "She's got to have something done with her hair, There's so much of it", There's got some be some padding on her behind", "She'd definatly got to have bust pads."

They also weren't quite sure of her name-Jeff Donnell. With each deflating remark, she sat lower in her seat. She was convinced they wouldn't pick her up on contract and thought of the basket of fruit and flowers they had sent to her room and of the money they had wasted on her.

Jeff returned to the New Hampshire stock company to rehearse another play and get the experience in New York off her mind, but within a month she received a telegram from Columbia. Her contract was on it's way.

She signed for a salary of $100 a week and wrote a letter back that said "Dear Mr. Cohn, I am pregnant. What shall I do?" A reply got back to her from Max Arnow that stated simply, "Have it." Jeff has always said that the reason Harry Cohn hired her was because he didn't want anyone to know that he directed a bad test.

Jeff had her first born, a boy, Michael Phineas Anderson, on January 21, 1942. It was a difficult pregnancy, and she had a new Caesarean procedure (Walter's Caesarean) at Massachusetts General in Boston. It was a new enough operation that medical students at Harvard attended the procedure. Years later, Jeff told her son that landing wrong on the saddle horn prevented her from having more children.

Soon after the baby arrived, Jeff and young Michael boarded the train for Hollywood. She expected Cohn or at least a "yes-man" to greet her at the train station, but there was no one. She didn't realize her importance to the studio until she learned that Rita Hayworth was making two to three thousand a week.

She found an apartment close to the studio, owned by Errol Flynn, with furniture padlocked to the walls. "Strange place," she thought, but was told it was necessary. Hungry actors have been known to eat furniture, sell or hock it. After finishing his last semester at Leland Powers, husband Bill soon joined his family in California to be a dialogue director at Columbia, which Jeff had put in her contract. He was more excited to be working on the West Coast than his wife because he had aspirations of becoming a film director.

Jeff reported to the studio and was soon cast in "My Sister Eileen" as Helen, the wife of "The Wreck." The part was rewritten for the screen because in the Broadway production, from which this film hails, the character lived with the football player, but not as his wife. In the play, the mother comes to visit and goes into an uproar when she finds out they are living in sin. With the Hays Office Legion of Decency still going strong in 1942, the characters had to be married in the film, and the portrayal of Helen was less interesting.

Rosalind Russell, Janet Blair, Brian Ahern, and Gordon Jones were called for the first day of shooting, along with Jeff. Most of the day was was spent doing a master shot, which Jeff didn't understand. Toward the end of the day only Russell and Blair were involved in the shots. Jeff was given script pages for the next day and was told to go home.

She was certain she was fired and called her husband to tell him what happened. No one had explained to her about master shots, two shots, three shots and she was very confused by it all. The next day, however, the cameras were focused on her and Gordon Jones, and she realized after all that she was very much in the movie. Jeff became friends with Rosalind Russell on this picture, and Jeff's son and Russell's (Lance) went to camp together one year.

Jeff's second film was "The Boogie Man Will Get You", a spoof inspired by the Broadway play "Arsenic and Old Lace" (A contractual commitment delayed the film version of "Arsenic" until the play completed it's run, so "Boogie Man" was released ahead of the "Arsenic" film.) Columbia also got the star of the play, Boris Karloff, to take a hiatus to star in this motion picture with Peter Lorre. The film was a comedy, but with this duo, the studio publicized it as a chiller which confused the movie-going public.

Jeff had a great story about the making of this film that she always loved to tell: she was going up the basement staircase with Boris and Peter directly behind her, and when she got in front of the camera at the top of the stairs, they goosed her. Thanks to her stage training, she didn't change her expression and delivered her lines, but a second take was made and then a third because the boys were laughing so hard.

The next day, Jeff went out and bought a live goose, had it crated and delivered to Boris and Peter. Jeff celebrated her 21st birthday on the set, and as a gift she received the goose cooked and ready to eat with a card, "To the goose girl" from Boris-a card she very much cherished.

In 1943 Jeff was cast in "City Without Men", a picture that starred Linda Darnell, but Jeff's role as a prison inmate was cut out of the film because the studio thought that with her innocent, young looks, the public wouldn't accept her in such a part.

Also in 1943, Jeff got her first leading role, albeit for a "B" picture, opposite Kenny Baker in "Doughboys In Ireland". Actor Robert Mitchum has a small part in this picture, and Max Arnow offered him a contract at $350 a week. Jeff told him to take it because it was more money than she was making, and she knew he had a wife and two kids to support.

He decided to wait. Six weeks later he got "The Story of G.I. Joe" and didn't have to be tied down to Columbia. Jeff couldn't believe his luck.

In 1944, Jeff appeared in her favorite film and the one for which she received the most mail, "Nine Girls". It was a comedy-mystery set in a sorority house. Jeff played Butch, a tomboy, who wore a shirt, jeans and tennis shoes while the other actresses had to go through the glamour treatment, which she never much cared for. Jeff always laughs when she recalls the "swimming scene". While the other acresses were adjusting their bust pads in the water, Jeff just dived into the pool without a care. It was also 1944 when Jeff was first "loaned out", this time to producer Sol Lesser for United Artists' production of "Three Is A Family". She used the extra money to buy her first good car.

From 1945-1947 Jeff appeared in 15 features, all "B" productions. In three of these films she played Ann Miller's girlfriend, and five of them were musical westerns that starred Ken Curtis (Festus of "Gunsmoke" fame) and usually featured The Hoosier Hot Shots, Carolina Cotton, Guy Kibbee, Andy Clyde and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. She always hoped to improve her status, so she would disguise herself and slip into sneak previews and unobrusively listen to audience critiques.

Because she was advised not to have anymore children naturally, Jeff and Bill adopted their daughter, Sally (Sarah Jane). She was born on Valentine's Day, 1948, and Jeff took the rest of the year off from the studio to be with her family.

Jeff was a bit upset with Columbia because she really had her heart set on doing "The Return of October". Terry Moore, who Jeff felt was too young for the role, was cast in the part and she didn't have the expirience that Jeff had.

Jeff felt that the director of "October", Norman Panama, sensed her unhappiness. His next picture was for RKO and all of a sudden, Jeff's agent got an offer from Dore Schary for her to go to RKO. Although Columbia never really dropped her, Jeff went over to RKO and was cast as Cary Grant's secretary in "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House". She worked one day and was replaced by an actress ten years older. Producers thought Jeff looked to young and sexy, and they feared that the audience might think Mr. Blandings was fooling around with her.

Director George Cukor had always used Jeff as a test girl, and in 1950 she tested with Aldo Da Re who was up for a part in "Saturday's Hero". She invited him to dinner that night to meet her family and told the struggling young actor that he was more than welcome to stay with them and share a room with her eight-year-old son, an offer he didn't turn down.

Jeff and Bill's marriage was on the rocks. After completing a role in "The Fuller Brush Girl" opposite Lucille Ball, they separated. They wanted to hold out for the children's sake, but divorce was inevitable.

Actor Aldo Da Re (who changed his last name to Ray because theatres put his name up in lights as DARE) quickly became a rising new star with such films as "The Marrying Kind" and "Pat and Mike". Jeff and Aldo began an on-again, off-again courtship that would develop over the next three years.

When Jeff wasn't getting film work at Columbia or RKO, she turned to the new medium known as television. Her first guest appearance was on "The Alan Young Show" in a sketch as his wife. When Jeff heard that Aldo took Rita Hayworth to lunch one day while they were working on "Miss Sadie Thompson", she sent Aldo a big hamper. Inside were six box lunches labeled for each day of the week except Sunday. "On Sunday", she wrote him, "you buy my lunch."

When Aldo was getting ready to leave for a whole month to do a location shoot for "Thompson", Jeff had to let him know exactly how she felt about him. After the four-week separation, Jeff was there on the landing strip waiting for his plane to arrive. Aldo ran to her immediatly and swept her into his arms for a long embrace. They were in love, and they didn't care if the whole world knew it. Aldo's divorce from his first wife was already finalized, and Jeff's divorce date was soon approaching. She would be free to marry Aldo, but they kept Hollywood guessing as to when they would set the wedding date. Aldo wanted Jeff to give up her acting career when she became Mrs. Da Re, and he was determined to have all the fixings that a star is entitled to, and Columbia Pictures was going to pay for it.

In 1954, Jeff was offered the part of "Alice" on George Gobel's new variety series, but she turned it down because she was to be married on September 30th in Crockett, California (Aldo's hometown). After a two-day honeymoon, Aldo was informed by Harry Cohn that he was on suspension for the next 26 weeks for refusing to play "The Wreck" in Columbia's new version of "My Sister Eileen". With no promise of an income for the next six months, Jeff contacted her agent to see if George still wanted her. She was signed on at $250 a week (much less than the original offer when she was first approached) Now she was in New York doing a live television series.

When Aldo's suspension was over, Cohn just loaned him out to other studios where he made "Battle Cry" and "We're No Angels". While those films helped Aldo become a film star, it was Cohn who profited.

After her first season on the Gobel show, Jeff came home for the summer to resume her married life but found a very unhappy husband who drank too much and resented Hollywood. Aldo even showed up at the studio intoxicated and had several heated arguments with Harry Cohn.

During their months of marriage, an unexpected complication came with the revelation that Jeff was pregnant. Aldo felt it was not a good time for more children. Besides Jeff's two, he had a four-year-old son from his first marriage to support. Tension and worry took its toll on Jeff. Aldo's attitude disturbed her. He frequently commented, "It had better be a boy or don't bother to come home from the hospital." In the end, she miscarried.

Aldo turned down the "heavy" role in "Jubal Troop" and drew another suspension at a time when their bank account was almost nil. Jeff was getting excited about returning to New York for her second season as Mrs. George Gobel when, in the last week of August, she picked up the paper on the front lawn, and it said "Jeff Donnell replaced..." She was devestated, but she had made a lot of friends in the newspaper columns who took up a crusade for her. George's manager thought she hired a press agent to get her job back, but she didn't. It was her fans and she was soon back on the show.

While Jeff's employment was up in the air, Aldo left her and went back to Crockett for a long vacation alone. Jeff consulted her attorney for a divorce. The couple stayed separated for the summer/fall of 1955, but they reconciled in December. Unable to work out their differences, they went to divorce court on July 13, 1956, where she asked for the token dollar a month alimony to be awarded to her.

When she wasn't appearing on the Gobel show, Jeff went back to motion pictures. A non-smoker, Jeff played a chain-smoking housekeeper to David Niven's butler in "My Man Godfrey", and she played Tony Curtis' secretary in "The Sweet Smell Of Success". Jeff was disappointed when her bedroom scene with her boss (Curtis) was cut after the first preview. The director didn't want the the audience to have any sympathy for Tony's devious character and so kept him free of any positive emotional involvement.

Burt Lancaster who also starred in "Sweet Smell" wanted Jeff to play a part in his new film "Birdman of Alcatraz", but the producers really wanted somebody older, although they did try thier best to make her up with sunken eyes and double chins. She still didn't look old enough for them.

While working on the Gobel show, Jeff met advertising executive John Bricker, and on September 1, 1958, they married. At her wedding, Jeff told the press, "I'm John's wife now. I'm not going to be George's anymore." So the part of Alice Gobel went to Phyllis Avery. The newlyweds lived in New York, and any work Jeff did was mainly guest appearances on television series.

In 1961, Jeff appeared in the motion picture that many people remember her for, "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" starring Deborah Walley. In this sequel to "Gidget" (1959) which starred Sandra Dee in the title role, Jeff became the trivia answer of who played Gidget's mother. Although she wasn't in the earlier film, whenever Sandra Dee ran into her, she always said, "Hi, Mom!"

This movie was shot in Honolulu, and actor Carl Reiner played her husband, Gidget's father. When shooting was done for the day, Carl would retire to his room and write what would eventually become "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

After filming for the day, Jeff hooked up with fellow cast member Eddie Foy, Jr., to enjoy her working vacation. Foy took her to dinner one night to the worst place imaginable, a burlesque house, the type of place where Foy's long career had begun. Foy couldn't resist getting back up on the boards, leaving Jeff sitting alone in the audience full of men. Jeff went back with him many times because he wanted someone to go with and she got a big kick out of it.

When the filming was over, a public relations girl gave Jeff a beautiful lei to take home. While on the plane, Eddie kept razzing her about it, calling her a tourist. When they landed, Jeff and her husband took Eddie home. Upon arrival, Eddie took the lei from around Jeff's neck and presented it to his girlfriend. She never saw it again.

Jeff played Gidget's mother again in 1963 for "Gidget Goes To Rome". Her part in this film was very small, and she had a new movie husband, Don Porter. When "Gidget" was made into a television series in 1965 starring Sally Field, Porter was cast as as Gidget's father, but he was now a widower. Jeff did make a guest appearance on the series as Paul Lynde's wife.

Although she didn't get to go to Rome, she visted England for a part in "The Iron Maiden". It was released in the U.S. as "The Swingin' Maiden" in 1964.

In March of 1963, Jeff filed suit for divorce, charging her husband, now a dairy executive, with extreme cruelty, citing him for "belittled her in public." The same year Jeff was suffering from Addison's disease, and her adrenal glands were removed a couple of years later. Army Archerd wrote in his column that she was in intensive care and wasn't expected to live.

She did live, but her career was forever changed. Instead of of playing lead or supporting parts, she was now reduced to day parts or walk-ons. She also had to take cortisone regularly to reduce puffiness, but one morning she awoke, combed her hair on the right side and it all came out. Within three days she was bald.

Jeff appeared in the film "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970) as a favor to director Richard Fleischer who had been at Yale with her. The part was a lady pilot, and when Jeff showed up on the set, she was wearing a wig. Richard didn't think she could get the helmet on over all that "hair", but she assured him that she could by going to her dressing room and taking off the wig. She filmed her segment completely bald under the helmet.

Richard was introducing a new technical method of shooting with the camera for the flying scenes, and for Jeff's two minutes of screen time, she got a weeks worth of work. Before "Tora!", Jeff had a small scene in "The Comic" (1969) which starred Dick Van Dyke and was directed by her former movie husband, Carl Reiner. Jeff's last theatrical release was "Stand Up and Be Counted" (1972), directed by former child actor, Jackie Cooper.

Jeff continued to work as a guest star on the current television shows, sometimes getting a screen credit and sometimes not, as in the pilot episode of "Nanny and the Professor". During non-productive acting periods, she sold interview articles on her friends in television (Barbara Hale, Donna Reed etc.) to tv/movie fan magazines, and she tried to sell "My Formula", a dietary-vitamin supplement packaged and distributed by actor Bob Cummings.

In 1975, Jeff was back at the Columbia lot in the television series "Matt Helm", where she played the hero's telephone answering service girl, Ethel, in seven out of thirteen produced episodes. She also worked at Zog's and then at the Dillon Welles in the L.A. merchandise mart to give her something to do and provide an income.

