part eight page two
Born Peter King Engle on 24 May 1916 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA, Peter Whitney's over-powering frame, swarthy looks, bushy brows and maniacal look in his eye made him one of the most fearsome character actors to lump around in 40s, 50s and 60s film and TV. Born May 24, 1916 in New Jersey, Peter was of German ancestry and educated at Exeter Academy. He eventually moved to the Los Angeles area and trained with the Pasadena Community Playhouse, gaining valuable experience in summer stock as well. He made a play for films in the early 40s, deciding also to use his wife Adrienne's middle name for his own stage moniker. His real name he felt sounded too German and might be detrimental to his WWII-era career. He and Adrienne went on to have three children. His mammoth features and pudding-like puss reminded one easily of a Charles Laughton without table manners. Peter appeared in three movies with John, Picture from Big Jim McLain 1952, Peter passed away on 30 March 1972 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Born Karl Swenson on 23 July 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, Of Swedish descent, burly, light-haired character actor Karl Swenson was one of the busiest performers in the so-called golden days of network radio. Swenson played the leading role in the seriocomic daily serial Lorenzo Jones, and was also heard on Our Gal Sunday as Lord Henry, the heroine's "wealthy and titled Englishman" husband. He carried over his daytime-drama activities into television, playing Walter Manning in the 1954 video version of radio's Portia Faces Life. From 1958 onward, Swenson was seen in many small roles in a number of big films: Judgment of Nuremberg 1961, How the West Was Won 1962, and The Birds 1963. One of his more sizeable movie assignments was the voice of Merlin in the 1963 Disney animated feature The Sword in the Stone. One of his last roles was the recurring part of Mr. Hansen on TV's Little House on the Prairie. Karl appeared in three movies with John, Picture from North To Alaska 1960, Karl passed away on 8 October 1978 in Torrington, Connecticut, USA.
Born Edward John Pate on 26 February 1920 in Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia, The future movie bad man got his career start as an interviewer on the government's radio station. Pate also worked on the Australian stage and in Down Under movies before relocating to th e U.S. in the early 1950s to appear in Universal's "Thunder on the Hill, " the film version of a Charlotte Hastings play "Bonaventure" in which he had appeared. Pate acted in many American films and TV series, then returned to Australia in the late '60s and worked again in that country's film industry; he co-starred in his own Aussie TV series, "Matlock Police". Pate also began working behind the camera; one of his best-known writing-producing-directing credits is "Tim", the story of the relationship between an older woman Piper Laurie and a retarded young man Mel Gibson. Michael appeared in two movies with John, Picture from Hondo 1953, Michael passed away on 1 September 2008 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Born Charles D. Brown on 1 July 1887, Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA, With two solid decades of stage experience to his credit, Charles D. Brown made his talking-picture bow in 1929's The Dance of Life. At first, Brown's bland features and flat voice made him difficult to cast, but by the time he'd reached his fifties, he was very much in demand for authoritative roles. Brown was frequently cast as a detective, though his unruffled demeanor made him a valuable "surprise" killer in more than one murder mystery. Not long after completing his role in RKO's Follow Me Quietly which aired in 1949, Charles appeared in two movies with John, Picture from A Lady Takes A Chance 1943, Charles D. Brown passed away on 25 November 1948, Hollywood, California, USA.
Born Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy on 10 April 1891 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA, McCoy became a major film star most noted for his roles in Western films. He was so popular with youngsters as a cowboy star that he appeared on the cover of Wheaties cereal boxes. For his contribution to the film industry, McCoy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. McCoy was also a decorated soldier in the United States Army during World War I and again in World War II in Europe, rising to the rank of Colonel with the Army Air Corps. He also served the state of Wyoming as its Adjutant General between the wars. In 1973, Tim McCoy was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. John appeared in two movies with Tim, Picture from Texas Cyclone 1932, Tim passed away on 29 January 1978 in Nogales, Arizona, USA.
