Roddy McDowall

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Roddy McDowall
McDowall in 1988
Born
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall

(1928-09-17)17 September 1928
Herne Hill, London, England
Died3 October 1998(1998-10-03) (aged 70)
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
United States (after 1949)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • photographer
  • writer
Years active1938–1998
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1946–1954
1960–1962
RankCorporal
UnitOrganized Reserve Corps
77th Infantry Division
Battles/warsKorean War

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor, whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years.[1] Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his native England, before moving to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. He achieved prominence for his starring roles in How Green Was My Valley (1941), My Friend Flicka (1943), and Lassie Come Home (1943). Unlike many of his contemporaries, McDowall managed to transition his child stardom into adulthood, and began to appear on Broadway as well in films, winning a Tony Award for his performance in Jean Anouilh's The Fighting Cock. For portraying Octavian in the historical epic Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

McDowall was also known for playing Cornelius and Caesar in the original Planet of the Apes film series, as well as Galen in the short-lived spin-off television series. His other notable films included Orson Welles' Macbeth (1948), The Longest Day (1962), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), That Darn Cat! (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Funny Lady (1975), The Black Hole (1979), Fright Night (1985) and its sequel Fright Night Part 2 (1988), Overboard (1987) and A Bug's Life (1998). He was also a frequent guest star on many television series, and won an Emmy Award for a 1961 episode of NBC Sunday Showcase.

McDowall also served in various positions on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Selection Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors, further contributing to various charities related to the film industry and film preservation. He was a founding Member of the National Film Preservation Board in 1989, and represented the Screen Actors Guild on this Board until his death. Aside from his acting career, McDowall was also active as a photographer and journalist, particularly of celebrities.

For his contributions to the film and television industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

McDowall was born at 204 Herne Hill Road, Herne Hill, London, the only son of London-born Thomas Andrew McDowall (1896–1978), a merchant seaman of distant Scottish descent, and his Irish wife Winifred (née Corcoran).[2][3][4] Both of his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He and his elder sister, Virginia, were raised in their mother's Catholic faith. He attended St Joseph's College, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, a Roman Catholic secondary school in London.[5]

British films[edit]

After appearing as a child model as a baby, McDowall appeared in several films as a boy. After winning an acting prize in a school play at age nine, he started appearing in films: Murder in the Family (1938), I See Ice (1938) with George Formby, John Halifax (1938) and Scruffy (1938).[6]

McDowall appeared in Convict 99 (1938) and Hey! Hey! USA (1938) with Will Hay, Yellow Sands (1938), The Outsider (1939), Murder Will Out (1939), Dead Man's Shoes (1940), Just William (1940), Saloon Bar (1940), You Will Remember (1941), and This England (1941).

Early US films[edit]

McDowall's family moved to the United States in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II. He became a naturalized United States citizen on 9 December 1949,[6] and lived in the United States for the rest of his life. McDowall served in the 67th Armored Battalion of the United States Army Organized Reserve Corps (headquartered in Los Angeles) from 1946 to 1954, spanning the end of World War II to the Korean War.[7] He later served in the 77th Infantry Division between 1960 and 1962.[7]

McDowall's American career began with a part in the 1941 thriller Man Hunt, directed by Fritz Lang. It was made by 20th Century Fox, which also produced McDowall's next film How Green Was My Valley (1941), where he met and became lifelong friends with actress Maureen O'Hara. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and McDowall's role as Huw Morgan made him a household name.[6]

Fox put him in another war film, Confirm or Deny (1941), then he played Tyrone Power as a boy in Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942).

Stardom[edit]

McDowall in Lassie Come Home (1943)

Fox promoted McDowall to top billing for On the Sunny Side (1942). He was billed second to Monty Woolley in The Pied Piper (1942), playing a war orphan, then he had top billing again for an adaptation of My Friend Flicka (1942).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed McDowall for the star role in Lassie Come Home (1943), a film that introduced Elizabeth Taylor, an actress who became another lifelong friend. MGM kept him on to play a leading role in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

Back at Fox, he played Gregory Peck as a young man in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). In 1944, exhibitors voted McDowall the number four "Star of Tomorrow".[8]

Fox gave McDowall another starring vehicle with Thunderhead – Son of Flicka (1945). The studio reunited him with Woolley in Molly and Me (1945), which was made as an attempt to turn Gracie Fields into a Hollywood star.