In 1980, Jeff became a semi-regular on the daytime television drama "General Hospital" as Stella Fields, the housekeeper to the very wealthy Quartermaine family. Her boss, Edward Quartermaine (David Lewis) always complained about her coffee and threatened to fire her many times, but his wife, the lovely Lila (Anna Lee, the British actress, whose career in films surpassed Jeff's, and became her very dear friend) always felt she was overworked, being the only employee in an oversized mansion. The soap opera became the number one rated show for daytime viewing in the early 80's.

Jeff was getting more offers to guest star on television programs such as "Barney Miller" and "St. Elsewhere", but her working schedule prevented her from appearing in these prized parts, although she did find time to do an episode of "Hardcastle and McCormick". She was offered a part in the Faye Dunaway film, "Barfly", but she turned the role down after reading the script, which called for a sordid act in a bathroom scene.

On Monday, April 11, 1988, Jeff died in her sleep, the victim of a heart attack. "General Hospital" explained Stella's departure by having her win the lottery and leave Port Charles, the shows fictional setting. Her memorial service was held at the Pierce Brothers Mortuary in West Los Angeles. After her service, a wheelchair bound George Gobel stood up in memory of his former co-star.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Jose Ferrer sings with the little woman

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 08:52:07 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0F_ggdNEqw

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

12/10 Una Merkel

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 08:00:25 GMT

I LOVE UNA.!!

Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American film actress.

Born in Covington, Kentucky, Merkel resembled the popular actress Lillian Gish, and her resemblance allowed her to enter films in 1920 as Gish's double in the film Way Down East. She appeared in several films during the silent era but spent most of her time in New York working on Broadway. She returned to Hollywood and achieved her greatest success with the advent of "talkies". She played Ann Rutledge in the 1930 film Abraham Lincoln and during the 1930s became a popular second lead in a number of films, usually playing the wisecracking best friend of the heroine such as Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Loretta Young, and Dorothy Lamour. One of her most famous roles was in the Western Destry Rides Again (1939) where her character has a fistfight with the character played by star Marlene Dietrich. She played W.C. Fields elder daughter in "The Bank Dick" (1940).

Her career went into decline during the 1940s and although she continued working it was in less prestigious productions. She made a comeback as a middle aged woman playing mothers and maiden aunts, and in 1956 won a Tony Award for her role in The Ponder Heart. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Summer and Smoke (1961). Her final film role was in the 1966 Elvis Presley film Spinout.

She died in Los Angeles, California at age 82.

Una at The Classic Movie Years
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/merkel.html

Una at Reel Movie Classics
http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Merkel/merkel.htm

Una's Spotlight at ReelJewels
http://www.reeljewels.com/reeljewels/spotlight1.htm

Links to images of Una on Tribe
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/62cb5c19-b00e-4583-8dc8-f139fee0b180
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/fa40dbd5-ed7b-473a-b0df-8d0a82e71fe0
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/293cab61-9deb-4c1a-a226-1e3d8c2004eb
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/10407537-44a2-4cbb-84e7-cc3161907e88
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/d08cbbd0-8f28-427e-9765-28d1b31f003c
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/7f82a24a-30bc-4bfb-8795-9820bf3616d9
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/16151112-69eb-4c7a-a3ef-2103ec888971
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/0a643d62-17b2-4566-97e8-1853d4382bab
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/67ddc6a5-ddf1-4bb1-b128-163b865ccda1
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/527927d6-6586-4409-a380-f1a4910735c1
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/0e452633-b765-4920-83d8-eb2af0d88fe5

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

12/9 Margaret Hamilton

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 08:20:42 GMT

Margaret Hamilton (born December 9, 1902, Cleveland, Ohio - died May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut) was an American film actress best known for her portrayal of The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

Hamilton was a schoolteacher who turned to acting, making her screen debut in 1933 in Another Language. She appeared in such films as These Three (1936), Nothing Sacred (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), My Little Chickadee (1940), and State of the Union (1948). Prior to acting, Hamilton taught kindergarten at Rye Country Day School, in Rye, NY. Hamilton was married briefly in the 1930s and had one son, whom she raised on her own.

In 1939, she played the role of the Wicked Witch of the West opposite Judy Garland's Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and created not only her most famous role, but one of the screen's most memorable villains. Hamilton was chosen when the more traditionally attractive Gale Sondergaard refused to wear makeup designed to make her appear ugly. Hamilton suffered severe burns when the trapdoor elevator she was riding on the soundstage malfunctioned during the filming of her fiery exit from Munchkinland. Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident before returning to the set to complete her work on the now-classic film, and refused to have anything to do with fire for the rest of the filming.[citation needed] Whatever ill will she may have felt toward the role quickly disintegrated; later on in life she would comment on the role of the witch in a light-hearted fashion.

Hamilton's plain looks, in contrast to the stereotypical Hollywood glamour girl, helped to bring steady work as a character actress. Her general image was that of a New England spinster, extremely pragmatic and impatient with all manner of "tomfoolery". Her crisp voice with rapid but clear enunciation was another trademark. She appeared regularly in supporting roles in films until the early-1950s, and sporadically thereafter. She co-starred opposite Buster Keaton and Richard Cromwell, in 1940's forgettable spoof of the long-running local melodrama, The Drunkard, entitled The Villain Still Pursued Her. Later in the decade, she was in a now-forgotten film noir from one of the "poverty row" studios, entitled Bungalow 13 (1948), in which she again co-starred opposite Cromwell, though that film did nothing for either of their careers.
In 1960, producer/director William Castle cast her as the maid in his 13 Ghosts spookfest. Throughout the film she plays straight face to 12-year-old lead Charles Herbert's barbs about her being a witch, including one scene with broom in hand.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton appeared regularly on television. For example, she did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program. She reprised the image of Almira Gulch from The Wizard of Oz for her role as Morticia Addams' mother Hester in The Addams Family. Years later, she had a small role in the made-for-TV film The Night Strangler (1973). She continued acting regularly until 1982. Her last role was a guest appearance as a veteran journalist on an episode of Lou Grant.

Hamilton was often asked about her experiences on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Hamilton said she sometimes worried about the effect that her monstrous film role had on children. In real life Hamilton dearly loved children and gave to charitable organizations benefitting them. She often remarked about children coming up to her and asking her why she had been so mean to poor Dorothy. She appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where she explained to children that she was only playing a role and showed how make-up transformed her into the witch.

Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud, a film about flying, pays homage to her wicked witch character: in the film, Hamilton plays a wealthy woman who is crushed by a large birdhouse. Suitably, her legs are all that remain, sticking out from the house.

Throughout the 1970s, Hamilton lived in New York City's Gramercy Park neighborhood and appeared on local (and some national) public service announcements for organizations promoting the welfare of companion animals. Her most visible appearances during this period were as general store owner Cora, in a national series of television commercials for Maxwell House coffee.

She eventually moved to Salisbury, Connecticut, and died there in 1985 from a heart attack at the age of 82.

Trivia
· Hamilton appeared at The Muny Theater in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, in several roles including reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West and also appearing in productions of Oklahoma! (as Aunt Eller) and Show Boat (as Parthy Ann Hawks).
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· She reprised the role of Parthy Ann in Show Boat in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the musical.
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· Hamilton attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
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· While Hamilton was a teacher in Cleveland, two of her students were William Windom and Jim Backus. Hamilton also taught Sunday School in the 1950s in addition to teaching Kindergarten at Rye Country Day School.
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· Her most famous line from The Wizard of Oz, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" was voted as Number 99 in the 2005 AFI survey of the "100 Most Memorable Movie Quotes from 100 Years at the Movies."
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· As revealed by her son on the 2005 DVD edition of the film, "Maggie" enjoyed that line so much that she used it often afterwards, in real life, when situations warranted.
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· In Gregory Maguire's revisionist novel Wicked, the Witch is portrayed as being deeply concerned about the exploitation of animals in Oz. This is seen by some fans as a tribute to Hamilton, who was a member of Friends of Animals and did a series of PSAs for the Humane Society in the 1970s.
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· Great aunt of Omaha Royals centerfielder Zack Vank.
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· Her Grammercy Park apartment building also claimed James Cagney as one of its tenants.

Filmography
· Another Language (1933)
· Hat, Coat, and Glove (1934)
· There's Always Tomorrow (1934)
· By Your Leave (1934)
· Broadway Bill (1934)
· The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
· Way Down East (1935)
· Chatterbox (1936)
· These Three (1936)
· The Moon's Our Home (1936)
· The Witness Chair (1936)
· Laughing at Trouble (1936)
· You Only Live Once (1937)
· When's Your Birthday? (1937)
· The Good Old Soak (1937)
· Mountain Justice (1937)
· Saratoga (1937)
· I'll Take Romance (1937)
· Nothing Sacred (1937)
· The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
· A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
· Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
· Four's a Crowd (1938)
· Breaking the Ice (1938)
· Stablemates (1938)
· The Wizard of Oz (1939)
· The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)
· Babes in Arms (1939)
· Main Street Lawyer (1939)
· My Little Chickadee (1940)
· The Villain Stil Persued Her (1940)
· I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940)
· The Invisible Woman (1940)
· Play Girl (1941)
· The Gay Vagabond (1941)
· Twin Beds (1942)
· Meet the Stewarts (1942)
· The Affairs of Martha (1942)
· Journey for Margaret (1942)
· City Without Men (1943)
· The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
· Johnny Come Lately (1943)
· Guest in the House (1944)
· George White's Scandals (1945)
· Janie Gets Married (1946)
· Faithful in My Fashion (1946)
· The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)
· Dishonored Lady (1947)
· Pet Peeves (1947) (short subject)
· Driftwood (1947)
· Reaching from Heaven (1948)
· State of the Union (1948)
· Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)
· Bungalow 13 (1948)
· The Sun Comes Up (1949)
· The Red Pony (1949)
· The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
· The Great Plane Robbery (1950)
· Wabash Avenue (1950)
· Riding High (1950)
· Comin' Round The Mountain (1951)
· People Will Talk (1951)
· 13 Ghosts (1960)
· Paradise Alley (1962)
· The Daydreamer (1966)
· Rosie! (1967)
· Angel in my Pocket (1969)
· Brewster McCloud (1970)
· The Anderson Tapes (1971)
· Journey Back to Oz (1974) (voice)

Television work
· The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (cast member from 1953-1954)
· The Way of the World (1955) (canceled after a few episodes)
· Valiant Lady (cast member in 1955)
· The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960)
· The Secret Storm (cast member from 1964-1967)
· Ghostbreakers (1967) (unsold pilot)
· As the World Turns (cast member in 1970)
· Is There a Doctor in the House (1971) (unsold pilot)
· The Night Strangler (1973)
· The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)(Guest Star as herself then the Wicked Witch of the West)
· Letters from Frank (1979)

Hamilton at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002121/

Tribute page
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6396/maggie.htm

At classic tv.com
http://www.roadode.com/margaret_1.shtml

The witch gives hot foot
http://www.doctormacro-m1.com/FilmClips/Garland,%20Judy%20(Wizard%20of%20Oz,%20The)_02.wmv

links to images various galleries
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/49376dc7-d6e4-4b68-a216-856c0bac094d
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/fd74194a-98b5-4233-b9eb-29cba775677d
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/767f2f3f-38a2-4822-8c55-41f91ad751d8
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/f2ca202b-463b-4c90-bc83-3fcd599e6d2c
http://tribes.tribe.net/mahatmakanejeeves/photos/b708b0ee-28a1-4c1c-89e6-cf2785623a17
http://people.tribe.net/hoopydamien/photos/2d7c89f8-5e3f-4a98-8d92-1e6d41136121
http://tribes.tribe.net/mahatmakanejeeves/photos/e5d9881e-222e-4607-b7d0-f6a255980d23
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/ec541d9c-a762-4729-850e-392c9e5668e0
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/5fa4f94b-38de-429d-862e-064599b18b3c

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

12/9 Hermione Gingold

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 07:51:59 GMT

Hermione Gingold (December 9, 1897-May 24, 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother encouraged her not to remove. She appeared on stage, on radio, in films, on television, and in recordings.

Born Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold in London, she was the daughter of a high-class Austrian-born Jewish financier Lionel Gingold and Kate Walters, an English-born housewife. Her mother must also have been Jewish since her marriage to Lionel in 1894 was conducted by the Chief Rabbi. On her father's side she was descended from the celebrated Solomon Sulzer, a famous synagogue cantor and Jewish liturgical composer in Vienna, who was a friend of composer Schubert and was made a freeman of the city on his 70th birthday. Gingold was a childhood friend of Noel Coward until her mother warned her away from him. First appearing on stage in 1909, she was originally a coloratura soprano and performed in Shakespearean dramas such as "The Merchant of Venice" and "Troilus and Cressida" and worked with Charles Hawtrey as an understudy. In the 1930s, her quirky, ribald comedic sense became famous through musical revues. She married British publisher Michael Joseph in 1918, with whom she had two sons, Stephen and Leslie. After her divorce in 1926, she married writer and lyricist Eric Maschwitz, whom she divorced in 1945. Gingold was also known for her unruly hair. It was said she styled it by sticking her head out the window and letting the wind sculpt it.

Gingold was introduced to U.S. servicemen during World War II through the London revue "Sweet and Low." After moving to the United States in 1951, Gingold became a great success there as well. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1958 movie Gigi in which she played Madame Alvarez, a retired Parisian courtesan who was Gigi's grandmother and mentor. She sang "I Remember it Well" with Maurice Chevalier. She succeeded Jo Van Fleet as the monstrously possessive mother who is driving her son crazy in Jewish American playwright Arthur Kopit's Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad (1963) on Broadway and also in London, which role was played in the 1967 film by Rosalind Russell.

Gingold played the mayor's snooty wife Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn in The Music Man (1962), starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones, and was part of the original 1973 Broadway cast of A Little Night Music in the role of the elderly Madame Armfeldt, yet another former courtesan, this time Swedish, which she reprised in the unsuccessful film version of the musical.

In 1977, with conductor Karl Bohm, she won a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals. She was a regular guest on television talk shows, especially Jack Paar's, where audiences loved her stories. She is quoted as saying, "Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue." She died of heart problems and pneumonia in 1987 at the age of 89, although she disputed the year of birth (1897) assigned to her. She is interred in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Her autobiography How to Grow Old Disgracefully was published posthumously in 1988.

At IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0320006/

A lot of info n her here
http://users.bestweb.net/~foosie/gingold.htm

at IBDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=42261

at reference.com
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Hermione_Gingold

Images in the gallery
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/b20e1557-d822-4789-baf3-ea604ce880a5
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/6c8b385e-509f-4938-aa30-a73002d0b419
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/d9a73153-5046-4506-a16b-f47448ad5e90
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/08acf4dc-b81f-4038-a4b0-0cae773ea3de
http://characteractors.tribe.net/photos/d70af199-18d3-42fb-8275-970fde277cf0

Quotes

Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue.

Really, sex and laughter do go very well together, and I wondered - and I still do - which is more important.

“Anything that's white is sweet.
Anything that's brown is meat.
Anything that's grey don't eat”

To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those of us who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.”

“I got all the schooling any actress needs. That is, I learned to write enough to sign contract”

“My father dealt in stocks and shares and my mother also had a lot of time on her hands.”

