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Elizabeth Hartman

2025-11-02T15:47:58Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{short description|American actress (1943–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elizabeth Hartman
| image = Elizabeth Hartman (1966 photo).jpg
| caption = Hartman in 1966
| birth_name = Mary Elizabeth Hartman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1943|12|23|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Youngstown, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|6|10|1943|12|2|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| resting_place = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Ohio)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1964–1982
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Gill Dennis]]|1968|1984|reason=divorced}}
| relatives =
}}

'''Mary Elizabeth Hartman''' (December 23, 1943 – June 10, 1987) was an American actress of stage and screen. She debuted in the popular 1965 film ''[[A Patch of Blue]]'', playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite [[Sidney Poitier]], a role for which she was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] and a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Golden Globe Award for Best Actress]], and won the [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year]].

She appeared in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]'' as Barbara Darling, for which she was nominated for a second [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Golden Globe Award]]. She also starred in Don Siegel's 1971 film ''[[The Beguiled (1971 film)|The Beguiled]]'', opposite [[Clint Eastwood]] and [[Geraldine Page]], and in the 1973 film [[Walking Tall (1973 film)|''Walking Tall'']].

Hartman voiced [[Mrs. Brisby]] in [[Don Bluth]]'s first animated feature, ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'' (1982). This proved to be her last Hollywood film and TV role, as well as her only animated role.

On June 10, 1987, Hartman died after jumping from the window of her fifth floor apartment.<ref name="NYT"/> Earlier that morning, she had reportedly called her psychiatrist saying that she felt despondent.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Vindicator [[Youngstown, Ohio]] |date=June 11, 1987|title=Obituaries}}</ref> Hartman was buried at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Ohio)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in the suburb of her hometown.<ref name="vind-yo-06-14-87">{{cite news |title=No film stars attend Miss Hartman rites |work=The Youngstown Vindicator |page=D-19 |date=June 14, 1987}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Mary Elizabeth Hartman was born December 23, 1943,{{sfn|Frasier|2005|p=135}} in [[Youngstown, Ohio]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Elizabeth Hartman Obituary • United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV54-38S4 |website=familysearch.org |publisher=Intellectual Reserve, Inc. provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints / NewsBank, Inc. / Fred Bell, Coroner |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mary Elizabeth Hartman Female 23 December 1943 – 10 June 1987 • 9M9W-8C2 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9M9W-8C2 |website=familysearch.org |publisher=Intellectual Reserve, Inc. provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (8 Sources for Birthplace) |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> the daughter of Claire ([[née]] Mullaly) and B.C. Hartman.<ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK2J-5BH Claire Hartman death record] Retrieved September 12, 2016</ref> She had a sister, Janet, and a brother, William.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-22-ca-23600-story.html People Magazine Hartman Profile] Retrieved September 12, 2016</ref><ref name="steely-yo-11-22-64">{{cite news |title=Biff Hartman of Playhouse Roles Has Broadway Lead |work=The Steel Valley News |page=24 |date=November 22, 1964}}</ref> She was a standout dramatic student at [[Boardman High School]], where she graduated in 1961.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wkbn.com/2016/02/26/boardman-woman-remembered-for-oscar-worthy-performance/|title=Boardman woman remembered for Oscar-worthy performance|author=Boney, Stan|date=February 26, 2016|access-date=July 9, 2017|work=WKBN27}}</ref> She won a statewide award for best actress in a high school production for her performance as Laura in ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]''. She performed in several productions at the [[Youngstown Playhouse]] during her youth, including ''A Clearing in the Woods'' by [[Arthur Laurents]] and ''Our Town''. She attended [[Carnegie Mellon University]] in [[Pittsburgh]], where she met her future husband, [[Gill Dennis]], and spent her summers acting with the [[Kenley Players]].{{sfn|Frasier|2005|pages=135–36}}

Hartman also performed at the [[Cleveland Playhouse]] in several productions, including ''[[The Madwoman of Chaillot]]'' and ''[[Bus Stop (William Inge play)|Bus Stop]]''. She was encouraged to move to [[New York City]] and begin auditioning for plays there. In 1964, Hartman was signed to play the ingénue lead in the comedy ''Everybody Out, the Castle is Sinking'', which was not a success, however her performance was again positively received, and film producers took notice.<ref name="ot">{{cite web |title=Our Town Broadway |url=http://www.playbill.com/production/our-town-anta-playhouse-vault-0000005280 |access-date=July 9, 2017 |work=Playbill}}</ref>

== Career ==
{{quote box|quote= All this has happened so fast, I'm kind of misplaced. I'm just drifting around. I'm in a very strange state of mind. I used to know who Biff was, but I don't, now. I'm suddenly in a different kind of world. |source= – Elizabeth Hartman, 1965<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hansen Konte|first1=Sandra|title=The Short Life Of Elizabeth Hartman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/29595895/?locale=en-AU|year=1987|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
In 1964, Hartman was screen-tested by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and [[Warner Brothers]].<ref name="steely-yo-11-22-64"/> In the early autumn of 1964, she was cast in the leading role in ''[[A Patch of Blue]]'', opposite [[Sidney Poitier]] and [[Shelley Winters]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/1040|title=A Patch of Blue|author=Fristoe, Roger|website=Turner Classic Movies|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=14 September 2018}}</ref> Hartman won widespread critical acclaim for her performance, a fact proudly noted by the news media in her hometown, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. During this time, her father, who worked in construction, died.<ref name="vind-yo-12-16-654">{{cite news |first=Fred |last=Childress |title=Elizabeth Hartman Wins Praise As "Patch of Blue" Opens |work=The Youngstown Vindicator |page=44 |date=December 16, 1965}}</ref> At the time of her nomination in 1966, Hartman (who was 23 years old) was the [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees|youngest nominee ever in the Best Actress category]]. That same year, she received an achievement award from the [[National Association of Theatre Owners]].<ref name="nyt-09-30-66">{{cite news |title=Elizabeth Hartman Given Award of Theater |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 30, 1966}}</ref> Hartman also won a [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Golden Globe for New Star of the Year]] for her performance.{{sfn|Frasier|2005|p=135}}<ref name=gg>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/elizabeth-hartman|title=Winners and Nominees : Elizabeth Hartman|website=GoldenGlobes.com|publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916105907/https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/elizabeth-hartman|archive-date=September 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1966, she starred as Laura opposite [[Mercedes McCambridge]] as Amanda in a production of ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' in Pittsburgh.<ref name=glass>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/149549768/ The Pittsburgh Press 1962] Retrieved September 12, 2016</ref>

In January 1967, columnist Dorothy Manners reported that Hartman had been cast in the role of Neely O'Hara in the movie version of ''[[Valley of the Dolls (film)|Valley of the Dolls]]'', beating out some more famous Hollywood actresses. She had allegedly made a successful screen test winning over director [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]] and producer [[David Weisbart]], the former already enthralled with her performance in ''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]''. However, the following month, it was announced that Oscar-winner [[Patty Duke]] had signed on to play Neely, albeit against her agent's advice. Duke's over the top performance almost ruined her career.{{Citation needed |date=February 2024}}

Between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, Hartman appeared in three well-received films, two of which starred Broadway and Hollywood legend [[Geraldine Page]], ''[[The Group (film)|The Group]]'' (1966),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://streamline.filmstruck.com/2009/09/16/in-the-loop-with-the-group-1966/|title=IN THE LOOP WITH ''THE GROUP'' (1966)|author=Finnie, Moira|website=Streamline : The Filmstruck Blog|access-date=16 September 2009|archive-date=September 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915042326/http://streamline.filmstruck.com/2009/09/16/in-the-loop-with-the-group-1966/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]'' (1966),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/youre-a-big-boy-now-1966|author=Ebert, Roger|title=YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=17 July 1968}}</ref> and ''[[The Beguiled (1971 film)|The Beguiled]]'' (1971).<ref>{{cite web|title=THE BEGUILED (1971)|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54029|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|website=AFI.com|access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref> Portraying Pauline Mullins, the wife of former [[Sheriff Buford Pusser]], she starred in the cult classic and major box office hit ''[[Walking Tall (1973 film)|Walking Tall]]'' (1973).<ref>{{cite web|title=Walking Tall (1973)|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24319/walking-tall|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM)|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=16 August 2018}}</ref> In 1975, Hartman starred in the premiere of [[Thomas Rickman]]'s play ''Balaam'', a play about political intrigue in [[Washington, D.C.]] The production was mounted in [[Old Town Pasadena]], California, by the Pasadena Repertory Theatre located in [[The Hotel Carver]]. It was directed by Hartman's husband, [[Gill Dennis]]. In 1981, she starred in a touring production of ''[[Morning's at Seven]]'', but left the tour due to declining mental health.<ref name="hansen"/> Her last on-screen performance was in 1981's horror-spoof, ''[[Full Moon High]]'', where she appeared as Miss Montgomery. In 1982, she appeared in Don Bluth's ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'', where she portrayed the film's protagonist, [[Mrs. Brisby]].{{sfn|Frasier|2005|p=136}} She was highly praised for the performance;{{Citation needed |date=February 2024}} however, this proved to be her last Hollywood film role, as well as her only animated role.

==Later years and death==
Throughout much of her life, Hartman suffered from [[clinical depression|depression]].<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |title=Elizabeth Hartman, 'Patch of Blue' Star, Is Suspected Suicide |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7DD103FF931A25755C0A961948260 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 12, 1987}}</ref> In 1978, she was treated at [[The Institute of Living]] in Hartford, Connecticut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.com/archive/elizabeth-hartman-vol-28-no-10/|work=People|volume=28|number=10|title=Elizabeth Hartman|author=Ryan, Michael|date=September 7, 1987|access-date=July 12, 2017}}</ref> In 1984, she divorced her husband, screenwriter Gill Dennis, after a five-year separation.{{cn|date=February 2024}} In the last few years of her life, she quit acting and worked at a museum in Pittsburgh while receiving treatment for her condition at an outpatient clinic. In 1981, she returned to theater, portraying Myrtle Brown in a regional stage production of ''[[Morning's at Seven]]''.<ref name=hansen/> Her sister and caretaker, Janet, told the ''Los Angeles Times'':

{{blockquote|She was very suicidal...  As soon as I arrived, she took an overdose of sleeping pills and was rushed to intensive care. But, the next night, she appeared on stage and she was wonderful. I spent two weeks with her to try to get her to the theater every night. She was frightened of everyone and everything. We'd go to breakfast, and she'd get up and dash out as though somebody was after her.<ref name="hansen">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-22-ca-23600-story.html|title=The Short Life of Elizabeth Hartman : Instant Stardom in 'Patch of Blue,' Then Unemployment, Then Suicide|author=Konte, Sandra Hansen|date=November 22, 1987|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011231313/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-22/entertainment/ca-23600_1_elizabeth-hartman/5|archive-date=October 11, 2015}}</ref>}}

On June 10, 1987, Hartman died by [[suicide]], leaping to her death from the window of her fifth-floor [[Pittsburgh]] apartment. She was 43 years old.<ref name="NYT"/> Earlier that morning, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, she had reportedly called her psychiatrist saying that she felt despondent.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Vindicator [[Youngstown, Ohio]] |date=June 11, 1987|title=Obituaries}}</ref> Hartman was buried at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Ohio)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in the suburb of her hometown.<ref name="vind-yo-06-14-87">{{cite news |title=No film stars attend Miss Hartman rites |work=The Youngstown Vindicator |page=D-19 |date=June 14, 1987}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Director(s)
! class="unsortable" | Notes
! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row"| 1965
|''[[A Patch of Blue]]''
|Selina D'Arcey
| {{sortname|Guy|Green|Guy Green (filmmaker)}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Person/46514-Elizabeth-Hartman?sid=bc56de5e-47ae-4563-884f-ad88ff5fa26e&sr=13.021887&cp=1&pos=2&isMiscCredit=false|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|location=Los Angeles, California|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=Elizabeth Hartman Filmography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031053126/https://catalog.afi.com/Person/46514-Elizabeth-Hartman?sid=bc56de5e-47ae-4563-884f-ad88ff5fa26e&sr=13.021887&cp=1&pos=2&isMiscCredit=false|archive-date=October 31, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1966
|''[[The Group (film)|The Group]]''
|Priss Hartshorn
|{{sortname|Sidney|Lumet}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|-
|''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]''
|Barbara Darling
| {{sortname|Francis Ford|Coppola}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1968
|''[[The Fixer (1968 film)|The Fixer]]''
|Zinaida Lebedev
| {{sortname|John|Frankenheimer}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1971
|''[[The Beguiled (1971 film)|The Beguiled]]''
|Edwina Dabney
|{{sortname|Don|Siegel}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1972
|''In Pursuit of Treasure''
|
| {{sortname|Stanton|Kaye|nolink=yes}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1973
|''[[Walking Tall (1973 film)|Walking Tall]]''
|Pauline Pusser
|{{sortname|Phil|Karlson}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1981
|''[[Full Moon High]]''
|Miss Montgomery
|{{sortname|Larry|Cohen}}
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1982
|''[[The Secret of NIMH]]''
|[[Mrs. Brisby]]
|{{sortname|Don|Bluth}}
|Voice; final film role
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=afi/>
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row"| 1971
|''[[Night Gallery]]''
|Judith Timm
|Episode: "The Dark Boy"
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1973
|''[[Love, American Style]]''
|Wilma More
|Segment: "Love and the Locksmith" Uncredited
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1975
|''[[ABC's Wide World of Entertainment|Wide World Mystery]]''
|Camilla
|Episode: "A Little Bit Like Murder"
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|''[[Doctors' Hospital]]''
|Bobbie Marks
|Episode: "Come at Last to Love"
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1980
|''[[Willow B: Women in Prison]]''
|Helen
|{{sortname|Jeff|Bleckner}}
|Also known as: ''A Matter of Survival'' Television movie
|}

==Stage credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row"| 1966
| ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]''
| Laura Wingfield
| [[Pittsburgh]]
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=glass/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1969
| ''[[Our Town]]''
| Emily Webb
| [[August Wilson Theatre|ANTA Playhouse]]
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web|work=Internet Broadway Database|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/elizabeth-hartman-96440|title=Elizabeth Hartman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031053758/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/elizabeth-hartman-96440|archive-date=October 31, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| 1975
| ''Balaam''
| Female lead
| Pasadena Repertory Theatre (world premiere)
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=hansen/>
|-
! scope="row"| 1981
| ''[[Morning's at Seven]]''
| Myrtle Brown
| the national touring company
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=hansen/>
|}

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Year
! Category
! Nominated work
! Outcome
! class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Academy Award]]s
| rowspan="3"| 1965
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="3"| ''[[A Patch of Blue]]''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=hansen/>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress|Golden Globe for New Star of the Year]]
| {{won}}
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=gg/>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1966
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]
| ''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]''
| {{nom}}
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Frasier|first=David K.|year=2005|title=Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases|publisher=McFarland|isbn= 978-1-476-60807-5}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Elizabeth Hartman}}
* {{IMDb name|0366946}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{TCMDb name | 82288%7C46514 }}
* {{Find a Grave|2242}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes person|elizabeth_hartman}}

{{Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year Actress}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Elizabeth}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Actresses from Youngstown, Ohio]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American voice actresses]]
[[Category:Female suicides]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Suicides by jumping in the United States]]
[[Category:Suicides in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from Boardman, Ohio]]
[[Category:1987 suicides]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]

Dave Garroway

2025-11-02T15:46:51Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{short description|American television personality (1913–1982)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dave Garroway
| image = Dave garroway publicity photo 1950s.JPG
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Garroway circa 1970
| other_names = The Roving Announcer
| birth_name = David Cunningham Garroway
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|07|13|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Schenectady, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|07|21|1913|07|13|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[West Laurel Hill Cemetery]]
| alma_mater = [[Washington University in St. Louis]]
| occupation = Television personality
| years_active = 1938–1982
| known_for = Host of ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' (1952–1961) Host of ''[[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]]'' (1953-1960) Host of ''[[Wide Wide World]]'' (1955–1958)
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Adele Dwyer|1945|1946}}
* {{marriage|Pamela Wilde|1956|1961}}
* {{marriage|[[Sarah Lee Lippincott]]|1980|1982}}
}}
| children = 3
}}

'''David Cunningham Garroway''' (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American [[Celebrity|television personality]]. He was the founding host and anchor of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with [[depression (mood)|depression]].<ref name="Troubling"/> Garroway has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with [[List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame#G|a star for each]] on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] and the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/?view=achievement|title=St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees|last=St. Louis Walk of Fame|publisher=stlouiswalkoffame.org|access-date=25 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807211546/http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/?view=achievement|archive-date=7 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> the city where he spent part of his teenaged years and early adulthood.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/dave-garroway/|title=Dave Garroway-Hollywood Walk of Fame|newspaper=LA Times|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref>

==Early life==
Born in [[Schenectady, New York]], Garroway was of Scottish descent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Biography: Dave Garroway, NBC Network Radio and Television Star |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DMUpAAAAIBAJ&pg=2273,765170&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en |access-date=26 September 2019 |work=The Toronto Daily Sun |date=September 7, 1950}}</ref> By the time he was 14, he had moved with his family 13 times, finally settling in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], where he attended [[University City High School (St. Louis)|University City High School]] and [[Washington University in St. Louis]], from which he earned a degree in abnormal psychology.<ref name="Time">{{cite book|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901084,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214135837/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901084,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 14, 2008|title=Peace, Old Tiger|date=July 18, 1969|publisher= Time}}</ref><ref name="Obit">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yEENAAAAIBAJ&pg=6978,4407943&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway kills self; first host of 'Today' Show|date=July 22, 1982|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=May 29, 2010}}</ref> Before going into broadcasting, Garroway worked as a [[Harvard University]] lab assistant, book salesman, and piston ring salesman.<ref name="Shotgun">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-jAQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5258,5750965&dq=ernie+kovacs&hl=en|title=First host of 'Today' kills self with shotgun|date=July 22, 1982|newspaper=Boca Raton News|access-date=September 11, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After not being able to successfully sell either, Garroway decided to try his hand in radio.<ref name="Works">{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L84mAAAAIBAJ&pg=2465,3209024&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway Works Hard To Achieve That Relaxed Manner On Three Network Programs|date=November 15, 1953|publisher=Wilmington Sunday Star|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132031/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L84mAAAAIBAJ&pg=2465,3209024&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Career==

===Early years===
Garroway began his broadcasting career at NBC as a [[NBC page|page]] in 1938; he graduated 23rd in a class of 24 from NBC's school for announcers.<ref name="News">{{Cite book|editor-last=Murray|editor-first=Michael D.|title=Encyclopedia of television news|year=1998|pages=336|publisher=Greenwood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3fhcUnCC1AC&q=dave+garroway&pg=PA88|isbn=1-57356-108-8|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref> Following graduation, he landed a job at [[Pittsburgh]] radio station [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]] in 1939.<ref name="Obit"/> As a station reporter, he filed reports from a [[hot-air balloon]], a [[Submarines in the United States Navy|U.S. Navy submarine]] in the [[Ohio River]], and deep inside a [[coal mine]]. His early reporting efforts earned Garroway a reputation for finding a good story, even in unusual places.<ref name="Works"/> The "Roving Announcer", as he was known, worked his way up to become the station's special-events director, while still attending to his on-air work.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MnEbAAAAIBAJ&pg=4500,3766041&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=No Special Event!|date=July 14, 1939|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132033/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MnEbAAAAIBAJ&pg=4500%2C3766041&dq=dave%20garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JE0bAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423,2696569&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Two Broadcasts Open 'Press Parade'|date=March 21, 1938|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132034/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JE0bAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423%2C2696569&dq=dave%20garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> After two years with KDKA, Garroway left for Chicago.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2nUcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2088,8227158&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=TV/Radio Notes|author=Bianco, Robert|date=June 14, 1990|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132034/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2nUcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2088,8227158&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Radio===
[[File:Dial dave garroway wmaq 1951.JPG|thumb|left|150px|Garroway at Chicago's WMAQ in 1951 with [[Connie Russell]] and [[Jack Haskell]]]]
When the United States entered [[World War II]] in 1941, Garroway enlisted in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]], serving as a [[line officer]].<ref>[https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=624365&binder=true Garroway, David Cunnigham, LT] Together We Served. Retrieved March 4, 2023.</ref> While stationed in [[Honolulu]], he hosted a radio show when he was off duty, playing [[jazz]] records and reminiscing about the old days back in Chicago.<ref name="Troubling"/> After the war, Garroway went to work as a [[disc jockey]] at [[WMAQ (AM)]] in [[Chicago]].<ref name="News"/><ref name=Fisher>{{cite book|title=Something in the air: radio, rock, and the revolution that shaped a generation|editor-last=Fisher|editor-first=Marc|publisher=Random House|year=2007|pages=400|isbn=978-0-375-50907-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLNVmbXDZIcC&q=martin+block&pg=PA12|access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> Over time, Garroway hosted a series of radio programs, such as ''The 11:60 Club'', ''[[The Dave Garroway Show (radio program)|The Dave Garroway Show]]'', and ''Reserved for Garroway''.<ref name="Works"/><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794836-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308040124/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794836-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 8, 2008|title=Just for the Laugh|publisher=Time|date=July 18, 1949|access-date=September 14, 2010}}</ref> One oddity Garroway introduced on his radio shows was having the studio audience respond to a song number not by applauding, but by snapping their fingers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tuxjunction.net/glennmiller.htm|title=Glenn Miller|publisher=Tux Junction|access-date=April 25, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211140502/http://www.tuxjunction.net/glennmiller.htm|archive-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> Garroway also worked to organize jazz concerts, creating a "Jazz Circuit" of local clubs in 1947, bringing back interest in this music genre.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgwEAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PT16|title=Garroway Hits Jackpot With Jazz Concerts|date= July 26, 1947|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xgwEAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PT20|title=3-Lounge Jazz Circuit Formed In Middle West|date=August 2, 1947|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> His fellow disc jockeys voted him the nation's best in the 1948 and 1949 ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' polls.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wg4EAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PA56|title=The Billboard Third Annual Disk Jockey Poll|date=October 22, 1949|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zx4EAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PA50|title=The Billboard Second Annual Disk Jockey Poll|date=October 2, 1948|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> He won the award again in 1951.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mtQzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4348,98264&dq=martin+block&hl=en|title=Garroway Chosen By Disk Jockeys|author=Lester, John|date=September 16, 1951|newspaper=The Miami News|access-date=October 30, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Garroway was the first "communicator" on NBC Radio's ''[[Monitor (NBC radio)|Monitor]]'' when the program first aired on June 12, 1955.<ref>{{cite book|title=Monitor: The Last Great Radio Show|editor-last=Hart|editor-first=Dennis|pages=254|publisher=iUniverse, Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FuhPB7yz1TwC&q=jane+ace+monitor&pg=PA16|isbn=0-595-21395-2|year=2002|access-date=September 19, 2010}}</ref> He continued as the Sunday-evening host of the news and music program from 1955 to 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monitorbeacon.net/communicators.html|title=Monitor's Communicators|publisher=Monitor Beacon|access-date=April 25, 2010|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025124451/http://monitorbeacon.net/communicators.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Garroway worked on the air at WCBS radio in 1964 and briefly hosted the afternoon [[rush hour|rush-hour]] shift at KFI in Los Angeles from late 1970 to early 1971.<ref name="Billboard"/><ref name="Switch"/>
{{clear|left}}

===Television===
[[File:Dave Garroway signoff of Peace.jpg|thumb|180px|Garroway's signature upraised hand while saying "Peace"]]
[[File:Today show set 1952.jpg|thumb|180px|Garroway and crew on the ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' show set (1952)]]
[[File:1957 wide wide world.JPG|thumb|180px|Garroway as host of ''[[Wide Wide World]]'' (1957)]]

Garroway was introduced to the national television audience when he hosted the experimental musical variety show ''[[Garroway at Large]]'', telecast live from Chicago.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVIEAAAAMBAJ&q=dave+garroway&pg=PA146|title=Dave Garroway: Prop Man At Large|date=October 10, 1949|publisher=Life|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref> It was carried by NBC from June 18, 1949, to June 24, 1951.<ref name="Dave Garroway">{{cite book|url=http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/garroway/index.html|title=TV Turns up a New Comic|date=22 November 1949|publisher=Look|access-date=29 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/tcs.html|title=The Chicago School With Special Emphasis on Dave Garroway|date=September 11, 1950|publisher=Time|access-date=May 29, 2010|archive-date=September 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912001850/http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/tcs.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/garroway/bestofgal.html Video file downloads-The Best of Garroway at Large]</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dgDAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PA144|title=They Fool You Every Night|author=Railton, Arthur|date=October 1951|publisher=Popular Mechanics|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref>

Garroway's relaxed, informal style when on the air became part of his trademark. In 1960, reviewer Richard F. Shepard of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "He does not crash into the home with the false jollity and thunderous witticisms of a backslapper. He is pleasant, serious, scholarly looking, and not obtrusively convivial". On television, Garroway was known for his signoff, saying "Peace" with an upraised palm.