McDowall returned to MGM to support Walter Pidgeon in Holiday in Mexico (1946).

Theatre[edit]

McDowall turned to the theatre, taking the title role of Young Woodley in a summer stock production in Westport, Connecticut in July 1946.[9]

In 1947, he played Malcolm in Orson Welles's stage production of Macbeth in Salt Lake City, and he played the same role in the actor-director's film version in 1948.[6]

Monogram Pictures[edit]

McDowall and Roland Winters in Killer Shark (1950)

McDowall then signed a three-year contract with Monogram Pictures, a low-budget studio that welcomed established stars, to make two films a year.[10]

McDowall starred in seven films for them, for which he also worked as associate producer: Rocky (1948), a boy and dog story directed by Phil Karlson; Kidnapped (1948), an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story, where he played David Balfour, directed by William Beaudine; Tuna Clipper (1949), a fishing tale, again directed by Beaudine; Black Midnight (1949), a horse story directed by Budd Boetticher; Killer Shark (1950), a shark hunting tale, again with Boetticher; Big Timber (1950), as a logger; The Steel Fist (1952), an anti-communist drama.[11]

1950s: Television and theatre[edit]

McDowall left Hollywood to move to New York City. He began appearing on television, notably shows like Celanese Theatre, Broadway Television Theatre, Medallion Theatre, Campbell Summer Soundstage, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Encounter, Robert Montgomery Presents (including an adaptation of Great Expectations where he played Pip), The Elgin Hour, Ponds Theater, General Electric Theater, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Lux Video Theatre, Goodyear Playhouse, The Alcoa Hour, Kraft Theatre, Matinee Theatre, Suspicion, Playhouse 90 (in an adaptation of Heart of Darkness), The United States Steel Hour, The DuPont Show of the Month (an adaptation of Billy Budd) and The Twilight Zone (the episode "People Are Alike All Over").

McDowall also had significant success on the Broadway stage. He was in a production of Misalliance (1953) that ran for 130 performances and which McDowall said "broke the mould" in how he was judged as an actor.[12]

He followed it with Escapade (1953) with Carroll Baker and Brian Aherne; Ira Levin's No Time for Sergeants (1955–57), which was a huge hit;[13] Diary of a Scoundrel (1956); and Good as Gold (1957).

He had a big critical success with Compulsion (1957–58) based on Leopold and Loeb – although McDowall was not cast in the film version. He followed it with Handful of Fire (1958), Noël Coward's Look After Lulu! (1959) and Peter Brook's The Fighting Cock (1960). The latter earned him a Tony Award.

1960: Return to Hollywood[edit]

McDowall as Mordred with Richard Burton in the Broadway musical Camelot (1960)

McDowall was in another big Broadway hit when he played Mordred in the musical Camelot (1960–63) with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton.[14]

He played Ariel in a TV production of The Tempest (1960) with Richard Burton and Maurice Evans,[15] then appeared in his first film in almost a decade, The Subterraneans (1960). He followed it with Midnight Lace (1960).

McDowall continued to work on television in shows such as Sunday Showcase, Naked City, and Play of the Week. He was in a TV production of The Power and the Glory (1961) with Laurence Olivier, George C. Scott and Julie Harris.

In 1963, McDowall appeared as Octavian in the film production of Cleopatra, which starred Elizabeth Taylor. While filming in Europe, he appeared in Fox's war film The Longest Day (1962). He continued to guest on television series such as Arrest and Trial, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Eleventh Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Combat!, Ben Casey, Twelve O'Clock High, Run for Your Life, The Invaders, and appeared as a Special Guest Villain as The Bookworm on Batman.

He had supporting roles in Fox's Shock Treatment (1964) and United Artists' The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). He was third billed in The Third Day (1965) and received billing as a member of the ensemble cast in The Loved One (1965). McDowall went to Disney for That Darn Cat! (1965) and had a role in Inside Daisy Clover (1965).