Born Erskine Sanford on 19 November 1885 in Trinidad, Colorado, USA, Invited backstage, young Welles was effusively greeted by the play's leading man, Erskine Sanford, whose kind and encouraging words inspired Welles to pursue an acting career himself. Whether this story is true or not, the fact remains that, in 1936, Erskine Sanford left the Theatre Guild after a 15-year association to join Orson Welles' experimental Mercury Theatre. When Welles took the Mercury Players to Hollywood in 1940 to film Citizen Kane, Sanford was assigned the small but plum role of Herbert Carter, the sputtering, apoplectic former editor of the New York Inquirer. The actor went on to appear prominently in such Welles-directed films as The Magnificent Ambersons 1942, Lady From Shanghai 1947, and MacBeth 1948. Outside of his Mercury Theatre activities, Erskine Sanford played featured roles in such mainstream Hollywood productions as Ministry of Fear 1943 and Angel on My Shoulder 1946 before his retirement in 1950. Erskine appeared in two movies with John, Picture from Wake Of The Red Witch 1948, Erskine passed away on 7 July 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born Byron Foulger on 27 August 1899 in Ogden, Utah, USA, Highly recognizable character actor Foulger, who began performing with stock and repertory companies after graduating from the University of Utah, met his future wife, character actress Dorothy Adams, in one of these companies. After Broadway work, they moved to Hollywood in the 1930s to try to stake a claim in films, and both succeeded, appearing in hundreds of films, both together and apart, albeit in small, often unbilled, bits. A man of meek, edgy countenance, his short stature and squinty stare could be used for playing both humble and shady fellows. Although predominantly employed as an owlish storekeeper, mortician, professor, or bank teller, his better parts had darker intentions -- exceptional as weaselly, mealy-mouthed, whining henchmen who would inevitably show their yellow streak by the film's end. He moved on into TV in the 1950s and '60s, displaying a comedy side in many folksy, rural sitcoms. Byron appeared in three movies with John, Picture from War Of The Wildcats 1943, Byron passed away on 4 April 1970 in Hollywood, California, USA.
Born Harry Shannon on 13 June 1890, Saginaw, Michigan, USA, A stagestruck 15-year-old Michigan farm boy, Harry Shannon succumbed to the lure of greasepaint upon joining a traveling repertory troupe. Developing into a first-rate musical comedy performer, Shannon went on to work in virtually all branches of live entertainment, including tent shows, vaudeville, and Broadway. By the 1930s, Shannon was a member of Joseph Schildkraut's Hollywood Theater Guild, which led to film assignments. Though he was busiest playing Irish cops and Western sheriffs, Harry Shannon is best remembered as Charles Foster Kane's alcoholic father ("What that kid needs is a good thrashin'!") in Orson Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane 1941. Harry appeared in two movies with John, Picture from In Old California 1942, Harry passed away on 13 June 1890 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA.
Born Will Wright on 26 March 1891 in San Francisco, California, USA, One of those familiar character actors who seems to have been born old, Will Wright specialized in playing crusty old codgers, rich skinflints, crooked small-town politicians and the like. A former newspaper reporter in San Francisco, he switched careers and entered vaudeville, then took to the stage. He ventured from acting to producing, and staged shows on Broadway as well as other cities, eventually making his way to Hollywood. He appeared in over 100 films and did much TV work, including a recurring role on "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960). Although his hunched-over figure, craggy face and somewhat sour disposition made it seem like he started out his 20+-year career as an old man. Will appeared in two movies with John, Will passed away on 19 June 1962 in Hollywood, California, USA.
Born Raymond Hart Massey on 30 August 1896, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Educated at Toronto University & Balliol College, Oxford, he joined the Canadian Field Artillery in World War I, served in France & was wounded. His first appearance was in a stage production in Siberia, during its occupation by American Forces in 1918. Raymond returned to Canada & the farm implement business after the war, but footlights proved a greater allure than ploughshares. He appeared at the Everyman Theatre, London in "In the Zone" in 1922 and from then his acting career never looked back. As adept in front of arc lights as the footlights, he was signed up for a 5 year contract by Alexander Korda. Major Massey was invalided from the Canadian Army in 1943. Raymond is devoted to his American wife Dorothy, to whom he refers all queries and problems. He has an ardent radio following in the States and has now become an American citizen. This is natural as his forebears were American for generations. Raymond appeared in two movies with John, Picture from Reap The Wild Wind 1942, Raymond passed away on 29 July 1983, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born James Edmund Caan on 26 March 1940 in The Bronx, New York, USA, Caan decided to pursue a career in acting while attending college and in 1960 was accepted by Sanford Meisner into the Neighborhood Playhouse. After making his debut off-Broadway in +I Roam, he landed in the Broadway production of +Mandingo but exited after just four performances because of artistic difficulties with star Franchot Tone. Caan then landed in television, where he became a busy character actor; he made his film debut in an unbilled performance in 1963's Irma La Douce, followed by a meatier role in Lady in a Cage the following year. The 1965 Howard Hawks auto-racing drama Red Line 7000 was his first starring role, followed two years later by the Hawks Western El Dorado, 1968, Caan starred in Robert Altman's Countdown, and in 1969, he appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People. Caan shot to fame thanks to a poignant performance in the 1970 television movie Brian's Song, in which he played the ill-fated Chicago Bears star Brian Piccolo; his turn as the similarly ill-fated Sonny Corleone in Coppola's 1972 masterpiece The Godfather solidified his stardom and earned him an Academy Award nomination, but his subsequent films, including 1973's Slither and the next year's Freebie and the Bean, failed to live up to expectations. James only appeared once with John, Picture from El Dorado 1966.