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

The THin Man (cross post)

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:35:44 GMT

someone went and started a The Thin Man Tribe ( I am surprised I didnt )

but here is a link. after done posting this I am going to bombard it with images

http://tribes.tribe.net/thinman?_click_path=Application%5Btribe%5D.Tribe%5Bf5b82d49-312b-4794-911a-e375821bdbba%5D

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

10/30 Ruth Gordon

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:32:43 GMT

Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985), better known as Ruth Gordon, was an Academy Award-winning American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her films roles such as the oversolicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby and the eccentric cradle-robbing Maude in Harold and Maude. In addition to her acting career, Gordon has written numerous well known plays, film scripts and books.

Early life

Gordon was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, to a ship captain. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and appeared in silent films that were shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1915.

That same year, she made her Broadway debut in Peter Pan, earning a favorable mention from the powerful critic Alexander Woollcott, who became a friend and mentor. Gordon suffered the death of her first husband, stage actor Gregory Kelly, in 1927.

She continued to act on the stage for the next twenty years, including a notable run at London's Old Vic in The Country Wife.

Career

Gordon went to Hollywood, although it was briefly. She appeared in a string of films in the early forties before becoming disillusioned and returning to New York to act in and write plays.

Gordon and then-husband Garson Kanin collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn - Spencer Tracy films Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952). Both films were directed by George Cukor.

Many people are not aware that the legendary onscreen relationship of Hepburn and Tracy is modeled on Gordon and Kanin's own marriage. They received Oscar nominations for both of those screenplays, as well as for that of a prior film, A Double Life (1947), which was also directed by Cukor.

In 1953, The Actress, Gordon's film adaptation of her own autobiographical play, Years Ago, became a major Hollywood production, with Jean Simmons portraying the girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, who convinced her sea captain father to let her go to New York to become an actress. Gordon would go on to write two volumes of her autobiography in the 1970s.

She continued her acting career, and was nominated for a Tony, for Best Actress, for her portrayal of Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker in 1956.

In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award as Best Supporting Actress for Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood. It was her first nomination for acting. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby, a film adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling horror novel about a satanic cult residing in an Upper West Side apartment building in Manhattan. The film starred Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, and was directed by Roman Polanski. Gordon also won another Golden Globe for Rosemary's Baby, and was nominated again, in 1971, for the cult classic Harold and Maude.

Gordon also won an Emmy Award for a guest appearance on the sitcom Taxi, for a 1978 episode called "Sugar Mama", in which her character tries to solicit the services of a taxi driver, played by series star Judd Hirsch, as a male escort.

Many of her later roles found their appeal in the juxtaposition of her deceptively aged, diminutive form (she was 5'1") with her vigorous, off-beat, plucky determination. Upon winning the 1968 Academy Award, at the age of 72, and more than a half a century after her film debut, she exclaimed in her inimitable style, "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is, for a young actress like myself."

Indeed, she went on to appear in twenty-two more films and at least that many television appearances through her seventies and eighties, including such successful sitcoms as Rhoda (which earned her another Emmy nomination) and Newhart, as well as the notable distinction of being the oldest legitimate actor to host Saturday Night Live, and countless talk show appearances, enjoying a legendary star status few had ever before attained.

Gordon also starred as Maude in Hal Ashby's indie comedy Harold and Maude (with Bud Cort as her love interest) and as Mary Todd Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940).

She had a minor role as Clint Eastwood's mother in the films Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can.

Harold and Maude and Adam's Rib have both been selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry.

Private life

Gordon married writer Garson Kanin, 16 years her junior, in 1942. She had already raised her only child, a son, born to her from a relationship between her marriages.

Gordon died of a stroke in Edgartown, Massachusetts, aged 87, in 1985.

Ruth at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002106/

IBDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8543

Ruth at Classic Movies
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/gordon.html

Quotes

Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.
Ruth Gordon

Discussing how old you are is the temple of boredom.
Ruth Gordon

If I don't make it today, I'll come in tomorrow.
Ruth Gordon

Never give up. And never, under any circumstances, face the facts.
Ruth Gordon

Pan me, don't give me the part, publish everybody's book but this one and I will still make it!
Ruth Gordon

The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.
Ruth Gordon

To be somebody you must last.
Ruth Gordon

Why? Because I believe I will. If you believe, then you hang on. If you believe, it means you've got imagination, you don't need stuff thrown out for you in a blueprint, you don't face facts-what can stop you?
Ruth Gordon

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

11/12 Wallace Shawn

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 07:54:20 GMT

Wallace Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor and writer. Ubiquitous on film and television, where he is usually cast in comic roles, he has pursued a parallel career as a playwright whose work is often dark, politically charged and controversial. He is known for talking with a lisp, and his high-pitched, nasal voice.

Biography

Shawn was born in New York City, where he still lives. He is the son of William Shawn, longtime editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Lyon Shawn; his brother Allen is a composer.

Shawn attended The Putney School (a liberal arts high school in Putney, Vermont), and then graduated with a B.A. in history from Harvard University, and studied economics and philosophy at Oxford, where he originally intended to become a diplomat; he also traveled to India as an English teacher. Since 1979, he has primarily made a living as an actor.

Shawn's longtime companion is the writer Deborah Eisenberg.

Acting roles

His involvement with theater began in 1970 when he met Andre Gregory, who has directed several of his plays. As a stage actor, he has appeared mostly in his own plays, as well as several other projects with Gregory.

He made his film debut playing Diane Keaton's ex-husband in Woody Allen's Manhattan in 1979, in which Allen's character, a short, balding, bespectacled ectomorph, dismisses the short, balding, bespectacled Shawn as "a homunculus." Arguably his best-known film role is as the evil Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987) ("Inconceivable!"). Rare non-comic film roles include two collaborations with Andre Gregory, filmed by Louis Malle: the philosophical and semi-autobiographical dialogue My Dinner with Andre, and a production of Uncle Vanya titled Vanya on 42nd Street.

Shawn is a widely-used character actor on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a comic ex-reporter on Murphy Brown, the Huxtables' neighbor on The Cosby Show, a psychiatrist on Crossing Jordan, and on many other shows. He is also an accomplished voice actor, appearing especially in animation (including Toy Story and Toy Story 2 where he played "Rex the Green Dinosaur" as well as two episodes of Family Guy and the video game of the same name, playing Stewie's half-brother Bertram) and commercials. In 2005, he appeared in the second season of Desperate Housewives.

In a DVD extra for The Princess Bride, Shawn made the somewhat startling admission that he lacks a sense of humor, and that he played Vizzini in a way that seemed appropriate to him, without actually quite "getting" the jokes.

Writing

Shawn's early plays, such as Marie and Bruce (1978), portrayed emotional and sexual conflicts in an absurdist style, with language that was both lyrical and violent. In the conversations with Andre Gregory that became My Dinner with Andre, Shawn later referred to these plays as depicting "my interior life as a raging beast". Critical response was extremely polarized: some critics hailed Shawn as a major writer, while John Simon called Marie and Bruce "garbage" and described Shawn as "one of the worst and unsightliest actors in this city". His play A Thought in Three Parts caused a minor uproar in London in 1977, when the production was investigated by a vice squad and attacked in Parliament due to allegedly pornographic content.

His later plays became more overtly political, drawing parallels between the psychology of his characters and the behavior of governments and social classes. Among the best-known of these are Aunt Dan and Lemon (1985) and The Designated Mourner (1997). Shawn's political work has invited controversy, as he often presents the audience with several contradictory points of view: in Aunt Dan and Lemon, which Shawn described as a cautionary tale against fascism, the character Lemon explained her neo-Nazi beliefs with such conviction that some critics called the play effectively pro-fascist. The monologue The Fever, originally created by Shawn to be performed for small audiences in apartments, was dismissed by some critics as "liberal guilt"; it describes a person who becomes sick while struggling to find a morally consistent way to live when faced with injustice, and harshly criticizes the record of the U.S. in supporting repressive anti-communist regimes.

Three of Shawn's plays have been adapted into films: The Designated Mourner (basically a film of David Hare's stage production), Marie and Bruce, and The Fever. As of 2005, the latter two had been screened only in festivals.

Shawn has also written political commentary for The Nation, and in 2004 he published the one-issue-only progressive political magazine Final Edition, which features interviews with and articles by Jonathan Schell, Noam Chomsky, Mark Strand, and Deborah Eisenberg.

Shawn is credited as translator of The Threepenny Opera, which opened at Studio 54 in Manhattan on March 25, 2006. He appears briefly in voiceover during Song about the Futility of Human Endeavor.

Plays
· The Hotel Play (1970)
· Our Late Night (1975)
· A Thought in Three Parts (1976)
· Marie and Bruce (1978)
· Aunt Dan and Lemon (1985)
· The Fever (1990)
· The Designated Mourner (1997; film directed by David Hare, 1998)
· The Threepenny Opera (2006; new translation)

Selected film and television roles
· All That Jazz (dir. Bob Fosse, 1979) - Assistant Insurance Man
· Manhattan (dir. Woody Allen, 1979) - Jeremiah
· Atlantic City (dir. Louis Malle, 1980) - Walter
· My Dinner with Andre (dir. Louis Malle 1981) - co-written with Andre Gregory
· Crackers (dir. Louis Malle, 1984)
· The Bostonians (dir. James Ivory, 1984)
· The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) - Freud
· The Princess Bride (1987; dir. Rob Reiner) - Vizzini
· Radio Days (dir. Woody Allen, 1987) - Masked Avenger
· Prick Up Your Ears (dir. Stephen Frears, 1987) - John Lahr
· The Moderns (dir. Alan Rudolph, 1988)
· Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (dir. Paul Bartel, 1989)
· Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV series, 1993 to 1999) - Grand Nagus Zek
· Vanya on 42nd Street (dir. Louis Malle, 1994) - Uncle Vanya
· Meteor Man 1993; Mr.Little
· A Goofy Movie (1995; voice of Principal Mazur)
· Toy Story (1995; voice of Rex)
· Clueless (movie & TV Series, 1996-97) - Mr. Hall'
· Toy Story 2 (1999; voice of Rex)
· The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (dir. Woody Allen, 2001) - George Bond
· Crossing Jordan (TV series, since 2002; recurring role as Dr. Howard Stiles)
· The Incredibles (2004; voice of Gilbert Huph (Bob Parr's soon-to-be ex-boss))
· Melinda and Melinda (2004; dir. Woody Allen) - Sy
· Family Guy (Voice of Bertram)
· Chicken Little (2005; voice of Principal Fetchit)
· Happily N'Ever After (2006; Munk, voice)

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001728/

The Wallace Shawn Reference page with Bio and Descriptions of his Plays
http://www.graphesthesia.com/ws/

Shawn’s Memory Alpha Star Trek Page
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Wallace_Shawn

Shawn at Voice Chasers.com
http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1812

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

Jack Palance RIP

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 07:48:46 GMT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001813.html

By Joe HolleyWashington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 11, 2006; Page B05
Jack Palance, 87, the veteran character actor who personified pure menace in his most notable roles, including in "Shane" and "Sudden Fear," died Nov. 10 at his home in Montecito, Calif. No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Palance is perhaps best remembered by modern movie audiences for his hilarious one-arm push-up stunt at the 1992 Academy Awards, where, at age 73, he won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as Curly Washburn in the 1991 comedy "City Slickers."

In Curly, he became a parody of his tough-guy screen persona. Usually he was the sociopathic gunfighter, the murderous husband, the macho killer. He looked the part. Tall and intimidating, with a calm, low voice and a boxer's broken face, he exuded danger; wise men, and women, knew to step aside.

He preferred the lighter stuff, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1995. Those roles came along occasionally -- for example, as a retired Hollywood set painter in "Baghdad Cafe" (1988) -- but in more than 150 movies, TV appearances and theater roles over a half-century-long career, he was more often the quintessential bad guy.

He could be that way in person, too. Over the years, he often expressed his disdain for Hollywood mores and developed a reputation as being difficult on sets.

In the 1995 Los Angeles Times article, director Rod Hardy agreed with that assessment but said that everyone can be ornery at times. "He's survived in an industry that's very hard on one," Hardy said.

His early years were not easy. Born Vladimir Palahnuik on Feb. 18, 1919, in a tiny Pennsylvania coal town called Lattimer Mines, he followed his Ukrainian immigrant father into the mines at a young age. He also tried his hand at professional boxing, compiling a record of 15 consecutive victories with 12 knockouts before losing to a future heavyweight contender.

He won a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina but left after two years. Big-time college football, he thought, was becoming too commercial.

He joined the Army Air Forces in 1942 but was discharged a year later after he was in a plane crash in which he suffered severe head injuries and burns on his face, which required plastic surgery.

He used the G.I. Bill to study journalism at Stanford University, leaving a credit short of graduation in 1947. He made his Broadway debut that year, appearing in a comedy called "The Big Two." He had only one line, spoken in Russian, which his parents spoke at home.

Mr. Palance was the understudy to both Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn in the original Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire," directed by Elia Kazan. After replacing Brando in the role of Stanley Kowalski, his performance landed him a movie contract with 20th Century Fox.

In his first film, "Panic in the Streets" (1950), directed by Kazan and starring Richard Widmark and Paul Douglas, he played Blackie, a killer infected with bubonic plague. After "Halls of Montezuma," he portrayed Lester Blaine, a lover stalking a terrified Joan Crawford, in "Sudden Fear" (1952); his performance resulted in his first Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor.

He was nominated again the next year for his role as Jack Wilson, the sinister gunfighter who toys with Alan Ladd as the peace-loving former gunslinger in "Shane," the George Stevens epic. In a final and memorable showdown, freighted with symbolism and foreshadowed throughout the film, Ladd outshoots the black-hatted arch villain.

He was a renegade Apache in "Arrowhead" (1953), Jack the Ripper in "Man in the Attic" (1953), Attila the Hun in "Sign of the Pagan" (1954) and Fidel Castro in "Che!" (1969). Other significant films in which he appeared include "Kiss of Fire," "Oklahoma Crude," "The Big Knife," "I Died a Thousand Times," " Le M?pris " ("Contempt"), "The Lonely Man" and "House of Numbers."

The Oscar for the "City Slickers" role came four decades after his Hollywood debut. He also won an Emmy for his role as the punch-drunk Mountain McClintock in the 1956 "Playhouse 90" production of Rod Serling's "Requiem for a Heavyweight."

During the 1980s, he appeared in "Young Guns" (1988) and Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and with his daughter Holly Palance co-hosted the TV series "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" He also painted and sold landscape art, including a poem on the back of each picture, and published a book of blank verse, "The Forest of Love" (1997).

Mr. Palance's marriage to Virginia Baker ended in divorce.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife of 19 years, Elaine Rochelle Rogers of Montecito, and two other children from his first marriage, Brooke Palance and Cody Palance.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Edna May Oliver

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:05:00 GMT

I always thought she was British. Oops

Edna May Oliver (November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an Oscar-nominated American film actress. During the 1930's, she was one of the American screen's best-known character actresses often playing tart-tongued spinsters.

Early life

Born Edna May Nutter in Malden, Massachusetts, the daughter of Ida May and Charles Edward Nutter, Edna was a descendant of the 6th American president John Quincy Adams. She quit school at age fourteen in order to pursue a career on stage and achieved her first success in 1917 in the Broadway play Oh, Boy.