McDowall was given a starring role in Lord Love a Duck (1966). He also appeared in The Defector (1966) and returned briefly to Broadway for The Astrakhan Coat (1967).[16]

Disney gave him the star role in The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) and he was top billed in The Cool Ones (1967) and It! (1967). He was in a TV production of Saint Joan (1967) and provided the voice for Cricket on the Hearth (1967). He guest-starred in the series The Felony Squad.

McDowall in full costume, with co-stars Ron Harper (front) and James Naughton (back), in the Planet of the Apes TV series (1974)

In 1968, McDowall appeared in one of his memorable roles when he was cast in Planet of the Apes as the ape Cornelius. He appeared in three sequels and a TV spin-off from the film.

He was Prince John in The Legend of Robin Hood (1968) for TV, and appeared in 5 Card Stud (1968), Journey to the Unknown, It Takes a Thief, Midas Run (1969), Hello Down There (1969), Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969), Night Gallery (1969), The Name of the Game and Medical Center.

1970s[edit]

McDowall made his debut as director with The Ballad of Tam Lin (1970).[17]

As an actor he was in Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971). McDowall was not in the first Apes sequel but was in the second, Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). He was in the television film Terror in the Sky (1971), What's a Nice Girl Like You...? (1971) and A Taste of Evil (1971) and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

He guest starred on Ironside, The Carol Burnett Show, Columbo (1972, "Short Fuse"), The Delphi Bureau, The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, Barnaby Jones and McCloud.

McDowall made his third Apes film with 1972's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. He had supporting roles in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and starred in a pilot that did not go to series, Topper Returns (1973), and The Legend of Hell House (1973).[18]

His final Apes film was Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). He also appeared in McMillan & Wife, Love, American Style, Arnold (1973), a remake of Miracle on 34th Street (1973), The Elevator (1974), and The Snoop Sisters also (1974) an uncredited appearance as a grocery store manager in the film Dirty Mary Crazy Larry.

He starred in the short lived TV spin-off series of Planet of the Apes (1974). During a guest appearance on The Carol Burnett Show, he came onstage in his Planet of the Apes makeup and performed a love duet with Burnett.[19]

Asked about his career in a 1975 interview, McDowall said "I just hope to keep working and in interesting things."[20]

Late 1970s[edit]

For the rest of the 1970s, McDowall alternated between features, TV films and TV series. Features included Funny Lady (1975), Mean Johnny Barrows (1976), Embryo (1976), Sixth and Main (1977), Laserblast (1978), Rabbit Test (1978), The Cat from Outer Space (1978) for Disney, Circle of Iron (1978), Scavenger Hunt (1979), Nutcracker Fantasy (1979) (doing voice over for the English language edition), and Disney's The Black Hole (1979) in which he voiced one of the robot roles.

TV series included Police Woman, Mowgli's Brothers, Harry O, The Feather and Father Gang, Wonder Woman, Flying High, The Love Boat, $weepstake$, Supertrain, Hart to Hart, A Man Called Sloane, Trapper John, M.D. (the pilot episode), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ("Planet of the Slave Girls") and Mork & Mindy. He also had a regular role in the short-lived sci-fi series The Fantastic Journey (1977).

TV films included Flood! (1977), The Rhinemann Exchange (1978), The Immigrants (1978), and The Thief of Baghdad (1978).

Early 1980s[edit]

McDowall's TV film /miniseries work in the 1980s included The Martian Chronicles (1980), The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980), The Return of the King (1980) (on which he did voice over work), The Million Dollar Face (1981), Judgement Day (1981), Twilight Theatre (1982), Mae West (1982), This Girl for Hire (1983), The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984), '[London and Davis in New York (1984), Hollywood Wives (1985), and Alice in Wonderland (1985).

TV series included Boomer and Miss 21st Century, Fantasy Island (several times), Faerie Tale Theatre, Tales of the Gold Monkey (a series regular), Small and Frye, Hotel, and George Burns Comedy Week.

McDowall's features included Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Class of 1984 (1984), and the cult classic horror Fright Night (1985).

Voice-over work and late 1980s[edit]

McDowall had voice over roles in Zoo Ship (1985), GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986), and The Wind in the Willows (1987). TV series included Bridges to Cross (1986) (in which McDowall was a regular), The Wizard, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and Nightmare Classics, and TV films included Remo Williams: The Prophecy and Around the World in 80 Days (1989).

