See the lean and hungry Cassius below. Can you name our elusive MG now?
Do You Know Me?
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
Alas no, not Gregory either.
See the lean and hungry Cassius below. Can you name our elusive MG now?
See the lean and hungry Cassius below. Can you name our elusive MG now?
Re: Do You Know Me?
I know him, Judith, but the name escapes me and I can't get it outside of using the internet. Was one of his movies All the King's Men? That much I think I have correct.
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
You have got it, Stephen.
As I thought, this MG is a sterling example of an actor you've seen onscreen for years, and in everything, but the name escapes you.
He is Shepperd Strudwick, a/k/a John Shepperd, a/k/a John Sheppard.
A native of North Carolina, Strudwick came from a wealthy family who forsaw a business career for him, but membership in the college drama club (UNC-Chapel Hill) set him on the path to show business.
Strudwick worked steadily for over 50 years on stage, in films and on television. He spent time as a regular on three daytime soap operas, he had roles in just about every television drama anthology program from TV's earliest days, and was a guest star on most of the major TV series from the 1950s on. He had small, medium and large roles in films. Because of his patrician good looks, his studios first tried to make him a leading man (as John Shepperd), but he never quite clicked: too reserved, too tightly wound. So he went into character roles as the good-looking but usually somehow flawed friend, professional man, and so on.
Strudwick's biggest starring role was in The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942), which co-starred Linda Darnell and Harry Morgan (maybe Morgan's biggest role, too). ["Nevermore." Get it?] He was in The Red Pony, A Place in the Sun, and dozens of others.
Strudwick is in a Twilight Zone episode that I have always found rather disturbing-- the one with Janice Rule about her being visited by a younger version of herself who tries to warn her about the mysteriously lurking Strudwick (who, 20 years before, killed Rule's mother). It was a perfect role for him -- he was very good at being the respectible looking man who is actually slightly off kilter.
Stephen is right about All the King's Men. Strudwick played the doctor husband of Joanne Dru, a man who had doubts about the sincerity of Willie Stark, and who, upon finding out that Stark was dallying with his wife, killed him.
Let us give a moment's thought to this excellent character actor who does deserve to be remembered.
As I thought, this MG is a sterling example of an actor you've seen onscreen for years, and in everything, but the name escapes you.
He is Shepperd Strudwick, a/k/a John Shepperd, a/k/a John Sheppard.
A native of North Carolina, Strudwick came from a wealthy family who forsaw a business career for him, but membership in the college drama club (UNC-Chapel Hill) set him on the path to show business.
Strudwick worked steadily for over 50 years on stage, in films and on television. He spent time as a regular on three daytime soap operas, he had roles in just about every television drama anthology program from TV's earliest days, and was a guest star on most of the major TV series from the 1950s on. He had small, medium and large roles in films. Because of his patrician good looks, his studios first tried to make him a leading man (as John Shepperd), but he never quite clicked: too reserved, too tightly wound. So he went into character roles as the good-looking but usually somehow flawed friend, professional man, and so on.
Strudwick's biggest starring role was in The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942), which co-starred Linda Darnell and Harry Morgan (maybe Morgan's biggest role, too). ["Nevermore." Get it?] He was in The Red Pony, A Place in the Sun, and dozens of others.
Strudwick is in a Twilight Zone episode that I have always found rather disturbing-- the one with Janice Rule about her being visited by a younger version of herself who tries to warn her about the mysteriously lurking Strudwick (who, 20 years before, killed Rule's mother). It was a perfect role for him -- he was very good at being the respectible looking man who is actually slightly off kilter.
Stephen is right about All the King's Men. Strudwick played the doctor husband of Joanne Dru, a man who had doubts about the sincerity of Willie Stark, and who, upon finding out that Stark was dallying with his wife, killed him.
Let us give a moment's thought to this excellent character actor who does deserve to be remembered.
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
Say hello to a new Mystery Guest.