Career

Oliver's most notable stage appearance was as Parthy, wife of Cap'n Andy Hawks, in the original 1927 stage production of the famous musical Show Boat. She repeated the role in the 1932 Broadway revival, but turned down the chance to play Parthy in the 1936 film version of the show so that she could play the Nurse in the 1936 film version of Romeo and Juliet. Helen Westley played Parthy in the 1936 Show Boat. Ms. Oliver's role as the Nurse was her only role in a Shakespeare film or play.

Her film debut occurred in 1923 in the film Wife in Name Only and she continued to appear in films until Lydia in 1941.

Oliver first gained major notice in films for her appearances in several comedy films starring the team of Wheeler & Woolsey including Half Shot at Sunrise, her first film under her RKO Radio contract in 1930. While most often playing featured parts, she starred in ten films including three mystery comedies playing spinster sleuth Hildegarde Withers from the series of popular Stuart Palmer novels. The series ended prematurely when Oliver left RKO Radio to sign with MGM in 1935; the studio attempted to continue the series with ZaSu Pitts as Withers but her two films in the role were not well-received.

Oliver frequently appeared in film versions of classic British literature, including Alice in Wonderland (1933), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), David Copperfield (1935), the 1936 film version of Romeo and Juliet, and Pride and Prejudice (1940). She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1939 for her appearance in Drums Along the Mohawk.

Death

She died on her 59th birthday in 1942 following a short intestinal ailment that proved terminal, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. She went to sleep in the hospital without ever knowing the serious of her condition. And died while in her sleep.

At Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Edna.May&actor_last=Oliver

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646829/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

11/8 Ester Rolle

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:38:46 GMT

Esther Rolle (November 8, 1920–November 17, 1998) was an American actress. The daughter of Bahamian immigrants, Rolle was born in Pompano Beach, Florida and attended Spelman College.

One of Rolle's most prominent early turns was as Miss Maybell in the 1973 Melvin Van Peebles cult classic, Don't Play Us Cheap. Rolle is best known, however, for her role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two successful 1970s sitcoms: Maude and its spinoff, Good Times. She was nominated in 1975 for the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Golden Globe Award for her role in Good Times. Although Good Times was successful, Rolle fought for more relevant themes and scripts. In a stand-off with the show's producer Norman Lear, Rolle quit, and the series continued without her. She returned for the show's final season.

After Good Times, she performed in a number of made-for-television movies and feature films, including Driving Miss Daisy and My Fellow Americans. She had a major role in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings based on Maya Angelou's memoir of the same name, and has the distinction of having won the very first Emmy Award for the category of “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie,” in 1979 for her work in the television movie Summer of my German Soldier. Another memorable role was that of Aunt Sarah in the 1997 film Rosewood. Her last film, Train Ride was released after her death in 2000.

Rolle died 17 November 1998, in Los Angeles, California, due to complications from diabetes just ten days after reaching her 78th birthday. She left her Emmy Award and estate to an institution for African American rights.

Rolle was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Filmography
· Train Ride (2000) - The Dean
· Rosewood (1997) – Sarah Carrier
· My Fellow Americans (1996) – Rita
· Driving Miss Daisy (1989) – Idella
· A Raisin in the Sun (1989) (TV) – Lena
· I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(1979) – Momma
· Summer of my German Soldier(1978) – Ruth
· Good Times (1974-1979) – Florida Evans
· Don't Play Us Cheap (1973) – Miss Maybell
· Maude (1972-1974) – Florida Evans
· One Life to Live (1971) – Sadie Gray

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738354/

Ester http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1262/Star_of_stage_and_screen_Esther_Rolleat African American Registry

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

10/28 Elsa Lanchester

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 03:11:33 GMT

Seems fitting being Halloween weekend that The Queen of the monster the Bride of Frankenstein should celebrate a birthday.

Elsa Lanchester (October 28, 1902–December 26, 1986), was a British-born American character actress, perhaps best-known as the long-suffering wife of Charles Laughton. Her birth name was Elizabeth Sullivan.
Lanchester married Laughton in 1929, and one of her first screen appearances was opposite him in The Private Life of Henry VIII (as a highly comical Anne of Cleves). This and other appearances in British films helped her gain the title role in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). She continued to appear with her husband, for example in Rembrandt (1936), but never made a name as a female lead, mainly due to her lack of conventional beauty.
Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester continued to act, making occasional film appearances such as the departing nanny, Katie Nanna, in the opening scenes of Mary Poppins, and a sleuth based on 'Jane Marple' in the 1976 murder mystery spoof, Murder by Death.

http://www.cultsirens.com/lanchester/lanchester.htm

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/486033/

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=40228

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006471/

Listen to samples of her Bawdy Cockney Songs here

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002NRR/qid%3D1130468901/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-9649863-1968831

Quotes

"She looked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth-or anywhere else."

"There is no such thing as a person that nothing has happened to, and each person's story is as different as his fingertips."

"I thought she was a Method Actress. Afterwards somebody informed me that she was merely a manic-depressive."

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

10/27 Nanette Fabray

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 09:31:35 GMT

Nanette Ruby Bernadette Fabares (born October 27, 1920 in San Diego, California) is an Emmy and Tony Award-winning American actress.

She has appeared in a number of motion pictures as well as on television including Caesar's Hour, One Day at a Time, The Carol Burnett Show and Coach among others. She also had a recurring role on Mary Tyler Moore as Mary's mother, Dottie Richards. She is a winner of three Emmy Awards.

She is the aunt of actress/singer Shelley Fabares. Nanette Fabares changed her name to a phonetic spelling after it was mispronounced as "Fa-bare-ass" by Ed Sullivan. (She told this story in a live performance 8 December 2004).

Fabray's official biography has at times stated that she appeared in Our Gang shorts at the age of seven, although she never appeared in the series. One of her most memorable film appearances was in the musical, The Band Wagon (1953) opposite Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. She and Oscar Levant played a team of scatterbrained screenwriters who try to help a fallen star (Astaire) make his comeback.

Nanette Fabray overcame significant hearing impairment to pursue her career. She is also an advocate for the hearing-impaired.

Nanette Fabray has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Her second husband was screenwriter and director Ranald MacDougall (1957 – 1973); they had one child.

Filmography
· The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
· The Monroe Doctrine (1939) (short subject)
· A Child Is Born (1939)
· The Band Wagon (1953)
· The Subterraneans (1960)
· The Happy Ending (1969)
· Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970)
· Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978)
· Amy (1981
· Personal Exemptions (1987)
· Teresa's Tattoo (1994)
· Hail Sid Caesar! The Golden Age of Comedy (2001) (documentary)
· Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)

TV Work
· Caesar's Hour (cast member from 1954-1956)
· So Help Me, Aphrodite (1960)
· The Nanette Fabray Show (1961) (canceled after 13 episodes)
· Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966)
· Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966)
· The Hollywood Squares (semiregular panelist from 1969-1971)
· But I Don't Want to Get Married! (1970)
· George M! (1972)
· Magic Carpet (1972)
· The Couple Takes a Wife (1972)
· The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973)
· Happy Anniversary and Goodbye (1974)
· The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979)
· One Day at a Time (cast member from 1979-1984)

Nanette at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0264660/

Nannettes page at Womens International Center
http://www.wic.org/bio/nfabray.htm

IBDB
http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=40059

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

10/25 Billy Barty

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:11:51 GMT

Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti) (October 25, 1924–December 23, 2000) was an American film actor.

Barty, an Italian American, was born in Millsboro, Pennsylvania. He was one of the most famous 20th century people with dwarfism, having prominent roles in popular movies such as Foul Play, The Lord of the Rings (both 1978), Under the Rainbow (1981), Night Patrol (1984), Legend (1985), Masters of the Universe (1987), Willow (1988), and UHF (1989). In The Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), a nine-year-old Barty appeared as a baby who escapes from his perambulator. Because of his stature, most of his work consisted of bit parts and gag roles. Barty was known for his boundless energy and enthusiasm for any productions in which he appeared. He also performed a remarkable impression of the late pianist Liberace.

Barty was a noted activist for the promotion of rights for others with dwarfism. He was disappointed with contemporary Hervé Villechaize's insistence that they were "midgets" instead of actors with dwarfism. Barty founded the Little People of America to help with his activism.

Barty was married to Shirley Bolingbroke of Malad City, Idaho, from 1950 until his death at age 76. They had two children, Braden and Lori.

Barty and his family belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the Mormons).

A recent tribute book on his life was published in December 2002. Within Reach: An Inspirational Journey into the Life, Legacy and Influence of Billy Barty was produced by Barty's nephew, Michael Copeland, and Michael's wife, Debra.

Billy’s Bio from The American Vaudeville Museum

Although he spent his early years in two-reel comedies and in vaudeville, Billy Barty was primarily a character actor. His range was wide, able to play drama, comedy and fantasy, limited only by his height of 3’ 9’’ and some casting directors perception of him. He began in show business when he was three and worked for nearly his entire lifetime, appearing in a long line of films from Busby Berkeley musicals to its antithesis, The Day of the Locust.

His teenage years were spent in vaudeville touring in musical act (he played drums) with his two sisters. During the years of early television he was a frequent guest on Spike Jones programs. Often he was booked for small stature and his sense of comedy.
However, show business was never the sole territory of his life. He majored in journalism while in college and played football and basketball. Had not show business promised a practical way of earning a very good income, Billy Barty said he might have become a sports announcer.

He was a family man who enjoyed a 35 year union with his wife, Shirley. They have two children: a six foot son who is a filmmaker and a small person from Russia whom they adopted when she was an infant. Mr. Barty founded several organizations to educate both small- and average-sized people about small people. The Little People of America, founded in 1957, provides vocational guidance, health information and social services. The Billy Barty Foundation raises money for scholarships and other benefits.

The link to this bio
http://vaudeville.org/index_files/Page361.htm

Billy at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000863/

Official Billy Barty Website
http://www.billybarty.com/

Billy Barty Foundation
http://www.rth.org/bbf/

and for a little more (small new tribe) on other vaudeville performers feel free to drop by
vaudeville footlights
http://tribes.tribe.net/blankerslate

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

10/10 Peter Coyote

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 23:42:41 GMT

Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon October 10, 1941) is an American actor and author. He is the cofounder, with Emmett Grogan, of the San Francisco Diggers and a veteran of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Coyote became a member, and later chairman, of the California State Arts Council from 1975 to 1983. He shifted from acting on stage to acting in films in the late 1970s.

Coyote has acted in over 70 films and has narrated many documentaries and audio books. His voice work includes narrarating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Glenn Close. He has also served as an announcer during Oscar telecasts.

Biography

Coyote was born in Colver, Pennsylvania to Morris Cohon (a businessman of Sephardic Jewish descent) and Ruth Fidler (who came from a middle-class Jewish family). After graduating from Grinnell College with a BA in English Literature in 1964, and despite having been accepted at the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, Peter Coyote moved to the West Coast to pursue a Master's Degree in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. After a short apprenticeship at the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, he joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a radical political street theater which had recently been arrested for performing in the City's parks without permits.

In the Mime Troupe, Coyote was soon acting, writing, and directing. He directed the first cross-country tour of The Minstrel Show, Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel, a highly controversial play closed by authorities in several cities. The cast was arrested several times before a tour of eastern colleges and universities, ending triumphantly in New York City, where they were invited and sponsored by comedian Dick Gregory. The following year, a play, Olive Pits, that Coyote co-wrote, directed and performed in, won a Special Obie Award from The Village Voice newspaper.

From 1967 to 1975, Coyote took off to "do the sixties," becoming a prominent member of the San Francisco counter-culture community and a founding member of the Diggers, an anarchistic group who supplied free food, free housing and free medical aid to the hordes of runaways who appeared during the Summer of Love. The Diggers evolved into a group known as the Free Family, which established chains of communes around the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Many of Coyote's stories from that period are included in his memoir, Sleeping Where I Fall, published by Counterpoint Press in April 1998. One of the stories incorporated into his book is "Carla's Story," which was awarded the 1993–1994 Pushcart Prize, a national prize for excellence in writing, published by a non-commercial literary magazine.

From 1975 to 1983 Coyote was a member of the California State Arts Council, the state agency which determines art policy. After his first year, Coyote was elected chairman by his peers three years in a row, and during his tenure as chairman, the Council's overhead expenses dropped from 50% to 15%, the lowest in the State, and the Arts Council budget rose from $1 million to $14 million. It has never been higher since.

These political victories, among others, fostered Coyote's decision to re-enter acting. In 1978, he began to work at San Francisco's award-winning Magic Theater doing plays continuously "to shake out the rust" and to get his unused skills back in working order. While playing the lead in the World Premiere of Sam Shepard's True West, he was spotted by a Hollywood agent who asked to represent him.

Peter's film career began in 1980's Die Laughing, choosing his stage name because of a healing spiritual encounter with a coyote. After supporting roles in Tell Me a Riddle, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, and 1981's Southern Comfort, Coyote snagged his signature role: the mysterious scientist billed as "Keys" in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). It was hardly a star-making characterization, though, and Coyote continued his screen career in low key. However, his acting ability (and the duality of his screen presence) eventually won him a number of interesting roles—some leads, some supporting parts. As Leonard Maltin once wrote, "Coyote's no rubber-stamp leading man," but he seems comfortable with that. "I'm a Zen Buddhist student first, actor second," Coyote has said. "If I can't reconcile the two lives, I'll stop acting. I spend more time off-screen than on." In addition to his movie work in more recent films such as Sphere, A Walk To Remember, and Erin Brockovich, Coyote has also appeared in many made-for-TV movies and miniseries, and he does commercial voice-overs.

Recently, Coyote has landed lead roles on several television series: The 4400 in 2004 and The Inside in 2005. After The Inside was cancelled, Coyote returned to The 4400 as a special guest star for their two-part season finale, then joined the cast of ABC's series Commander in Chief as a Vice-Presidential nominee.

Also in 2005, Coyote served as the narrator for several prominent projects including the documentary film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and the National Geographic-produced PBS documentary based on Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. He also narrated an episode of the series Lost in April 2006.

As a writer, he has a mythopoetic style reminiscent of Michael Ventura, the product of years of self-examination.

Peter Coyote's left-wing politics are evident in his articles for Mother Jones magazine some of which he wrote as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and his disagreements with David Horowitz in his autobiography Sleeping Where I Fall.

Official Site
http://www.petercoyote.com/

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001075/

Diggers Archives
http://www.diggers.org/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

alan arkin.

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 06:15:38 GMT

he's not dead, just awesome.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 4 replies

RIP Edward Albert 1951-2006

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:26:23 GMT

He never got the roles or credit due him. I am sad he is gone.
obit
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_albert

wikipedia bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Albert

at IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001902/

official website
http://www.avril.bowles.talktalk.net/welcome.html

at Memory Alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Edward_Laurence_Albert

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

9/17 Roddy McDowell

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:17:14 GMT

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (September 17, 1928–October 3, 1998) was a British actor.