In 1987, he had supporting roles in Dead of Winter and Overboard, on which he also served as executive producer. Other features included Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988), Fright Night Part 2 (1989), The Big Picture (1989), Cutting Class (1989), and Heroes Stand Alone (1989).

In 1989, he said "I feel as Henry Fonda did that every job I get may be my last. I'm one of those creatures born to be working. I feel better when I'm working. I don't like it when I'm not working and I've never worked as much as I want to."[21]

1990s[edit]

McDowall in 1997

McDowall's 1990s work included The Color of Evening (1990), Shakma (1990), Going Under (1990), An Inconvenient Woman (1991), Earth Angel (1991), Deadly Game (1991), The Naked Target (1992), Double Trouble (1992), The New Lassie (1992), Quantum Leap (A Leap for Lisa) (1992), The Evil Inside Me (1993), I Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampaire (1993 audio book), Dream On, Heads (1994), Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (1994), Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994), Burke's Law, Angel 4: Undercover (1994), The Alien Within (1995), The Grass Harp (1995), Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995), Bullet Hearts (1996), Star Hunter (1996), It's My Party (1996), Tracey Takes On..., Dead Man's Island, Remember WENN, Unlikely Angel (1996), The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo (1997), Something to Believe In (1998), and Loss of Faith (1998).

He voiced the Mad Hatter in the DC Animated Universe. He also did voice work for The Pirates of Dark Water (1991–92), Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas (1992), Camp Candy, The Legend of Prince Valiant (1992), Darkwing Duck (1992), 2 Stupid Dogs, Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron, Red Planet, The Tick, Galaxy Beat, Gargoyles, Duckman, Pinky and the Brain, A Bug's Life (1998), and Godzilla: The Series.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1993, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.[citation needed]

In 1997, McDowall hosted the MGM Musicals Tribute at Carnegie Hall.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences[edit]

McDowall served for several years in various capacities on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation that presents the Oscar Awards, and on the selection committee for the Kennedy Center Awards. He was Chairman of the Actors' Branch for five terms. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation in 1998, the year that he died. He worked to support the Motion Pictures Retirement Home, where a rose garden named in his honour was officially dedicated on 9 October 2001 and remains a part of the campus.[22]

Photographer and author[edit]

McDowall received recognition as a photographer, working with Look, Vogue, Collier's, and Life. His work includes a cover story on Mae West for Life and the cover of the 1964 Barbra Streisand album, The Third Album. He took the photograph when Streisand performed on The Judy Garland Show in October 1963.

He published five books of photographs, each featuring photos and profile interviews of his celebrity friends interviewing each other, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Judy Holliday, Maureen O'Hara, Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, and others. It started with Double Exposure in 1968.[23][24]

Personal life[edit]

McDowall was a Democrat and was supportive of Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.[25]

In 1974, the FBI raided McDowall's home and seized his collection of films and television series in the course of an investigation into film piracy and copyright infringement. His collection consisted of 160 16-mm prints and more than 1,000 video cassettes, at a time before the era of commercial videotapes, when there was no legal aftermarket for films. McDowall had purchased Errol Flynn's home cinema films and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage. No charges were filed.[26]

McDowall never married or had children. In Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars (2012) by Scotty Bowers, a famous Hollywood procurer, Bowers claims McDowall was one of his homosexual clients.[27]

McDowall was in a relationship with American actor Montgomery Clift for several years in the early 1950s.[28][29]

Death[edit]