I was born in New York City. When I was a child I had a serious accident, which necessitated physical therapy, and one of those physical activities I really enjoyed was dance class. I recovered and kept dancing, attended a professional children's school, and soon I was doing it professionally.
I spent my earliest days on stage in the chorus line, but my cute looks got me noticed, and soon I was understudying bigger parts. I performed in various places, but started to get more and more work on Broadway. When a popular and dynamic musical star took sick, I went on in her place. It proved to be my big break: a very famous Broadway producer saw me, and took me away to be one of the stars of a new production. When that musical was to be filmed in Hollywood, I got to play the same part.
I proved to be very popular, and I got lots of work after that. For a while I was teamed with another cute and wholesome musical star, and we were the cute couple. My studio shaved five years off my real age so that I'd seem a more believable ingenue. I was always rather embarrassed by what I felt were very humble beginnings, so I went along with whatever fanciful stories were concocted about my background.
As I got older, I graduated to dramatic parts, and was cast primarily as the loyal and spunky wife. I did more comedy as well, and an occasional musical, too. In one film I was cast as the bad wife, and it didn't go over very well with the public, so it was back to faithful and stalwart.
In later years, I did more plays on Broadway, a comedy and one or two revivals of musicals. I appeared on many television programs; I also had my own anthology series for a while. My husband was a major player in Hollywood, and I could work, or not work, as I chose. I was also a commercial spokesperson for a long time. Some people said that my sweet screen persona belied a formidible iron will.
Who am I?
I was born in New York City. When I was a child I had a serious accident, which necessitated physical therapy, and one of those physical activities I really enjoyed was dance class. I recovered and kept dancing, attended a professional children's school, and soon I was doing it professionally.
I spent my earliest days on stage in the chorus line, but my cute looks got me noticed, and soon I was understudying bigger parts. I performed in various places, but started to get more and more work on Broadway. When a popular and dynamic musical star took sick, I went on in her place. It proved to be my big break: a very famous Broadway producer saw me, and took me away to be one of the stars of a new production. When that musical was to be filmed in Hollywood, I got to play the same part.
I proved to be very popular, and I got lots of work after that. For a while I was teamed with another cute and wholesome musical star, and we were the cute couple. My studio shaved five years off my real age so that I'd seem a more believable ingenue. I was always rather embarrassed by what I felt were very humble beginnings, so I went along with whatever fanciful stories were concocted about my background.
As I got older, I graduated to dramatic parts, and was cast primarily as the loyal and spunky wife. I did more comedy as well, and an occasional musical, too. In one film I was cast as the bad wife, and it didn't go over very well with the public, so it was back to faithful and stalwart.
In later years, I did more plays on Broadway, a comedy and one or two revivals of musicals. I appeared on many television programs; I also had my own anthology series for a while. My husband was a major player in Hollywood, and I could work, or not work, as I chose. I was also a commercial spokesperson for a long time. Some people said that my sweet screen persona belied a formidible iron will.
Who am I?
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
Our MG was a very big star. I'm trying not to be too specific with the clues.
Our MG co-starred in several movies as the wife of another very big star who was more than a foot taller than she. In one of those films she was the wife of a military commander. It was a subject very close to her co-star's heart. In another she was the wife of a unique athlete. In another, the wife of a musician. That movie had a sad ending. Our MG had to wear very high heels in all these movies.
Our MG co-starred in several movies as the wife of another very big star who was more than a foot taller than she. In one of those films she was the wife of a military commander. It was a subject very close to her co-star's heart. In another she was the wife of a unique athlete. In another, the wife of a musician. That movie had a sad ending. Our MG had to wear very high heels in all these movies.
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
Yes, yes, yes!
Allyson was hit by a falling tree branch when she was a child, and spent several years in a back brace. She swam and took dance class to help the healing process.
She filled in for an ailing Betty Hutton in the Broadway production of "Panama Hattie" and was spotted by George Abbott, who put her in his production of "Best Foot Forward." Allyson recreated her role in that play in Hollywood, and was on her way to stardom. The powers that be at MGM thought that a birth date of 1917 would make her seem too old to be an ingenue in the early 1940s, so they changed her birth year to 1922.