Early life

McDowall was born in London in Herne Hill to a Scottish father, Thomas Andrew McDowall, and an Irish mother, Winifred. Both his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He also had a sister, Virginia.
McDowall made his first film appearance at the age of ten. It was as "Huw" in How Green Was My Valley (1941) that he made his name, and he appeared in many other films as a child actor, including The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Lassie Come Home (1943) where he co-starred (in what would be one of many occasions) opposite lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor.

Career

McDowall was one of the few child actors to continue his career successfully into adulthood, but it was usually in character roles, notably in four of the five original Planet of the Apes movies (1968 – 1973) and the TV series that followed. Other film appearances included Cleopatra (1963), It! (1966), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Class of 1984 (1982), Fright Night (1985) and Overboard (1987). He also appeared on stage and was a frequent guest star on television, appearing on such series as the original Twilight Zone, The Carol Burnett Show, Fantasy Island and Quantum Leap.

He played a character villain, "The Bookworm", in the camp 1960s TV series Batman and had an acclaimed recurring role as The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series. His final acting role in animation, if indeed not overall was for an episode of Godzilla: The Series in the episode "Dreadloch".

During the 1990s, McDowall became active in film preservation and was active in the preserving of Cleopatra (1963), (in which he co-starred) which had been severely cut by 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck after skyrocketing production costs.

McDowall served for several years in various capacities on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that presents the Oscar. He was Chairman of the Actor's Branch for five terms. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation the year he died.

Private life
In 1974, the FBI raided the home of McDowall and seized the actor's collection of films and television series. His collection consisted of 160 16 mm prints and over 10,000 videocassettes (this was before the era of VCRs and VHS tapes). McDowall had bought Errol Flynn's home movies and the prints of his directorial debut Tam Lin (1970) starring Ava Gardner, and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage.

McDowall was forthcoming about some of the individuals he had dealt with on the black market: Rock Hudson, Dick Martin, and Mel Torme were some of the celebrities that were interested in his creations. No charges were pressed against McDowall.

He also received recognition as a photographer and published five books of photographs, one being of his celebrity friends such as Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland.

He died in Studio City, California from lung cancer at the age of 70, the guardian of many secrets (nefarious and otherwise) that Hollywood holds. One of his last public appearances was when he accompanied the then-88 year old actress, Luise Rainer, the earliest awardee of a Best Actress Oscar who attended that year's telecast, which featured all the living previous Oscar winners who were willing and able to attend (more than 70 did).

Roddy at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001522/

Roddy Tribute Page
http://www.roddymcdowall.info/sally/roddy.html

Bio from GLBTQ

For many--perhaps most--child stars, life after adolescence means a decline in fame, financial and personal disaster, and, in all too many cases, substance abuse and premature death. Roddy McDowall was one of the great exceptions to the rule.

The British-born actor not only made a graceful transition from juvenile roles to a career as a highly versatile character actor on both stage and screen, but he also enjoyed acclaim for his photographic portraits of his peers.

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was born in London on September 17, 1928, to a Scottish father and an Irish mother. His mother, who had herself aspired to be an actress, enrolled him in elocution lessons at the age of five; and at the age of ten he had his first major film role as the youngest son in Murder in the Family (1938). Over the next two years he appeared in a dozen British films, in parts large and small.

McDowall's movie career was interrupted, however, by the German bombardment of London in World War II. Accompanied by his sister and his mother, he was one of many London children evacuated to places abroad.

As a result, he arrived in Hollywood in 1940, and the charming young English lad soon landed a major role as the youngest son in How Green Was My Valley (1941). The film made him a star at thirteen, and he appeared as an endearing boy in numerous Hollywood movies throughout the war years, most notably Lassie, Come Home (1943), with fellow English child star Elizabeth Taylor, and My Friend Flicka (1943).

By his late teens, McDowall had outgrown the parts in which he had been most successful. Accordingly, he went to New York to study acting and to hone his skills in a wide variety of roles on the Broadway stage, where he made his debut in 1953 in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance.

McDowall was praised for his performance as a gay character in Meyer Levin's Compulsion (1957), a fictionalized account of the Leopold-Loeb murder case; and he won a Tony award for best supporting actor as Tarquin in Jean Anouilh's The Fighting Cock (1960).

After a decade's absence, McDowall returned to Hollywood, and over the last four decades of his life he appeared in more than one hundred films, encompassing a wide range of genres from sophisticated adult comedy to children's fare, from horror to science fiction, usually as a character actor.

His best known appearances include those in The Subterraneans (1960), Midnight Lace (1960), Cleopatra (1963), The Loved One (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966), Planet of the Apes (1968) and its various sequels, Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1973), The Legend of Hell House (1973), Funny Lady (1975), Mae West (1982), Fright Night (1985), Fright Night II (1987), Carmilla (1989), Only the Lonely (1991), Last Summer in the Hamptons (1993), and It's My Party (1995). His last film role was the voice of Mr. Soil, an ant, in A Bug's Life (1997).

Although McDowall never officially "came out," the fact that he was gay was one of Hollywood's best known secrets. It is a tribute to his characteristic discretion and the respect with which "Hollywood's Best Friend" was regarded by his peers that his homosexuality was never really an issue or used against him in his six decades in the entertainment business.

McDowall died of cancer at his home in Studio City, California, on October 3, 1998. At the time of his death, he held several elected posts in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a generous benefactor of many film-related charities.
Patricia Juliana Smith

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

9/18 Happy 101th Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:50:26 GMT

Eddie Anderson (September 18, 1905 - February 28, 1977), often known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was a black American comic actor who became famous playing "Rochester van Jones" (usually known simply as "Rochester"), the valet to Jack Benny's eponymous title character on the long-running radio and television series The Jack Benny Program.

Born in Oakland, California into a family of performers, Anderson began his show business career at age 14 in a song-and-dance act with his brother Cornelius and another performer. They billed themselves as the Three Black Aces. At a young age, Anderson permanently damaged his vocal cords (he had to yell loudly for his job selling newspapers), leading to his trademark "raspy" voice.

Benny's call of "Oh, ROCH-ester!" and Anderson's answers (sometimes an enthusiastic, "Yes, Mr. Benny?", sometimes a resigned "Yes, Boss," but just as often a snappy joke at Benny's expense) were among the weekly highlights of the long-running show. "Rochester" became virtually as popular and well-known as Jack Benny himself: his popularity was so great that some newspapers reportedly listed the Benny program as The Eddie Anderson Show.

Anderson's role as a servant was common for Black leads in the popular media of that era, such as Ethel Waters in Beulah. The stereotyping of Blacks (or any ethnic group) had been standard practice in the entertainment business for generations. The relationship between Anderson and Benny became more complex and intimate as the years went by, with Rochester's role becoming both less stereotypical (in early episodes he carried a switchblade and shot craps) and less subservient (though he remained a valet), reflecting changing social attitudes toward Blacks. According to Jack Benny's posthumous autobiography, "Sunday Nights at Seven," the tone of racial humor surrounding Rochester declined as a conscious decision between Benny and the writing staff during World War II, once the enormity of the Holocaust was revealed. In short, Benny didn't find such humor funny anymore, and he made an effort to erase it from the character of Rochester. The high esteem in which the two actors held each other was evident upon Benny's death in 1974, in which a tearful Anderson, interviewed for television, spoke of Benny with admiration and respect.

Among the most highly paid Black performers of his time, Anderson invested wisely and became extremely wealthy. Despite this, he was so strongly identified with the "Rochester" role that many listeners of the radio program mistakenly persisted in the belief that he was Benny's actual valet. One such listener drove Benny to distraction when he sent a scolding letter to Benny concerning Rochester's alleged pay, and then sent another letter to Anderson, which urged him to sue Benny.

In addition to his famous role with Benny, Anderson appeared in over sixty motion pictures, including Uncle Peter in Gone With the Wind, the 1943 musical Cabin in the Sky and the comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Anderson was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2001.

Anderson at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026655/

At The Radio Hall of Fame
http://www.radiohof.org/comedy/eddieanderson.html

At The African American Registery
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/360/Eddie_Anderson_was_Jack_Bennys_better_half___

At The American Vaudeville Museum
http://vaudeville.org/index_files/Page738.htm

6mn clip of Anderson and Lena Horne from Cabin In The Sky
http://www.doctormacro-m1.com/FilmClips/Horne,%20Lena%20(Cabin%20in%20the%20Sky)_01.wmv

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

Bewitched

spidra — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 03:19:58 GMT

I just got the first season of "Bewitched" on DVD. This series was my introduction to some of the character actors I most love - Charles Lane and others. But, really, just about every actor in this is top notch. There are wonderful "takes". Even if the writing isn't always the best, the actors are so experienced that they wring the most out of things. I guess this was sort of the heyday of television. TV had gotten out of its growing pains stage, it wasn't considered a come-down for film actors, and the age cohort that was acting were actors who had real stage and vaudeville experience. Not like today where what we have is models reading lines.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Jack Warden RIP

BabeSoDelicious — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 22:11:51 GMT

The local ABC radio station just now announced that he died. He was 85. A fine character actor with a lot of gruff. I liked him for many roles, but the ones I remember now are for "Shampoo" and "Being There."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0912001/bio

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 2 replies

6/19 Charles Coburn

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:55:46 GMT

Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American film and theater actor. He was also the grandfather of James Coburn.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Coburn was a theater manager by the age of 17. He later moved on to acting and made his debut on Broadway in 1901. Coburn formed an acting company with his wife in 1906, and in addition to managing the company, the couple performed frequently on Broadway. After his wife's death in 1937, Coburn relocated to Los Angeles, California and began acting in films.

He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The More the Merrier in 1943. He was also nominated for his roles in The Devil and Miss Jones in 1941 and The Green Years in 1946.

In the 1940s, Coburn served as vice-president of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideas, a right-wing group opposed to the presence of Communists in Hollywood. His virulent leadership of the blacklist of anyone with any connection to Fascism, supported by such Academy-Award nominees as Adolph Menjou and Ginger Rogers, led to a myriad of talented actors, writers and directors driven from Hollywood and deprived of their livelihood during the witchhunt.

His other film credits include Of Human Hearts (1938), The Lady Eve (1941), Kings Row (1942), The Constant Nymph (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Wilson (1944), Impact (1949), The Paradine Case (1947) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).
He died from a heart attack in New York, New York.

Charles Coburn has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures at 6240 Hollywood Boulevard.
He is also the grandfather of James Coburn (Agent Flint in Our man Flint and In like Flint, in the 60s)

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002013/

Charles at Great Character Actors
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Charles&actor_last=Coburn

Charles at Classic Movies
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/ccoburn.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

9/3 Valerie Perrine

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:28:37 GMT

Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress and model.

Perrine was born in Galveston, Texas to Kenneth Perrine, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army, and Winifred McGinley, a dancer who appeared in George White Scandals. Because of her father's job, Perrine grew in different places around the Northern Hemisphere, and the family was moved to several different posts, as military families do.

Perrine began her career as a Las Vegas showgirl. She made her motion picture debut with an uncredited part in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and next she played the soft-core porn actress Montana Wildhack in Slaughterhouse-Five (1972). Her most prominent, world-famous movie role was as Miss Eve Teschmacher in Superman (1978) and in Superman II (1980).

Many people see a strong resemblance between Valerie and the famous Swiss actress Ursula Andress, who also appeared in Playboy as a "Bond Girl." Valerie was photographed as a model for a pictorial layout in the May 1972 issue of Playboy magazine, and she appeared on the cover of this magazine in August 1981.

In 1975, she was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Actress in a Leading Role for playing Honey Bruce in Lenny (1974), for which she was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama. She was also nominated for the 1979 Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress in Superman (1978).

She had further good roles playing Carlotta Monti in W. C. Fields and Me (1976) and Charlotta Steele in The Electric Horseman (1979), but her career grew bumpy when she appeared in such movies as Can't Stop the Music (1980), for which she was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. In The Border, 1982, she played the role of Marcy, the wife of the corrupt police officer, Charlie, who was portrayed by Jack Nicholson. Since then she has worked steadily in lower-profile projects.

Valerie at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0674781/

Valeries Website
http://www.valerieperrine.com/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

9/3 Eileen Brennan

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:12:02 GMT

Eileen Brennan (born September 3, 1938 in Los Angeles, California) is an American character actress of films, television, and theatre.

Brennan was born as Verla Eileen Regina Brennan to an Irish American Catholic family; she is the daughter of silent actress Jean Manahan.

Although it is not certain as to when she began her acting career, it is known that her beautiful soprano voice enabled her to play the title character in the off-Broadway musical/operetta Little Mary Sunshine (1959) as well as the role of Irene Malloy in the original Broadway performance of Hello, Dolly! (1964). Her feature film debut was in Divorce American Style (1967).

She soon became one of the most recognizable (if not unnamable) supporting actresses. Her roles were usually sympathetic characters, though she has managed to play a variety of other character types, including earthy, vulgar, and sassy. One year after her feature film debut, she became a semi-regular on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where she stayed for only two months.

Although she had not been able to have her name recognizable to the general public, she had become a favorite of many directors, including Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich was the only director who made use of her musical talents (before, she sang in performances off Broadway) when he cast her as Cybill Shepherd's crude, fun-loving maid in his musical flop At Long Last Love (1975).

She also proved to be somewhat of a favorite of director Robert Moore and writer Neil Simon, when she starred in Murder by Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978).

In 1980, she received an Oscar nomination for her role as Goldie Hawn's nasty commanding officer in Private Benjamin; she reprised the role in the television adaptation (1981-1983), for which she won an Emmy. While she has been cast in a number of similar "cranky" parts, her role in White Palace (1990) (as Susan Sarandon's older sister) showed her more sympathetic side.

In 1984, she was seriously injured in a car accident; she took three years off work to recover. During this time, her performance as Mrs. Peacock in Clue (1985) reached theatres.

In recent years, she has guest starred in television series, including recurring roles as the nosey Mrs. Bink in 7th Heaven, and as the gruff acting coach Zandra in Will & Grace.

From 1968 to 1974 she was married to David John Lampson, with whom she has two sons: Patrick (a basketball player) and Sam (a singer).
Brennan is a breast cancer survivor.

Eileen at IMBD
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107281/

At Great Character Actors
http://www.movieactors.com/characters/brennan2.htm

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

RIP Bruno Kirby

spidra — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:16:06 GMT

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14367305/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

A brief movie review "Come and Get It"

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 06:39:20 GMT

Not the greatest movie ever. But its not often I get caught up in certain characters, or am prone to giggle during a movie. This movie was a nice surprise.

This film from 1936 is remembered most as the movie that made Frances Farmer a star in the duel roles of a mother and daughter Lotta Morgan/Lotta Bostrom. But the name on the marquee for the film was Edward Arnold. He would today be classified more as a character actor then a lead. Had a presence that holds you. From being a total and utter ass and leering lech to a fun loving care free spirit he hits all the moods here.

I would recommend the movie just for him. But then you also have the great Walter Brennan as his best friend. Frances Farmer was charming in the film. In her portrayal of Lotta Morgan (mother to the character she portrayed Lotta Bostrom) she was charismatic and endearing. The saloon singing number she does reminds you of a Marlene Dietrich number without the accent. Playing the younger Lotta, not so Hotta. The younger Lottas love interest is Joel McCrea who does fine job if you are plastic.