On 3 October 1998 at age 70, McDowall died of lung cancer at his home in Studio City, California.[30] His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean on 7 October 1998 off Los Angeles County.[31] Dennis Osborne, a screenwriter, had cared for McDowall in his final months, and was quoted as saying, "It was very peaceful. It was just as he wanted it. It was exactly the way he planned."[32]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1938 Convict 99 N/A
1938 Murder in the Family Peter Osborne
1938 John Halifax Boy
1939 Poison Pen Choir Boy Uncredited
1940 His Brother's Keeper Boy
1940 Dead Man's Shoes Boy
1940 Just William Ginger
1940 Saloon Bar Boy
1941 You Will Remember Young Bob Slater
1941 Man Hunt Vaner
1941 This England Hugo
1941 How Green Was My Valley Huw Morgan
1941 Confirm or Deny Albert Perkins
1942 Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake Young Benjamin Blake
1942 On the Sunny Side Hugh Aylesworth
1942 The Pied Piper Ronnie Cavanaugh
1943 My Friend Flicka Ken McLaughlin
1943 Lassie Come Home Joe Carraclough
1944 The White Cliffs of Dover Young John Ashwood
1944 The Keys of the Kingdom Young Francis Chisholm
1945 Thunderhead, Son of Flicka Ken McLaughlin
1945 Molly and Me Jimmy Graham
1946 Holiday in Mexico Stanley Owen
1948 Rocky Chris Hammond
1948 Macbeth Malcolm
1948 Kidnapped David Balfour
1949 Tuna Clipper Alec MacLennan
1949 Black Midnight Scott Jordan
1950 Big Timber Jimmy
1950 Killer Shark Ted
1952 The Steel Fist Eric Kardin
1958 The Big Country Hannassey Watchman Uncredited
1960 The Subterraneans Yuri Gilgoric
1960 Midnight Lace Malcolm Stanley
1962 The Longest Day Pvt. Morris
1963 Cleopatra Octavian
1964 Shock Treatment Martin Ashley
1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told Matthew
1965 That Darn Cat! Gregory Benson
1965 The Third Day Oliver Parsons
1965 The Loved One D.J. Jr.
1965 Inside Daisy Clover Walter Baines
1966 Lord Love a Duck Alan Musgrave
1966 The Defector Agent Adams
1967 The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin Bullwhip Griffin
1967 The Cool Ones Tony Krum
1967 It! Arthur Pimm
1968 Planet of the Apes Cornelius
1968 5 Card Stud Nick Evers
1969 Midas Run Wister
1969 Hello Down There Nate Ashbury
1969 Angel, Angel, Down We Go Santoro
1971 Pretty Maids All in a Row Proffer
1971 Escape from the Planet of the Apes Cornelius
1971 Terror in the Sky Ralph Baird
1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks Rowan Jelk
1972 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Caesar
1972 The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean Frank Gass
1972 The Poseidon Adventure Acres
1973 Arnold Robert
1973 The Legend of Hell House Benjamin Franklin Fischer
1973 Battle for the Planet of the Apes Caesar
1974 Dirty Mary Crazy Larry Grocery Store Manager
1975 Funny Lady Bobby
1976 Mean Johnny Barrows Tony Da Vince
1976 Embryo Frank Riley
1977 Sixth and Main Skateboard
1978 Laserblast Dr. Mellon
1978 The Cat from Outer Space Mr. Stallwood
1978 Circle of Iron White Robe
1978 The Thief of Baghdad Hasan
1979 Scavenger Hunt Jenkins
1979 Nutcracker Fantasy Franz/Fritz [33]
1979 The Black Hole V.I.N.CENT. Voice
1981 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Gillespie
1982 Evil Under the Sun Rex Brewster
1982 Class of 1984 Terry Corrigan
1985 Fright Night Peter Vincent
1986 GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords Nuggit Voice
1986 Friends Are Forever: Tales of the Little Princess Zak the Cat Voice
1987 Dead of Winter Mr. Murray
1987 Overboard Andrew
1988 Doin' Time on Planet Earth Minister
1988 Fright Night Part 2 Peter Vincent
1989 The Big Picture Judge
1989 Cutting Class Mr. Dante
1990 Shakma Sorenson
1991 Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas Narrator Voice
1991 Going Under Secretary Neighbor
1992 Double Trouble Philip Chamberlain
1993 The Evil Inside Me Pauly
1993 The Return of Captain Sinbad Narrator Voice
1994 Mirror, Mirror II: Raven Dance Dr. Lasky
1995 The Grass Harp Amos Legrand
1995 The Alien Within Dr. Henry Lazarus
1995 Last Summer in the Hamptons Thomas
1995 Star Hunter Riecher
1996 It's My Party Damian Knowles
1997 The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo King Murphy
1998 Something to Believe In Gambler
1998 A Bug's Life Mr. Soil Voice[33]
1998 Star Power: The Creation of United Artists Narrator (voice) Posthumous release (final film role)