Along with [[Arthur Godfrey]], [[Arlene Francis]], [[Steve Allen]], and [[Jack Paar]], Garroway was one of the pioneers of the television talk show. Television commentator Steven D. Stark traces the origins of the style to Chicago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/chschool.html|title=Chicago School of Television|author=Samuels, Rich|publisher=Samuels, Rich|access-date=May 29, 2010}}</ref> Garroway, [[Studs Terkel]], and [[Hugh Downs]] all hosted relaxed, garrulous, extemporaneous shows in that city in the early 1950s. Earlier radio and television voices spoke with an authoritative "announcer's" intonation, resembling public oration, often dropping about a musical fifth on the last word of a sentence. Garroway was one of the broadcasters who introduced conversational style and tone to television, beginning some broadcasts as though the viewer were sitting in the studio with him, as in this November 20, 1957, introduction for the ''Today'' show: "And how are you about the world today? Let's see what kind of shape it's in; there is a glimmer of hope".

Pioneering NBC president [[Sylvester "Pat" Weaver]] chose Garroway as the host of his new morning news-and-entertainment experiment, the ''Today'' show, in 1952.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8uErAAAAIBAJ&pg=1599,3971024&dq=ernie+kovacs&hl=en|title=Garroway-More At Large Than On TV|author=Perrigo, Lucia|date=November 9, 1951|newspaper=Kentucky New Era|access-date=July 10, 2010|archive-date=April 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403230850/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8uErAAAAIBAJ&pg=1599,3971024&dq=ernie+kovacs&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> He was joined by news editor Jim Fleming and announcer [[Jack Lescoulie]] when the show debuted on Monday, January 14, 1952.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dx4EAAAAMBAJ&q=garroway&pg=PA6|title=Add 3½ Hours To WWJ Sked|date=January 19, 1952|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> Though initially panned by critics, Garroway's style attracted a large audience that enjoyed his easygoing presence early in the morning.<ref name="Shows"/><ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=Robinson|editor-first=Marc|title=Brought to You in Living Color: 75 Years of Great Moments in Television|year=2003|pages=236|publisher=Wiley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLHd9Z6MrWkC&q=dave+garroway&pg=PA62|isbn=0-471-46921-1|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref> His familiar "cohost", a [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]] with the puckish name of [[J. Fred Muggs]], did not hurt his genial manner, but his concurrent seriousness in dealing with news stories and ability to clearly explain abstract concepts earned him the nickname "The Communicator" and eventually won praise from critics and viewers alike.<ref name="News"/>

At the same time he did ''Today'', Garroway also hosted a Friday-night variety series, ''[[The Dave Garroway Show (TV program)|The Dave Garroway Show]]'', from October 2, 1953, to June 25, 1954.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823153,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222125749/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823153,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 22, 2008|title=The New Shows|date=November 30, 1953|publisher=Time|access-date=September 14, 2010}}</ref> On October 16, 1955, he began hosting NBC's live Sunday-afternoon documentary ''Wide Wide World'', continuing with that series until June 8, 1958. Another Friday-evening variety show, ''Dave's Place'', was on the air in 1960.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u3QRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6125,3128219&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Visit to 'Dave's Place' Is All Dave Garroway|date=November 18, 1960|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|access-date=September 21, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He also hosted a radio show, ''Dial Dave Garroway'', that went on the air as soon as ''Today'' wrapped up each morning.<ref name="Shows">{{cite book|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816999,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125195149/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816999,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 25, 2010|title=TV Newspaper|publisher=Time|date=September 15, 1952|access-date=September 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r1MVAAAAIBAJ&pg=4428,220883&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Newspaper ad for radio show 'Dial Dave Garroway'|date=February 21, 1951|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132035/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r1MVAAAAIBAJ&pg=4428,220883&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Dial Dave Garroway'' had begun in 1946 when Garroway was still working for WMAQ in Chicago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.originaloldradio.com/dial_dave_garroway.html|title=Dial Dave Garroway|publisher=Original Old Radio|access-date=January 12, 2011|archive-date=December 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219040228/http://originaloldradio.com/dial_dave_garroway.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Garroway took ''Today'' to various locations during his tenure - Paris in 1959 and Rome in 1960; car shows and technology expos; plays and movies; and aboard an Air Force [[B-52]] for a practice bombing run. Through television, Garroway gave viewers access to a variety of people that included politicians, writers, artists, scientists, economists, and musicians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8078|title=President John F. Kennedy interview|date=January 31, 1961|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=January 17, 2011}}</ref> In his role as ''Today'' host, Garroway acted as pitchman for several of the show's sponsors. Among them were Admiral television sets, [[Alcoa]], and Sergeant's dog food. Most of the appearances were in the form of print ads in newspapers and magazines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cardcow.com/94084/flexalum-aluminum-awning-advertising/|title=Flexalum Aluminum Awnings/Garroway postcard|publisher=CardCow|access-date=September 27, 2010}}</ref> By 1960, a board game called "Dave Garroway's ''Today'' Game" also was produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27011/dave-garroways-today-game|title=Dave Garroway's Today Game|publisher=Board Game Geek|access-date=September 27, 2010|archive-date=June 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617013620/http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27011/dave-garroways-today-game|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://boardgamegeek.com/image/493495/dave-garroways-today-game|title=Photos of Garroway Today Game|publisher=Board Game Geek|access-date=September 27, 2010|archive-date=June 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617013640/http://boardgamegeek.com/image/493495/dave-garroways-today-game|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1961, Garroway hosted a special filmed program for the [[Billy Graham Evangelistic Association]] that traced [[Billy Graham]]'s crusades from [[Los Angeles Crusade (1949)|1949]] to 1960.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1948&dat=19610315&id=CEkhAAAAIBAJ&pg=929,2704827|title=Billy Graham Is To Become TV, Film Star Soon|author=Scott, Vernon|date=March 15, 1961|newspaper=The Modesto Bee|access-date=May 4, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Garroway's relaxed demeanor on TV hid his [[Depression (mood)|depression]]. Toward the end of his professional career, he began to have disagreements with staff members; some days, Garroway would disappear in the middle of the ''Today'' broadcast, leaving colleagues to finish the live program. When Garroway's second wife, Pamela, died of a prescription-drug overdose on April 28, 1961, Garroway sank into a deeper emotional malaise.<ref name="Troubling">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2BAwAAAAIBAJ&pg=6090,2302549&dq=pamela+garroway&hl=en|title=What's Troubling Dave Garroway?|author=Battelle, Phyllis|date=August 8, 1961|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|access-date=September 22, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PD4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=786,165228&hl=en|title=Mrs. Dave Garroway Is Found Dead In Apartment|date=28 April 1961|publisher=Gettysburg Times|access-date=22 September 2010|archive-date=28 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132033/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PD4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=786,165228&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aT8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=3505,2015582&hl=en|title=Mrs. Dave Garroway Found Dead Early Today at Home|date=28 April 1961|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=22 September 2010|archive-date=28 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132039/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aT8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=3505,2015582&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> In late May 1961, Garroway resigned, announcing his intention to leave ''Today''—either at the end of October when his contract was finished or sooner, if possible — to spend more time with his children.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fj8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=3574,4431276&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway Resigns From TV Show to Give More Time to Children|date=May 27, 1961|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=July 15, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132032/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fj8yAAAAIBAJ&pg=3574,4431276&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FjwaAAAAIBAJ&pg=2430,2080639&dq=pamela+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway is 'Redecorating' his Life|date=December 3, 1961|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|access-date=September 22, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  On June 16, 1961, Garroway left the morning show he helped pioneer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mAQsAAAAIBAJ&pg=2719,5783335&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Summer Video Is Long And Twice-Told Tale|date=June 19, 1961|newspaper=Times Daily|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref>

===Later career===
After leaving ''Today'', Garroway returned to television on [[National Educational Television]] (the forerunner of [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]) with a science series called ''Exploring the Universe'' in late 1962.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827959-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033034/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827959-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2012|title=Professor Garroway of 21-inch U.|publisher=Time|date=December 28, 1962|access-date=September 14, 2010}}</ref> Later, he went back to working in radio, doing "split-shift" shows called ''Garroway AM'' (midmornings) and ''Garroway PM'' (midafternoons) for [[WCBS (AM)]], New York.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U0UEAAAAMBAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U0UEAAAAMBAJ/page/n18 19]|quote=garroway.|title=New Program Chief Named By WCBS|date=June 27, 1964|publisher=Billboard|access-date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> Garroway also started a magazine, ''National FM-Radio''; the venture was a costly failure, with Garroway realizing he was not cut out to be a businessman.<ref name="Era"/> While he was in the publishing business, Garroway began reading various law books to try to understand what his lawyer was saying. His attorney told him that he had done enough legal reading to pass the New York State bar exam. On a bet, Garroway sat for and passed the written exam.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-MEsAAAAIBAJ&pg=811,4234802&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway reflects on old 'Today' show|date=March 21, 1972|author=Anderson, Nancy|newspaper=Star-News|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132034/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-MEsAAAAIBAJ&pg=811,4234802&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 1969, Garroway launched a daytime talk show on [[WHDH-TV|WNAC-TV]], ''Tempo Boston,'' which he hoped would be picked up for national syndication. Stations in New York and Philadelphia agreed to pick up the show, but by early 1970, the small-scale syndication ended and ''Tempo'' was cancelled. The show had promise, but management instead decided to fill its time slot with old movies instead of more expensive local programming.<ref name="Time" /> After leaving the Boston airwaves, Garroway traveled to Southern California, hosting a music-and-talk show on [[KFI]] radio in Los Angeles.<ref name="Switch">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mQcdAAAAIBAJ&pg=6906,3877592&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway Switches To LA|date=August 28, 1970|newspaper=Tuscaloosa News|access-date=July 15, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132032/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mQcdAAAAIBAJ&pg=6906,3877592&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> He planned to re-enter the television world with a CBS summer replacement show, ''Newcomers'', but the show never made it past the summer of 1971.<ref name="Obit"/><ref name="California">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oZYyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6897,4307487&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway will stay in television after summer fling|date=August 9, 1971|author=Lowery, Cynthia|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=May 29, 2010}}</ref> While in Los Angeles, Garroway began to take acting workshops; he had a role in an episode of the Western series ''[[Alias Smith and Jones]]'' as a judge in 1972.<ref name="Era">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ankqAAAAIBAJ&pg=5010,5488692&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Maybe I Belong In A Long-Gone Era|author=Monahan, Anthony|date=May 27, 1973|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=September 21, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132036/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ankqAAAAIBAJ&pg=5010,5488692&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

Garroway appeared sporadically on other television programs without achieving the success and recognition levels he enjoyed on ''Today''. He largely remained out of the public eye for the rest of the 1960s and 1970s, although he did re-emerge for ''Today'' anniversaries. His final such appearance was on the 30th-anniversary show, on January 14, 1982.<ref name="Shotgun"/>

===Other media===
Garroway narrated a compilation of romantic songs performed by the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]], ''Getting Friendly with Music,'' in 1956. He also served as narrator for special albums, including 1964's ''The Great Campaigners, 1928–1960'' and 1960's ''Names From the Wars.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hotplatters.com/hotPlatters_2006/lp/Persona/PERS2A-L.html|title=Hot Platters: Personalities.|publisher=Hot Platters|access-date=March 30, 2009|archive-date=March 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319090931/http://hotplatters.com/hotPlatters_2006/lp/Persona/PERS2A-L.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1960, Garroway wrote ''Fun on Wheels,'' an activity book for children on road trips. The book was revised and reissued in 1962 and 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/a/OL4437377A/Dave-Garroway|title=Dave Garroway|publisher=Open Library|access-date=March 30, 2009}}</ref>

Toward the end of his life, Garroway planned to write an autobiography. The book never made it past the research stage; the surviving notes, manuscripts, audio tapes, and news clippings were sent to former ''Today'' researcher Lee Lawrence. Upon Lawrence's death in 2003, the boxes were turned over to the Library of American Broadcasting, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, where they remained as of 2009.<ref name=papers>{{citation|hdl=1903.1/1488|title=Lee Lawrence Papers|publisher=University of Maryland Libraries}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Garroway family 1960.jpg|thumb|left|180px|The Garroways at home in 1960. From left: Garroway with David Jr., wife Pamela, daughter Paris, and son Michael seated on the floor]]

===Marriages and children===

Garroway was married three times and had three children. His first marriage was to Adele Dwyer, whom he married in 1945. The couple had a daughter, Paris, before divorcing the following year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mTQaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6693,1522601&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=TV's Dave Garroway to Shed Batchelorhood|date=March 23, 1956|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|access-date=September 21, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="franklin">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mUYqAAAAIBAJ&pg=5493,3862398&dq=dave+garroway+pamela+wilde&hl=en|title=A Quiet Time|last=Franklin|first=Rebecca|date=November 29, 1961|work=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref> He married former actress and ballerina Pamela Wilde in 1956. They had a son, David Cunningham Garroway Jr., in 1958.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HoMeAAAAIBAJ&pg=2935,2276813&dq=dave+garroway+pamela+wilde&hl=en|title=Boy for the Garroways|date=February 19, 1958|work=Herald-Journal|page=D2|access-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref> Garroway later adopted Wilde's son Michael from her first marriage.<ref name="franklin" /> Wilde died of a prescription-drug overdose on April 28, 1961.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EwUpAAAAIBAJ&pg=5960,6015672&dq=dave+garroway&hl=en|title=Pill Overdose Kills Mrs. Garroway|date=29 April 1961|newspaper=Deseret News|access-date=29 May 2010}}</ref> Garroway married astronomer [[Sarah Lee Lippincott]] in February 1980. They remained married until Garroway's death in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HQ4LAAAAIBAJ&pg=2262,1973375&dq=dave+garroway+pamela+wilde&hl=en|title=Dave Garroway takes own life|date=July 22, 1982|work=The Bryan Times|page=1|access-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref>

===Interests===
[[File:Dave Garroway and his 1938 Jaguar SS100.jpg|thumb|160px|Garroway at the wheel of his favorite car, a 1938 SS Jaguar 100, which he restored]]
Garroway was very interested in astronomy, and during a tour of Russian telescopes, he met his third wife, astronomer Sarah Lee Lippincott. In his final years, he attended astronomy symposia at [[Swarthmore College]] and spent time at [[Sproul Observatory]].<ref name="Obit"/><ref name="California"/>

Garroway was also an automobile enthusiast, and one of his hobbies was collecting and restoring vintage luxury and sports cars. He was especially fond of his 1938 [[SS Jaguar 100]], which he also raced in his spare time.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Radio%20TV%20Mirror/Radio%20and%20Television%20Mirror%204909.pdf|publisher=Radio and Television Mirror|date=September 1949|title=Garroway At Large|page=36|access-date=July 15, 2010|archive-date=March 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325163652/http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Radio%20TV%20Mirror/Radio%20and%20Television%20Mirror%204909.pdf|url-status=live}} ([[PDF]])</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mgvr.org/keepers/rdamer01.html|title=Racing at Elkhart Lake, WI|publisher=MG Vintage Racers|access-date=15 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racingsportscars.com/make/results/Jaguar.html|title=Jaguar – All Results|publisher=Racing Sports Cars|access-date=15 July 2010|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325162937/http://www.racingsportscars.com/make/results/Jaguar.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=House|editor-first=Kirk W.|editor2-last=Mitchell|editor2-first=Charles W.|pages=128|year=2008|title=Watkins Glen Racing|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-5666-6}}</ref> Garroway was featured in several automobile commercials, including the first [[Chevrolet Corvette]] in 1953, and the [[Ford Falcon (North America)|Ford Falcon]] in 1964.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}

Garroway, a music lover and amateur drummer, lent his name to a series of recordings of jazz, classical, and pop music released in the late 1950s and early 1960s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oW0tAAAAIBAJ&pg=2965,2022272&dq=pamela+garroway&hl=en|title=At Home With TV Stars|author=Dornbrook, Don|date=September 14, 1959|newspaper=Schenectady Gazette|access-date=September 22, 2010}}</ref> Among them were ''Wide, Wide World of Jazz'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/records/images/12-33/LPM1325.jpg|title=''Wide, Wide World of Jazz'' cover|access-date=September 27, 2010|archive-date=July 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728164944/http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/records/images/12-33/LPM1325.jpg|url-status=usurped}}</ref> 1957's ''Some of My Favorites'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/1042968-Dave-Garroway-presents-Matt-Dennis-Red-Norvo-Some-Of-My-Favorites|title=Dave Garroway – Some Of My Favorites|publisher=Discogs.com|access-date=May 9, 2023|archive-date=May 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509144801/https://www.discogs.com/master/1042968-Dave-Garroway-presents-Matt-Dennis-Red-Norvo-Some-Of-My-Favorites|url-status=live}}</ref> and 1958's ''Dave Garroway's Orchestra: An Adventure in Hi-Fi Music''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/5299384-Dave-Garroways-Orchestra-Dave-Garroways-Orchestra|title=Dave Garroway's Orchestra: An Adventure in Hi-Fi Music|date=June 1958 |publisher=Discogs.com|access-date=May 9, 2023|archive-date=May 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509144801/https://www.discogs.com/release/5299384-Dave-Garroways-Orchestra-Dave-Garroways-Orchestra|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Death==
In 1981, Garroway underwent open-heart surgery, as a result of which he contracted a [[staph infection]]. On January 14, 1982, ''Today'' broadcast its 30th-anniversary special, which featured all of the important living, former, and current staff members. Garroway, who had recently undergone [[drug rehabilitation]] for an [[amphetamine]] addiction, appeared to be cheerful and in good spirits during the show. He also indicated that he would be present for the show's 35th anniversary in 1987.

A few months later, however, Garroway began suffering complications from the infection he had contracted during surgery. He spent some weeks in and out of hospitals and had an in-home nurse tending to him. On July 21, he was found dead of a self-inflicted [[shotgun]] wound at his [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania]], home. No suicide note was found and Garroway's nurse did not recall him being unusually depressed in the final day of his life.<ref name="Shotgun"/><ref name="News"/> Garroway's son Michael said that his father had been experiencing complications from his heart operation and he had "unfortunately succumbed to the traumatic effects of his illness".<ref name="Daily Times" /> In addition, he was extremely depressed at his inability to resurrect a TV career, saying to friends and family "I'm old hat, old news. Nobody wants old Dave anymore".<ref name="Daily Times">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KxBGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6866,1824602&dq=dave+garroway+funeral&hl=en|title=TV Pioneer Dave Garroway Ends Life|last=Smith|first=Erich|date=July 22, 1982|work=Daily Times|page=22|access-date=January 31, 2013|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132034/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KxBGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6866%2C1824602&dq=dave%20garroway%20funeral&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> His family held a private graveside service for him in [[Philadelphia]] on July 28.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OLRcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2505,2711625&dq=dave+garroway+funeral&hl=en|title=Funeral services held for Garroway|date=July 29, 1982|work=Gettysburg Times|page=18|access-date=January 31, 2013|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928132031/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OLRcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2505,2711625&dq=dave+garroway+funeral&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

The July 22 edition of ''Today'' was mainly a remembrance of Garroway. His colleague [[Jack Lescoulie]], news editor [[Frank Blair (journalist)|Frank Blair]], and former consumer reporter [[Betty Furness]] offered tributes on the show.<ref>NBC News ''Today'' rundown, July 22, 1982</ref> Garroway's death was noted on ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' with [[Tom Brokaw]] and [[Roger Mudd]]. Commentator [[John Chancellor]] was the man who had replaced Garroway on ''Today'' 21 years earlier.<ref>''NBC Nightly News'' rundown, July 21, 1982</ref> On ''[[NBC News Overnight]],'' host [[Linda Ellerbee]] closed the program with "Peace" instead of her usual "And so it goes".<ref>''NBC News Overnight'' rundown, July 21, 1982</ref>

Because of Garroway's dedication to the cause of mental health, his third wife, [[Sarah Lee Lippincott|Sarah]], helped establish the Dave Garroway Laboratory for the Study of Depression at the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref name=papers/>

==Parodies and fictional representations==
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}
[[Robert McKimson]]'s 1960 [[cartoon]] ''[[Wild Wild World]]'' depicts "Cave Darroway" (voiced by [[Daws Butler]] impersonating Garroway) presenting footage from the Stone Age.

''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' spoofed him in one issue (issue #26, from November, 1955) as "The Dave Garrowunway Show".