Now not to desaude you with McCrea and the younger Lotta, you should see this for 3 of the supporting cast. Edward Arnolds wife played by, though briefly, Mary Nash. His spirited independent daughter Evvie played by Andrea Leeds (who got an oscar nomination for her role in Stage Door, and who was seemingly supposed to have the part of Miss Melanie in Gone With The Wind, that went to Olivia DeHaviland) and last but not least the know it all gossip of a secretary Josie, played by Cecil Cunningham (she rocked with what she had to do, IMHO) There was a part of a spinster neice ,to the Walter Brenan character, played by Mady Christians who was enjoyable but I kept expecting her to do a Mrs Olsen Coffee commercial or start singing the Swiss Miss Cocoa commercial. But for what her character and portrayal was she was one of the few characters without blinders on.

I now want to see what other Edward Arnold films I can see, I know I have seen him perform before but I couldn’t say in what. And I do believe I will see what else there is to offer on Frances Farmer as well. This is the 1st Farmer film I have seen. I heard of it after watching part of a documentary on her last week. Would also like to see what else I could see Cecil Cunningham in. I just F’ing loved her.

(You may remember Cecil Cunningham as Irene Dunnes Aunt in “The Awful Truth”)

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

6/26 Peter Lorre

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:32:51 GMT

Peter Lorre (June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964), born Ladislav (László) Löwenstein, was a stage and screen actor of Austrian descent especially known for playing roles with sinister overtones in Hollywood crime films and mysteries.

Lorre was born into a Jewish family in Rózsahegy/Rosenberg, Austria-Hungary, now Ružomberok, Slovakia. He began acting on stage in Vienna, Breslau, and Zürich. In the late 1920s he moved to Berlin where he worked with German playwright Bertolt Brecht. The German-speaking actor became famous when Fritz Lang cast him as a child killer in his 1931 film M.

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, the Jewish Lorre took refuge first in Paris and then London where he played a charming villain in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much. When he arrived in Great Britain, his first meeting was with Hitchcock and by smiling and laughing as Hitchcock talked, the director was unaware that Lorre had a limited command of the English language. During the filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Lorre learned much of his part phonetically.

Eventually, he went to Hollywood where he specialized in playing wicked or wily foreigners. He starred in a series of Mr. Moto movies, a parallel to the better known Charlie Chan series, in which he played a Japanese detective and spy created by John P. Marquand. He did not much enjoy these films but they were lucrative both for the studio and for Lorre himself.

Lorre enjoyed considerable popularity as a featured player in Warner Bros. suspense and adventure films. Lorre played the role of Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and played the role of "Ugarte" in the film classic Casablanca (1942). It was Lorre's character who introduced the "letters of transit" (there was no such thing in reality) which became, in some ways, the dramatic center of the film. But Hollywood never fully tapped Lorre's creative powers.

In 1941, Peter Lorre became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
After World War II Lorre's acting career in Hollywood experienced a downturn, whereupon he concentrated on radio and stage work. In Germany he co-wrote, directed and starred in Der Verlorene (The Lost One) (1951), a critically acclaimed art film in the film noir style. He then returned to the United States where he appeared as a character actor in television and feature films, often spoofing his former "creepy" image. In 1954, he had the distinction of becoming the first actor to play a James Bond villain when he portrayed Le Chiffre in a television adaptation of Casino Royale, opposite Barry Nelson as an American James Bond. In the early 1960s he worked with Roger Corman on several low-budgeted, tongue-in-cheek, and very popular films.

It was his appearance in the TV version of Casino Royale, as well as his quip at the funeral of Bela Lugosi (see below) that caused Ronnie Corbett to quip in the spoof-film version of Casino Royale that S.P.E.C.T.R.E included among its agents not only Le chiffre, but 'Peter Lorre and Bela Lugosi'.

Overweight and at times addicted to morphine, Lorre's later years were not always happy ones. When he died in 1964 of a stroke he was only 59. Lorre's body was cremated and his ashes interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood.

Lorre enjoyed pulling pranks and, with Humphrey Bogart, once rolled an enormous safe out of Chasen's restaurant and left it standing in the middle of Beverly Boulevard.

According to Vincent Price, when he and Peter Lorre went to view Bela Lugosi's body during Bela's funeral, Lorre, upon seeing Lugosi dressed in his famous Dracula cape, quipped, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?"

He was married three times: Celia Lovsky (1934 - 13 March 1945) (divorced); Kaaren Verne (25 May 1945 - 1950) (divorced) and Annemarie Brenning (21 July 1953 - 23 March 1964) (his death). Annemarie bore his only child, a daughter, Catharine, in 1953.

His daughter, Catharine Lorre, was once almost abducted by The Hillside Stranglers. She was stopped by the Stranglers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, imitating policemen. When they found out she was Lorre's daughter, they let her go. She didn't realize that they were killers until after they were caught.

Lorre is the subject of songs by several bands, notably The World/Inferno Friendship Society.
Lorre was a character in the novel Thank You For Smoking. He appears as Nick Naylor's kidnapper.

The practice of emulating Peter Lorre's unforgettable voice, look, and mannerisms is quite notable throughout television and cinema, dating from impersonations in various cartoons such as Looney Tunes and characters such as Ren from Ren and Stimpy, Morocco Mole from Secret Squirrel, Mr. Gruesome from The Flintstones, Staring Herring from Beany and Cecil, Marlon Fraggle from Fraggle Rock, Doctor N. Gin from the Crash Bandicoot series, Beavis from "Beavis and Butt-head" and the hanging lamp from The Brave Little Toaster even the character of Cosmos in Generation One Transformers animated series, was based on Lorre's mannerisms. The script for Godspell includes a line which is suggested as being done in the style of Peter Lorre. Even today, films show his distinct characteristics in characters, such as the maggot in Corpse Bride.

Filmography

· The Patsy
· Muscle Beach Party
· The Comedy of Terrors
· The Raven (1963)
· Five Weeks in a Balloon
· Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
· The Big Circus
· The Buster Keaton Story
· The Sad Sack
· Hell Ship Mutiny
· The Story of Mankind
· Silk Stockings
· Congo Crossing
· Meet Me in Las Vegas
· Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
· 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
· Casino Royale 1954 television episode of Climax!
· Beat the Devil (1953)
· Der Verlorene (also directed)
· Double Confession
· Quicksand (1950)
· Rope of Sand
· Casbah
· My Favorite Brunette
· The Beast with Five Fingers
· The Verdict
· The Chase (1946)
· Black Angel
· Three Strangers
· Hotel Berlin
· Confidential Agent
· Passage to Marseille
· The Conspirators
· Arsenic and Old Lace
· The Mask of Dimitrios
· The Cross of Lorraine
· Background to Danger
· The Constant Nymph
· Casablanca
· The Boogie Man Will Get You
· Invisible Agent
· All Through the Night
· The Face Behind the Mask
· The Maltese Falcon
· They Met in Bombay
· Mr. District Attorney
· Island of Doomed Men
· Der Ewige Jude (archive footage)
· You'll Find Out
· Stranger on the Third Floor
· I Was an Adventuress
· Strange Cargo
· Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
· Danger Island
· Mr. Moto's Last Warning
· Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
· Mysterious Mr. Moto
· I'll Give a Million
· Mr. Moto's Gamble
· Lancer Spy
· Nancy Steele Is Missing!
· Thank You, Mr. Moto
· Think Fast, Mr. Moto
· Crack-Up (1936)
· Secret Agent
· Crime and Punishment
· Mad Love
· The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
· Du haut en bas
· Les Requins du pétrole
· Unsichtbare Gegner
· Was Frauen träumen
· Schuss im Morgengrauen
· Stupéfiants
· Der Weisse Dämon
· F.P.1 antwortet nicht
· Fünf von der Jazzband
· Mann ist Mann
· Die Koffer des Herrn O.F.
· Bomben auf Monte Carlo
· M (1931)
· Die Verschwundene Frau

Lorre’s IMDB page
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000048/

Download and watch Lorre in Fritz Langs “M”
http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=834&format=movie&theme=guide

The Lorre Library of Sound
http://www.ealasaid.com/fan/lorrelibrary/

Lorre at Classic Movies
http://www.thegoldenyears.org/lorre.html

The Pit – a Peter Lorre site
http://www.seahaas.com/thepit/lorre.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 6 replies

Peter Lorre in "Secret Agent"

davidvonshmavid — Thu, 25 May 2006 02:31:17 GMT

I found this pic on the web recently of Peter Lorre in "Secret Agent" (see main pic). What the hell??!! Has anybody seen this movie? It's the silliest publicity still I've ever seen!

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 8 replies

7/22 Louise Fletcher

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:19:53 GMT

Louise Fletcher (born July 22, 1934) is an Academy Award-winning American actress.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama to a minister and his wife, both deaf, she was taught to speak by a hearing aunt, who also introduced her to acting.

After attending the University of North Carolina, she traveled to Los Angeles, California, where she found work as a secretary by day and took acting lessons by night.

She began appearing in several television productions, but married Jerry Bick and took time off to raise her 2 children; she eventually divorced Bick, who died in 2004.

In 1974, she returned to film in Thieves Like Us. Miloš Forman saw her, and cast her (possibly because of her height and bearing) as McMurphy's nemesis Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. She also appeared in such films as The Cheap Detective, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Firestarter, Brainstorm, Flowers in the Attic and as Sebastian's aunt in Cruel Intentions.

Fletcher was nominated for an Emmy Award for her recurring role on the television series Picket Fences. She also had a continuing role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the scheming double-faced Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami.

The Louise Fletcher Appreciation Page
http://www.littlereview.com/goddesslouise/

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001221/

Louise at Memory Alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Louise_Fletcher

and here is Kai Winn Adami’s own wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winn_Adami

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

Hermione Gingold

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 05:56:39 GMT

I just watched an excellent episode of the old Frank Sinatra Show with Ella Fitzgerald, The Hi Lo's, Juliet Prowse ... and Hermione Gingold! Always loved her in The Music Man and so I checked out her wikipedia bio, which just listed her film and theatre work. Did she ever do anything else, like nightclubs or comedy albums?

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 14 replies

Mako RIP

BabeSoDelicious — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:30:55 GMT

He died last Friday, July 21, of esophageal cancer. He was 72. His break-out role was as Po-Han, the engine coolie in "The Sand Pebbles."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/24/BAG6GK4ANO1.DTL

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0538683/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

7/19 Hume Cronyn

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:56:23 GMT

Hume Blake Cronyn, OC , LL.D (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian/American stage and film actor.

Early life
Cronyn was born in London, Ontario, Canada, one of five children of Hume Blake Cronyn, a businessman and a Member of Parliament for London (and for whom the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory and asteroid (12050) Humecronyn are named), and his wife Frances Amelia Labatt, an heiress of the brewing company of the same name.

His grandfather was Verschoyle Cronyn. His great-grandfather was Bishop Benjamin Cronyn, founder of Huron College at the University of Western Ontario. His great-uncle Benjamin Jr. was both a prominent citizen and early mayor of London, Ontario. Benjamin Jr. was later indicted for fraud and fled to Vermont. During his tenure in London he built a mansion called Oakwood, which currently serves as the head office of the Info-Tech Research Group.

Career
Cronyn studied drama at McGill University, and continued his acting studies under Max Reinhardt and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1934, he made his Broadway debut as a janitor in "Hipper's Holiday" and became known for his versatility, playing a number of different roles on stage.

His initial Hollywood film was in 1943 in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. He later appeared in that director's Lifeboat and was a writer for the screenplays of Rope and Under Capricorn. He was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in The Seventh Cross in 1944.

Personal life
Cronyn was married to actress Jessica Tandy from 1942 until her death in 1994, and appeared with her in many of their more memorable dramatic stage, film and TV outings, including The Gin Game, Foxfire, Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return.

He became an American citizen in 1966. His 1991 autobiography was called A Terrible Liar

Hume Cronyn married author Susan Cooper in July 1996. In 1988, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He died at age 91 of prostate cancer at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Filmography
· Shadow of a Doubt - 1943
· Phantom of the Opera - 1943
· The Cross of Lorraine - 1943
· Lifeboat - 1944
· The Seventh Cross - 1944
· Main Street After Dark - 1945
· The Sailor Takes a Wife - 1945
· A Letter for Evie - 1945
· Ziegfeld Follies - 1946
· The Postman Always Rings Twice - 1946
· The Green Years - 1946
· The Beginning or the End - 1947
· Brute Force - 1947
· The Bride Goes Wild - 1948
· Top o' the Morning - 1949
· People Will Talk - 1951
· Crowded Paradise - 1956
· The Moon and Sixpence - 1959 (television)
· A Doll's House - 1959 - (television)
· Juno and the Paycock - 1960 - (television)
· Sunrise at Campobello - 1960
· Cleopatra - 1963
· Hamlet - 1964
· The Arrangement - 1969
· Gaily, Gaily - 1969
· There Was a Crooked Man... - 1970
· The Parallax View - 1974
· Conrack - 1974
· Rollover - 1981
· Honky Tonk Freeway - 1981
· The Gin Game - 1981 - (television)
· The World According to Garp - 1982
· Impulse - 1984
· Brewster's Millions - 1985
· Cocoon - 1985
· *batteries not included - 1987
· Foxfire - 1987 - (television)
· Cocoon: The Return - 1988
· Day One - 1989 - (television)
· Age-Old Friends - 1989 - (television)
· Christmas on Division Street - 1991 - (television)
· Broadway Bound - 1992 - (television)
· To Dance with the White Dog - 1993 - (television)
· The Pelican Brief - 1993
· Camilla - 1994
· Marvin's Room - 1996
· 12 Angry Men - 1997 - (television)
· Alone - 1997 - (television)
· Seasons of Love - 1998 - (television)
· Sea People - 1999 - (television)
· Santa and Pete - 1999 - (television)
· Yesterday's Children - 2000 - (television)
· Off Season - 2001 - (television)

At IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002025/

Cronyn’s page at Northernstars
http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsabc/cronyn_bio.html

Hume Cronyn.com
http://www.humecronyn.com/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

7/10 Fred Gwynne

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:46:41 GMT

Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) American actor, best known for starring in the television sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters. For his role as Herman Munster he had to wear 40 or 50 lb (20 kg) of padding, makeup and elevator shoes, and reportedly once sweated off ten pounds (4.5 kg) in a day of filming. Earlier he was in the cast of The Phil Silvers Show as a man of enormous appetite that Sgt. Bilko entered in a pie-eating contest—then found out he could only consume mass quantities when depressed.

Gwynne graduated from Harvard University in 1951. He was a cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon and became its president; he acted in the Hasty Pudding Club, and joined the Brattle Theatre Repertory Company after graduation. His first Broadway role was as a gangster in a 1952 comedy, "Mrs. McThing," which starred Helen Hayes.