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1951 Family Theatre Private Huntington (The Professor) Episode: "Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration"
1960 The Twilight Zone Sam Conrad Episode: "People Are Alike All Over"
1960 The Tempest Ariel Television film
1961 Naked City Donnie Benton Episode: "The Fault in Our Stars"
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour George, Gerald Musgrove 2 episodes
1964 Combat! Murfree Episode: "The Long Walk"
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Robert "Professor" Benson Episode: "The Wine-Dark Sea"
1965 Ben Casey Dwight Franklin Episode: "When I am grown to Man's Estate"
1966 12 O'Clock High Technical Sergeant Willets Episode: "Angel Babe"
1966 Batman Bookworm 2 episodes
1966 Run for Your Life Gyula Bognar Episode: "Don't Count on Tomorrow"
1967 The Cricket on the Hearth Cricket Crocket Voice, television film[33]
1967 The Invaders Lloyd Lindstrom Episode: "The Experiment"
1968 The Legend of Robin Hood Prince John Episode dated 18 February 1968
1969 Journey to the Unknown Rollo Verdew Episode: "The Killing Bottle"
1969 It Takes a Thief Roger Episode: "Boom at the Top"
1969 Night Gallery Jeremy Evans Segment: "The Cemetery"
1969 The Name of the Game Philip Saxon Episode: "The White Birch"
1970 The Name of the Game Early McCorley Episode: "Why I Blew Up Dakota"
1971 Terror in the Sky Dr. Ralph Baird Television film
1971 A Taste of Evil Dr. Michael Lomas Television film
1971 What's a Nice Girl Like You...? Albert Soames Television film
1972 Columbo Roger Stanford Episode: "Short Fuse"
1972 The Rookies: Dirge for Sunday Fenner Episode: "Dirge for Sunday"
1972 Mission: Impossible Leo Ostro Episode: "The Puppet"
1973–1974 The Carol Burnett Show Himself – Guest
1973 Barnaby Jones Stanley Lambert Episode: "See Some Evil... Do Some Evil"
1973 Miracle on 34th Street Dr. Sawyer 1973 remake, television film
1973 McMillan & Wife Jamie McMillan Episode: "Death of a Monster... Birth of a Legend"
1974 Planet of the Apes Galen 14 episodes
1974 The Elevator Marvin Ellis Television film
1976 Ellery Queen The Amazing Armitage Episode: "The Adventure of the Black Falcon"
1976 Flood! Mr. Franklin Television film
1976 Mowgli's Brothers Narrator, Mowgli, Shere Khan, Baloo, Bagheera, Tabaqui Voice, television short
1977 The Feather and Father Gang Vincent Stoddard Episode: "The Mayan Connection"
1977 The Rhinemann Exchange Bobby Ballard 3 episodes
1977 The Fantastic Journey Dr. Jonathan Willoway 8 episodes
1977 Wonder Woman Henry Roberts, Professor Arthur Chapman 2 episodes
1978 The Immigrants Mark Levy Television film
1978 The Thief of Baghdad Hasan Television film
1979 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Governor Saroyan Episode: "Planet of the Slave Girls"
1979 $weepstake$ Theodore Episode: "Billy, Wally and Ludmilla, and Theodore"
1979 Supertrain Talcott Episode: "The Green Lady"
1979 Fantasy Island Gary Pointer 1 episode
1979 Hart to Hart Dr. Peterson Episode: "Hart to Hart"
1979 The Love Boat Fred Beery Episode: "Second Chance/Don't Push Me/Like Father, Like Son" S2 E16
1979 Mork & Mindy Chuck the Robot Voice, episode: "Dr. Morkenstein"
1980 The Martian Chronicles Father Stone 3 episodes
1980 The Memory of Eva Ryker MacFarland Television film
1980 The Return of the King Samwise Gamgee Voice, television film
1980–1981 Fantasy Island Mephistopheles 2 episodes
1981 The Million Dollar Face Derek Kenyon Television film
1982–1983 Tales of the Gold Monkey Bon Chance Louie 20 episodes
1984 The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood Prince John Television film
1985 Hollywood Wives Jason Swankle 3 episodes
1985 Alice in Wonderland March Hare Television film
1985–1989 Murder, She Wrote Gordon Fairchild, Dr. Alger Kenyon 2 episodes
1985 Bridges to Cross Norman Parks Episode: "Memories of Molly"
1987–1989 Matlock Don Mosher, Christopher Hoyt 2 episodes
1987 The Wind in the Willows Ratty Voice, television film
1988 Remo Williams: The Prophecy Chuin Television film
1989 Around the World in 80 Days McBaines 3 episodes
1991 The Pirates of Dark Water Niddler Voice, 5 episodes
1991 An Inconvenient Woman Cyril Rathbone 2 episodes
1991 Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas Narrator Voice
1992 The Legend of Prince Valiant King Frederick Voice, episode: "The Battle of Greystone"
1992 Quantum Leap Edward St. John V Episode: "A Leap for Lisa"
1992 Darkwing Duck Sir Quackmire Mallard Voice, episode: "Inherit the Wimp"
1992–1994 Batman: The Animated Series Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter Voice, 4 episodes[33]
1992 Camp Candy Voice, episode: "When it Rains... it Snows"
1993 2 Stupid Dogs Chameleon Voice, episode: "Chameleon"
1993 SWAT Kats Lenny Ringtail, Madkat Voice, episode: "Enter the Madkat"
1994 Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is Jeremy Sennet Television film
1994 Red Planet Headmaster Marcus Howe Voice, 3 episodes
1994 The Tick Breadmaster Voice, episode: "The Tick vs. The Breadmaster"
1996 Tracey Takes On... Rex Gaydon Episode: "Nostalgia"
1996 Gargoyles Proteus Voice, episode: "The New Olympians"[33]
1996 Duckman Akers Voice, episode: "Apocalypse Not"
1996 Pinky and the Brain Snowball Voice, 6 episodes[33]
1996 Dead Man's Island Trevor Dunnaway Television film
1996 Unlikely Angel Saint Peter Television film
1998 The New Batman Adventures Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter Voice, 2 episodes[33]
1998 Superman: The Animated Series Voice, episode: "Knight Time"
1998 Behind the Planet of the Apes Narrator Television documentary
1999 Godzilla: The Series Dr. Hugh Trevor Voice, episode: "DeadLoch"; posthumous role

