Do You Know Me?

[jdb1]

Could I be Ann Doran?..........mel

Mel, you're and Ace. Ann Doran it is.

She was one of those Everymoms on TV when I was young. I love the sound of her dry but pleasant, no-nonsense voice. Her mother was a silent/character actress named Rose Allen.

Doran was the mother in the "My Dog Rusty" series of which I've written, and she was also the mother in the TV version of "National Velvet." And she was the mother in dozens of other TV shows as well.

The movie I alluded to was "Rebel Without a Cause," where she played James Dean's mother. She didn't care much for his Method acting and his prima donna behavior on the set, but when the movie was released, she professed to be satisfied with the results.

[melwalton]

Thanks, Bkln. here's a mystery guest:
I was born in London on the same day ( DAY, not just date ) as a very famous American movie star, Also born in Europe. I got a somewhat late start being in my thirties when I made my first stage appearance but played bit parts and cameos in more than 125 movies; mostly British comedies ( some very good ones ) mostly in the 50s and 60s. I was considered irascible. I wrote two best sellers in my sixties. I never married, which, looking back, surprises me. I know you've seen me in films.

[jdb1]

Thanks, Bkln. here's a mystery guest:
I was born in London on the same day ( DAY, not just date ) as a very famous American movie star, Also born in Europe. I got a somewhat late start being in my thirties when I made my first stage appearance but played bit parts and cameos in more than 125 movies; mostly British comedies ( some very good ones ) mostly in the 50s and 60s. I was considered irascible. I wrote two best sellers in my sixties. I never married, which, looking back, surprises me. I know you've seen me in films.

Mel, I think we need a bit of a boost; something a little more specific to build on.
Thnx.
JDB

[melwalton]

Sorry Bkln. I thought if i picked an unusual one it would stir up more interest. Here's some more info:
The American Star with whom I share the birthday was born either in Berlin or in a Berlin suburb.
My father was an Austrian banker; my mother was French.
My last name has an unusual spelling for English speaking people.
Here's an anecdote about me: While working on a film, the director took me aside and explained how he wanted the scene done, after listening for 15 or 20 minutes, I said, 'That's very nice, Dear but you're confusing me with someone who gives a hoot'. The word 'Hoot' being a Euphemism, of course. As i said, I was irascible. and earthy in my speech.

[jdb1]

Aha.

Are you Irene Handl?

[melwalton]

Right on, Bkln, that's who I am.
Irene Handl was born in London on the same day as Marlene Dietrich who was born in or near Berlin.
In her sixties she wrote 2 best sellers, 'The Sioux' and 'Gold Tip Phitzer'.
Her film count is 148.
Good for you.......mel

[jdb1]

Try this one, Mel (and everyone else):

Do you know me?

My parents were performers on a showboat. I started in the business young, in travelling shows, and formed my own little theater company in Tennessee while still a young man.

I tried my luck in Hollywood, and did well, clocking in almost 300 screen appearances. I worked as a character actor in film and on TV. I've appeared with Superman and Batman. I"ve been in movies with most of Hollywood's biggest stars, like from Mae West to Bogart, and I've even worked with Ed Wood.

I had a thriving career on TV, and had regular roles in several sitcoms. In one comedy show, the writers made a dig at those movie stars of my generation who very prominently took public office: I played a senator and a governor, using my real name. I aslo played a neighbor to a popular real-life couple who were on the air for decades.

Three of my children are journalists. I did voiceover narration work in two documentaries produced by one of them. I also directed in regional theater, in one case directing the famous couple I had worked with on TV. I lived well into my 90s.

Who am I?

[ken123]

For some reason I want to say Lyle Talbot.

[jdb1]

For some reason I want to say Lyle Talbot.

Go with your instincts, Ken. You are right.

The successful sitcom couple alluded to are Ozzie and Harriet. Talbot subsequently directed them in a regional production of The Marriage Go-Round. On Green Acres, Talbot played sometimes The Governor of the state where Hooterville was located, and sometimes Senator Talbot. And then, he was in just about everthing else on TV - sometimes even in the same show as the ever-present Whit Bissell!

[jdb1]

A new Guest:

Do you know me?

Despite my preppy, Ivy League background, on the screen I was almost always cast as an everyday kind of guy. I studied acting on the GI Bill, and for my first stage appearance I won three awards, including a Tony.

Hollywood called, and I had a very long career in films and on TV. I battled our WWII enemies in many movies, and I fought giants in a really popular one. On TV I had my own series for a while, and made dozens of appearances on other shows.

I starred in a film very controversial in its time, dealing with burning social issues. I even sang and danced in another, in partnership with another non-musical actor whose resume was even longer than mine. I am also associated with portrayals of several historical figures.

Who am I?

[jdb1]

Wow - this thread is popular - over 5,000 views so far.

And yet, no one wants to take a stab at identifying our current Mystery Guest. I assure you it's not someone obscure; you likely know him well.

Here's are hints:

I didn't often have the lead in films. My most famous starring role was in a film based on a best-selling, non-fiction book. I adopted a disguise for the role; some might say it was not particularly convincing.

One of the most popular films I co-starred in was science fiction. I met an ugly end in that one.

In the film version of a successful Broadway show, my dancing partner was one of Hollywood's most popular and durable character actors.

[feaito]

Are you Mr. James Whitmore?

[jdb1]

Are you Mr. James Whitmore?

Excellent!

The venerable James Whitmore it is.

He attended Choate Hall and Yale. He had some success on Broadway, and went to Hollywood to play All-American GIs and everyday cops, factory workers and gas pumpers. He was in Them!, where those big ants got him. He had a TV series about a people's lawyer - The Law and Mr. Jones.

Whitmore sang and danced with Keenan Wynn as two gangsters in Kiss Me, Kate. He has done one-man shows on, among others, Harry Truman and Will Rogers. Perhaps his most famous role is in Black Like Me, as the journalist who disguises himself as an African-American to see what life is like in the south (pre-Civil Rights Act - the movie was released in 1964, but the book came out in 1959).

[jdb1]

A new Guest has arrived:

Do you know me?

I studied at the Actors Studio after WWII, but rarely got any "meaty" roles to play in films. I was always the pal, neighbor or assistant of the leads. You can see me in the near distance in many films in the late 40s and 1950s, but even though I had lines, I still got parts that tended to fade into the background.

I co-stared with a chimpanzee, rode with leather-clad bikers and sailed on a mutinous ship. I was also an average guy from the Bronx.

On TV, I had much the same experience as in the movies, but luckily for me, I got a part as a pal in a sitcom that hit it big. The generous producer of that sitcom granted my request that I direct and episode, and it seemed that I had finally found my place. I went on to direct dozens of episodes of some of TV's most popular sitcoms of the 60s and 70s. Serious illness slowed me down by the 1980s, and I passed on relatively young.

Who am I?

[ken123]

Jerry Paris of the Dick Van Dyke Show another a large variety of roles.