In addition to his acting career, Gwynne sang professionally, painted, and wrote and illustrated children's books, including A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, The King Who Rained, Best In Show, Pondlarker, and A Little Pigeon Toad. He also lent his voice talents to commercials and radio shows such as CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

After his experience in The Munsters, he was unfortunate to be typecast as Herman Munster, the tall, goofy parody of Frankenstein's monster, and experienced difficulty with being cast in other projects. However, Gwynne was known for his good spirits and sense of humour, and retained fond recollections of Herman. Gwynne eventually proved himself as a fine dramatic actor on stage. In 1974, he played the role of "Big Daddy" in the Broadway revival of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Another role was as the Stage Manager in Our Town.

His performance as Jud Crandall in Pet Sematary was based on author Stephen King himself, who is also quite tall — only an inch shorter than the actor — and uses a similarly thick Maine dialect. Gwynne also had roles in the movies Disorganized Crime, The Cotton Club, The Secret of My Success, Water, Ironweed and Fatal Attraction.

Gwynne's last film performance was as the judge in the 1992 film comedy, My Cousin Vinny in which he used a credible Southern accent.
Gwynne died of pancreatic cancer in Taneytown, Maryland, eight days before his 67th birthday.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001304/

Fred’s tribute at Munsters.com
http://www.munsters.com/gwynne.html

The Fred Gwynne Appreciation Page
http://members.aol.com/bellispr/fgwynne.htm

Many Images of Fred here
http://www.uncleodiescollectibles.com/html_lib/munsters/00003.html

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 1 reply

7/12 Beah Richards

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:21:23 GMT

Beah Richards (July 12, 1920 – September 14, 2000) was an American actress with a long career on stage, screen and television. She was also a poet, playwright and author.

Born Beulah Richardson in Vicksburg, Mississippi, her mother was a seamstress and PTA advocate and her father was a Baptist minister. In 1948, she graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans and two years later moved to New York City. Her career started to take off in 1955 when she portrayed an eighty-four-year-old-grandmother in the off-Broadway show Take a Giant Step. She often played the role of a mother or grand-mother, and continued acting her entire life. She appeared in the original Broadway productions of Purlie Victorious, The Miracle Worker, and A Raisin in the Sun.

Richards was nominated for a Tony award for her 1965 performance in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner. She also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Sidney Poitier's mother in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Other notable movie performances include Hurry Sundown, The Great White Hope, and Beloved.

She made numerous guest television appearances including recurrent roles on The Bill Cosby Show, Designing Women, and ER (as Dr. Peter Benton's mother.) She was the winner of two Emmy Awards.

In the last year of her life, Richards was the subject of a documentary created by actress Lisa Gay Hamilton. The documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks was created from over 70 hours of their conversations. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Film Festival.
Beah Richards died from emphysema in her hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi at the age of 80.

Beah at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0723968/

Info on “Beah: A Black Woman Speaks” a documentary
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/beah/index.html

Beah’s page at The African American Registery
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1998/Beah_Richards_an_actress_with_style

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

6/28 Alice Krige

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:58:16 GMT

Alice Maud Krige (born June 28, 1954 in Upington, South Africa) is an actress best known for her role in the Star Trek series as the Borg Queen. She grew up without television, as television was not started in South Africa until 1976, the year she left for London.

Initially she had plans to become a clinical psychologist but turned to acting after an experience in an acting class at Rhodes University. She then attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

She made her professional debut on British television in 1979 and appeared in the television movie A Tale of Two Cities. She went on to play Sybil Gordon in Chariots of Fire and Eva Galli in Ghost Story (both 1981).

She had played Bathsheba in King David (1985) and Mary Shelley in Haunted Summer (1988). She had appeared on stage in plays such as the production of Thomas Otway's "Venice Preserved". She had appeared in what she called "tons of TV" in both the U.S. and the UK. This includes made for television movies from Baja Oklahoma (1988) and Ladykiller (1992), to mini-series such as Ellis Island (1984) and The Scarlet and the Black (1993).

In Star Trek: First Contact, she played the Borg Queen, who is on a mission to assimilate Earth into the Borg collective. She would return to this role in the Star Trek game Star Trek: Armada II, and in the Star Trek: Voyager series finale, "Endgame".

She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1982 (1981 season) for Most Promising Newcomer in the production of Arms of the Man. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1992 Saturn Awards for her role in Sleepwalkers. In April 2004 she was awarded an honorary Litt.D. degree from Rhodes University.
Krige is married to the writer and director Paul Schoolman.

Alice at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000481/

Alice Unofficial Fansite
http://www.alice-krige.net/

Alice at Memory Alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Alice_Krige

More info on the Borg Queen if you really want to know
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_Queen

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

7/7 Shelley Duvall

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:43:56 GMT

Shelley Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an award winning American film and television actress who began her career in the 1970s playing quirky and waif-like characters in the movies of Robert Altman, and eventually starred in movies by Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton.

Duvall was born in Houston, Texas and graduated from Waltrip High School. Duvall was working as a cosmetics saleswoman at a Houston Foley's when she was discovered at a party by production scouts for Altman's Brewster McCloud (1970). After a tough interview with Altman, she later won the lead role of Suzanne, the free-spirited love interest to Bud Cort's reclusive Brewster. Altman was impressed enough with Duvall's work to cast the young actress in his next films, including McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974), and Nashville (1975). In 1977, Duvall was named Best Actress by the Cannes Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her portrayal of the delusional Millie Lammoreaux in Altman's 3 Women.

That same year Duvall appeared in Annie Hall playing Woody Allen's one-night stand. Her next role would be Wendy opposite Jack Nicholson in Kubrick's The Shining (1980). The actress and director would openly argue on set, and it is said that the perfectionist Kubrick once demanded she perform 127 takes for a single scene.

Starting in the early 1980s, Duvall began to act in and produce television shows for children, often based on popular fairy tales (Fairie Tale Theatre).

Duvall Fan Site
http://www.geocities.com/shelleyduvall/

Duvall at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001167/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 0 replies

1942 Academy Award Nominees for Best Supporting Actress

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 04:00:32 GMT

Here they are....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MElH8eykf54

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

7/6 Sebastian Cabot

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:09:27 GMT

I couldnt resist

Sebastian Cabot (July 6, 1918 – August 22, 1977) was a film and television actor, best remembered as a gently composed "gentleman's gentleman" in the 1960s situation comedy Family Affair, but his sonorous voice and understated style belied his frequent typecasting as an Englishman trying to make sense of America.

Cabot was born in London, England. His career began with a bit part in Foreign Affaires (1935); his first screen credit was in Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936). Other British films such as Love on the Dole, Pimpernel Smith, Old Mother Riley: Detective, and Old Mother Riley: Overseas followed. In 1946, he won the role of Iago in Othello. By 1947, Cabot had relocated to Hollywood, and landed roles in such films as They Made Me A Fugitive, Third Time Lucky, The Spider and the Fly, Ivanhoe, Babes in Baghdad, The Love Lottery, and the 1954 Italian version of Romeo and Juliet--as Capulet.

At about this time Cabot began taking on television work, appearing in such series as Along the Oregon Trail, The Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Checkmate (TV series), The Beachcomber, and an unforgettable appearance in The Twilight Zone,{aka A Nice Place to Visit} as the white-suited, courtly provider--who turns out to be the devil himself--of a vain but disillusioned man's every wish. In 1964, Cabot hosted the short-lived television series, Suspense, and voiced or narrated a few other film and television projects, before he was cast as Giles French in the CBS series Family Affair.

Family Affair wasn't exactly a new concept; the bachelor uncle left to raise his suddenly orphaned nieces or nephews was as old as radio legend The Great Gildersleeve (1941-57) and as recent on television as Bachelor Father. But its comedy was gentle, sentimental, often saccharine but nevertheless written and acted sensitively enough to capture a wide audience for five years. Unlike The Great Gildersleeve, whose title character reined in his pomposity and learned to live with being the occasional fool; or, Bachelor Father's breezy suburban attorney Bentley Gregg, Family Affair's patriarchal, urbane uncle, William Davis (played by Brian Keith), understated the tension between his formerly swinging bachelor life and his on-the-job-training-like surrogate fatherhood, once he accepted the idea (it took about three episodes) that he'd be raising grade-school twins (Buffy and Jody Patterson, played by Anissa Jones and Johnny Whitaker) and a teenaged niece (Catherine "Cissy" Patterson, played by Kathy Garver), and discovered he had more to offer young parentally-bereaved children than just his tastefully arresting Manhattan penthouse apartment and his wealth.

Cabot as French balanced the tension with his rotund appearance, his genteel but slightly befuddled manner, and his occasionally implied romanticism, tending his bachelor employer and enduring his own growing pains as a surrogate parental figure. He was striking enough in that regard to help the show secure its audience---it was almost as much fun for viewers to anticipate his reactions as anything else on the show. Some of the show's most memorable sequences, in fact, involved French's relationships with various female housekeepers/nannies with whom he spent time as their employers' children played together in nearby parks, and there were hints throughout the series that French himself had a romantic interest (usually, with a "Miss Fabersham") that he was never quite able to let himself fulfill.

Cabot didn't cease his other film and television work during the series' run--in fact, he took a leave of absence (his stand-in: veteran British character actor John Williams, as French's brother Nigel, or Niles) from Family Affair at one point during the series' run--and he worked well in voice roles (Bagheera in The Jungle Book; the narrator of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day; host of Journey to Midnight). But he was so vivid as French that he never shook the image even after Family Affair finally ended production in 1971. Perhaps Cabot's most memorable role following the series' demise was in the television remake of Miracle on 34th Street. On the one hand, Cabot lent the role of Kris Kringle a hinted depth that referenced old Giles French's maturing sensitivity, but on the other hand he wasn't enough to make viewers forget Edmund Gwenn's incomparable ownership of the role in the film that still receives an average thirty showings on Christmas-season television. In fairness, he couldn't possibly compete with that kind of saturation, but it was to his credit that he acquitted himself as he did.

Cabot appeared in another Christmas project, the television film The City That Forgot About Christmas (1974), and narrated two more Pooh projects, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too! and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, before his death of a stroke in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada at age 59. He lived his final years near Sidney, British Columbia. Audiences almost three decades after his death remain familiar with Cabot, through periodic replays of his Twilight Zone appearance and, once in awhile, a syndicated revival of Family Affair reruns. A memorable career high point was his two-year stint as one of the three leads on Eric Ambler's superb 1960 detective show Checkmate (TV series).

Of the other Family Affair cast, Anissa Jones---whose off-camera life was as troubled as her character's became bucolic---died of a drug overdose at age 18. Brian Keith, depressed by a daughter's suicide and his own battle with lung cancer, committed suicide in 1997; he had previously starred in a 1980s TV series, Hardcastle and McCormick. Johnnie Whittaker acted in a few television and film roles following Family Affair, but has not been known to have acted since 1977's Mulligan's Stew. Kathy Garver has since made a low-keyed but respected career as an actress, particularly in voice-over work and in audio books.
Sebastian Cabot is interred in the urn garden in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California near Brian Keith.

At IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001982/

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7/1 Karen Black

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:51:15 GMT

Karen Black (born July 1, 1939) is an Oscar-nominated American actress, screenwriter, singer and songwriter.

Early life
Black was born Karen Blanche Ziegler in Park Ridge, Illinois, the daughter of Norman Ziegler and Elsie Reif, a writer of several prize-winning children's novels; her paternal grandfather was Arthur Ziegler, a classical musician. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, for two years, before moving to New York, where she appeared in a number of Off-Broadway productions.

Career
Black made her Broadway debut in 1965's The Playroom, which received good reviews and for which she was nominated for a Drama Circle Critic Award for Best Actress. Her film debut was in The Prime Time (1960) and her first big role was as Amy Partlett in You're a Big Boy Now (1966), which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. She subsequently appeared on the TV series The Hundred Years (1967) as Marcia Garroway.

Black became a well-known actress after her role as Karen in Easy Rider (1969). She has over 100 film performances to her credit, including her role as Fran in Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976) and her turn as Rayette Dipesto in Five Easy Pieces (1970), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for Five Easy Pieces, and she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for her role as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby (1974). She was also nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama for her role as Faye Greener in The Day of the Locust (1975). She also appeared in the made for television three-part horror film, Trilogy of Terror.

Black was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Series for the film Nashville (1975). During the late 1970s, she starred in the Dan Curtis horror film about a haunted house, Burnt Offerings, which also featured Bette Davis in one of her final roles.

Black has made a number of guest starring appearances on popular shows, including The Big Valley, Mannix, Adam-12, Saturday Night Live, Murder, She Wrote, Family Guy, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In March 2005, Black received the Best Actress Award at the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Porto, Portugal, for her work in the film Firecracker (2004), in which she plays two roles, Sandra and Eleanor. She and actor John Hurt were both presented with Career Achievement Awards as well.

Personal life
Black has had two husbands, screenwriter L.M. Kit Carson (divorced) and film editor Stephen Eckelberry (married 1987 - present). She and Carson have one son, Hunter Carson (born December 25, 1975), who had an acting career in the mid 1980s; and she and Eckelberry adopted one daughter at three months of age, Celine Eckelberry (born in November 1987). She and Eckelberry are active in the Church of Scientology, along with his mother, Renee Duke.

Karen Black Online
http://www.karenblack.net/

Karen Black at IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000947/

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6/19 Gena Rowlands

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:03:33 GMT

Gena Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American actress.
She was born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands in Cambria, Wisconsin, she attended the University of Wisconsin. Her father, Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, was a state Assemblyman and her mother, Mary Allen Neal, was a housewife.

Rowlands appeared in Broadway in the late 1950s, and made her film debut in The High Cost of Loving in 1958. She starred in several anthology television series, including Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theatre and Studio One, among many others. In 1961 she starred in the well-received television series 87th Precinct, and in 1964 in Peyton Place.

Teaming with her husband, writer and director John Cassavetes, Rowlands starred in many productions, including Staccato, A Child Is Waiting, Faces, Gloria (nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress), Love Streams, Minnie and Moskowitz, She's So Lovely, and A Woman Under the Influence (Academy Award nomination). She starred in The Neon Bible. In 1985, Rowlands played the mother in the critically acclaimed made-for-TV movie An Early Frost. In recent years, she has appeared in Paulie and in Mira Nair's HBO movie, Hysterical Blindness for which she won her third Emmy.

She was recently seen in The Notebook, which was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes, and co-starred James Garner, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. In 2004 she won her first Daytime Emmy for her role as Mrs. Evelyn Ritchie in The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie. To name a few, Ms. Rowlands has been nominated for: two Academy Awards; six Emmy nominations, and one Daytime Emmy; eight Golden Globes; three Satellite Awards; and one SAG Award. Some of her notable wins include: a Silver Berlin Bear; three Emmy Awards and one Daytime Emmy; two Golden Globes; two National Board of Review Awards; two Satellite Awards; and one Prize San Sebastián.

In 2005, she appeared opposite Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Hurt in the gothic thriller The Skeleton Key.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001687/

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6/20 Martin Landau

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:37:43 GMT

Martin Landau (born June 20, 1931) is an Academy Award-winning American film and television actor. He is perhaps most well known for his roles in the television series Mission: Impossible (1966 - 1969) and Space: 1999 (1975 - 1977).