Stage[edit]

Radio appearances[edit]

Year Program Episode/source
1943 Lux Radio Theatre My Friend Flicka[34]
1947 Suspense One Way Street[35]
1948 The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen Rocky Iii and the Dead Mans Chest[36]
1952 Family Theater A Lullaby for Christmas[37]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Roddy Mcdowall". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71136. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Vallance, Tom (5 October 1998). "Obituary: Roddy McDowall". The Independent. London, UK.
  4. ^ "From the Archives: Roddy McDowall, Actor for 6 Decades, Dies at 70". Los Angeles Times. 4 October 1998.
  5. ^ Gussow, Mel (4 October 1998), "Roddy McDowall, 70, Dies; Child Star and Versatile Actor", New York Times, retrieved 16 March 2010
  6. ^ a b c d "McDowall, Roddy". Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. Boston University. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014.
  7. ^ a b Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall at xmoppet.org. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ "SAGA OF THE HIGH SEAS". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 11 November 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 24 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Roddy McDowall as guest". The Christian Science Monitor. 11 July 1946. ProQuest 515875397.
  10. ^ Schallert, E. (12 March 1947). "DRAMA AND FILM". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165760532.
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  19. ^ The Carol Burnett Show with Roddy McDowall, 14 March 2017
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  27. ^ Bowers, Scotty (2012). Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars. New York, NY: Grove/Atlantic, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8021-2055-7.
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  29. ^ Montgomery Clift: A Biography, Bosworth, Patricia, p. 281
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  31. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 31331-31332). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Bibliography[edit]

  • Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen (South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971), pp. 176–181.
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914–1985. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1988, pp. 140–144.
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 158–159.

External links[edit]