In [[Robert Redford]]'s 1994 film ''[[Quiz Show (film)|Quiz Show]]'', Garroway was portrayed by [[Barry Levinson]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Listen to==
* [http://www.podomatic.com/search?query=garroway Boxcars711: Dave Garroway narrates ''Names from the Wars'' (1960)]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv491696 Dave Garroway papers, 1947–1989] | American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
* {{IMDb name|0308541}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[Today (American TV program)|Today Show Host]]| before=None | after=[[John Chancellor]]| years=January 14, 1952–June 16, 1961}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garroway, Dave}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American television news anchors]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American radio DJs]]
[[Category:Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Suicides in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:NBC News people]]
[[Category:Writers from Schenectady, New York]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Schenectady, New York]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:Washington University in St. Louis alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:1982 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:People with mood disorders]]
[[Category:20th-century American male journalists]]

Margaux Hemingway

2025-11-02T15:41:38Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|American fashion model and actress (1954–1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox person
| image = Worldwide famous model Margot Hemingway was a guest of the IDF Shekem Company (FL62419504) (cropped2).jpg
| caption = Hemingway in 1976
| name = Margaux Hemingway
| birth_name = Margot Louise Hemingway
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1954|2|16}}
| birth_place = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S.
| death_date ={{Death date and age|1996|7|1|1954|2|16}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| height= {{convert|6|ft|0|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=Marano/>
| resting_place = Ketchum Cemetery, [[Ketchum, Idaho]], U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|43.686806|-114.366668|display=inline}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Model|actress}}
| years_active = 1972–1996
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Erroll Wetanson |1975|1978|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Bernard Faucher |1979|1985|end=div}}
}}
| father = [[Jack Hemingway]]
| relatives = [[Mariel Hemingway]] (sister) [[Ernest Hemingway]] (paternal grandfather) [[Hadley Richardson]] (paternal grandmother)
}}
'''Margaux Louise Hemingway''' (born '''Margot Louise Hemingway'''; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996){{efn|name=date|Hemingway's date of birth appears in her California death record, where she is named as Margot Louise Hemingway, born in the state of Oregon.<ref>[https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2015582 California, Death Index, 1940-1997], [[FamilySearch]]. Accessed December 9, 2024.</ref> The date also appears on her headstone.<ref>[https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/2185/margaux_louise-hemingway "Margaux Louise Hemingway"], Find a Grave. Accessed December 9, 2024.</ref><ref>Deborah Kade, [https://www.beyondarizona.com/post/it-s-another-sunny-day-in-sun-valley "It's another sunny day in Sun Valley"] ''Beyond Arizona'', January 10, 2021. Accessed December 9, 2024.</ref> The birthdate given by ''The New York Times'' — February 19, 1955 — is incorrect.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |last=Holloway |first=Lynette |title=Margaux Hemingway Is Dead; Model and Actress Was 41 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/03/arts/margaux-hemingway-is-dead-model-and-actress-was-41.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 3, 1996 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Hemingway's body was badly decomposed<ref>James Rainey, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-21-me-36349-story.html "Margaux Hemingway’s Death Ruled a Suicide"] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', August 21, 1996. Accessed December 9, 2024.</ref><ref>Lynette Holloway, [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/03/arts/margaux-hemingway-is-dead-model-and-actress-was-41.html "Margaux Hemingway Is Dead; Model and Actress Was 41"] ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'', July 3, 1996. Accessed December 9, 2024.</ref> and her precise date of death is not known. Some sources suggest June 28<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hemingway-margaux|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia.com]]|title=Hemingway, Margaux|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220217043110/https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hemingway-margaux|archive-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref> or June 29, 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/margaux-hemingway/cast/1000196413/|work=[[TV Guide]]|title=Margaux Hemingway Biography|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220217043549/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/margaux-hemingway/cast/1000196413/|archive-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref> For official purposes, however, California records her date of death as July 1, 1996, the date on which her body was discovered.}} was an American fashion model and actress. The granddaughter of writer [[Ernest Hemingway]], she gained independent fame as a [[supermodel]] in the 1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'', ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'', ''[[Harper's Bazaar]]'', ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', and ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.

She signed a million-dollar contract with [[Fabergé (cosmetics)|Fabergé Inc.]] as the spokesmodel for Babe perfume. Her later years were marred by highly publicized episodes of addiction and depression, before her [[suicide]] from a drug overdose around July 1, 1996, at the age of 42.

== Early life ==
Margot Louise Hemingway was born February 16, 1954, in [[Portland, Oregon]], the second of three daughters born to Byra Louise (née Whittlesey) and [[Jack Hemingway]] (eldest child of writer Ernest Hemingway). When she learned that she was named after the wine [[Château Margaux]], which her parents drank on the night she was conceived, she changed the spelling from "Margot" to "Margaux" to match.<ref name=nyt/> She had two sisters, actress [[Mariel Hemingway]] and Joan (nicknamed Muffet).

During her childhood, the family moved from Oregon to [[Cuba]], where her grandfather had lived,<ref name=nyt/> then to [[San Francisco]], and later to [[Idaho]], where they lived on her grandfather's farm in [[Ketchum, Idaho|Ketchum]], adjacent to {{nowrap|[[Sun Valley, Idaho|Sun Valley]].}} The family took trips each summer back to Oregon with the daughters' godmother, who owned a farm in [[Salem, Oregon|Salem]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.oregonhomemagazine.com/home-style/1058-mariel-hemingway-in-portland| journal=Oregon Home Magazine| title=Mariel Hemingway in Portland| date=September 10, 2012| access-date=2016-04-02| last=McInerny| first=Vivian| archive-date=August 5, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805112700/http://www.oregonhomemagazine.com/home-style/1058-mariel-hemingway-in-portland| url-status=dead}}</ref> She attended the [[Catlin Gabel School]] in Portland for her junior year.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=[[People (magazine)|People]]| title=Papa Hemingway's Granddaughter, Margaux, Is Fashion's Golden Girl| last=Wohlfert| first=Lee| date=December 23, 1974| access-date=2018-04-04| volume=2| issue=26| url=http://people.com/archive/papa-hemingways-granddaughter-margaux-is-fashions-golden-girl-vol-2-no-26}}</ref>

Margaux struggled with several disorders beginning in her teenage years, including alcoholism, depression, [[bulimia]], and [[epilepsy]]. With her permission, a video recording was made of her therapy session related to her bulimia, and it was broadcast on television. She also had [[dyslexia]]. In the 1990s, Margaux reported that she had been sexually abused by her father as a child.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAhC4mVpw6MC&pg=PA95| title=Reading by the Colors| last=Irlen| first=Helen| year=1991| access-date=2021-02-03| page=95| publisher=Penguin| isbn=978-0-3995-3156-9}}</ref><ref name=Eclipsed>{{cite web| url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-a-life-eclipsed-vol-46-no-3/| title=A Life Eclipsed| first=Karen S.| last=Schneider| work=People| date=July 15, 1996| volume=46| issue=3| access-date=2014-10-25}}</ref> In 2013, her younger sister Mariel said in the documentary [[Running from Crazy]] that both Margaux and their older sister Muffet had been sexually abused by their father.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Tapley| first1=Kristophe| title=Mariel Hemingway opens up about suicide, molestation and her family's curse in 'Running from Crazy'| journal=[[HitFix]]| url=http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/mariel-hemingway-opens-up-about-suicide-molestation-and-her-familys-curse-in-runnning-from-crazy| access-date=2015-02-16| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216053235/http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/mariel-hemingway-opens-up-about-suicide-molestation-and-her-familys-curse-in-runnning-from-crazy| archive-date=2015-02-16}}</ref>

== Career ==
===1972–1975: modeling===
Hemingway was {{convert|6|ft|m}} tall and had success as a model, including her million-dollar contract with [[House of Fabergé|Fabergé]] as the spokesmodel for Babe perfume in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/article/2001/06/29/papas-little-girl/| magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]| title=Papa's Little Girl| first=Nicholas| last=Fonseca| date=June 29, 2001| access-date=2021-02-03| archive-date=October 25, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025192629/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,256227,00.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> This was the first million-dollar contract ever awarded to a fashion model.<ref name=Marano>{{cite news| url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199612/what-killed-margaux-hemingway| work=Psychology Today| title=What Killed Margaux Hemingway?| last=Estroff Marano| first=Hara|date= 1 December 1996|access-date= 27 Aug 2022}}</ref> She also appeared on the covers of ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'', ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'', ''[[Harper's Bazaar]]'', and ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', as well as on the June 16, 1975, cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'', which dubbed her one of the "new beauties".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19750616,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314080528/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19750616,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=March 14, 2008| magazine=TIME| date=June 16, 1975| title=Margaux Hemingway (cover)}}</ref> The September 1, 1975, cover issue of ''Vogue'' called Hemingway "New York's New Supermodel".<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=Vogue Timeline| title=Margaux Hemingway (cover)| issue=September 1975 |url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/person/margaux-hemingway| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906115609/http://www.vogue.co.uk/person/margaux-hemingway| archive-date=September 6, 2015| df=mdy-all}}</ref>

During the height of her modeling career in the mid- to late 1970s, Hemingway was a regular attendee of New York City's exclusive [[discothèque]] [[Studio 54]], often in the company of such celebrities as [[Halston]], [[Bianca Jagger]], [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Grace Jones]], and [[Andy Warhol]]. At such social mixers, she began to use alcohol and drugs.<ref name=Marano/>

===1976–1996: film career===
[[File:Cary Grant and Margaux Hemingway, 1976.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Cary Grant]] and Margaux Hemingway, 1976]]

Hemingway made her film debut in the [[Lamont Johnson]]-directed [[rape and revenge film]] ''[[Lipstick (1976 film)|Lipstick]]'' (1976), alongside her 14-year-old sister Mariel, and [[Anne Bancroft]]. In it, she plays a fashion model who is terrorized by a rapist. The film's violent depiction of rape led it to be labeled an [[exploitation film]], though in later years it had success as a [[cult film]].<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/lipstick| journal=[[Slant Magazine]]| title=Lipstick: Film Review| last=Henderson| first=Eric| date=October 12, 2003| access-date=April 15, 2016}}</ref>

She followed this with a supporting role in the Italian horror film ''[[Killer Fish]]'' (1979), opposite [[Lee Majors]] and [[Karen Black]]. Her following project was the comedy ''[[They Call Me Bruce?]]'' in 1982. In 1984, Hemingway had a supporting part in ''[[Over the Brooklyn Bridge]]'', opposite [[Elliott Gould]] and [[Shelley Winters]]. After a skiing accident in 1984, Hemingway gained {{convert|75|lb}}, ending up at nearly {{cvt|200|lbs}}, and became increasingly depressed. In 1987, she checked into the [[Betty Ford Center]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Obituary: Margot Hemingway| first=Tony| last=Sloman| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-margot-hemingway-5609688.html| date=September 18, 2011| newspaper=[[The Independent]]| location=London}}</ref>

Attempting to make a comeback, she appeared on the cover of ''[[Playboy]]'' in May 1990, and asked the magazine to hire [[Zachary Selig]] as the creative director for her cover story. It was shot in [[Belize]].<ref name="Playboy"/> Despite her attempts, Hemingway's budding film career began to falter, and she took roles in several B-movies, including ''Killing Machine'' (1984) and ''[[Inner Sanctum (1991 film)|Inner Sanctum]]'' (1991).<ref>{{cite news| title=Video as Drive-in| url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/167172718/?terms=VIDEO%20AS%20DRIVE-IN%20FRED%20OLEN%20RAY%20CONTINUES%20THE%20CORMAN%20TRADITION&match=1| date=December 1, 1994| last=Liebenson| first=Donald| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| access-date=2021-02-03| url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Hemingway continued to support herself by appearing in a small number of [[direct-to-video]] films into the 1990s, autographing her nude photos from ''Playboy'', and endorsing a psychic telephone hotline owned by her cousin, Adiel Hemingway. Shortly before her death, she was set to host the outdoor adventure series ''Wild Guide'' on the [[Discovery Channel]].<ref name=Eclipsed/>

==Personal life==
[[File:Margaux Hemingway with Montes-Bradley.jpg|thumb|left|Hemingway with [[Eduardo Montes-Bradley]] in 1991]]
Hemingway's first marriage, to Errol Wetson (Wetanson), ended in divorce. They met when, at age 19, she accompanied her father to the [[Plaza Hotel]] in New York City on a business trip. Four months later she moved from Idaho to New York City to live with Wetson at 12 [[East 72nd Street]], which was owned by heiress [[Gloria Vanderbilt]].{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

On New Year's Eve 1979, Hemingway married French filmmaker Bernard Faucher in {{nowrap|Ketchum,}} and they lived in Paris for a year.<ref name=onmoma>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ssBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=6038%2C504929 |newspaper=[[Lewiston Morning Tribune]] |agency=Associated Press |title=Once more, Margaux |date=January 2, 1980 |page=2B}}</ref> She divorced him in 1985 after {{nowrap|six years.<ref name="Playboy">{{cite news| title=Margaux Hemingway: 'Papa's Girl' (Pictorial)| first=Arny| last=Freytag| journal=[[Playboy]]| volume= 37| issue=5| date=May 1990| pages=126–35}}</ref>}}

Hemingway had strained relationships with members of her family. She had a tense relationship with her mother, though they reconciled prior to Byra's death from cancer in 1988. She also competed with her younger sister Mariel, who received greater accolades for her acting. In the 1990s, Hemingway alleged that her father, Jack, had molested her as a child. Her father and stepmother, Angela, resented the allegations and stopped speaking to her. Angela told ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, "Jack and I did not talk to her for two years. She constantly lies. The whole family won't have anything to do with her. She's nothing but an angry woman."<ref name=Eclipsed/>

A 2013 television documentary film ''[[Running from Crazy]]'', in which Margaux's sister Mariel speaks of the Hemingway family history of alcoholism, drug addiction, molestation, and suicide, contains clips filmed by Margaux.<ref name=yahoonews>{{cite news |last=Germain |first=David |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Mariel Hemingway runs from crazy at Sundance |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/news/mariel-hemingway-runs-crazy-sundance-163835417.html |access-date=February 27, 2013 |newspaper=[[Yahoo! News]] |date=January 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204840/http://movies.yahoo.com/news/mariel-hemingway-runs-crazy-sundance-163835417.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Margaux Hemingway.jpg|thumb|upright|Margaux Hemingway in 1991]]
On July 1, 1996, Hemingway was found dead in her studio apartment in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]]. Her body was badly decomposed,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-21-me-36349-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805190612/https://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-21-me-36349-story.html|url-status=live|archive-date=August 5, 2020|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 21, 1996|title=Margaux Hemingway's Death Ruled a Suicide|last=Rainey|access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref> and the precise date of death could not be determined. The autopsy report and California death records therefore list July 1 as her date of death.{{efn|name=date}} She had taken an overdose of [[phenobarbital]], according to the [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] [[coroner]]'s toxicology report one month later,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/21/us/coroner-says-death-of-actress-was-suicide.html| newspaper=The New York Times| title=Coroner Says Death of Actress Was Suicide| date=August 21, 1996}}</ref> although her family had difficulty accepting the fact of her suicide.<ref name=Marano/>

Hemingway was interred at the Hemingway family plot at Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Idaho.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a37609/ernest-hemingway-grave/|title=Visiting Hemingway's Grave|work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=September 7, 2015|last=Holmes|first=Baxter|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230174032/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a37609/ernest-hemingway-grave/|archive-date=December 30, 2015}}</ref>

Mariel Hemingway's husband told ''People'' in 1996 that, "This [year] was the best I'd seen [Margaux] in years. She had gotten herself back together",<ref>{{cite news| url=https://people.com/archive/last-act-vol-46-no-10/| title=Last Act| magazine=People| date=September 2, 1996| volume=46| issue=10| access-date=September 24, 2008}}</ref> but in a December 2005 episode of ''[[Larry King Live]]'', Mariel said she now accepted her sister's death as a suicide.<ref>{{cite episode| url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/22/lkl.01.html| title=Surviving Suicide of Loved One| series=[[Larry King Live]]| credits=Presenter: [[Joan Rivers]]| date=December 22, 2005| network=[[CNN]]| access-date=May 24, 2008}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Lipstick (1976 film)|Lipstick]]''
| Christine McCormick
|
|-
| 1979
| ''[[Killer Fish]]''
| Gabrielle
| Alternative title: ''Naked Sun''
|-
| 1982
| ''[[They Call Me Bruce?]]''
| Karmen
|
|-
| 1984
| ''[[Over the Brooklyn Bridge]]''
| Elizabeth Anderson
|
|-
| 1984
| ''Killing Machine''
| Jacqueline
| Alternative title: ''Goma-2''
|-
| 1987
| ''Portami la luna''
|
| Television movie
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Inner Sanctum (1991 film)|Inner Sanctum]]''
| Anna Rawlins
|
|-
| 1992
| ''La donna di una sera''
| Ellen Foster
| US title: ''Woman's Secret''
|-
| 1992
| ''Bad Love''
| Jackie
|
|-
| 1992
| ''Deadly Rivals''
| Agent Linda Howerton
| Credited as Margot Hemingway
|-
| 1994
| ''Double Obsession''
| Heather Dwyer
| Distributed by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia TriStar]]. Produced by [[Eduardo Montes-Bradley]]
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Inner Sanctum II]]''
| Anna Rawlins
|
|-
| 1994
| ''Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up''
| Jean Searage
| Alternative title: ''Deadly Conspiracy''
|-
| 1995
| ''Vicious Kiss''
| Lisa
|
|-
| 1995
| ''A comme acteur''
|
|
|-
| 1996
| ''Dangerous Cargo''
| Julie
|
|-
| 1996
| ''Backroads to Vegas''
|
| Television movie
|-
|}

==Notes==
{{Noteslist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Margaux Hemingway}}
* {{IMDb name|0000029}}
*{{Find a Grave|2185}}

{{Ernest Hemingway}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingway, Margaux}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:1996 suicides]]
[[Category:Female suicides]]
[[Category:Suicides in California]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Hemingway family|Margaux]]
[[Category:Actresses from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American female models]]
[[Category:Female models from Idaho]]
[[Category:Female suicides]]
[[Category:Actresses from Idaho]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in California]]
[[Category:Barbiturates-related deaths]]
[[Category:Female models from Oregon]]
[[Category:People with epilepsy]]
[[Category:Catlin Gabel School alumni]]

Edward Platt

2025-11-02T15:29:27Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|American actor (1916–1974)}}
{{About|the American actor|the English author|Edward Platt (author)|the English professional footballer|Ted Platt}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edward Platt
| image = Edward Platt in The Rebel Set (1959).jpg
| caption = Platt in ''[[The Rebel Set]]'' (1959)
| birth_name = Edward Cuthbert Platt
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|2|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Staten Island, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|3|19|1916|2|16|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Juilliard School]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Suzanne Belcher|1954|1973|end=divorce}}
| children = 4
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1941–1974
}}
'''Edward Cuthbert Platt''' (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor widely known for his portrayal of [[Get Smart#The Chief|the Chief]] in the 1965–1970 [[NBC]]/[[CBS]] television series ''[[Get Smart]]''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he played an eclectic mix of characters over the span of his career.

==Early life and military service==
Platt was born in [[Staten Island, New York]]. He spent a part of his childhood in Kentucky and upstate New York, where he attended the [[Northwood School (Lake Placid, New York)|Northwood School]], a private school in [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], and was a member of the ski jump team. He also studied at the [[Juilliard School]].<ref name="St. Joseph News-Press">{{cite news |title=Actor Edward Platt Is Dead Of Heart Attack |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bp9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OlMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1104%2C3692441 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[St. Joseph News-Press]] |date=March 21, 1974 |page=4A |access-date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> He attended [[Princeton University]], but left after his first year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edplatt.20m.com/about.html |title=About Edward Platt |website=The Edward Platt Tribute Site |access-date=July 7, 2014}}</ref> He served in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]]. Before becoming an actor, he sang for two years with the [[Paul Whiteman Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite news |date=March 21, 1974 |title=Ed Platt, Chief in 'Get Smart', 58 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/21/archives/ed-platt-chief-in-get-smart-58-tv-and-stage-actor-diessang-for.html |access-date=November 21, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Acting career==
[[File:Edward Platt in Four Star Playhouse (Bourbon Street).jpg|thumb|Platt in the TV series ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]'' (1954)]]
[[File:Virginia Brissac, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Edward Platt and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause trailer.jpg|thumb|[[Virginia Brissac]], [[Jim Backus]], [[Ann Doran]], Edward Platt and [[James Dean]] in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' (1955)]]

An operatically trained [[bass-baritone]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wouldyoubelieve.com/platt.html|title=Edward Platt|website=Would You Believe}}</ref>{{efn|In the ''Get Smart'' episode "The Hot Line", Platt sings the French song "[[Alouette (song)|Alouette]]".}} with a powerful voice, he debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] musical ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]''. [[José Ferrer]], who performed with Platt in the Broadway play ''The Shrike'', helped him land his first film role in the 1955 film version. Also in 1955, Platt appeared in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' starring [[James Dean]], [[Natalie Wood]] and [[Sal Mineo]].In 1957 he had a supporting role in "Designing Woman" with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall. He returned to Broadway in 1958 with the musical ''[[Oh, Captain!]]'', in a romantic role. In 1959, he played [[Cary Grant]]'s attorney in ''[[North by Northwest]]'', and he starred in the movie ''[[The Rebel Set]].''

Platt also appeared in episodes of the original ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' ("The Case of the Slandered Submarine" and "The Case of the Larcenous Lady"); ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'', ''[[Trackdown (TV series)|Trackdown]]'', ''[[State Trooper (TV series)|State Trooper]]'' (in the episode "Who Killed Doc Robbins"), ''[[Men into Space]]'' ("From Another World"), ''[[Ripcord (TV series)|Ripcord]]'' ("Million Dollar Drop"), ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond|One Step Beyond]]'', ''[[The Rifleman]]'' (S5 E7 "The Assailants" as Sen. Bordon 1962), ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'', ''[[Whispering Smith (TV series)|Whispering Smith]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' ("The Man with the Power" and "Keeper of the Purple Twilight"), ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' ("A Nice Friendly Game Of Cards"), ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)|Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'', ''[[Bat Masterson (TV series)|Bat Masterson]]'' (in the 1959  episode "Incident in Leadville"), ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', and ''[[Wagon Train]]''

Platt was widely known for his role as The Chief in the espionage parody television series ''[[Get Smart]]'' (1965–1970). After it ended, he had a recurring role in the situation comedy series ''[[The Governor & J.J.]]'' in 1970. He had guest roles in several other television series of the era, mostly comedies, including ''[[Temperatures Rising]]'', ''[[Bewitched]]'', ''[[Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law]]'', ''[[Love, American Style]]'', and ''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]'' as Oscar Madison's boss in the episode "[[List of The Odd Couple (1970 TV series) episodes#Season 1 .281970–1971.29|Oscar's New Life]]".

Platt appeared as [[Sotto voce]] in the 1969 [[KCET]] television reading of [[Norman Corwin]]'s 1938 radio play ''[[The Plot to Overthrow Christmas]]''.