Born Nelson McDowell on 14 August 1870, Greenville, Missouri, USA, Tall, wiry, and with a bushy mustache, Missouri native Nelson McDowell usually played ranchers, homesteaders, and, increasingly emaciated, comic undertakers, and did it so well that he remains a favorite of B-Western fans everywhere. Often cast as a comic sidekick during the silent era, McDowell also played the music teacher in The Last of the Mohicans twice, in 1920 and 1932, and was Sowerberry in Monogram's version of Oliver Twist (1933). Although the parts grew increasingly smaller, McDowell remained a welcome addition to any B-Western cast until ill health forced his retirement in 1940. At the time of his death, McDowell was functioning as a caretaker for a Hollywood apartment building in which he also resided. Nelson appeared in three movies with John, Picture from Dawn Rider 1935, Nelson passed away on 3 November 1947, Hollywood, California, USA.
Born Leonard Charles Shumway on 4 March 1884 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, Stage actor Lee Shumway first gave the upstart movie industry a try in 1909. He returned to picture-making on a more regular basis in the mid-teens, remaining in Hollywood until his retirement in 1947. On both sides of the talkie revolution, Shumway was most gainfully employed in Westerns and serials, switching from comparative heroics to villainy after the movies learned to talk. Lee Shumway may well be the only actor to have ever appeared with both Bela Lugosi 1935's Mystery of Mr. Wong and Lou Gehrig 1938's Rawhide. Lee appeared in three movies with John, Picture from Flame Of The Barbary Coast 1945, Lee passed away on 4 January 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born Sherry Lee Heimann on 31 July 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Sherry was born in Chicago and pursued an acting career after graduating from Northwestern University. After appearing in two films, Loving 1970 and Rio Lobo 1970, Sherry Lansing decided to leave the acting field. In 1974, Sherry joined Talent Associates, as an executive in charge of development. Three years later, she was appointed vice president in charge of production at Columbia. With the success that she achieved with a number of profitable movies, she was hired as President of 20th Century-Fox. In 1984, she joined Stanley R. Jaffe to form the independent production company, named Jaffee-Lansing. When Jaffee was appointed president of Paramount Communications in 1990, Sherry became Chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group. Sherry only appeared in the one movie with John, Picture from Rio Lobo 1970.
Born Edward Russell Hicks on 4 June 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Tall, distinguished-looking Russell Hicks appeared in almost 300 films in his more than 40-year career although his first known screen appearance was in 1915, he has screenwriting credits as early as 1913, so it's possible his screen debut was earlier than credited. His cultured bearing, grandfatherly appearance and soothing, resonant voice were perfect for the many military officers, attorneys, judges and business executives he excelled at playing. He was especially memorable in an atypical role as oily, fast-talking phony-stock salesman J. Frothington Waterbury in the W.C. Fields classic The Bank Dick (1940). Hicks made his last film in 1956. Russell appeared in four movies with John, Picture from Flame Of The Barbary Coast 1945, Russell passed away on 1 June 1957, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born Robert Taylor Bien on 9 October 1878 in Sacramento, California, USA, As a boy growing up in Sacramento, Robert Warwick sang in his church choir. Encouraged to pursue music as a vocation, Warwick studied in Paris for an operatic career. He abandoned singing for straight acting when, in 1903, he was hired by Clyde Fitch as an understudy in the Broadway play Glad of It. Within a few year, Warwick was a major stage star in New York. He managed to retain his matinee-idol status when he switched from stage to screen, starring in such films as A Modern Othello and Alias Jimmy Valentine and at one point heading his own production company. He returned to the stage in 1920, then resumed his Hollywood career in authoritative supporting roles. His pear-shaped tones ideally suited for talkies, Warwick played such characters as Neptune in Night Life of the Gods (1933), Sir Francis Knolly in Mary of Scotland (1936) and Lord Montague in Romeo and Juliet (1936). He appeared in many of the Errol Flynn "historicals" at Warner Bros. (Prince and the Pauper, Adventures of Robin Hood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex); in more contemporary fare, he could usually be found in a military uniform or wing-collared tuxedo. Robert appeared in three movies with John, Picture from War Of The Wildcats 1943, Robert passed away on 6 June 1964 in West Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born Jorge Pous Ribe on 15 June 1938, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Very handsome and muscular Mexican leading man of Spanish origin, on-screen from the mid-1960s. Ironically, in his debut film he played a masked wrestler and his face was never shown. Jorge Rivero soon became a sex symbol and a major box-office star, and was called by Hollywood to star with John Wayne in Howard Hawks's Rio Lobo (1970). Since the 1980s he has worked only occasionally in Mexican films and soap operas -- he has lived in Southern California for more than a decade -- but shows up in international productions. Jorge only appeared in the one movie with John, Picture from Rio Lobo 1970.