Interestingly, Allyson had been in films before. In the 1930s she appeared as in film productions of the Educational Films studio of New York (any one of us who went to public school in the 50s and 60s knows those films all too well), and was also in a number of musical shorts for the Brooklyn Vitagraph Studio during that time period.
She was paired with Van Johnson in some of her early musicals, and was the tiny screen wife of tall James Stewart in several films in the 1950s. Allyson played the shrewish wife of Jose Ferrer in The Shrike, but the public didn't like her that way.
In later life Allyson was the spokeswoman for Depends undergarments.
Allyson was hit by a falling tree branch when she was a child, and spent several years in a back brace. She swam and took dance class to help the healing process.
She filled in for an ailing Betty Hutton in the Broadway production of "Panama Hattie" and was spotted by George Abbott, who put her in his production of "Best Foot Forward." Allyson recreated her role in that play in Hollywood, and was on her way to stardom. The powers that be at MGM thought that a birth date of 1917 would make her seem too old to be an ingenue in the early 1940s, so they changed her birth year to 1922.
Interestingly, Allyson had been in films before. In the 1930s she appeared as in film productions of the Educational Films studio of New York (any one of us who went to public school in the 50s and 60s knows those films all too well), and was also in a number of musical shorts for the Brooklyn Vitagraph Studio during that time period.
She was paired with Van Johnson in some of her early musicals, and was the tiny screen wife of tall James Stewart in several films in the 1950s. Allyson played the shrewish wife of Jose Ferrer in The Shrike, but the public didn't like her that way.
In later life Allyson was the spokeswoman for Depends undergarments.
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
Hello, all. I have a Mystery Guest for you -- there isn't all that much biographical information about this MG, so this will be brief:
I was born in LA and went to one of those schools that promises to make you a star. I got some work as a model, though not a fashion model, and I had some success as a chorus girl. I went to NYC and pranced around in quite a few choruses, where I was spotted by George Raft, who liked what he saw.
Raft brought me to Hollywood. I had a very long career playing "dames." I had about 150 screen appearances. I was blonde, cute, had a way with a zinger; in fact, people have said that my screen personality was pretty close to my real personality, and in my youth I had hobnobbed with plenty of men on the wrong side of the law.
I worked on radio, and later did quite a lot of television, too. Late in my career I worked with the Disney Studio, and was in about a dozen Disney family films; some of my roles were very small, and some of more substance.
I was never a lead player, but I worked with Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Jack Benny, and many others, in radio, film, TV and the stage. I was in poverty row movies and the big budget kind as well. When you saw my face on the screen, you instantly knew what the character was all about.
Who am I?
I was born in LA and went to one of those schools that promises to make you a star. I got some work as a model, though not a fashion model, and I had some success as a chorus girl. I went to NYC and pranced around in quite a few choruses, where I was spotted by George Raft, who liked what he saw.
Raft brought me to Hollywood. I had a very long career playing "dames." I had about 150 screen appearances. I was blonde, cute, had a way with a zinger; in fact, people have said that my screen personality was pretty close to my real personality, and in my youth I had hobnobbed with plenty of men on the wrong side of the law.
I worked on radio, and later did quite a lot of television, too. Late in my career I worked with the Disney Studio, and was in about a dozen Disney family films; some of my roles were very small, and some of more substance.
I was never a lead player, but I worked with Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Jack Benny, and many others, in radio, film, TV and the stage. I was in poverty row movies and the big budget kind as well. When you saw my face on the screen, you instantly knew what the character was all about.
Who am I?
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moira finnie
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jdb1
Re: Do You Know Me?
You are correct, Moira. Well done.moirafinnie wrote:Could it be Iris Adrian?
Adrian made a very successful career out of playing floozies, and did it for years and years. After a long career in which she took great satisfation, she came to unfortunate end, dying in 1994 from injuries sustained in a California earthquake.
There is a very charming print interview with Adrian, conducted by John Gallagher, on the National Board of Review website.