==Work as producer==
In 1973, Platt raised the money to produce one of the first independent feature films shot entirely on videotape: ''[[Santee (film)|Santee]]'', starring [[Glenn Ford]]. His crew shot the production with electronic TV cameras and portable video tape recorders, then had the images transferred to film for theatrical release. The movie was not commercially successful. {{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

==Death==
Platt was found dead in his Santa Monica apartment on March 19, 1974, at the age of 58.<ref>{{cite news |title=Edward Platt, Actor, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6436670/lincoln_evening_journal/ |newspaper=[[Lincoln Journal Star]]| agency=[[United Press International]]| date=March 21, 1974| page=22| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| access-date=July 7, 2024| url-access=subscription}}</ref> Initial reports indicated the cause of death was a heart attack, but Platt's son later said that his father died from suicide after a long struggle with untreated depression.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/153187%7C44929/Edward-Platt/ "Edward Platt —Biography"]. ''[[Turner Classic Movies]]''. Retrieved July 7, 2024. "While early reports blamed a heart attack for the actor's death, his son later admitted Platt had committed suicide after a long struggle with untreated depression."</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1949
|''[[I Was a Male War Bride]]''
|Lieutenant in Gates's Office
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=6|1955
|''[[Cult of the Cobra]]''
|Lamian Threatening Death
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Shrike (film)|The Shrike]]''
|Harry Downs
|
|-
|''[[The McConnell Story]]''
|Medical Corps Instructor
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Illegal (1955 film)|Illegal]]''
|Ralph Ford
|
|-
|''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''
|Ray Fremick
|
|-
|''[[Sincerely Yours (film)|Sincerely Yours]]''
|Dr. Eubank
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=11|1956
|''[[The Lieutenant Wore Skirts]]''
|Major Dunning
|
|-
|''[[The Steel Jungle]]''
|Judge Wahller
|
|-
|''[[Backlash (1956 film)|Backlash]]''
|Sheriff J.C. Marson
|Credited as Edward C. Platt
|-
|''[[Serenade (1956 film)|Serenade]]''
|Everett Carter
|
|-
|''[[The Proud Ones]]''
|Dr. Barlow
|
|-
|''[[Storm Center]]''
|Reverend Wilson
|
|-
|''[[The Unguarded Moment (film)|The Unguarded Moment]]''
|Attorney Briggs
|
|-
|''[[Written on the Wind]]''
|Dr. Paul Cochrane
|
|-
| ''[[Reprisal!]]''
|Neil Shipley
|
|-
|''[[Rock, Pretty Baby]]''
|Thomas Daley Sr. M.D.
|
|-
|''[[The Great Man]]''
|Dr. O'Connor
|
|-
|rowspan=6|1957
|''[[The Tattered Dress]]''
|Ralph Adams
|
|-
|''[[Designing Woman]]''
|Martin J. Daylor
|
|-
|''[[Omar Khayyam (1957 film)|Omar Khayyam]]''
|Jayhan
|
|-
|''[[House of Numbers (1957 film)|House of Numbers]]''
|The Warden
|
|-
|''[[The Helen Morgan Story]]''
|Johnny Haggerty
|
|-
|''[[Oregon Passage]]''
|Roland Dane
|
|-
|rowspan=6|1958
|''[[The Gift of Love]]''
|Dr. Jim Miller
|
|-
|''[[Damn Citizen]]''
|Joseph Kosta
|
|-
|''[[The High Cost of Loving]]''
|Eli Cave
|
|-
|''[[Summer Love (1958 film)|Summer Love]]''
|Dr. Thomas Daley
|
|-
|''[[The Last of the Fast Guns]]''
|Sam Grypton
|Credited as Edward C. Platt
|-
|''[[Gunman's Walk]]''
|Purcell Avery
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1959
|''[[The Rebel Set]]''
|Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
|
|-
|''[[North by Northwest]]''
|Victor Larrabee
|
|-
|''[[They Came to Cordura]]''
|Colonel DeRose
|
|-
|''[[Inside the Mafia]]''
|Dan Regent
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1960
|''[[Cash McCall]]''
|Harrison Glenn
|
|-
|''[[Pollyanna (1960 film)|Pollyanna]]''
|Ben Tarbell
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1961
|''[[The Fiercest Heart]]''
|Madrigo
|
|-
|''[[Atlantis, the Lost Continent]]''
|Azar the High Priest
|
|-
|''[[Snow White and the Three Stooges]]''
|Villager
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Explosive Generation]]''
|Mr. Morton
|
|-
|1962
|''[[Cape Fear (1962 film)|Cape Fear]]''
|Judge
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1963
|''[[Black Zoo]]''
|Detective Rivers
|
|-
|''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]''
|General [[George Henry Thomas]]
|
|-
|''[[A Ticklish Affair]]''
|Captain Haven Hitchcock
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1964
|''[[Shock Treatment (1964 film)|Shock Treatment]]''
|District Attorney
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Bullet for a Badman]]''
|Tucker
|
|-
|1965
|''[[The Man from Button Willow]]''
|The Man in the Black Cape
|Voice, Uncredited
|}

==Television credits==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Series
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1955
|''[[Gunsmoke]]''
|Mr. Burgess
|Season 1 Episode 7: "Smoking Out the Nolans"
|-
| rowspan=3|1958
|''Silent Service''
|Captain Benítez
|Episode: "The Last Dive"
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 2 Episode 18: "Doc Bell"
|-
|''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]''
|Sheriff Galt
|Season 2 Episode 14: "Trial by Fear"
|-
| rowspan=7|1959
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Matthew Sinclair
|Season 2 Episode 30: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Duke LeMay Story]]" (airdate: April 29, 1959)
|-
|''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''
|Mayor
|Season 2 Episode 17: "The Traffetta Mayor" (airdate: January 10, 1959)
|-
|''[[Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond|One Step Beyond]]''
|Will Denning
|Season 1 Episode 16: "The Burning Girl" (airdate: May 5, 1959)
|-
|''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''
|Jason Clark
|Season 2 Episode 6: "Incident of the Thirteenth Man" (airdate: October 23, 1959)
|-
|''[[Mr. Lucky (TV series)|Mr Lucky]]''
|Henry Praiswater
|Season 1 Episode 3: "The Stowaway"
|-
|''Police Station''
|Desk Sergeant
|
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 4 Episode 12: "Return of Doc Bell"
|-
| rowspan=6|1960
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Spinoza de Costa
|Season 3 Episode 16: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Maidie Brant Story]]" (airdate: January 20, 1960)
|-
|''[[Men into Space]]''
|Dr. Luraski
|Season 1 Episode 29: "From Another World"
|-
|''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]''
|Marshall Mays
|Season 5 Episode 4: "The Ox"
|-
|''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
|Commander Driscoll
|Season 3 Episode 23: "The Case of the Slandered Submarine"
|-
|''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
|Tom Stratton
|Season 4 Episode 12: "The Case of the Larcenous Lady"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Harvey Bufford
|Season 1 Episode 17: "The Outcast"
|-
| rowspan=3|1961
|''[[The Twilight Zone]]''
|The Doctor
|Season 2 Episode 23: "[[A Hundred Yards Over the Rim]]"
|-
|''[[Boris Karloff's Thriller]]''
|Jim Weeks
|Season 1 Episode 27: "Late Date"
|-
|''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''
|Mr. Henshaw
|Season 6 Episode 25: "Museum Piece"
|-
| rowspan=5|1962
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Cyrus Bolton
|Season 5 Episode 34: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Frank Carter Story]]" (airdate: May 23, 1962)
|-
|''[[Bronco (TV series)|Bronco]]''
|Sheriff Ben Lockwood
|Season 4 Episode 7: "Ride the Whirlwind"
|-
|''[[The Rifleman]]''
|Senator Jim Bordon
|Season 5 Episode 7: "The Assailants"
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 6 Episode 34: "Vignette of a Sinner"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Wade Colly
|Season 3 Episode 23: "The Guilty"
|-
| rowspan=3|1963
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|Dean Radcliffe
|Season 1 Episode 4: "[[The Man with the Power]]"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Will Flanders
|Season 4 Episode 15: "The Colonel"
|-
|''[[Ripcord (TV series)|Ripcord]]''
|Jake Miller
|Season 2 Episode 23: "Million Dollar Drop"
|-
| rowspan=6|1964
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|Mr. Terrence
|Season 1 Episode 28: "[[The Special One (The Outer Limits)|The Special One]]"
|-
|''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]''
|Lou Gregory
|Season 3 Episode 18: "A Nice, Friendly Game of Cards"
|-
|''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]''
|2nd patient (Sam)
|Season 2 Episode 10: "The Gun"
|-
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|David Hunt
|Season 2 Episode 12: "[[Keeper of the Purple Twilight]]"
|-
| ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''
|Stuart Brynmar
|Season 2 Episode 26: "The Secret of Brynmar Hall"
|-
| ''[[Petticoat Junction]]''
|General Patterson
|Season 2 Episode 12: "The Lost Patrol"
|-
|1965–1970
|''[[Get Smart]]''
|Chief of CONTROL
|Main cast (137 episodes)
|-
| rowspan=5|1970
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 6: "Fawcett is Running"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 9: "The Making of the Governor"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 10: "A Day in the Life"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 12 "P.S. I Don't Love You"
|-
|''[[Bewitched]]''
|Jennings Booker
|Season 7 Episode 10 Samantha's Old Man
|-
|1971
|''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]''
|Bill Donnelly
|Season 1 Episode 21: "Oscar's New Life"
|-
|1972
|''[[The Snoop Sisters]]''
|Julius 'Jules' Nero
|Season 1 Pilot Episode: "The Female Instinct"
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090207211633/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/1340966-edward-platt "Chief" places 6th on Great Secondary TV Characters list]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Edward}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:1974 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:American bass-baritones]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from Staten Island]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Singers from New York City]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]

Margot Kidder

2025-11-02T15:25:55Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|Canadian and American actress and activist (1948–2018)}}
{{Pp-pc}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Margot Kidder 1970 publicity photo (crop).png
| caption = Kidder in 1970
| birth_name = Margaret Ruth Kidder
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|10|17}}
| birth_place = [[Yellowknife]], [[Northwest Territories]], Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|05|13|1948|10|17}}
| death_place = [[Livingston, Montana]], U.S.
| citizenship = {{Hlist|Canada|United States (from 2005)}}
| occupation = {{Hlist|Actress|activist}}
| years_active = 1965–2018
| awards = {{Unbulleted list |[[Saturn Award for Best Actress|Saturn Award – Best Actress]] [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress|Canadian Screen Award – Best Actress]]|[[Daytime Emmy Awards|Daytime Emmy Award]] – [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming|Outstanding Performer]]|[[Genie Awards|Genie Award]] – [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]}}
| works = [[List of Margot Kidder performances|Full list]]
| spouse = {{Unbulleted list | {{Marriage|[[Thomas McGuane]]|1976|1977|reason=divorced}} | {{Marriage|[[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]]|1979|1980|reason=divorced}} | {{Marriage|[[Philippe de Broca]]|1983|1984|reason=divorced}}}}
| children = 1
}}
'''Margaret Ruth Kidder''' (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed [[List of Margot Kidder performances|several film and television credits]] in her career spanning five decades, including her widely known role as [[Lois Lane (1978 film series character)|Lois Lane]] in the original [[Superman in film#Salkind/Cannon film series (1978–1987)|''Superman'' films]] (1978–1987). Her accolades included two [[Canadian Film Awards]], an [[Daytime Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]], a [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]], and a [[Saturn Awards|Saturn Award]].

Born in [[Yellowknife]] to a Canadian mother and an American father, Kidder was raised in the [[Northwest Territories]] and several Canadian provinces. She began her acting career in the 1960s, appearing in low-budget Canadian productions and winning the [[21st Canadian Film Awards#Special Awards|Canadian Film Special Award]] in [[21st Canadian Film Awards|1969]]. She first received attention for appearing in the comedy film ''[[Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx]]'' (1970), the horror films ''[[Sisters (1972 film)|Sisters]]'' (1972), ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974), and ''[[The Reincarnation of Peter Proud]]'' (1975), and the drama films ''[[A Quiet Day in Belfast]]'' (1974) and ''[[The Great Waldo Pepper]]'' (1975).

Kidder's international [[Breakthrough role|breakthrough]] came with playing Lois Lane in [[Superman (1978 film)|''Superman'']] (1978) and [[The Amityville Horror|Kathy Lutz]] in ''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979), which were [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster films]]. For these roles, she was twice nominated for the [[Saturn Award for Best Actress]], winning in [[6th Saturn Awards|1978]] for ''Superman''. She reprised the role of Lois in three ''Superman'' sequels (1980–1987), and also played Rita Harris in the comedy film [[Heartaches (1981 film)|''Heartaches'']] (1981) and made her stage debut with the play ''[[Bus Stop (play)|Bus Stop]]'' (1982). After a stint of films and projects that were ambivalently received, Kidder sustained serious injuries in a car accident that left her temporarily paralyzed in 1990, and suffered from a highly publicized [[mania|manic]] episode and [[Mental disorder#Definition|nervous breakdown]] in 1996 stemming from [[bipolar disorder]].

Kidder thereafter maintained steady work in [[Independent film|independent films]] and television, notably appearing in the hockey film ''[[Chicks with Sticks]]'' (2004) and the horror picture [[Halloween II (2009 film)|''Halloween II'']] (2009), and playing a guest role on ''[[The Haunting Hour: The Series|R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour]]'' (2015). She maintained [[Multiple citizenship|dual citizenship]] and was an outspoken [[Activism|political]], [[environmental movement|environmental]] and [[Anti-war movement|antiwar]] activist.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=August 11, 2011|title=Margot Kidder arrested at White House oil protest|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/margot-kidder-arrested-at-white-house-oil-protest-1.1112044|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> Kidder died on May 13, 2018, of an alcohol and drug overdose, which was ruled a [[suicide]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Henderson|first=Cydney|date=August 8, 2018|title='Superman' actress Margot Kidder's death ruled a suicide|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/08/08/superman-actress-margot-kidder-death-suicide/942170002/|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Margaret Ruth Kidder, one of five children, was born on October 17, 1948, in [[Yellowknife]], [[Northwest Territories]], the daughter of Jocelyn Mary "Jill" ([[Maiden and married names|née]] Wilson), a history teacher from [[British Columbia]], and Kendall Kidder, an American explosives expert and engineer originally from [[New Mexico]].{{sfn|Aaker|2017|p=242}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hart|first=Sue|date=|title=A Livingston Double Feature Margot Kidder & Joe Camp|url=https://www.distinctlymontana.com/index.aspx/issues/Fall2007/inspire/Livingston_Double_Feature|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516154817/https://www.distinctlymontana.com/index.aspx/issues/Fall2007/inspire/Livingston_Double_Feature|archive-date=May 16, 2008|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=Distinctly Montana}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/whodoyouthinkyouare/stories/ext_margot.php |title=Who Do You Think You Are? | Stories | Margot Kidder|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |date=January 7, 1919 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331114436/http://www.cbc.ca/whodoyouthinkyouare/stories/ext_margot.php |archive-date=March 31, 2009}}</ref><ref>Published in the ''Vancouver Sun'' and/or ''The Province'', June 7, 2008</ref> She was of [[Welsh people|Welsh]] and [[English people|English]] descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-34775598 |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Superman actress Margot Kidder finds family ties to Powys |date=November 10, 2015 |access-date=April 20, 2016}}</ref>

Kidder was born in Yellowknife because of her father's employment, which required the family to live in remote locations.{{sfn|Hobson|Leonard|2001|p=161}} Her father subsequently served as the manager of the Yellowknife Telephone Company from 1948 to 1951. She had one sister, Annie, who is an actress and executive director of the People for Education charity, and three brothers: John, Michael, and Peter. Two of her siblings married notable Canadians: Annie married actor [[Eric Peterson]] and John married politician [[Elizabeth May]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Zussman |first=Richard |date=April 22, 2019 |title=Green Party Leader Elizabeth May celebrates wedding, Jody Wilson-Raybould contemplates Green run |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5191700/elizabeth-may-jody-wilson-raybould-green/ |work=Global News |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> Kidder's niece [[Janet Kidder]] is also an actress.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Paur |first1=Joey |title=Superman Actress Margot Kidder has Passed Away |url=https://geektyrant.com/news/superman-actress-margot-kidder-has-passed-away |website=Geek Tyrant |date=May 14, 2018 |access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref>

Recalling her childhood in northern Canada, Kidder said: "We didn't have movies in this little mining town. When I was 12, my mom took me to [[New York City|New York [City] ]] and I saw ''[[Bye Bye Birdie]]'', with people singing and dancing, and that was it. I knew I had to go far away. I was clueless, but I [have done] okay."<ref name="roberts" /> In addition to Yellowknife, she also spent some time growing up in [[Labrador City]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]].<ref name=brink>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-19-ca-55221-story.html |date=November 19, 1997 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=Back From The Brink |author=Rothman, Clifford |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321172159/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/19/entertainment/ca-55221|archive-date=March 21, 2015}}</ref> Kidder became interested in [[politics]] from a young age, which she credited to debates her parents would have over the dinner table; her mother had [[socialism|socialist]] leanings, while her father was a conservative [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref name="george">{{cite interview |date=December 12, 2012 |access-date=April 24, 2016 |title=Interview with Margot Kidder |interviewer=George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight |publisher=CBC |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhMY7rURZQA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/bhMY7rURZQA| archive-date=2021-10-31 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Kidder had [[mental health]] issues from a young age, which stemmed from undiagnosed [[bipolar disorder]].<ref name="yahoo">{{Cite web |last=Byrne |first=Suzy |date=May 14, 2018 |title=After 'the most public freak-out in history,' Margot Kidder became one of Hollywood's most prominent mental health advocates |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/public-freak-history-margot-kidder-became-one-hollywoods-prominent-mental-health-advocates-211209301.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105041657/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/public-freak-history-margot-kidder-became-one-hollywoods-prominent-mental-health-advocates-211209301.html |archive-date=January 5, 2019 |work=Yahoo!}}</ref> "I knew I was different, had these mind flights that other people didn't seem to have," she recalled.<ref name=yahoo /> At age 14, she [[attempted suicide]].<ref name=yahoo /> Kidder found an outlet in acting, as she felt she could "let my real self out ... and no one would know it was me."<ref name=yahoo /> "Nobody ever encouraged me to be an actress," she recalled. "It was taken as a joke ... As a teenager, I envisioned myself in every book I read. I wanted to be [[Henry Miller]] and [[Thomas Wolfe]]. I wanted to eat everything on the world's platter, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach."<ref name=klinger />

She attended several schools during her youth through her family's relocations, eventually graduating from [[Havergal College]], a high-school-level boarding school in [[Toronto]], in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.havergal.on.ca/page.cfm?p=402&newsid=7|work=Havergal College|title=Old Girl Margot Kidder 1966 Returns to Havergal|date=August 13, 2010|access-date=January 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522014331/http://www.havergal.on.ca/page.cfm?p=402#.VMy4tlvXnLY|archive-date=May 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1966, she found herself pregnant by her boyfriend, who arranged for an illegal abortion. The abortionist was located in a hotel room and filled Kidder's uterus with [[Lysol]] to terminate the pregnancy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-sanguine-sex/305780/|title=The Sanguine Sex|last=Flanagan|first=Caitlin|date=May 1, 2007|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=May 27, 2019}}</ref> After graduating from Havergal, Kidder relocated to [[Vancouver]] to attend the [[University of British Columbia]], but dropped out after one year.<ref name=klinger /> She returned to Toronto, where she found work as a [[model (person)|model]].<ref name=klinger />

== Career ==
=== 1960s ===
[[File:Margot Kidder Gaily, Gaily.png|thumb|Kidder in 1969]]
Kidder's television debut was in an episode of ''[[Wojeck]]'' aired January 16, 1968. She made her film debut in a 49-minute film titled ''[[The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar]]'' (1968), a drama set in a Canadian logging community, which was produced by the [[Challenge for Change]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/best_damn_fiddler_from_calabogie_to_kaladar|work=National Film Board of Canada|title=The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar|access-date=April 9, 2016}}</ref> Kidder's 1969 appearance in the episode "Does Anybody Here Know Denny?" on the Canadian drama series ''[[Corwin (TV series)|Corwin]]'' earned her a [[Canadian Film Awards|Canadian Film Award]] for "outstanding new talent."{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=112}}

Kidder's first major feature was the 1969 American film ''[[Gaily, Gaily]]'', a [[historical drama|period]] comedy starring [[Beau Bridges]], in which she portrayed a prostitute.{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=111}} She subsequently appeared in a number of TV drama series for the [[CBC Television|CBC]],{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=111}} including guest appearances on ''[[Adventures in Rainbow Country]]'', and a semi-regular role as a young reporter on ''[[McQueen (TV series)|McQueen]]'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/actor-best-known-for-playing-lois-lane-1.3500217|title=Actor best known for playing Lois Lane|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=September 24, 2019}}</ref> and as a panelist on ''Mantrap'', which featured discussions centered on a feminist perspective.{{Sfn|McNeil|1991|p=471}}

=== 1970s ===
[[File:Jennifer Salt, William Finley, and Margot Kidder in Sisters.png|thumb|Kidder (right) with [[Jennifer Salt]] and [[William Finley (actor)|William Finley]] in ''[[Sisters (1973 film)|Sisters]]'', (1973)|left]]
During the 1971–72 season, she co-starred as barmaid Ruth in ''[[Nichols (TV series)|Nichols]]'', a [[James Garner]]–led Western,<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|title='Superman' Star Margot Kidder Dies at 69|author=''The Hollywood Reporter'' Staff|date=May 14, 2018|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/margot-kidder-dead-superman-actress-was-69-1111613|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702204551/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/margot-kidder-dead-superman-actress-was-69-1111613|archive-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref> which aired 22 episodes on [[NBC]]. During an August 3, 1970, interview on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'', Kidder stated that she was ambivalent toward having a film career, and was considering working as a [[Film editing|film editor]] in the future.<ref name="cavett">{{Cite interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAjixPssqCo | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525044819/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAjixPssqCo&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2019-05-25 | url-status=dead|author=Cavett, Dick|title=Interview with Janis Joplin, Gloria Swanson, and Margot Kidder|interviewer=Margot Kidder|work=[[The Dick Cavett Show]]|date=August 3, 1970 |access-date=August 9, 2018}}</ref> At this time, she had become an acquaintance of director [[Robert Altman]]'s, and served as an apprentice assisting him in editing ''[[Brewster McCloud]]'' (1970).{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=111}} She subsequently appeared in "Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On", the first pilot for ''[[Harry O]]'', which aired in March 1973. She was a [[Guest appearance|guest star]] in a 1972 episode of the [[George Peppard]] detective series ''[[Banacek]]''.<ref name="TVG">{{Cite web|title=Margot Kidder List of Movies and TV Shows|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/margot-kidder/credits/163984/|website=[[TV Guide]]|publisher=NTVB Media|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref>

