Charley Grapewin was a trapeze artist and Vaudeville performer who started making films at the turn of the 20th Century, and would known for roles like Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz, Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Raod, and Inspector Queen in the Ellery Queen movies.
Albert Dekker was one of those actor that was good at playing the heavy, which he did in so many Westerns. He was also in the sci-fi film Dr. Cyclops, and was an accomplished stage actor. He served a term in the California State assembly from 1945-47. His last role was the corrupt railroad detective in The Wild Bunch. He died in a bizarre manner akin to David Carradine's.
Audrey Totter was cast mostly in film noir movies in the 1940s, including The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Lady in the Lake, and The Set-Up. she later appeared in many TV shows, including regular roles on Cimarron City, and Medical Center. Her last role was on an episode of Murder She Wrote in 1987.
Tom Gries was a writer and director who worked on many TV series in the 1950s and '60s, and had his greatest success with the 1968 Western Will Penny starring Charlton Heston. He would later direct the Westerns 100 Rifles (with Burt Reynolds and Racquel Welch) and Breakheart Pass (with Charles Bronson), which were less successful, as well as the TV film Helter Skelter, based on the true crime book by LA County Asst. DA Vincent Bugliosi about the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Charles Manson "Family." He died from a heart attack while playing tennis during post production of Mohammed Ali biography The Greatest.
Mala Powers was 11 years old when she first appeared on screen in a Dead End Kids film, and by 16 was performing on radio. She started acting in 1950, and was cast by Stanley Kramer opposite Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. In 1951, she nearly died from a rare blood disease while on a USO tour in Korea. She made over 100 TV appearances, on shows like Maverick, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Perry Mason, and Hazel. In the 1970s, she wrote several children's books, and later in her life she was an acting teacher for the Michael Chekov Theater Institute. she died of complications from leukemia at the age of 75.
Also Today:
George Roy Hill (1921-2002) was a director who helmed films like Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, The Great Waldo Pepper, Slaughterhouse-Five, The World According to Garp, Slap Shot, and The Sting, for which he won the Oscar for Best Director.
John Hillerman (1932-) always came off aa snooty Englishman, but was born in Texas. He appeared in High Plains Drifter, Blazing Saddles, an Chinatown, along with the TV series The Betty White Show, but is best remembered for his Emmy winning role as Higgins on Magnum, PI.
by Laramie Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:26 pm
Subject: December 20 Birthday Wishes 