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moira finnie
- Administrator
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Re: Do You Know Me?
Thanks for finding that interview, found here, Judith. I don't know much about Adrian, but her long career deserves more attention. She also sounds like a very down-to-earth hoot in her replies in that interview. The National Board of Review has a slew of interesting features on their site, which might interest others.
Here's one that is probably easy for most members:
Who Am I?
Southern-born, tall (6'2"), and somehow child-like in appearance during his 54 years on-screen, he began in silents while visiting Hollywood while still in high school. He went on to work with silent comic actors Reginald Denny and Harold Lloyd, making his sound debut in one of Leo McCarey's early talkies. The director used him as much as possible, utilizing his soft Southern accent and expressively shy yet somewhat testy, frustrated demeanor in numerous films, which eventually led to his becoming a favorite of other prominent directors in the '30s, including George Stevens, Gregory LaCava William Wellman, and George Cukor. He became a part of the casts featuring Laurel and Hardy as well as memorable roles in W.C. Fields, who recognized his utility as a foil for their humor.
Rarely on-screen for more than a moment or two, his plump presence and his perennial befuddlement kept him in college on-screen throughout the '30s, though he eventually essayed the parts of annoying bureaucrats, desk clerks and unlikely bridegrooms. In the last years of his long career, (he ultimately appeared in over 200 films), his work included classic musicals, comic Westerns and edgy dramas in the '60s and '70s.
When a fan approached the reclusive actor in 1988 (when he was 80) and asked for an autograph, he is reported to have said, "Haven't you anything better to do with your life than this?"
Here's one that is probably easy for most members:
Who Am I?
Southern-born, tall (6'2"), and somehow child-like in appearance during his 54 years on-screen, he began in silents while visiting Hollywood while still in high school. He went on to work with silent comic actors Reginald Denny and Harold Lloyd, making his sound debut in one of Leo McCarey's early talkies. The director used him as much as possible, utilizing his soft Southern accent and expressively shy yet somewhat testy, frustrated demeanor in numerous films, which eventually led to his becoming a favorite of other prominent directors in the '30s, including George Stevens, Gregory LaCava William Wellman, and George Cukor. He became a part of the casts featuring Laurel and Hardy as well as memorable roles in W.C. Fields, who recognized his utility as a foil for their humor.
Rarely on-screen for more than a moment or two, his plump presence and his perennial befuddlement kept him in college on-screen throughout the '30s, though he eventually essayed the parts of annoying bureaucrats, desk clerks and unlikely bridegrooms. In the last years of his long career, (he ultimately appeared in over 200 films), his work included classic musicals, comic Westerns and edgy dramas in the '60s and '70s.
When a fan approached the reclusive actor in 1988 (when he was 80) and asked for an autograph, he is reported to have said, "Haven't you anything better to do with your life than this?"
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moira finnie
- Administrator
- Posts: 8024
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- Location: Earth
- Contact:
Re: Do You Know Me?
Our next mystery guest comes to us from England, where he started on the stage as a child of eight years. He progressed to the London stage at the ripe old age of 11, in a favorite play that ran for 25 years.
After touring for several years after school, including Australian theaters, he went back to London and then on to America, where he starred opposite one of the powerhouses of the Broadway stage, who also became a life-long friend.
Once he moved to Hollywood, his career in film endured for over 39 years. He worked with some of the most famous leading ladies of the day, and was married to one for 6 years.
He was Oscar nominated for his performance of a doomed king, he was a famous sleuth, a befuddled Romeo, a conniving boss.
Who is he?
After touring for several years after school, including Australian theaters, he went back to London and then on to America, where he starred opposite one of the powerhouses of the Broadway stage, who also became a life-long friend.
Once he moved to Hollywood, his career in film endured for over 39 years. He worked with some of the most famous leading ladies of the day, and was married to one for 6 years.
He was Oscar nominated for his performance of a doomed king, he was a famous sleuth, a befuddled Romeo, a conniving boss.
Who is he?