After moving to [[Los Angeles]], Kidder was cast opposite [[Gene Wilder]] in ''[[Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx]]'' (1970)<ref>{{Citation|title=Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066266/|access-date=September 24, 2019}}</ref> as an exchange student in Ireland who becomes the love interest of a poor horse manure collector in Dublin, whom she almost runs over with her car. After filming in Ireland, Kidder relocated to New York City to study acting further.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.terrortrap.com/screamqueens/kidder.php|title=Scream Queens: Margot Kidder|work=The Terror Trap|author1=Knowles, Jason |author2=Hunter, Dan |access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref> A year later, she returned to California, and was cast in the [[Brian De Palma]] film ''[[Sisters (1972 film)|Sisters]]'' (1972), which gained notoriety for both the director and Kidder, who as leading lady, portrayed [[conjoined twins]], one of whom is a suspect in a brutal murder.<ref name="roberts">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/apr/09/culture.features|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=No kidding|date=April 8, 2005|access-date=January 31, 2015|author=Roberts, Chris}}</ref> Kidder had been in a relationship with De Palma at the time, and had been roommates with co-star [[Jennifer Salt]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="random">{{Cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/random-roles-margot-kidder-24554|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|publisher=Onion Media|title=Random Roles: Margot Kidder|date=March 3, 2009|author=Rabin, Nathan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213050305/http://www.avclub.com/article/random-roles-margot-kidder-24554|archive-date=December 13, 2014}}</ref> ''Sisters'' went on to achieve critical recognition, being considered among the best American films of the decade by critic [[Robin Wood (critic)|Robin Wood]],{{Sfn|Wood|2003|p=134}} as well as one of the most important films in Kidder's career by film critic G. Allen Johnson.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|author=Johnson, G. Allen|date=June 27, 2018|title=De Palma's 'Sisters' a key film in Margot Kidder's career|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/De-Palma-s-Sisters-a-key-film-in-Margot-13029018.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181115100453/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/De-Palma-s-Sisters-a-key-film-in-Margot-13029018.ph|archive-date=November 15, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=November 15, 2018}}</ref>

In 1974, she starred in the slasher film ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'', for which she won a Canadian Film Award for Best Actress,{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=112}} followed by a role as a prostitute in the [[Terrence Malick]]–scripted ''[[The Gravy Train]]'' (1974).<ref name="random" /> She received another Canadian Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the war drama ''[[A Quiet Day in Belfast]]'' (1974).{{Sfn|Rist|2001|p=112}}<ref name="enyc">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/margot-kidder/|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Margot Kidder|author=Wise, Wyndham|date=November 2, 2010|access-date=April 22, 2016}}</ref> Also in 1974, Kidder made her directorial debut with a 50-minute short film produced for the [[American Film Institute]], titled ''Again''.<ref name=bottled /> The film follows a woman who pastes photographs of her former lovers on her wall, continuously searching for "Mr. Right".<ref name=bottled />

[[File:Margot Kidder in The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1).jpg|thumb|Kidder in ''[[The Reincarnation of Peter Proud]]'' (1975)|left]]
Kidder had a central supporting role in the airplane-themed drama ''[[The Great Waldo Pepper]]'' (1975) opposite [[Robert Redford]] and [[Susan Sarandon]], followed by a lead role in the psychological horror film ''[[The Reincarnation of Peter Proud]]'', directed by [[J. Lee Thompson]], in which she portrayed a woman about whom a college professor has recurring nightmares.{{Sfn|Muir|2012|pages=366–367}} ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' praised her performance in the latter film as "outstandingly rich."<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=''The Reincarnation of Peter Proud''|author=''Variety'' Staff|date=December 31, 1974|url=https://variety.com/1974/film/reviews/the-reincarnation-of-peter-proud-1200423337/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125191733/https://variety.com/1974/film/reviews/the-reincarnation-of-peter-proud-1200423337/|archive-date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> In the summer of 1975, Kidder was hired to direct a [[documentary film|documentary short]] chronicling the making of ''[[The Missouri Breaks]]'' (1976), a Western film starring [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Jack Nicholson]].<ref name=bottled /> "I was such a jerk," she recalled. "I mean, I thought they wanted a real documentary. So, I filmed all the behind-the-scenes rows and arguments and shot footage of the vet shooting up the horses with tranquilizers so the actors would look as if they rode well. What an idiot I was. Then when they fired me, I realized what they'd wanted was a publicity film."<ref name=bottled />

She subsequently co-starred with [[Peter Fonda]] in ''[[92 in the Shade]]'', also in 1975, a drama directed by novelist [[Thomas McGuane]], based on his own book.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/22/archives/selfindulgence-is-triumphant-in-92-in-the-shade.html|title=Self-Indulgence Is Triumphant in '92 in the Shade'|last=Ederjan|first=Richard|date=January 22, 1976|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922173922/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/22/archives/selfindulgence-is-triumphant-in-92-in-the-shade.html|archive-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> Kidder then took a hiatus from acting, though she appeared in the March 9, 1975, edition of ''[[The American Sportsman]]'', learning how to [[Hang gliding|hang glide]], and providing the narration, with a remote microphone recording her reactions in flight; the segment concluded with Kidder doing solos soaring amid the Wyoming Rockies.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BuAbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2lEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3884%2c568327 "The American Sportsman Goes Hunting and Gliding"]. ''[[The Dispatch (Lexington)|The Dispatch]]''. March 7, 1975.</ref> She was also photographed by [[Douglas Kirkland]] for the March 1975 issue of ''[[Playboy]]'', accompanied by an article written by Kidder herself.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Playboy]]|date=March 1975|volume=22|issue=3|pages=86–93|last=Kidder|first=Margot|title=Margot|issn=0032-1478|publisher=[[Playboy Enterprises]]}}</ref>

[[File:Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder at Superman premiere.jpg|thumb|[[Christopher Reeve]] (left) and Kidder (right) at the premiere of [[Superman (1978 film)|''Superman'']] in 1978]]
In 1977, eager to return to acting, Kidder read for the character of [[Lois Lane]] in ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman: The Movie]]'', only one month before principal photography was scheduled to begin.<ref name=klinger /> Kidder was flown to England for screen-tests.<ref name="random" /> Upon meeting with director [[Richard Donner]], Kidder tripped while walking into the room.<ref name=donnersyfy>{{Cite web|work=[[Syfy]]|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/superman-director-richard-donner-pays-tribute-to-margot-kidder|title=''Superman'' director Richard Donner pays tribute to Margot Kidder, the 'one true Lois Lane'|date=May 14, 2018|last=Weiss|first=Josh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515052443/http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/superman-director-richard-donner-pays-tribute-to-margot-kidder|archive-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> Donner recalled: "I just fell in love with her. It was perfect, this clumsy [behavior]."<ref name=donnersyfy /> She was ultimately cast in the role, which would become her most iconic.<ref name="random" /> Filming lasted about 18 months.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire Online]]|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/making-superman/|title=From The Archive: The Making Of Superman|last=Smith|first=Adam|date=October 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116003709/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/making-superman/|archive-date=November 16, 2018}}</ref>

''Superman'' was released during Christmas 1978 and was a major commercial success, grossing $300 million worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=''Superman'' (1978)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=superman.htm|access-date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> She was deemed "most charming" by [[Vincent Canby]] in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Canby, Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=December 15, 1978 |title=Screen: It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Movie |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/15/archives/screen-its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-movie.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> James Harwood of [[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']] said that she "plays perfectly off both of his [<nowiki/>[[Christopher Reeve|Reeve]]'s] personalities and her initial double-entendre interview with Superman is wickedly coy, dancing round the obvious question any red-blooded girl might ask herself about such a magnificent prospect."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harwood |first=James |date=1978-12-13 |title=Superman |url=https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/superman-1200424325/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Sonia Saraiya of ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' praised her ability to balance Lois's ditzy nature with her ambition and no-nonsense attitude, and wrote: "Kidder played a human woman who could believably both attract and deserve a man who is canonically perfect, with the physique of a Greek god and the moral compass of a saint."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Saraiya |first=Sonia |date=2018-05-14 |title=Why Margot Kidder Was the Definitive Lois Lane |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/margot-kidder-lois-lane-in-memoriam |access-date=2024-08-17 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> For the role, Kidder won the [[Saturn Award for Best Actress]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kxxv.com/story/38184684/superman-actress-margot-kidder-dies|work=[[KXXV]]|location=Waco, Texas|title='Superman' actress Margot Kidder dies|last=Wright|first=Kimberly L.|date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514215325/http://www.kxxv.com/story/38184684/superman-actress-margot-kidder-dies|archive-date=May 14, 2018|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]}}</ref>

After completing filming for ''Superman'', Kidder starred as Kathy Lutz in the supernatural horror film ''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979), which further cemented her status as one of Hollywood's leading ladies. ''The Amityville Horror'' was a major commercial success, grossing over $86 million in the United States, but it received mixed reviews from critics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=amityvillehorror.htm|work=Box Office Mojo|title=The Amityville Horror (1979)|access-date=April 2, 2016}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''The New York Times'', though giving the film a mixed review, said Kidder "stubbornly remains the bright-eyed life of the party [in the film]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07EFD6143EE732A25754C2A9619C946890D6CF|work=[[The New York Times]]|title= Devil's Legacy In 'Amityville Horror': A Family in Peril|date=July 27, 1979|author=Maslin, Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin}}</ref> In retrospect, Kidder called the film "a piece of shit."<ref name="random" /> The same year, Kidder hosted an episode of the American sketch comedy TV show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref name=TVG />

=== 1980s ===
Kidder reprised her role as Lois Lane in ''[[Superman II]]'' (1980), though she publicly disagreed with the decision of producers [[Alexander Salkind]] and [[Ilya Salkind]] to replace [[Richard Donner]] as director.<ref name=klinger>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=The Education of Margot Kidder|last=Klinger|first=Judson|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/the-education-of-margot-kidder-630259/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223843/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/the-education-of-margot-kidder-630259/|archive-date=January 23, 2019|year=1979}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/about-town/lois-lane-flying-to-perth-20130624-2orcr.html#ixzz2XleB6rgC|work=WA Today|first=Corey|last=Stephenson|date= June 25, 2013|access-date=February 9, 2016|title=Lois Lane flying to Perth}}</ref> ''Superman II'' was also a box-office hit, grossing $108 million in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|title=''Superman II''|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=superman2.htm|access-date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> Through her appearances in the ''Superman'' films, Kidder maintained a close friendship with her co-star [[Christopher Reeve]], which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2004: "When you're strapped to someone hanging from the ceiling for months and months, you get pretty darned close," Kidder told [[CBS]]. "He was such a huge part of my life... He was complicated, very smart, really smart, and he knew he'd done something meaningful. He was very aware of that and very happy with that role."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/reeve-tributes-keep-pouring-in/|work=[[CBS]]|title=Reeve Tributes Keep Pouring In|date=October 12, 2004|author=Dakss, Brian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506170106/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reeve-tributes-keep-pouring-in/|archive-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref> Also in 1980, she appeared in [[Paul Mazursky]]'s romantic comedy ''[[Willie & Phil]]'', playing one-third of a [[love triangle]] opposite [[Michael Ontkean]] and [[Ray Sharkey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1979/film/reviews/willie-phil-1200424573/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=''Willie & Phil''|date=December 31, 1979|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125195932/https://variety.com/1979/film/reviews/willie-phil-1200424573/|archive-date=January 25, 2019}}</ref>

Kidder starred in the Canadian comedic [[road movie]] ''[[Heartaches (1981 film)|Heartaches]]'' (1981), portraying a free-spirited woman who helps an acquaintance raise her child.<ref name=heart>{{Cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|last=Canby|first=Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|title=Margot Kidder in 'Heartaches'; Comedy|date=November 19, 1982|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/19/movies/margot-kidder-in-heartaches-comedy.html}}</ref> [[Vincent Canby]] of ''The New York Times'' noted: "Nothing happens in ''Heartaches'' that isn't telegraphed 15 minutes ahead of time, but Miss Kidder and Miss [Annie] Potts are good fun to watch, not because they convince you of the reality of their characters but because they handle their assignments with such unbridled, comic, actressy enthusiasm."<ref name=heart /> She then starred opposite [[Richard Pryor]] in the comedy ''[[Some Kind of Hero]]'' (1982), about a [[Vietnam War]] veteran who attempts to re-assimilate into civilian life.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/02/movies/pryor-in-some-kind-of-hero.html|title=Pryor in 'Some Kind of Hero'|last=Canby|first=Vincent|author-link=Vincent Canby|date=April 2, 1982|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612163605/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/02/movies/pryor-in-some-kind-of-hero.html|archive-date=June 12, 2018}}</ref> While filming the picture, Kidder stated she "fell in love with Pryor in two seconds flat," and the two carried on a relationship during the production.<ref name=pryor>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pjstar.com/news/20180514/luciano-margot-kidder-loved-richard-pryor---and-his-acting-abilities|work=[[Journal Star (Peoria)|Journal Star]]|location=Peoria, Illinois|title=Margot Kidder loved Richard Pryor - and his acting abilities|author=Luciano, Phil|date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515010958/https://www.pjstar.com/news/20180514/luciano-margot-kidder-loved-richard-pryor---and-his-acting-abilities|archive-date=May 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1982, she appeared in a stage performance of ''[[Bus Stop (William Inge play)|Bus Stop]]'', playing Cherie opposite [[Tim Matheson]] as Bo, which was broadcast on [[HBO]].<ref name=bus>{{Cite news|work=[[Argus Leader]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25409858/argusleader/|title=HBO does justice to 'Bus Stop'|location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota|page=7|date=August 21, 1982|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

Kidder's role in 1983's ''[[Superman III]]'' was notably small, consisting of 12 lines and less than five minutes of footage. This was reportedly a result of her previous objections to Richard Lester replacing Richard Donner as director for ''Superman II'',<ref name=bottled>{{Cite web|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-09-ca-17843-story.html|title=Margot Kidder Doesn't Keep Energy Bottled Up|last=Mann|first=Roderick|date=March 9, 1986|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930130551/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-09/entertainment/ca-17843_1_50-minute-film|archive-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/what-happened-to-the-original-lois-lane-margot-144701715.html?ref=gs|work=Yahoo!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616203834/https://www.yahoo.com/news/what-happened-to-the-original-lois-lane-margot-144701715.html?ref=gs|archive-date=June 16, 2018|title=What Happened to the Original Lois Lane Margot Kidder?|date=February 5, 2016|author=''Yahoo'' Staff|access-date=April 23, 2016}}</ref> though the producers have denied this in DVD commentaries. The same year ''Superman III'' was released, Kidder also starred as a court stenographer-cum-private eye named Mickey Raymond in the comedy ''[[Trenchcoat (film)|Trenchcoat]]'' (1983).<ref name=eberttrench /> Critic [[Roger Ebert]] disliked the film, deeming it "one of the most tired, predictable, uninteresting movies in a long time."<ref name=eberttrench>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/trenchcoat-1983|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|title=''Trenchcoat''|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713171605/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/trenchcoat-1983|archive-date=July 13, 2017|author=Ebert, Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert}}</ref> Also in 1983, Kidder produced and starred as Eliza Doolittle in a version of ''[[Pygmalion (1983 film)|Pygmalion]]'' with [[Peter O'Toole]] for [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]].<ref>{{Cite news|first=Ian|last=Harmer|title= Margot Kidder Leaves Superman for Shaw|work=[[The Mount Airy News]]|location=Mount Airy, North Carolina|page=6A|via=Google News|date=July 14, 1983|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Qos_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5333,5225414}} {{Free access}}</ref>

In 1984, Kidder produced and starred in the French-Canadian period television film ''[[Louisiana (1984 film)|Louisiana]]'' as a plantation owner in the American South, who returns from Paris to find her estate and holdings have been lost.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/101737%7C105571/Margot-Kidder/|work=Turner Classic Movies|title=Overview for Margot Kidder|access-date=April 21, 2016|author=Pelley, Virginia}}</ref> Also, she reunited with her former ''Nichols'' co-star, James Garner, in the Hollywood crime drama ''[[The Glitter Dome]]'', and appeared in the drama ''[[Little Treasure]]'' for [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia Tri-Star]], with co-stars [[Ted Danson]] and [[Burt Lancaster]], in which she played a distraught stripper looking for her bank robber-father's buried fortune.

In 1985, Kidder expressed ambivalence toward continuing her career, and was quoted as saying: "I don't feel comfortable as a performer and I'm a big turkey as a movie star."<ref name=bottled /> She stated that the quote was reported out of context, but conceded: "I am in a weird frame of mind at the moment. I know acting is not going to be enough for me for the rest of my life. This business is very hard on women at a certain age, and I never want to end up just having to accept what's offered me. So, I am anxious to direct, to have options."<ref name=bottled />

In 1986, she was selected as the English narrator for the Japanese animated series ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 TV series)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''. In 1987, Kidder reprised her Lois Lane role in ''[[Superman IV: The Quest for Peace]]'' (1987), which she filmed in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-06-26-8602150716-story.html|title=Margot Kidder Flies Back to Superman|date=June 26, 1986|archive-date=November 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115084859/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-06-26-8602150716-story.html|author=Beck, Marilyn}}</ref> ''[[Body of Evidence (1988 film)|Body of Evidence]]'' (1988), a [[CBS]] ''Movie of the Week'', cast Kidder as a nurse who suspects that her medical pathologist husband is a serial killer.

=== 1990s ===
In the fall of 1990, Kidder appeared as a singer who becomes a murder victim in the Canadian television film ''[[White Room (film)|White Room]]'' (1990).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/blogra/725816/movie-night-canada-pattersons-wager-director-recommends-patricia-rozemas-white-room|work=[[The Georgia Straight]]|location=Vancouver, British Columbia|title=Movie Night in Canada: Patterson's Wager director recommends Patricia Rozema's White Room|last=Takeuchi|first=Craig|date=June 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629184646/https://www.straight.com/blogra/725816/movie-night-canada-pattersons-wager-director-recommends-patricia-rozemas-white-room|archive-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> After her car accident, Kidder returned to the screen with an uncredited [[cameo appearance]] in the comedy film ''[[Delirious (1991 film)|Delirious]]'' (1991),<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Morning Star|location=Vernon, British Columbia|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27636832/the_morning_star/|title=Candy's not dandy in Delirious|date=September 25, 1991|page=20|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> appearing as a woman in a washroom. This was followed by a role as a [[psychic]] in ''[[To Catch a Killer (1992 film)|To Catch a Killer]]'' (1992), a Canadian television thriller film based on the crimes of [[John Wayne Gacy]].<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-13-ca-1440-story.html|title=TV Reviews : 'To Catch a Killer' a Cop's-Eye View of Gacy Case|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|date=May 13, 1992|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330052545/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-05-13/entertainment/ca-1440_1_eye-view|archive-date=March 30, 2014}}</ref> She had several small roles in 1994, including in the [[Disney Channel]] film ''Windrunner'',<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[The Oklahoman|The Daily Oklahoman]]|series=Movies|title=''Windrunner''|date=March 18, 2001|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27637447/the_daily_oklahoman/|page=78|location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> as well as another uncredited appearance in ''[[Maverick (film)|Maverick]]''.{{Sfn|Aaker|2017|p=242}} She played a bartender at the Broken Skull Tavern in ''[[Under a Killing Moon]]'', a [[IBM PC compatible|PC]] [[Interactive film|FMV]] adventure game.<ref name="meyer">{{Cite news|work=[[Wisconsin State Journal]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25399666/wisconsin_state_journal/|location=Madison, Wisconsin|title=Margot Kidder landed hard in fall from Hollywood Heights|author=Meyer, Jeff|agency=Associated Press|page=7|date=April 28, 1996|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Kidder returned to film with a lead role in the independent comedy-drama ''[[Never Met Picasso]]'' (1997), portraying an actress living with her [[gay]] adult son (portrayed by [[Alexis Arquette]]), who is attempting to sort his life out.<ref name=picasso>{{Cite web|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-28-ca-58420-story.html|title='Never Met Picasso': Comedy of Behaviors|date=November 28, 1997|author=Thomas, Kevin|author-link=Kevin Thomas (film critic)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024102144/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/28/entertainment/ca-58420|archive-date=October 24, 2015}}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "Arquette and Kidder [were] given the chance to come across as quite appealing" in their roles.<ref name=picasso /> She next appeared in the slasher film ''[[The Clown at Midnight]]'' (1998), opposite [[Christopher Plummer]],<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-clown-at-midnight-1798197264|title=''The Clown at Midnight''|last=Phipps|first=Keith|date=April 19, 2002|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190125214508/https://film.avclub.com/the-clown-at-midnight-1798197264|archive-date=January 25, 2019|access-date=January 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and alongside [[Lynn Redgrave]] and [[James Earl Jones]] in the romance film ''[[The Annihilation of Fish]]'' (1999), playing the landlady of an interracial couple.<ref name=fish>{{Cite web|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-annihilation-of-fish-1117752169/|title=''The Annihilation of Fish''|author=McCarthy, Todd|date=September 22, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924044901/https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-annihilation-of-fish-1117752169/|archive-date=September 24, 2017}}</ref> Critic Todd McCarthy in ''Variety'' referred to the film as a "would-be charmer" and "a drear moment in the careers of all concerned."<ref name=fish />

=== 2000s and 2010s ===
[[File:Margot Kidder.JPG|thumb|Kidder in Toronto during the [[Canadian National Exhibition]] in 2005]]
In 2000, Kidder played Eileen Canboro in ''[[Tribulation (film)|Apocalypse III: Tribulation]]'', a [[Christian film industry|Christian film]] dealing with [[Christian eschatology]] and the [[rapture]]. Kidder stated afterwards that she did not realize until she was on the set that the movie was serious.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lights! Camera! Rapture!|first=Scott|last=Spencer|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|page=108|date=September 10, 2001 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/80285502 |access-date=August 9, 2018}}</ref> Also that year she appeared in three episodes of [[Peter Benchley]]'s ''[[Amazon (1999 TV series)|Amazon]]'', playing a striking role as an insane Canadian woman bent on domination of all the local tribes. In 2001, she played the [[child abuse|abusive]] mother of a serial killer in "[[List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes#ep42|Pique]]", an episode of ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]''. In 2002, she appeared alongside [[Crispin Glover]] and [[Vanessa Redgrave]] in the film adaptation of ''[[Crime and Punishment (2002 Russian film)|Crime and Punishment]]''.<ref name=random />

