December 2 Birthday Wishes

Frank Reicher [1875 - 1965]
Ray Walston [1914 - 2001]
Bill Erwin [1914 - 2010]
Leo Gordon [1922 - 2000]

Frank Reicher was a German born actor, who is probably best remembered as Captain Englehorn, skipper of the Venture, in King Kong and it's sequel Son of Kong. He also played Prof. Matthew Norman in The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost, Gen. Lew Wallace in Billy The Kid (1930), and was also in a few movies with Roy Rogers, as well as Ninotchka, House of Frankenstein, Samson & Delilah, and Superman and the Mole Man.

Ray Walston will always be remembered for the role of the extraterrestrial Uncle Martin on My Favorite Martian. He appeared on stage and on screen in South Pacific, Damn Yankees, and The Front Page (one of first stage roles in the late 1930s), and later on several TV shows and movies. He had a career resurgence in the 1980s and '90s in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Johnny Dangerously, Night Court, Silver Spoons, Red River (1988, in Walter Brennan's role), The Stand, Picket Fences, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager, and Seventh Heaven. He succumbed to his 6 year long battle with lupus at the age of 86.

Bill Erwin made his debut in the Phil Silvers movie You're In the Army Now in 1942. In the 1950s, he appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Night Runner, and The Cry Baby Killer (playing the father of Jack Nicholson, in his first starring role). In later years, he was several movies directed by John Hughes. He was in several TC shows over the years, earning an Emmy nomination for an episode of Seinfeld.

Leo V. Gordon was once referred to by director Don Seigel as "the scariest man I ever met." A big man with rugged looks, he was a natural as the heavy in crime dramas and Westerns. He played Big Mike McComb on Maverick, and a escaped convict looking for revenge on an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, as well as several other TV appearances, and was also in movies like McLintock and Night of the Grizzly. He was also a writer, scripting episodes of Cheyenne, Lawman, Bonanza, and Adam-12. His first screenplay was The Cry Baby Killer (see above).

Also today:

Donald Woods (1904-1998) acted for 5 decades, in movies A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Anthony Adverse, The Mexican Spitfire, The Beast of 20,000 Fathoms, and True Grit. On TV, he appeared on The Rebel, Laramie, Wagon Train, Bonanza, the starring role on Craig Kennedy, Criminologist, and the role of John Brent on Tammy. He quit acting in 1976 and became a real estate broker in Palm Springs.

Robert F. Simon (1908-1992) made a career of playing authority figures: judges, military officers, politicians. He played the sheriff in Gunman's Walk, Gen. Alfred Terry in the series Custer, and Gen. Maynard Mitchell in the early seasons of MASH. He retired from acting in 1985, and died of a heart attack 3 days before his 84th birthday.

Julie Harris (1925-) is an acclaimed actress of stage, screen, and television. She made her debut in 1952 in The Member of the Wedding, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Then she played with James Dean in East of Eden in 1955, and then in movies like The Haunting, Harper, Journey to Midnight, and Gorillas in the Mist. On TV, she appeared in episodes of Rawhide, Laredo, Bonanza, The Big Valley, and The Virginian, as well as appearing on The Match Game. She's also the winner of 3 Emmy Awards, and a record 5 Tony Awards for Best Leading Actress.

I met Leo Gordon at one of the Tuolumne County, CA's western film festival's back in the mid 1990s. After they served the BBQ Dinner I went over and asked him I could get his autograph. He said, "Sure! "Thanks for remembering me." Remembering him? He must have been on every TV western made in the 50s, 60s and 70s. One of the best fight scenes ever recorded is between Leo and Clint Walker in one of the Cheyenne episodes. He also gave a great peformance as an aging boxer in a Little House on the Prairie episodes.

Howdy Manco!!

Although Leo.V.Gordon was his real name, Leo.G.Gordon was his stage name. Dunno Why?? He also wrote the script for the film, Tobruk, as I recall. Gordon actually served time in prison, if memory serves and in 1 film, which was filmed at a prison, all the other actors were allowed inside without being searched, except Leo. Guess the warden didn't trust him. He was married to actress Lynn Cartwright, who played the older Geena Davis in the film, A League Of Their Own, until his death. I've seen him do the ageing boxer role on Bonanza also. and I think the role called for him to die from a heart attack after the fight. It was the first time I ever felt sorry for Leo.G.Gordon. Even though a lot of fans think that all you have to do to be a villain is be big and mean, Leo demonstrated considerable acting talent in his roles. Towards the end of his career, Gordon played bartenders and character roles, other than villains. He was an excellent actor and one of the very best of the western bad guys. As Don Seigel said "he was really scary"!! Today's bad guys just smile a lot like they know something you don't and I guess they think that's scary. In his younger days, Leo gave you the feeling that you were looking into the eyes of a wolf!!

Ed

Right you are Chain Lightning. Gordon served time in San Quentin Prison and when Don Siegel filmed "Riot in Cell Block 11" (1954) and Leo was part of the cast, several of the guards remembered him from his days there and wouldn't allow him to enter or leave with the rest of the cast. He was searched ever time he entered and left the prison.