Landau was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, and at the age of 17 began working as a cartoonist for the New York Daily News, but influenced by Charlie Chaplin and the escapism of the cinema, he pursued becoming an actor. He attended the Actors Studio in the same class with Steve McQueen and in 1957, Landau made his Broadway debut in Middle of the Night. Encouraged by his mentor Lee Strasberg, Landau also taught acting. Some of the actors he has coached include Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston.

In 1959, Landau made his first major film appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's, North by Northwest. A few years later, after turning down the role of Spock in Star Trek, Landau took the role of master of disguise Rollin Hand in Mission: Impossible, becoming one of that show's best-known stars. He co-starred in the series with his then-wife, Barbara Bain, and the two left after the third season due to a salary dispute.

In the mid-1970s, Landau and Barbara Bain, teamed with Barry Morse, returned to television in the British science fiction series, Space: 1999. Although it remains a cult classic, the series was critically derided during its run and was cancelled after two seasons; Landau himself became very critical of the show's scripts and storylines near the end, but praised the cast and crew. He wrote the Foreword for Barry Morse's 2006 theatrical memoir Remember With Advantages.

After Space: 1999, Landau appeared in supporting roles in a number of films and TV shows of varying quality, including The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (which again co-starred Bain).

In the late 1980s, Landau staged a major career comeback by winning an Academy Award nomination for his role in Tucker: The Man and His Dream. He later received a second nomination for Crimes and Misdemeanors and won the Best Supporting Actor award in 1994 for his uncanny portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. Upon accepting the award he was visibly frustrated by the orchestra's attempt to cut short his speech. When the music level raised, he pounded his fist on the podium and yelled "No!"

He has two daughters, Susan and Juliet, from his marriage to Barbara Bain. Landau and Bain married in 1957 and divorced in 1993.

Selected films

As Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood—a performance which earned him an Oscar
· Pork Chop Hill (1959)
· North by Northwest (1959)
· Cleopatra (1963)
· The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
· They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970)
· Meteor (1979)
· The Fall of the House of Usher (1982)
· Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
· Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
· Sliver (1993)
· Eye of the Stranger (1993)
· Intersection (1994)
· Ed Wood (1994) (Academy Award winner, Best Supporting Actor)
· BAPS (1997)
· The X Files (1998)
· Rounders (1998)
· Ready to Rumble (1999)
· The Joyriders (1999)
· Sleepy Hollow (1999)
· The Majestic (2001)
· Hollywood Homicide (2003)

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001445/

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have you seen this site?.....

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:43:17 GMT

www.findadeath.com.....for all you morbid yet curiosu ones ; )

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"Have Gone, Will Travel"

BabeSoDelicious — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:12:21 GMT

Just finished watching the first season (1957-1958) DVD of this marvelous tv western show starring Richard Boone.

This thread is my salute to some of the many character actors who appeared in the first 39 episodes. Only a handful of the ones listed below are still alive, but their work lives on:

June Lockhart
Kam Tong
Jack Lord
Charles Bronson
Grant Withers
Angie Dickinson
Strother Martin
Mike Connors
Anthony Caruso
Pernell Roberts
James Olson
Brad Dexter
Kevin Hagen
Ned Glass
Jeannette Nolan
Richard Long
Earle Hodgins
Dan Blocker
Murray Hamilton
Corey Allen
James Franciscus
Simon Oakland
Warren Oates
Claude Akins
Philip Ahn
Whit Bissell
Peter Whitney
Wright King
Eduardo Ciannelli
Harold J. Stone
Stuart Whitman
Marion Seldes
Victor McLaglen
Charles Aidman
John Anderson
John Carradine
Barbara Luna
Judson Pratt
June Vincent
Jack Albertson
Ted de Corsia
Tom Helmore
Denver Pyle
Robert F. Simon

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6/19 Dame May Whitty

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:52:27 GMT

Dame May Whitty DBE (19 June 1865–29 May 1948), born Mary Louise Whitty, was an Oscar-nominated English theatre and cinema actress.

Born in Liverpool, May Whitty made her first stage appearance in Liverpool in 1881 before moving to London to appear on the West End.

She married the actor-manager Ben Webster in 1892 and in 1895 they visited the United States where Whitty appeared on Broadway. Their only child, a daughter born in the USA in 1905, Margaret Webster, was a stage actress and held dual US/UK citizenship. Dame May's stage career continued for the rest of her life.

In 1918 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her charitable work during World War I.

She made her first major Hollywood film appearance, recreating her stage role in the film Night Must Fall (1937) (which also starred Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. This led to several supporting roles in films including that of the missing spy, "Miss Froy", in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). She moved permanently to the USA (although she never became a U.S. citizen) in 1939 and appeared both on stage and in Hollywood films where she usually played wealthy dowagers. It was one such part, as "Lady Beldon" in Mrs Miniver (1942), that brought her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

She continued to act for the remainder of her life and died in Beverly Hills, California from cancer at the age of 82; her husband had died the previous year during surgery.

Quote
"I have everything Betty Grable has - I've just had it longer".

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926599/

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6/18 E.G. Marshall

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:11:32 GMT

E. G. Marshall (June 18, 1914 - August 24, 1998) was an American actor who starred in the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men.

Marshall was born Everett Evander Grunz in Owatonna, Minnesota.
From 1974 to 1981, E.G. Marshall hosted the nightly radio drama The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT), which ran on CBS radio affiliate stations across the United States. CBSRMT was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio.

Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"

Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over.
He died of lung cancer in Bedford, New York. His grave is in the Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, located in the hamlet of Banksville, a part of the Town of North Castle, New York.

Partial filmography
"Nixon" (1995)
"Chicago Hope" (1994)
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989)
"Creepshow" (1982)
"Superman II" (1980)
"Interiors" (1978)
"The Buccaneer" (1958)
"12 Angry Men" (1957)
"The Bachelor Party" (1957)
"The Left Hand of God" (1955)
"Broken Lance" (1954)
"The Caine Mutiny" (1954)
"Call Northside 777" (1948)
"13 Rue Madeleine" (1947)

imdb
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550855/

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6/18 Key Luke

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:00:13 GMT

Keye Luke ( Pinyin: Lù Xílín) (June 18, 1904–January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American actor.

He was born in Canton, China, and grew up in Seattle. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944.

He made his film debut in The Painted Veil in 1934, and the following year gained his first big role, as Charlie Chan's eldest son in Charlie Chan in Paris. It was a role he would continue to play, on and off, until The Sky Dragon in 1949, in which, having outlasted two stars of the series, he was older than the actor then playing his father. And in 1972, he became the first Chinese actor to play Charlie Chan himself, in the otherwise undistinguished animated television series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. He was also well known for his role of Master Po in the television series, Kung Fu.

Trivia
He was the first to voice Brak on Space Ghost. Luke was replaced after his death by Andy Merrill.
He did some of the original artwork for the original King Kong pressbook.
He played The Green Hornet's Japanese sidekick Kato in two movies in the early 1940s.
He played the mysterious old Chinatown shop-owner Mr. Wing in the two Gremlins movies.
He had a significant role in Woody Allen's 1990 movie Alice.
He was the voice of Zoltar in Battle of the Planets.
He was going to play Doctor Noonien Soong in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Brothers", but died before shooting started; Brent Spiner took over the role.
He was the voice of the evil Mr. Han in Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525601/

Luke at Star Treks Memory Alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Keye_Luke

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6/18 Carol Kane

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:49:55 GMT

Carol Kane (born Carolyn Laurie Kane on June 18, 1952) is an American actress from Cleveland, Ohio.

Kane is best known for her portrayal of Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, wife of Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), on the American television series Taxi from 1981 to 1983. Kane earned two Emmy Awards for her work in the series.

Kane is currently starring in the Broadway musical Wicked, playing Madame Morrible, a role which she had previously played in the show's first national tour.

She has guest-starred on a 1994 episode of Seinfeld and had a supporting role in the short-lived 1996-1997 sitcom Pearl, which starred Rhea Perlman.

Partial filmography
The Pacifier (2005) - Helga
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) - Ms. Baggoli
Man on the Moon (1999) - Herself/Simka Dahblitz
Jawbreaker (1999) - Ms. Sherwood
Big Bully (1996) - Faith Bigger
Addams Family Values (1993) - Grandmama
Scrooged (1988) - The Ghost of Christmas Present
License to Drive (1988)- Mrs. Anderson
The Princess Bride (1987) - Valerie
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) - Cynthia
When a Stranger Calls (1979)- Jill Johnson
Annie Hall (1977) - Allison Portchnik
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) - Jenny
Hester Street (1975) - Gitl
The Last Detail (1973) - Young Whore
Carnal Knowledge (1971) - Jennifer

Carol at IMDB
http://imdb.com/name/nm0001406/

Unofficial Fan Site
http://www.open.org/~glennab/carolkanefanpage.htm

yahoo's bio on Carol

Big-eyed, waif-like character actress who, since her film debut in "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), has distinguished herself in films and TV in varied roles. Kane gained national recognition and an Oscar nomination playing Gitl, the newly arrived immigrant wife, in "Hester Street" (1975). She went on to deliver a memorable series of understated characterizations that showcased her slightly whimsical, dotty quality and her gift for comedy, including Allison, Woody Allen's first wife--a woman who won't let the Warren Commission ruin her marriage--in "Annie Hall" (1977); "Myth" in "The Muppet Movie" (1979); Valerie, the wife of Billy Crystal's Miracle Max, in "The Princess Bride" (1987); the Ghost of Christmas Present in "Scrooged" (1988); and Granny Addams in "Addams Family Values" (1993). Her other feature credits include "The Last Detail" (1973), "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986), "My Blue Heaven" (1990) and "The Pallbearer" (1996), as David Schwimmer's mother.

Kane garnered two Emmys playing Simka Gravas, the squeaky-voiced "mountain person" married to Andy Kaufman on the splendid sitcom "Taxi" (ABC, 1981-82; NBC, 1982-83). She has since remained a frequent presence on TV, appearing in dramas and comedies on PBS, TV movies, guest shots, and stints as a regular or recurring character on various short-lived series, notably as the bohemian Aunt Sylvia on the CBS series "Brooklyn Bridge". She returned as a series regular on "Pearl" (CBS, 1996-97), co-starring with Rhea Perlman and Malcolm McDowell.

The seasoned actress continued to appear regularly on both the big screen and television shows. She was a frequent and always colorful guest such shows as "Ellen" and "Hey Arnold" and even lended her distinctive voice to an episode of "The Family Guy" in 2001. In film, Kane could be seen playing the guidance counselor in the teen black comedy "Jawbreaker" in 1999 as well as in the Andy Kaufman bio "Man on the Moon." In 2002, she returned as a series regular in the FOX sitcom "The Grubbs" where Kane played opposite Randy Quaid as the heads of a quirky family who perpetually embarrass their young son.

^ Additionally, Kane has had an impressive stage career, appearing in the Lincoln Center productions of "Macbeth" and "The Tempest" (both 1980), under the direction of Joseph Papp. She also starred in Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" (1988), and Beth Henley's "Debutante Ball" (1988).

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What Character Actor Are You?

davidvonshmavid — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 19:02:11 GMT

This should be one of those web quizzes but, as far as I know, it's not.

Are there any character actors you relate to? Even if it's 5% of you. You can mention leading actors, too, if you're that fancy.

I'll have to think about this one and get back to you.

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 6 replies

Musical # from "Caliente" w Edward Everett Horton

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 05:50:49 GMT

ok he doesnt speak but his face is priceless. the singers is comedienne Judy Conova

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlk67Ta5Hoo&search=judy%20canova

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 3 replies

6/6 Paul Giamatti - Happy 39th

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 15:30:35 GMT

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated Italian-American actor.

Giamatti was born in New Haven, Connecticut to A. Bartlett Giamatti, a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Smith, was a teacher at Hopkins School. Giamatti's paternal grandfather was the child of Italian immigrants; his other grandparents were American.

Giamatti has a brother, Marcus, who is also an actor. Giamatti attended the elite boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall, was an English major at Yale, and has a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. Following his graduation, he performed in numerous theatrical productions (including Broadway) before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s.

Giamatti's first high profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern's Private Parts. He played Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, Stern's antagonistic program director at WNBC. Stern praised Giamatti's performance often on his radio program, calling for him to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That didn't happen, but Giamatti's career received a boost. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, and The Negotiator (all 1998). In 1999 he played Bob Zmuda (and Tony Clifton) in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued to appear in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House (2000) and the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and co-starred in Big Fat Liar (2002).

Giamatti's most acclaimed performances were in lead roles in American Splendor (2003) and Sideways (2004). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter (but did not win) and was not nominated for an Oscar, which baffled many in the industry. Giamatti finally received his first Academy Award-nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his role in Cinderella Man. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the SAG award for Best Supporting Actor for the film.

Filmography
1. Shoot 'em Up (2007)
2. Lady in the Water (2006)... Cleveland Heep
3. Paper Man (2006)
4. The Ant Bully (2006)
5. The Illusionist (2006)... Chief Inspector Uhl
6. The Hawk Is Dying (2005)... George Gattling
7. Cinderella Man (2005)... Joe Gould
8. Robots (2005)... Tim the Gate Guard (voice)
9. Sideways (2004)... Miles Raymond
10. Paycheck (2003)... Shorty
11. The Pentagon Papers (2003) (TV)... Anthony Russo
12. American Splendor (2003)... Harvey Pekar
13. Confidence (2003)... Gordo
14. Thunderpants (2002)... Johnson J. Johnson
15. Big Fat Liar (2002)... Marty Wolf
16. Planet of the Apes (2001)... Limbo
17. Storytelling (2001)... Toby Oxman
18. Duets (2000)... Todd Woods
19. Big Momma's House (2000)... John
20. If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV)... Ted Hedley
21. Man on the Moon (1999)... Bob Zmuda/Tony Clifton
22. Cradle Will Rock (1999)... Carlo
23. Winchell (1998) (TV)... Herman Klurfeld
24. Safe Men (1998)... Veal Chop
25. The Negotiator (1998)... Rudy Timmons
26. Saving Private Ryan (1998)... Sergeant Hill
27. Dr. Dolittle (1998)... Blaine (uncredited)
28. The Truman Show (1998)... Control Room Director
29. Tourist Trap (1998) (TV)... Jeremiah Piper
30. A Further Gesture (1997)... Hotel Clerk
31. Deconstructing Harry (1997)... Professor Abbot
32. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)... Richard the Bellman
33. Private Parts (1997)... Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton
34. Donnie Brasco (1997)... FBI Technician
35. Arresting Gena (1997)... Detective Wilson
36. Breathing Room (1996)... George
37. Before and After (1996)... Courtroom Audience (uncredited)
38. Sabrina (1995)... Scott
39. Mighty Aphrodite (1995)... Extras Guild Researcher
40. Singles (1992)... Kissing Man
41. Past Midnight (1992)... Larry Canipe
42. She'll Take Romance (1990) (TV)... Heckler #2

Imdb
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316079/

posted in The Character Actor Appreciation Society - 4 replies