Kidder appeared off-Broadway in ''[[The Vagina Monologues]]'' in December 2002,<ref name=vm>{{Cite web|author=Ehren, Christine|date=December 3, 2002|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/75323-Goodman-Kidder-Join-Mazzie-in-NYCs-Vagina-Monologues-Dec-3-22|title=Goodman, Kidder Join Mazzie in NYC's Vagina Monologues Dec. 3–22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106013632/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/75323-Goodman-Kidder-Join-Mazzie-in-NYCs-Vagina-Monologues-Dec-3-22|archive-date=November 6, 2013|work=[[Playbill]]}}</ref> and toured with the show for two years. After this, she appeared on ''[[Robson Arms]]'', a Canadian [[sitcom]] set in an apartment block in [[Vancouver]]'s west end. She played a quirky neighbor of the main cast members. She also had a cameo in ''[[Rich Hall]]'s Election Special'' on [[BBC Four]]. In 2006, Kidder played [[Jenny Schecter]]'s mother Sandy Ziskin on ''[[The L Word]]''; her character was a repressed Jewish woman coming to terms with her daughter's sexuality.<ref name="random" /> In 2007, Kidder began appearing on the television series ''[[Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)|Brothers and Sisters]]'', playing Emily Craft. In 2004, Kidder briefly returned to the Superman franchise in two episodes of the television series ''[[Smallville]]'', as [[Bridgette Crosby]], an emissary of Dr. Swann's (played by her ''Superman'' co-star, Christopher Reeve).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/smallville-dark-secrets-shocking-trivia-facts/|work=[[Screen Rant]]|title=16 Secrets Behind Smallville You Had No Idea About|author=Jude, Tamara|date=December 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116102638/https://screenrant.com/smallville-dark-secrets-shocking-trivia-facts/|archive-date=January 16, 2018|publisher=Valnet, Inc}}</ref>

In 2008, she portrayed an embattled guidance counselor in the gay-themed mystery film ''[[On the Other Hand, Death]]'', and a supporting role as [[Laurie Strode]]'s therapist, in [[Rob Zombie]]'s ''[[Halloween II (2009 film)|Halloween II]]'' (2009). In an interview with the [[LGBT]] publication ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'', Kidder discussed her later career choices: "I'm not choosy at all! I'll do practically anything. I'm the biggest whore on the block. I live in a little town in Montana, and you have to drag me out of here to get to LA, so I'm not readily available. But unless it's something sexist or cruel, I just love to work. I've done all sorts of things, but you just haven't seen them because they're often very bad and shown at four in the morning."<ref>{{Cite web |author=Voss, Brandon |date=July 25, 2008 |title=Montana Margot |url=http://www.advocate.com/news/2008/07/25/montana-margot |access-date=September 28, 2015 |work=The Advocate}}</ref>

In 2015, Kidder won an [[Emmy Award]] for [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming|Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming]] for her performance in ''[[The Haunting Hour: The Series|R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etonline.com/news/163493_2015_daytime_creative_emmy_awards_winner_roundup/|work=[[Entertainment Tonight]]|title=The Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award Winners: A Roundup|author=Roy, Jessica|date=April 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828032141/https://www.etonline.com/news/163493_2015_daytime_creative_emmy_awards_winner_roundup|archive-date=August 28, 2018}}</ref>

She will appear posthumously in the psychological thriller ''Robber's Roost'', directed by Galen Rosenthal, which will be her final film role.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/superman-margot-kidder-robbers-roost-1235213328/|title='Superman' Actor Margot Kidder's Last Film 'Robber's Roost' Resumes Production - Global Bulletin (EXCLUSIVE)|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 24, 2022|first=Naman|last=Ramachandran|access-date=August 27, 2025}}</ref>

== Other ventures ==
=== Politics ===
Kidder was a longtime supporter of the U.S. [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and voiced her support for [[liberalism|liberal]] causes throughout her career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/margot-kidder-attends-democratic-fundraising-benefit-party-news-photo/485928323|work=Getty Images|title=Margot Kidder attends Democratic Fundraising Party for Mark Green on August 12, 1980 at the Empire State Building in New York City|date=April 21, 2014 |access-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref> She actively supported [[Jesse Jackson]]'s bid for the Democratic nomination in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]] and [[1988 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/05/02/lois-lanes-saddest-story/ee904312-bd4e-402b-a43a-be150dfd50d4/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Lois Lane's Saddest Story|date=May 2, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105093701/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/05/02/lois-lanes-saddest-story/ee904312-bd4e-402b-a43a-be150dfd50d4/|archive-date=January 5, 2019|last=Waxman|first=Sharon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/05/24/NOT-KIDDING-ABOUT-JACKSON/6949580449600/ | title=NOT KIDDING ABOUT JACKSON - UPI Archives }}</ref> She later endorsed [[Walter Mondale]] after he became the Democratic nominee in 1984.<ref>{{cite web | title=Campaign '84;NEWLN:Conservative stars come out of the closet for Reagan - UPI Archives | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/08/Campaign-84NEWLNConservative-stars-come-out-of-the-closet-for-Reagan/1980460785600/ }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2025}} In the early 1990s, during the first [[Gulf War]], Kidder was branded a "Baghdad Betty" and subjected to abuse for her remarks questioning the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEEDC1031F937A35750C0A967958260&sec=&spon=|last=Applebome|first=Peter|title=National Mood; War Heals Wounds at Home, but Not All|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 4, 1991}}</ref> In a piece called "Confessions of 'Baghdad Betty'", styled as a letter to her mother and printed in ''[[The Nation]]'', Kidder responded by explaining and defending her statements.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thenation.com/sites/default/files/c20040322.pdf |last=Kidder |first=Margot |title=Confessions of 'Baghdad Betty' | work=[[The Nation]], reprinted in "The Nation Classroom" |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016205037/http://www.thenation.com/sites/default/files/c20040322.pdf |archive-date=October 16, 2014 |date=March 4, 1991 |publication-date=March 22, 2004 |access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref>[[File:Margot_Kidder_at_Obama_campaign_HQ_in_Montana.jpg|thumb|Kidder with Annette Alt at the Barack Obama campaign headquarters in Livingston, Montana in 2008]]In 2008, Kidder was a volunteer at the [[Barack Obama]] campaign headquarters in [[Livingston, Montana]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-05 |title=Montana In Play |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/montana-in-play_b_141111 |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>
As of November 2009, Kidder was the [[Montana]] State Coordinator for [[Progressive Democrats of America]]. The organization's website carried her article "Ax Max", in which she criticized [[Max Baucus]], Montana's [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States Senate|senator]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kidder |first=Margot |title=Ax Max |publisher=Progressive Democrats of America |date=November 26, 2009 |url=http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/2009-11-26-01-08-11-news.php |access-date=November 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620215356/http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/2009-11-26-01-08-11-news.php |archive-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref> She also contributed articles to ''[[CounterPunch]]'', a [[left-wing politics|left-wing]] magazine, beginning in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/author/margot-kidder|title=Margot Kidder|work=[[CounterPunch]]|issn=1086-2323|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922115922/https://www.counterpunch.org/author/margot-kidder/|archive-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> On August 22, 2015, she was named the host of a dinner event by the [[Yellowstone County, Montana|Yellowstone County]] Democrats in [[Billings, Montana]], called "Billings for Bernie" in support of [[Bernie Sanders]]' presidential primary bid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/events/835049833276289/|work=Facebook|title=Billings for Bernie – Dinner with Margot Kidder – Yellowstone Co. Democrats|access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secure.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/volunteertogatherballotaccesssignatures/4v8sv |work=Bernie Sanders for President|title=Dinner with Margot Kidder|access-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928163906/https://secure.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/volunteertogatherballotaccesssignatures/4v8sv|archive-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref> In a ''CounterPunch'' article expressing her reaction to the [[2016 Democratic National Convention]], she wrote, "I am not an American tonight... I reject the words I voiced at my citizenship ceremony."<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Kidder|first1=Margot|title=My Fellow Americans: We Are Fools|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/29/my-fellow-americans-we-are-fools/|work=[[CounterPunch]]|issn=1086-2323|date=July 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914130858/https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/29/my-fellow-americans-we-are-fools/|archive-date=September 14, 2018}}</ref>

In addition to her campaigning in the United States, Kidder expressed support for liberal causes in Canada. In 2011, she supported her brother, John Kidder, in British Columbia, who was running to be a member of Canada's Parliament for the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]]:<ref>{{Cite web |author=The Canadian Press Staff |date=April 18, 2011 |title=Lois Lane Is a Liberal |url=http://www.vancouverobserver.com/politics/news/2011/04/18/lois-lane-liberal |access-date=September 28, 2015 |work=Vancouver Observer}}</ref>
{{quote|I'm here not only because John is a dream candidate, but because I'm living in the end game in the United States and it's not funny. Canada is starting the same sort of right-wing, corporate ownership of government, corporate tradeoffs with government, smear campaigns, "let's lower the corporate tax rate without mentioning it's going to up the private tax rates." It's happening in Canada. God forbid if anyone should bring up privatizing health care.}}

=== Activism ===
Throughout her life, Kidder was also invested in efforts protesting for environmental and [[anti-nuclear movement|antinuclear]] causes.<ref name=nyto>{{Cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/obituaries/margot-kidder-dead-superman.html|date=May 14, 2018|title=Margot Kidder, Actress Who Found Movie Stardom in 'Superman,' Dies at 69|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil}}</ref> On August 23, 2011, Kidder, [[Tantoo Cardinal]], and dozens of others were arrested while protesting in [[Washington, DC]], against the proposed extension of the [[Keystone Pipeline]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Margot Kidder arrested at White House oil protest|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/margot-kidder-arrested-at-white-house-oil-protest-1.1112044|access-date=August 24, 2011|newspaper=CBC News|date= August 23, 2011}}</ref> In 2012, she appeared in a video for ''Stop the Frack Attack'', an environmental organization working toward regulating [[hydraulic fracturing]] ("fracking") practices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stopthefrackattack.org/margot-kidder-invites-you-to-stop-the-frack-attack/|work=Stop the Frack Attack|title=Margot Kidder invites you to Stop the Frack Attack|date=July 12, 2012|access-date=April 22, 2016|author=Swilson|archive-date=April 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427200953/http://www.stopthefrackattack.org/margot-kidder-invites-you-to-stop-the-frack-attack/|url-status=dead}}</ref> When discussing sustainable energy, Kidder said: "The first thing people have to start facing, contrary to the advertising fed to us by oil and gas companies, is that environmentalism and economic stability go hand-in-hand on any long-term basis."<ref name="george" /> Kidder spent the winter of 2016–2017 residing in a tent at the [[Standing Rock Indian Reservation|Standing Rock Reservation]] in North Dakota, protesting the [[Dakota Access Pipeline protests|Dakota Access Pipeline]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/local-filmmaker-remembers-margot-kidder/277-552423935|work=[[KTVB]]|location=Boise, Idaho|title=Local filmmaker remembers Margot Kidder|last=Parsons|first=Gretchen|date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516093535/https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/local-filmmaker-remembers-margot-kidder/277-552423935|archive-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref>

In addition to environmental causes, Kidder was a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, and in 2003, hosted benefits at a [[Healthcare and the LGBT community|gay and lesbian health center]] in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]].<ref name=tragic>{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|title=Kidder's Tragic Fall|date=March 17, 2003|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190125083339/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kidders-tragic-fall|archive-date=January 25, 2019|author1=Johnson, Brian D.|author2=Gregor, Anne|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kidders-tragic-fall|access-date=January 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Following her publicized nervous breakdown in 1996, she also spoke outwardly about her struggles with mental health and her bipolar disorder diagnosis.<ref name=yahoo /> In 2001, she was awarded the Courage in Mental Health Award from the California Women's Mental Health Policy Council for her public dialogue on mental illness.<ref name=yahoo />

== Personal life ==
Kidder became a United States citizen on August 17, 2005, in [[Butte, Montana]], and settled in Livingston.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilkinson |first=Todd |title=To Find Russell Chatham, Look Homeward |url=http://www.wildlifeartjournal.com/articles/wildlife-art-journal-premium-content/summer-2011/179/to-find-russell-chatham-look-homeward.html |url-status=dead |journal=Wildlife Art Journal |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105165811/http://www.wildlifeartjournal.com/articles/wildlife-art-journal-premium-content/summer-2011/179/to-find-russell-chatham-look-homeward.html |archive-date=January 5, 2013 |access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> She said that she decided to become an American citizen to participate in the voting process, to continue her protests against U.S. [[2003 invasion of Iraq|intervention in Iraq]], and to be free of worries about being [[deportation|deported]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelling |first=Thad |date=August 18, 2005 |title=Superman actress among 19 who gain U.S. citizenship in Butte |url=http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2005/08/18/newsbutte/hjjejbibjjebif.txt |access-date=June 21, 2006 |work=[[The Montana Standard]]}}</ref>

=== Relationships and marriages ===
While filming ''92 in the Shade'', Kidder became romantically involved with [[Thomas McGuane]], and in March 1975, relocated with him to Livingston, Montana.<ref name="klinger" /> She subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to their only child, a daughter, on October 28, 1975.{{Efn|In a timeline published in ''Conversations with Thomas McGuane'' (2007), Kidder and his daughter is noted as having been born October 28, 1976.{{Sfn|McGuane|2007|p=xxiii}} This, however, conflicts with a February 9, 1976, article in ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', which notes that Kidder was "mothering their out-of-wedlock three-month-old daughter", suggesting her birth year to in fact be 1975.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|title=Tom (McGuane) & Margot (Kidder) & Peter (Fonda) & Becky (McGuane) & Whoops|last=Henkin|first=Harmon|date=February 9, 1976|volume=5|issue=5|url=https://people.com/archive/tom-mcguane-margot-kidder-peter-fonda-becky-mcguane-whoops-vol-5-no-5/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190125192949/https://people.com/archive/tom-mcguane-margot-kidder-peter-fonda-becky-mcguane-whoops-vol-5-no-5/|archive-date=January 25, 2019|access-date=January 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}<ref>{{IMDb name|0452288|Margot Kidder}}</ref> Kidder and McGuane married on August 2, 1976,<ref>''Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1987''</ref>{{Sfn|McGuane|2007|p=38}} but the marriage ended in divorce on July 21, 1977.{{Sfn|McGuane|2007|p=xxiii}}{{Sfn|Aaker|2017|p=242}} During the marriage, Kidder stated that her self-esteem had faltered significantly, and she found maintaining a career in film to be difficult while residing in Montana.<ref name="klinger" />

On August 25, 1979, she married actor [[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]], but the couple separated only six days into their marriage.<ref name="gilbey">{{Cite web |last=Gilbey |first=Ryan |date=May 15, 2018 |title=Margot Kidder obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/15/margot-kidder-obituary |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Their divorce was finalized on December 26, 1980.{{Sfn|Aaker|2017|p=242}}

Kidder was romantically linked to Canadian prime minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] in the early 1980s.{{Sfn|Jewison|2005|pages=195–196}}

Kidder married [[Philippe de Broca]] in 1983.<ref name="bottled" /> Her marriage to de Broca lasted one year, ending in divorce in 1984.<ref name="gilbey" /> Kidder later characterized the marriage as "impulsive, I'm afraid. Not a little irresponsible. We just weren't meant to be married to each other."<ref name="bottled" />

=== Personal struggles ===
Kidder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1988, which she rejected at the time, and refused the recommended [[lithium (medication)|lithium]] treatment.<ref name="yahoo" />

In 1990, while filming the pilot of a proposed television series ''[[Nancy Drew#Failed TV attempts|Nancy Drew and Daughter]]'', Kidder was in a car crash that injured her spine and left her partially paralyzed.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ross, Martha |date=May 14, 2018 |title=Margot Kidder rebounded in surprising ways after 1990s breakdown and homelessness |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/14/margot-kidder-rebounded-in-surprising-ways-after-1990s-breakdown-and-homelessness/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015621/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/14/margot-kidder-rebounded-in-surprising-ways-after-1990s-breakdown-and-homelessness/ |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |work=[[The Mercury News]] |location=San Jose, California}}</ref><ref name="tragic" /> She was unable to work for two years, resulting in debts over $800,000.<ref name="meyer" /> Kidder attempted to sue the Canadian producer, [[Nelvana]], for $1 million in damages, but did not receive a settlement, and launching the suit rendered her ineligible for Canadian [[workers' compensation]].<ref name="tragic" /> While convalescing, Kidder said she finally "was able to accept the diagnosis" (of bipolar disorder).<ref name="yahoo" /> She later spoke openly about treatment of her bipolar disorder via [[orthomolecular medicine|alternative medicine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hampson |first=Sarah |date=May 14, 2007 |title=Lois Lane returns |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/lois-lane-returns/article20391981/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190125213234/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/lois-lane-returns/article20391981/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |access-date=January 25, 2019 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref>

In 1996, she experienced a [[mania|manic episode]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="yahoo" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=McKay |first=John |date=May 3, 2006 |title=Kidder details infamous breakdown |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/kidder-details-infamous-breakdown/article1099027/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190125083957/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/kidder-details-infamous-breakdown/article1099027/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |access-date=January 25, 2019 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> At the time, Kidder had been working on an autobiography when her laptop computer became infected with a [[computer virus|virus]], which caused it to crash and her to lose three years' worth of drafts.<ref name="reed">{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=J.D. |date=September 23, 1996 |title=Starting Over |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20142326,00.html |access-date=June 17, 2010 |work=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> Kidder flew to California to have the computer examined by a data-retrieval company that was unable to retrieve the lost files.<ref name="reed" /> This prompted her to enter a manic state and she disappeared for four days. She was later found by a homeowner in the backyard of a [[Glendale, California|Glendale]] residence,<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 1996 |title=Missing 'Superman' actress found frightened in bushes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/missing-superman-actress-found-frightened-in-bushes-1306667.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220234452/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/missing-superman-actress-found-frightened-in-bushes-1306667.html |archive-date=December 20, 2011 |work=[[The Independent]] |agency=Reuters}}</ref> and was taken by the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] to [[Olive View–UCLA Medical Center]] in a distressed state, the caps on her teeth having been knocked out during a rape attempt.<ref name="reed" /> She was subsequently placed in [[Involuntary commitment|psychiatric care]].<ref name="reed" /> A computer expert was ultimately able to retrieve much of the data that Kidder had lost on her laptop.<ref name="reed" />

In a 2000 interview, Kidder stated that, in addition to causing emotional distress, her manic episodes had led her to experiencing significant financial woes: "I went through millions of dollars—I have no idea how much. I'd buy things for friends, take people to Paris. Once I stayed up for three weeks in a row because I felt like I was called upon to write a new religion for women. I was reading all these books, including the [[Bible]]—and I'm an [[atheism|atheist]]."{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=130}}

== Death ==
[[File:MCCC 01 (28461858308).jpg|thumb|Flowers for Kidder at the [[Motor City Comic Con]] in May 2018, where she had been scheduled to appear before her death]]
Kidder died on May 13, 2018, at her home in Livingston, Montana, at the age of 69.<ref name=nbcobit>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/margot-kidder-actress-best-known-superman-movies-dead-69-n873951|title=Margot Kidder, actress best known for 'Superman' movies, dead at 69|last1=Gittens|first1=Hasani|last2=Siemaszko|first2=Corky|date=May 14, 2018|work=[[NBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601164436/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/margot-kidder-actress-best-known-superman-movies-dead-69-n873951|archive-date=June 1, 2018}}</ref> Her death was ruled a [[suicide]] by "self-inflicted drug and alcohol [[drug overdose|overdose]]".<ref name="cst">{{Cite news|date=August 8, 2018|title=Margot Kidder death is ruled a suicide|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/margot-kidder-death-suicide-superman/|url-access=subscription|access-date=February 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Volz|first=Matt|date=August 8, 2018|title='Superman' actress Margot Kidder's death ruled a suicide|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/superman-actress-margot-kidders-death-ruled-a-suicide/|access-date=February 8, 2021|work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref> Kidder had been scheduled to appear at the [[Motor City Comic Con]] in [[Novi, Michigan]], later that week.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/2018/05/16/margot-kidder-motor-city-comic-con-died-memorial/615994002/ | title=How Motor City Comic Con will honor Margot Kidder's memory }}</ref>

Kidder's friends related that she had poor health in later years, particularly following her lengthy stay at the [[Dakota Access Pipeline protests|Standing Rock protest camp]] in 2016, often enduring frigid temperatures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/06/22/my-friend-margot-kidder-sharing-a-love-of-dogs-the-wild-and-speaking-truth-to-power/|title=My Friend Margot Kidder: Sharing a Love of Dogs, the Wild, and Speaking Truth to Power|work=[[CounterPunch]]|issn=1086-2323|date=June 22, 2018|author=Willcox, Louisa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808043259/https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/06/22/my-friend-margot-kidder-sharing-a-love-of-dogs-the-wild-and-speaking-truth-to-power/|archive-date=August 8, 2018}}</ref> [[DC Comics]] stated on its [[Twitter]] feed: "Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder."<ref name=rs>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/margot-kidder-superman-actress-dead-at-69-w520293|title=Margot Kidder, Lois Lane of 'Superman' Films, Dead at 69|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115000526/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/margot-kidder-lois-lane-of-superman-films-dead-at-69-630214/|archive-date=November 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|user=DCComics|number=996090283422035968|title=Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder|date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180515005955/https://twitter.com/DCComics/status/996090283422035968|archive-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> After her death, director [[Ted Geoghegan]], who knew the actress, stated:

{{Blockquote | Margot lived at the foot of Canyon Mountain, right outside of Livingston. Like much of Montana, the mountain was filled with [[wolf|wolves]]. But instead of fearing them, Margot loved them. She left meat out for the wolves so she could watch them come down the mountain and eat from the safety of her home ... She'd asked her closest friends—if they stopped by her place and found her dead—to tell no one, place her naked body in a bedsheet, drag it up Canyon Mountain, and leave her for her other friends, the wolves.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Friend says Margot Kidder had unusual wish for her remains|author=ABC FOX MT Staff|date=May 14, 2018|url=http://www.kulr8.com/story/38186720/friend-says-margot-kidder-had-unusual-wish-for-her-remains|work=[[KULR-TV]]|publisher=[[NBC]]|location=Billings, Montana|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910130503/http://www.kulr8.com/story/38186720/friend-says-margot-kidder-had-unusual-wish-for-her-remains|archive-date=September 10, 2018}}</ref>}}

Kidder's body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered by her brother John in childhood-favorite locations in Canada, as well as in Montana, amongst lilies often eaten by grizzly bears, partially fulfilling Kidder's wish to "have her body just left out there for the bears."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/07/05/ashes-of-late-actress-margot-kidder-return-to-yellowknife-where-she-was-born/ |title=Ashes of late actress Margot Kidder return to Yellowknife, where she was born |website=toronto.citynews.ca |author=[[The Canadian Press]] |date=July 5, 2019 |access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
{{Main|List of Margot Kidder performances}}
Kidder's most acclaimed films, according to the review-aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], include:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Margot Kidder {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/margot_kidder |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''[[Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx]]'' (1970)
* [[Sisters (1972 film)|''Sisters'']] (1972)
* [[Black Christmas (1974 film)|''Black Christmas'']] (1974)
* ''[[A Quiet Day in Belfast]]'' (1974)
* ''[[The Great Waldo Pepper]]'' (1975)
* [[Superman (1978 film)|''Superman'']] (1978)
* ''[[Superman II]]'' (1980)
* ''[[Some Kind of Hero]]'' (1982)
* ''[[The Annihilation of Fish]]'' (1999)
* ''[[The Hi-Line]]'' (1999)
{{div col end}}

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Nominated work
! scope="col"| Result
|-
! rowspan="2" ! scope="row" |[[Action On Film International Film Festival#Major Awards|Action On Film International Film Festival Awards]]
|2013
|Best Supporting Actress
|''Real Gangsters''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
|2016
|Outstanding Cast Performance
|''[[The Red Maple Leaf]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
! rowspan="3" ! scope="row" |[[Canadian Film Awards]]
| rowspan="2" |[[21st Canadian Film Awards|1969]]
|Best Actress
|Herself
| {{Nominated}}
|-
|[[21st Canadian Film Awards#Special Awards|Special Award]]
|Herself
| {{Won}}
|-
|[[26th Canadian Film Awards|1975]]
|Best Performance by a Lead Actress
|''[[A Quiet Day in Belfast]]'' and [[Black Christmas (1974 film)|''Black Christmas'']]
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Daytime Emmy Awards]]
| [[42nd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards|2015]]
| [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming|Outstanding Performer in a Children's or Pre-School Children's Series]]
| ''[[The Haunting Hour: The Series]]'' {{small|(for "Mrs. Worthington")}}
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | Fright Meter Awards
| 2011
| Best Actress
| ''Love at First Kill''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Genie Awards]]
| [[3rd Genie Awards|1982]]
| [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Heartaches (1981 film)|''Heartaches'']]
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" |[[Online Film & Television Association|Online Film & Television Association Awards]]
|1999
|Best Guest Actress in a Cable Series
|[[La Femme Nikita (TV series)|''La Femme Nikita'']]
| {{Nominated}}
|-
! rowspan="3" ! scope="row" | [[Saturn Awards]]
| [[6th Saturn Awards|1979]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Superman (1978 film)|''Superman'']]
| {{Won}}
|-
|[[7th Saturn Awards|1980]]
|Best Actress
|[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|''The Amityville Horror'']]
| {{Nominated}}
|-
|[[9th Saturn Awards|1982]]
|Best Actress
|''[[Superman II]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Cite book|last=Aaker|first=Everett|year=2017|title=Television Western Players, 1960–1975: A Biographical Dictionary|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-1-476-62856-1}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Hobson|first1=John Allan|last2=Leonard|first2=Jonathan A.|title=Out of Its Mind: Psychiatry in Crisis|publisher=Basic Books|year=2001|location=New York|isbn=0-7382-0251-7|url=https://archive.org/details/outofitsmindpsyc00hobs}}
*{{Cite book|last=Jewison|first=Norman|year=2005|title=This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me: An Autobiography|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-32868-9|author-link=Norman Jewison|url=https://archive.org/details/thisterriblebusi00jewi}}
*{{Cite book|last=Lerner|first=Loren Ruth|year=1997|title=Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature|volume=1|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-0-802-02988-1|ref=none}}
*{{Cite book|last=McGuane|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas McGuane|year=2007|title=Conversations with Thomas McGuane|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson, Mississippi|isbn=978-1-578-06887-6|editor=Torrey, Beef}}
*{{Cite book|last=McNeil|first=Alex|year=1991|title=Total Television: A Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York|edition=3rd|isbn=978-0-140-15736-9|url=https://archive.org/details/totaltelevisionc00mcne}}
*{{Cite book|last=Muir|first=John Kenneth|author-link=John Kenneth Muir|year=2012|title=Horror Films of the 1970s|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-786-49156-8}}
*{{Cite book|editor1-last=Rist|editor1-first=Peter|title=Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2001|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-29931-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Warren Allen|year=2002|title=Celebrities in Hell: A Guide to Hollywood's Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Free Thinkers, and More|publisher=Barricade Books|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-569-80214-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Robin|year=2003|title=Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan ... and Beyond|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-231-50757-8}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Margot Kidder}}
{{Wikiquote|Margot Kidder}}
* {{IMDb name|452288}}
* {{IOBDB name|16160}}
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/margot-kidder Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca]
* [http://bipolar.about.com/cs/celebs/a/margotkidder.htm Article: From paranoid delusions to orthomolecular medicine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514133108/http://bipolar.about.com/cs/celebs/a/margotkidder.htm |date=May 14, 2011 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231200/http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=46&csid1=1403&navid=87 Canadian Film Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.nfb.ca/film/best_damn_fiddler_from_calabogie_to_kaladar/ ''The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar'']
* Brodesser-Akner, Taffy. [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/27/magazine/lives-they-lived-margot-kidder.html "Margot Kidder,"] ''New York Times,'' December 27, 2018.

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Margot Kidder
| list =
{{CSA for Best Lead Performance in a Film}}
{{Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Actress}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidder, Margot}}
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[[Category:2018 suicides]]
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[[Category:Actresses from the Northwest Territories]]
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[[Category:Alcohol-related deaths in Montana]]

Doodles Weaver

2025-11-02T15:15:29Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|American actor (1911–1983)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Doodles Weaver
| image = Doodes Weaver.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Winstead Sheffield Weaver
| birth_date = {{birth date|1911|5|11|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1983|1|16|1911|5|11|mf=yes}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Avalon Cemetery
| other_names =
| alma_mater = [[Stanford University]]
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Actor
* comedian
* musician}}
| years_active = 1936–1981
| spouse = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|Beverly Masterman|1939|1943|end=div.}} {{marriage|Evelyn Irene Paulsen|1946|1948|reason=divorced}} {{marriage|Lois Frisell|1949|1954|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Reita Green|1957|1968|reason=divorced}}
}}
| children = 3
| relatives = [[Pat Weaver]] (brother) [[Elizabeth Inglis]] (sister-in-law) [[Sigourney Weaver]] (niece)
}}

'''Winstead Sheffield''' "'''Doodles'''" '''Weaver''' (May 11, 1911 – January 16, 1983)<ref name="Associated">{{Cite news |last=Associated |first=Press |date=January 18, 1983 |title=DOODLES WEAVER, 71, TV COMEDIAN, DIES; APPARENTLY A SUICIDE |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/18/obituaries/doodles-weaver-71-tv-comedian-dies-apparently-a-suicide.html |access-date=February 23, 2024}}</ref><ref name=young>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Jordan R.|title=Spike Jones off the record: the man who murdered music|year=2004|isbn=978-1-59393-012-7|publisher=BearManor Media}}</ref> was an American [[character actor]], comedian, and musician.

Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he performed on [[Rudy Vallée]]'s radio programs and ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]''. He later joined [[Spike Jones]]' City Slickers. In 1957, Weaver hosted his own [[NBC]] variety show ''The Doodles Weaver Show''. In addition to his radio work, he also recorded a number of comedy records, appeared in films and guest-starred on numerous television series from the 1950s through the 1970s. Weaver made his last onscreen appearance in 1981. Despondent over poor health, Weaver fatally shot himself in January 1983.

==Early life==
Weaver was born in Los Angeles, one of four children born to Sylvester Laflin Weaver, a wealthy roofing contractor, and Nellie Mabel (Amabel) Dixon Weaver.<ref>{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook|year=1956|publisher=H. W. Wilson Co.|page=634}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/18/nyregion/sylvester-weaver-93-dies-created-today-and-tonight.html|title=Sylvester Weaver, 93, Dies; Created 'Today' and 'Tonight'|last=Lueck|first=Thomas J.|date=March 18, 2002|newspaper=nytimes.com|page=1|access-date=December 30, 2012}}</ref> His older brother was [[Pat Weaver]], who served as the president of [[NBC]] in the 1950s.<ref name=pittsburg>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dqNRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4304,3967081&dq=doodles+weaver+stanford&hl=en|title=The Life and Times of Doodles Weaver|date=August 17, 1957|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=December 30, 2012}}</ref> Weaver's niece is actress [[Sigourney Weaver]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F_8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=5212,1432023&dq=doodles+weaver+sigourney&hl=en|title=Sigourney Weaver: A misfit|last=Kleiner|first=Dick|date=July 12, 1979|work=Sarasota Journal|pages=7–B|access-date=December 30, 2012}}</ref> He was of English and Scottish ancestry with roots in [[New England]].<ref>Interview by Sigourney Weaver, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 8/25/08</ref><ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/weavers%20scottish%20ancestry%20mix-up_1075133 Sigourney Weaver – Weaver's Scottish Ancestry Mix-Up]</ref> Weaver's mother gave him the nickname "Doodlebug" as a child because of his freckles and big ears.<ref>{{cite book|title=Joe Franklin's Encyclopedia of Comedians|year=1985|publisher=Bell Pub. Co.|isbn=0-517-46765-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/joefranklinsency00fran/page/327 327]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/joefranklinsency00fran/page/327}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19750907&id=SmIzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5909,760724|title=Doodles Weaver makes a comeback|date=September 7, 1975|work=Boca Raton News|page=9C|access-date=November 2, 2014}}</ref>

He attended [[Los Angeles High School]] and [[Stanford University]]. At Stanford, Weaver was a contributor to the ''[[Stanford Chaparral]]'' humor magazine. He was also known to engage in numerous pranks and practical jokes and earned the nickname "The Mad Monk". He was reportedly suspended from Stanford in 1937 (the year he graduated) for pulling a prank on the train home from the [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]].<ref name=pittsburg /><ref>{{cite news|title=DOODLES WEAVER AT TIMES DINNER|date=December 17, 1950|work=Los Angeles Times|page=B11}}</ref>

==Career==

===Radio and recordings===
On radio during the late 1930s and early 1940s, he was heard as an occasional guest on [[Rudy Vallée]]'s program and on the ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]''.

In 1946, Weaver signed on as a member of [[Spike Jones]]'s City Slickers band. Weaver was heard on Jones's 1947–49 radio shows, where he introduced his comedic Professor Feetlebaum (which Weaver sometimes spelled as Feitlebaum),<ref name=young/> a character who spoke in [[spoonerism]]s. Part of the Professor's schtick was mixing up words and sentences in various songs and recitations as if he had [[myopia]] or [[dyslexia]].<ref>[http://www.ibras.dk/comedy/spike1.htm ''Spike Jones Murders Them All'']</ref> Weaver toured the country with the Spike Jones "Musical Depreciation Revue" until 1951. The radio programs were often broadcast from cities where the Revue was staged.<ref name="dunningota">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22Musical+Depreciation+Revues%22+%22Then+Doodles+Weaver+with+Feetlebaum%22&pg=PA627 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |section=The Spike Jones Show |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=627 |edition=Revised |access-date=July 15, 2025}}</ref>

One of Weaver's most popular recordings is the Spike Jones parody of [[Rossini]]'s "[[William Tell Overture (Spike Jones song)|William Tell Overture]]". Weaver gives a close impression of the gravel-voiced sports announcer [[Clem McCarthy]] in a satire of a horse race announcer who forgets whether he's covering a horse race or a boxing match ("It's Girdle in the stretch! Locomotive is on the rail! Apartment House is second with plenty of room! It's Cabbage by a head!"). The race features a [[List of fictional horses|nag]] named Beetlebaum, who begins at long odds, runs the race a distant last—and yet suddenly emerges as the winner. The oft-repeated "Beetlebaum" became so identified with the record that RCA reprinted the record label, adding "Beetlebaum" in parentheses after the song title. Jones and Weaver followed this hit with a 1949 parody of the [[Indianapolis 500]] automobile race, again with Weaver as commentator, set to [[Amilcare Ponchielli|Ponchielli's]] "Dance of the Hours". The surprise winner? Beetlebaum. When an angry listener named Beetlebaum threatened a lawsuit, Weaver changed the name to Feitlebaum.

In 1966, Weaver recorded a novelty version of "[[Eleanor Rigby]]"—singing, mixing up the words, insulting, and interrupting, while playing the piano.

===Writing===
Weaver was a contributor to the early ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'', as described by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'''s Richard Corliss:
:Among the funny stuff: Doodles Weaver's strict copy editing of the [[Gettysburg Address]], advising Lincoln to change "fourscore and seven" to eighty-seven ("Be specific"), noting that there are six "dedicates" ("Study your [[Peter Mark Roget|Roget]]"), wondering if "proposition" isn't misspelled and, finally exasperated, urging the writer to omit "of the people, by the people, for the people" as "superfluous."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,633658-3,00.html Corliss, Richard. "That Old Feeling: Hail, Harvey!" ''Time'', May 5, 2004.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109000247/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,633658-3,00.html |date=January 9, 2009 }}</ref>

===Films and television===
Weaver made his television debut on ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour]]'' in 1951. He performed an [[Ajax (cleanser)|Ajax]] cleanser commercial with a pig, and the audience reaction prompted the network to give him his own series. In 1951, ''The Doodles Weaver Show'' was NBC's summer replacement for [[Sid Caesar]]'s ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''; it was telecast from June to September with Weaver, his wife Lois, vocalist Marian Colby, and the comedy team of Dick Dana and Peanuts Mann. The show's premise involved Weaver dealing with an assignment to stage a no-budget television series using only the discarded costumes, sets and props left behind by more popular network television shows away for the summer.<ref name=party/>

Weaver went on to guest star on numerous television shows including ''[[Spike Jones#Television|The Spike Jones Show]]'', ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', ''[[Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'', and ''[[The Tab Hunter Show]]''. He also hosted several children's television series. In 1965, he starred in ''A Day With Doodles'', a series of six-minute shorts sold as alternative fare to cartoons for locally hosted kiddie television programs. Each episode featured Weaver in a first-person plural adventure (e.g., "Today we are a movie actor"), portraying himself and, behind false mustaches and costume hats, all the other characters in slapstick comedy situations with a voice over narration and minimal sets.<ref name=party>[http://www.tvparty.com/lostdoodles.html TV Party: Lost Kids Shows]</ref> The ending credits would invariably list "Doodles... Doodles Weaver" and "Everybody Else... Doodles Weaver."

He portrayed eccentric characters in guest appearances on such television series as ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' (where he played The Archer's henchman Crier Tuck), ''[[Land of the Giants]]'', ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet 1967]]'' and ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]''. He appeared in more than 90 films, including ''[[The Great Imposter]]'' (1961), [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963) (as the man helping [[Tippi Hedren]]'s character with her rental boat), [[Jerry Lewis]]'s ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963), ''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]'' (1961) and, in a cameo, ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'' (1963). He appeared in ''[[Six Pack Annie]]'' (1975). His last movie was ''[[Earthbound (1981 film)|Earthbound]]'' (1981).

==Personal life==
Weaver was married four times and had three children. His first marriage was to Beverly Masterman in 1939.<ref>{{cite news|title=Beau Peep Whispers|date=October 22, 1939|work=Los Angeles Times|page=D4}}</ref> His second marriage, to Evelyn Irene Paulsen, ended with a divorce decree on December 22, 1948, but that decree was not recorded at that time. In 1949, Weaver's third marriage was with nightclub dancer Lois Frisell, who had the marriage annulled in 1954.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comic Doodles Weaver's Wfe Gets Decree |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/145878637/ |access-date=April 22, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 8, 1954 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422234739/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/145878637/ |archive-date=April 22, 2024 |page=2}}</ref>

Weaver's fourth and final marriage was to actress Reita Anne Green in October 1957.<ref>{{cite news|title=Doodles Weaver Marries|date=October 8, 1957|work=The New York Times}}</ref> They had two children before divorcing in 1969.{{Citation needed |date=September 2023}}

==Death==
On January 16, 1983, Weaver was discovered dead by his son Winston at his Burbank, California, home.<ref name="Associated"/> He died of two self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the chest. His death was ruled a suicide. Weaver's son said that his father had been despondent over his failing heart health.<ref name=Eugene>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uxMhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3757%2C255063 |author= |title=Comedian Weaver Dead at 71; Apparent Suicide |page=6 |newspaper=Schenectady Gazette (New York) |agency=UPI |date=January 17, 1983 |access-date=2025-07-18 }}</ref> His funeral service was held on January 22 at Forest Lawn Mortuary in the [[Hollywood Hills]]. He was buried in Avalon Cemetery on [[Santa Catalina Island, California]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LyRKAAAAIBAJ&pg=4918,5301118&dq=doodles+weaver+funeral&hl=en|title=Weaver Buried|date=January 24, 1983|work=The Press-Courier|page=3|access-date=December 30, 2012}}</ref>

Weaver's memoir, ''Golden Spike'', remains unpublished.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/GoldenSpikeDoodlesWeaver/ |title=Please publish Golden Spike by Doodles Weaver |website=[[Facebook]] |date=2019-03-31 |access-date=2019-10-21}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1936
| ''[[My American Wife (1936 film)|My American Wife]]''
| Cowhand
| Uncredited
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Come and Get It (1936 film)|Come and Get It]]''
| Sourdough Barfly
| Uncredited
|-
| 1937
| ''[[The Woman I Love (1937 film)|The Woman I Love]]''
| 'Chopin' pianist
| Uncredited
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Behind the Headlines (1937 film)|Behind the Headlines]]''
| Duggan
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Topper (film)|Topper]]''
| Rustic
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Double Wedding (1937 film)|Double Wedding]]''
| Bass Fiddle Player
| Uncredited
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Our Gang Follies of 1938]]''
| Winstead (piano player)
| Short film
|-
| 1938
| ''[[A Yank at Oxford]]''
| Bill
| Uncredited
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Swiss Miss (film)|Swiss Miss]]''
| Taxicab Driver
| Uncredited
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Hold That Co-ed]]''
| Gilks
| Uncredited
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Swing That Cheer]]''
| Bennett
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Boy Trouble]]''
| Ralph, the Stockboy
| Uncredited
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Invitation to Happiness]]''
| Band Leader / Emcee at Harry's
| Uncredited
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Flight at Midnight]]''
|
| Uncredited
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Thunder Afloat]]''
| Sailor Getting Cigar
| Uncredited
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Another Thin Man]]''
| Gatekeeper, MacFay Estate
| Uncredited
|-
| 1939
| ''[[The Night of Nights]]''
| Flower Delivery Man
| Uncredited
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Li'l Abner (1940 film)|Li'l Abner]]''
| Hannibal Hoops
|
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Kitty Foyle (film)|Kitty Foyle]]''
| Pianist
| Uncredited
|-
| 1941
| ''[[A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob]]''
| Eddie 'Ed'
|
|-
| 1941
| ''Mitt Me Tonight''
|
|
|-
| 1942
| ''[[The Spirit of Stanford]]''
| Student
| Uncredited
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Girl Trouble (1942 film)|Girl Trouble]]''
| Ticket Taker
| Uncredited
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Reveille with Beverly]]''
| Elmer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Salute for Three]]''
| First Sailor at Canteen Sailors' Table
| Uncredited
|-
| 1943
| ''[[This Is the Army]]''
| Soldier
| Uncredited
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]''
| Doodles Weaver
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944 film)|Shine On, Harvest Mon]]''
| Elevator Man
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Hey, Rookie]]''
| Maxon
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Two Girls and a Sailor]]''
| Soldier Playing Ocarina
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The Story of Dr. Wassell]]''
| Harold Hunter
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Since You Went Away]]''
| Convalescent Wishing for Watermelon
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Kansas City Kitty]]''
| Joe
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The Singing Sheriff]]''
| Ivory
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[That's My Baby! (1944 film)|That's My Baby!]]''
| Butler
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The Merry Monahans]]''
| Farmer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[San Fernando Valley (film)|San Fernando Valley]]''
| Hot Dog Salesman
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The National Barn Dance]]''
| Musical Team Member
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Mrs. Parkington]]''
| Caterer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[And Now Tomorrow]]''
| Charlie
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Carolina Blues]]''
| Skinny
| Uncredited
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Thoroughbreds (1944 film)|Thoroughbreds]]''
| Pvt. Mulrooney
|
|-
|1945
|''[[Duck Pimples]]''
|Radio Actor
|Voice role<ref>{{Cite web|title=Disney's "Duck Pimples" {{!}}|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/goose-duck-pimples/|access-date=2021-02-14|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Hockey Homicide]]''
| Narrator
| Voice role
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Cured Duck]]''
| Narrator
| Voice role<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Keith |title=Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 |date=3 October 2022 |publisher=BearManor Media |page=299 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 1945
| ''[[San Antonio (film)|San Antonio]]''
| Entertainer in [[Cotulla, Texas|Cotulla]] saloon.
| Uncredited
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Superman (serial)|Superman]]''
| Admin Bldg Guard at Metropolis University
| Chapter 9 Uncredited
|-
| 1949
| ''Tennis Racquet''
| Radio Commentator
| Voice role Uncredited
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Because of You (1952 film)|Because of You]]''
| Toy Dealer
| Uncredited
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Powder River (film)|Powder River]]''
| Barfly
| Uncredited
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Hot Rod Gang]]''
| Wesley Cavendish
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[The Tunnel of Love]]''
| Escort
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Frontier Gun]]''
| Eph Loveman
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock]]''
| Booster
| Uncredited
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Rookie (1959 film)|The Rookie]]''
| Winchell
| Uncredited
|-
| 1961
| ''[[The Great Impostor]]''
| Farmer Hauling Fertilizer
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Ring of Fire (1961 film)|Ring of Fire]]''
| Mr. Hobart
| Uncredited
|-
| 1961
| ''[[The Ladies Man]]''
| Soundman
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[The Errand Boy]]''
| Weaver
|
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]''
| Pool Player
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]''
| Fisherman Helping with Rental Boat
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Tammy and the Doctor]]''
| Traction Patient
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]''
| Rube
| Uncredited
|-
| 1963
| ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''
| Hardware Store Clerk
| Uncredited
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Mail Order Bride (1964 film)|Mail Order Bride]]''
| Charlie Mary
|
|-
| 1964
| ''[[A Tiger Walks]]''
| Bob Evans
| Uncredited
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Quick, Before It Melts]]''
| Ham Operator
|
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Kitten with a Whip]]''
| Salty Sam
|
|-
| 1965
| ''[[The Rounders (1965 film)|The Rounders]]''
| Arlee
|
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Zebra in the Kitchen]]''
| Nearsighted Man
|
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Fluffy (1965 film)|Fluffy]]''
| Yokel
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[The Plainsman (1966 film)|The Plainsman]]''
| Bartender
| Uncredited
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin]]''
| Man in Bathtub
| Uncredited
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The Spirit Is Willing]]''
| Booper Mellish
|
|-
| 1967
| ''[[Rosie!]]''
| Florist
|
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The Road to Nashville]]''
| Colonel Feetlebaum
|
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Which Way to the Front?]]''
| Van Koch
| Uncredited
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Bigfoot (1970 film)|Bigfoot]]''
| Forest Ranger
|
|-
| 1971
| ''[[The Zodiac Killer (film)|The Zodiac Killer]]''
| Doc
| Credited as Doddles Weaver
|-
| 1972
| ''[[Cancel My Reservation]]''
| Cactus, Deputy Sheriff
|
|-
| 1972
| ''A Ton of Grass Goes to Pot''
|
|
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Macon County Line]]''
| Augie
|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Trucker's Woman]]''
| Ben Turner
| Alternative title: ''Truckin' Man''
|-
| 1975
| ''[[The Wild McCullochs]]''
| Pop Holson
|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Sixpack Annie]]''
| Hank
|
|-
| 1975
| ''[[White House Madness]]''
| Supreme Court Justice
|
|-
| 1975
| ''Fugitive Lovers''
| Roy Dibbs
|
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]''
| Man in Mexican Film
|
|-
| 1976
| ''Cat Murkil and the Silks''
| Kelso
|
|-
| 1977
| ''[[The Great Gundown]]''
| Baggage Man
| Alternative title: ''Savage Red, Outlaw White''
|-
| 1977
| ''Mule Feathers''
| Hotel Manager
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Earthbound (1981 film)|Earthbound]]''
| Sterling
| (final film role)
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Sheriff of Cochise]]''
| Joe Heap
| Episode: "Caine and Abel"
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957 film)|The Pied Piper of Hamelin]]''
| First Counselor
| Television film Uncredited
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Club Oasis]]''
| Sea Captain
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]''
| Lem
| Episode: "Gun-Shy"
|-
| 1960
| ''[[You Bet Your Life]]''
| Himself-Contestant
| Episode: "59-20"
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Sugarfoot]]''
| Simon Miller
| Episode: "Journey to Provision"
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Fury (American TV series)|Fury]]''
| Jake
| Episode: "Packy's Dilemma"
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]''
| Jack Stiles
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1960
| ''[[The Tab Hunter Show]]''
| Messenger Boy
| Episode: "I Love a Marine"
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Wagon Train]]''
| Efen Dirkin
| Episode: "The Joe Muharich Story"
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Shannon (1961 TV series)|Shannon]]''
| Shoes Malone
| Episode: "The King Leal Report"
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Laramie (TV series)|Laramie]]''
| George
| Episode: "Handful of Fire"
|-
| 1962
| ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]''
| Bailiff
| Episode: "One Angry Man"
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV series)|Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]''
| Peavey Simpson
| Episode: "The Country Sculptor"
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]''
| Needy Man #2
| Episode: "Poor Mr. Wilson"
|-
|1962
| "[[The Joey Bishop Show (sitcom)|The Joey Bishop Show]]"
|Mr. Johnson
| Episode: The Big Date
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''
| Hildreth – General Store Prop.
| Episode: "Shootout at Hogtooth"
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]''
| Charlie Brubaker
| Episode: "The Handy Man"
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Wide Country]]''
| Jones
| Episode: "The Judas Goat"
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet]]''
| Janitor
| Episode: "Dave's Law Office"
|-
| 1961–1963
| ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]''
| Various roles
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1964
| ''[[The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series)|The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters]]''
| Pettigrew
| Episode: " The Day of the Tin Trumpet"
|-
| 1964
| ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''
| Stationmaster
| Episode: "Rope of Lies"
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents|The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]''
| Gregg
| Episode: "Body In the Barn"
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Petticoat Junction]]''
| Chester Farnsworth
| Episode: "The Curse of Chester Farnsworth"
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Laredo (TV series)|Laredo]]''
| Various roles
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''
| Crier Tuck
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1967
| ''[[My Three Sons]]''
| Jesse Prouty
| Episode: "The Good Earth"
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]''
| Stationmaster
| Episode: "The Pieces of Fate Affair"
|-
| 1967
| ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]''
| Butler
| S1:E30, "Monkees Manhattan Style"
|-
| 1967–70
| ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet]]''
|
| Numerous episodes
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Land of the Giants]]''
| Giant Hobo
| Episode: "Framed"
|-
| 1971
| ''[[The Jimmy Stewart Show]]''
| Halsted
| Episode: "Pro Bono Publico"
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free]]''
| Old Turkey
| Television film
|-
| 1976
| ''[[Starsky and Hutch]]''
| Eddie Hoyle
|Episodes: "The Bounty Hunter" S1, Ep22 &
"Gillian" S2, Ep5
|-
| 1979
| ''[[Fantasy Island]]''
| Blindman
| Episode: "Spending Spree/The Hunted"
|-
|}

==In popular culture==
* Weaver's horse race routine has been quoted and parodied by many performers over the years.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}
* A children's board game called Homestretch featured horses named Cabbage, Banana, Girdle, and the misspelled/simplified "Beetle Bohm." This was a direct lift of Weaver's number, with Cabbage "leading by a head" and Beetle Bohm eventually winning the race.
* [[Mike Kazaleh]]'s comic ''The Adventures of Captain Jack'' took place on the planet Pootwattle and featured a character who used many of Weaver's jokes and [[catchphrase]]s, such as "That's a killer!"
* A one-page Weaver contribution to ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine #25, September 1955, had him as Professor Feetlebaum grading student [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s [[Gettysburg Address]], complete with grammatical corrections and encouraging note despite the C minus.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qguDAAAQBAJ&q=doodles+weaver+mad+magazine&pg=PA10 |title = Trump|isbn = 9781506701028|last1 = Kurtzman|first1 = Harvey|last2 = Elder|first2 = Will|last3 = Wood|first3 = Wallace|year = 2016| publisher=Dark Horse Comics }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|0915845}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Find a Grave|2238}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Doodles}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1983 suicides]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male radio actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Television personalities from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American comics writers]]
[[Category:Multiple gunshot suicides]]
[[Category:Los Angeles High School alumni]]
[[Category:Musicians from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American parody musicians]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in California]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Comedians from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]

Don Cornelius

2025-11-02T15:13:58Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Short description|American TV host and producer (1936–2012)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Don Cornelius (32841370748).jpg
| birth_name = Donald Cortez Cornelius
| caption = Cornelius in 1994
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|9|27}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|2|1|1936|9|27}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| years_active = 1966–2012
| occupation = Television host, producer
| television = ''[[Soul Train]]''
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Delores Harrison|1956|1976|end = divorced}}
* {{marriage|Viktoria Chapman|2001|2009|end = divorced}}
}}
| children = 2
}}
'''Donald Cortez Cornelius''' (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer widely known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show ''[[Soul Train]]'', which he hosted from 1970 until 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008. On November 3, 2023, he was posthumously inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] with the [[Ahmet Ertegun]] Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/the-mix/missy-willie-and-george-michael-among-rock-hall-inductees-6944095|title=Missy, Willie and George Michael among Rock Hall inductees|website= www.vancouverisawesome.com|date= May 3, 2023}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Cornelius was born on [[South Side, Chicago|Chicago's South Side]] on September 27, 1936,<ref name="NYT obit">McKinley Jr., James C. (February 1, 2012), [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/arts/music/don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-is-dead-at-75.html "Don Cornelius, ‘Soul Train’ Creator, Is Dead"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> and raised in the [[Douglas, Chicago#Bronzeville|Bronzeville]] neighborhood. After graduating from [[DuSable High School]] in 1954,<ref>{{cite web|title=1954 Dusable High Yearbook|url=http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Dusable-High-School/148581?page=94|website=classmates.com|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> he joined the [[United States Marine Corps]] and served for 18 months in [[Korea]]. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including selling [[tire]]s, [[automobile]]s, and insurance, and as an [[police officer|officer]] with the [[Chicago Police Department]].<ref name=modonnellcst>[http://www.suntimes.com/news/10364139-418/soul-train-creator-south-side-native-cornelius-dead-in-suicide.html O'Donnell, Maureen. "'Soul Train' creator, South Side native Cornelius dead in suicide"], ''Chicago Sun-Times'', February 2, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966, despite being married with two sons and having only $400 in his [[bank account]].<ref name="NYT obit"/> In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio station [[WVON]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnvhOl8nrME |title=ROY WOOD JR. — UFC Wants Car Fights, Soul Train’s Secret History, & Rat Wars {{!}} WNWY #29 |date=2025-09-17 |last=What's News With You? Josh Johnson & Ashley Gavin |access-date=2025-10-20 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Cornelius joined Chicago television station [[WCIU-TV]] in 1967 and hosted a news program called ''A Black's View of the News''. In 1970, he launched ''Soul Train'' on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered national [[television syndication|syndication]] and moved to Los Angeles the following year.<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title='Soul Train' host Don Cornelius dead of suicide | wwltv.com New Orleans|url=http://www.wwltv.com/news/138478844.html|access-date=January 12, 2016|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[WWL-TV]]|date=February 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301204018/http://www.wwltv.com/news/138478844.html|archive-date=March 1, 2014|location=Los Angeles, CA, USA|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?GAID=3&SessionID=3&GA=93&DocTypeID=HR&DocNum=190&LegID=6529&SpecSess=&Session=|title=Full Text of HR0190|access-date=October 23, 2008|publisher=[[Illinois General Assembly]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wvon.com/about-us/our-history/|title=WVON History|access-date=October 23, 2008|publisher=WVON|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430090433/http://www.wvon.com/aboutus/history.php|archive-date=April 30, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Eddie Kendricks]], [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]], Bobby Hutton and [[Honey Cone]] were featured on the national debut episode.

Originally a journalist and inspired by the [[civil rights movement]], Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there were very few television venues in the United States for [[soul music]] (at the time, only one series, the public television show ''[[Soul!]]'', was focused on the genre). He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on ''Soul Train'', a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.<ref>{{cite web|title=Soul Train creator Don Cornelius made an impact far beyond black America|author=Eric Deggans|date=February 1, 2012|url=https://www.tampabay.com/features/media/soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-made-an-impact-far-beyond-black-america/1213480/|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/02/05/2010-02-05_vh1s_hippest_trip_reveals_how_don_cornelius_put_soul_train_on_the_fast_track.html David Hinckley, "VH1's 'Hippest Trip' reveals how Don Cornelius put 'Soul Train' on the fast track"], ''New York Daily News'', February 5, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref>

As writer, producer, and host of ''Soul Train'', Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as [[James Brown]], [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Marvin Gaye]], and [[Michael Jackson]], as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/business/media/17soul.html|author=Brian Stelter|title=After 38 Years, 'Soul Train' Gets New Owner|work=The New York Times|date=June 17, 2008|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> Cornelius said, "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and [[Spike Lee]] described the program as an "urban music [[time capsule]]".<ref name="NYT"/>

With the creation of ''Soul Train'', Cornelius was at the helm of a program that showed African Americans in a new light, creating a [[Black is Beautiful]] campaign.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/video/black-is-beautiful/ PBS]</ref> Prior to ''Soul Train'', African Americans were only occasionally performing on TV, mostly as guests on white-centered programs. ''Soul Train'' showcased African American culture, and brought African American musicians and dancers to television.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/hermene-hartman/don-cornelius-soul-train_b_1256025.html|author=Hartman Hermene|title=The Soul Train Impact|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=April 8, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> The show's appeal to white audiences steadily grew and eventually earned a huge following.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/don-cornelius-impact/|author1=John Blake|author2=Todd Leopold|title=How Don Cornelius became the 'pope of soul'|agency=[[CNN]]|date=February 1, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/02/01/146225653/why-don-cornelius-matters|title=Why Don Cornelius Matters|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=February 1, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Staple Singers on Soul Train.jpg|thumb|Cornelius (second from right) with [[The Staple Singers]] during production of a 1974 episode of ''Soul Train''.]]

Besides his smooth and deep voice and his [[afro]], which slowly shrank over the years as hairstyle tastes changed, Cornelius was best known for the [[catchphrase]] that he used to close the show: "and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and it was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase which he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly".

He had a small number of film roles, such as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988's ''[[Tapeheads]]'' and a fictional version of himself in 1987's ''[[The Return of Bruno (film)|The Return of Bruno]]'', a mockumentary about fictional singer Bruno Radolini, portrayed by [[Bruce Willis]]. In this doc Cornelius appears as the host of the local [[Detroit]] funk-gospel based show ''Bless My Soul'', that presents Radolini's return to the stage with a duet together with [[The Temptations]].

Cornelius last appeared on the episode of the TV series ''[[Unsung (TV series)|Unsung]]'' featuring [[Full Force]], which was aired two days before his death.

==Controversy==
===Arrest===
In October 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Los Angeles home on [[Mulholland Drive]] on a [[felony]] [[domestic violence]] charge.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-oct-19-me-briefs19.s2-story.html|title='Soul Train' creator arrested|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 19, 2008|access-date=January 8, 2018|author=Molly Hennessy-Fiske}}</ref> He was released on bail. Cornelius appeared in court in November 2008, and was charged with spousal abuse and dissuading a witness from filing a police report.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marikar |first1=Sheila |title=Don Cornelius' Suicide Reveals Troubled Life of 'Soul Train' Founder |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/don-cornelius-suicide-reveals-troubled-life-of-soul-train-founder |website=abcnews.go.com |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |access-date=January 7, 2020}}</ref> Cornelius appeared in court again in December 2008, and pleaded not guilty to spousal abuse.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marikar |first1=Sheila |title=Don Cornelius' Suicide Reveals Troubled Life of 'Soul Train' Founder |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/don-cornelius-suicide-reveals-troubled-life-of-soul-train-founder |website=abcnews.go.com |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |access-date=January 7, 2020}}</ref>

He was banned from going near his estranged wife, Russian model Victoria Avila-Cornelius (Viktoria Chapman), who had obtained two [[restraining order]]s against him. In March 2009, he changed his plea to [[Nolo contendere|no contest]] and was placed on 36 months of probation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marikar |first1=Sheila |title=Don Cornelius' Suicide Reveals Troubled Life of 'Soul Train' Founder |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/don-cornelius-suicide-reveals-troubled-life-of-soul-train-founder |website=abcnews.go.com |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |access-date=January 7, 2020}}</ref>

===Sexual assault allegation===
In the 2022 [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]] documentary miniseries ''Secrets of Playboy'', Cornelius was accused of sexually assaulting two ''Playboy'' bunnies in the 1970s. The women were alleged to have been brought to Cornelius's house for a three-day period where they were locked in separate rooms, bound, drugged and sexually assaulted. Cornelius's son, Tony, released a statement calling the allegation an "unbelievable story without real proof".<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Don Cornelius accused of sexually assaulting 2 women in 'Secrets of Playboy'|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/secrets-of-playboy-bunny-mother-accuses-don-cornelius-of-sexually-assaulting-2-women-020341658.html|access-date=February 22, 2022|work = [[Yahoo! News]]|last = Shewfelt|first = Rachael|date=February 2, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://people.com/crime/don-cornelius-former-soul-train-host-accused-of-sexual-assault-in-secrets-of-playboy-docuseries/ |title= Soul Train Creator Don Cornelius Accused of Tying Up, Sexually Assaulting Playboy Bunnies in New Docuseries |author= Kyler Alvord |date= January 31, 2022 |publisher= [[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date= February 2, 2022}}</ref>

==Death==
At around 4 a.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]] on February 1, 2012, police were called to Cornelius's home in Los Angeles after reports of a shooting.<ref name="gainesville/31829969007">{{cite news |title='Soul Train’ creator Don Cornelius dies |url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2012/02/02/soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-dies/31829969007/ |access-date=29 March 2025 |work=[[Gainesville Sun]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=2012-02-02}}</ref> He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was taken to [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]], where he was pronounced dead at the age of 75.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="Greg Kot">{{cite news|last1=Kot|first1=Greg|last2=Metz|first2=Nina|year=2012|title='Soul Train' creator Don Cornelius found dead|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-found-dead-20120201-story.html|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>

An [[autopsy]] found that Cornelius had been suffering from seizures during the last 15 years of his life, a complication of a 21-hour brain operation he underwent in 1982 to correct a congenital deformity in his cerebral arteries. He admitted that he was never quite the same after that surgery, and it was a factor in his decision to retire from hosting ''Soul Train'' in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|author=Weiner, David|url=https://www.etonline.com/news/118642_Shemar_Moore_Don_Cornelius_May_Have_Had_Dementia|title=Shemar Moore: Don Cornelius May Have Had Dementia|website=ETonline.com|date=January 13, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00p89wl |title=Don Cornelius' Obituary|publisher=BBC Radio 4|work=Last Word|date= February 10, 2012}}</ref> Cornelius's health took a further, sharp decline in the last six months of his life. Former ''Soul Train'' host [[Shemar Moore]] suggested that he may have also been in the early stages of [[dementia]] or [[Alzheimer's disease]] by this point.<ref>{{cite web|author=Weiner, David|url=https://www.etonline.com/news/118642_Shemar_Moore_Don_Cornelius_May_Have_Had_Dementia|title=Shemar Moore: Don Cornelius May Have Had Dementia|website=ETonline.com|date=January 13, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00p89wl |title=Don Cornelius' Obituary|publisher=BBC Radio 4|work=Last Word|date= February 10, 2012}}</ref> On the night of his suicide, Cornelius told his son in a phone call, "I don't know how much longer I can take this".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2012/04/24/don-cornelius-autopsy-report-gunshot/|title=Don Cornelius Autopsy Report - 'I Don't Know How Long I Can Take This'|website=TMZ|date=April 24, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://blythpost.com/celebs/entertainment/celebs/sad-news-don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-dies |archive-date=February 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204030018/http://blythpost.com/celebs/entertainment/celebs/sad-news-don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-dies |title=Don Cornelius 'Soul Train' Creator Dies }}
*{{IMDb name|id=0004843|name=Don Cornelius}}
*{{tcmdb name|id=39264|name=Don Cornelius}}
*{{HWOF|Don-Cornelius}}
*{{C-SPAN|93531}}
*[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cornelius-soultrain-factbox-idUSTRE81029020120201 "Factbox: Key facts about Don Cornelius and 'Soul Train,'" ''Reuters'', Wednesday, February 1, 2012.]

{{Soul Train}}
{{2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius, Don}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:2012 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:African-American police officers]]
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Brian Keith

2025-11-02T15:10:10Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|American actor (1921–1997)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Brian Keith
| image = Brian Keith - still.jpg
| caption = Keith in ''[[Dino (film)|Dino]]'', 1957
| birth_name = Robert Alba Keith
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|11|14|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bayonne, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|6|24|1921|11|14|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Malibu, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]]
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1924-1997
| spouse = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|[[Frances Helm]]|1948|1954|reason=divorced}}
*{{marriage|[[Judy Landon]]|1954|1969|reason=divorced}}
*{{marriage|Victoria Young-Keith|1970}}
}}
| children = 7
| father = [[Robert Keith (actor)|Robert Keith]]
| website = {{URL|briankeith.com}}
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = United States
|branch = {{tree list}}
* [[United States Marine Corps]]
** {{nowrap|[[VMSB-243]]}}
{{tree list/end}}
| serviceyears = 1942–1945
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Asia-Pacific War|Pacific Theater of Operations]], [[United States Marine Corps]]
{{tree list/end}}
| rank = Sergeant E-5
}}
}}

'''Robert Alba Keith'''<ref name="keith">{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.briankeith.com/aboutus.html|author=Keith, Victoria Y.|date=2014|website=BrianKeith.com|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997), known professionally as '''Brian Keith''', was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the [[Disney]] family film ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' (1961); ''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]'' (1963); the comedy ''[[The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming]]'' (1966); and the adventure saga ''[[The Wind and the Lion]]'' (1975), in which he portrayed President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].

On television, two of his best-known roles were those of bachelor-uncle-turned-reluctant-parent Bill Davis in the 1960s sitcom ''[[Family Affair]]'', and a tough retired judge in the lighthearted 1980s crime drama ''[[Hardcastle and McCormick]]''. He also starred in ''[[The Brian Keith Show]]'', which aired on [[NBC]] from 1972 to 1974, where he portrayed a pediatrician who operated a free clinic on [[Oahu]], and in the [[CBS]] comedy series ''[[Heartland (1989 TV series)|Heartland]]''.

==Early life==
Robert Alba Keith was born in [[Bayonne, New Jersey]], on November 14, 1921, to actor [[Robert Keith (actor)|Robert Keith]] and stage actress Helena Shipman, a native of [[Aberdeen, Washington]]. Some sources also list his full name as Brian Robert Keith.<ref name="lawrence">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/25/arts/brian-keith-hardy-actor-75-played-dads-and-desperadoes.html|title=Brian Keith, Hardy Actor, 75; Played Dads and Desperadoes|author=Van Gelder, Lawrence|date=June 25, 1997|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> He was [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]].<ref name="mirror">{{cite news|url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/072706/dc5.html|title=It's a Family Affair|first=Matthew|last=Hays|newspaper=[[Montreal Mirror]]|quote=I was surprised at Brian, who was Catholic, ...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630173150/http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/072706/dc5.html|archive-date=June 30, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> In 1941, he graduated from [[East Rockaway High School]] in [[East Rockaway, New York]].

He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1942 completing his service in 1945. He served during World War II as a radioman/tail gunner in the rear cockpit of a two-man [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]] dive bomber in a U.S. Marine squadron. He was awarded a [[Aircrew Badge#Combat Aircrew Insignia|Combat Aircrew Insignia]], [[Air Medal]], [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] with three battle stars and [[World War II Victory Medal]].<ref>p. 30 ''Naval Aviation News'' Nov-Dec 1988 Vol 71 No 1</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Brian Keith the Crusader 1955.JPG|thumb|right|Keith in his TV series ''Crusader'' (1955)]]
[[File:Brian Keith The Westerner 1960.JPG|thumb|right|Keith and [[Spike (dog actor)|Spike]] in ''[[The Westerner (TV series)|The Westerner]]'' (1960)]]

===Theatre===
Keith made his Broadway debut in 1948 in the ensemble of ''[[Mister Roberts (play)|Mister Roberts]]'', which starred his father as "Doc". He was a guard in ''[[Darkness at Noon]]'' (1951) by Sidney Kingsley, and was in ''Out West of Eighth'' (1951), which had only a short run.

===Television and films===
Keith made his film debut at age 3 in ''[[Pied Piper Malone]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bowles |first=Jennifer |title=Brian Keith, 'Family Affair' star, dead of apparent suicide |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/entertainment/local/1997/06/25/brian-keith-family-affair-star/50609100007/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=New Bedford Standard-Times |language=en-US}}</ref> He began to guest star on shows such as ''[[Hands of Mystery]]'', ''[[Shadow of the Cloak]]'', and an adaptation of ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]'' in ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]''. He was in ''[[Police Story (1952 TV series)|Police Story]]'', ''[[Suspense (American TV series)|Suspense]]'', ''[[Eye Witness (TV series)|Eye Witness]]'', ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'', ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'', and ''[[The Motorola Television Hour]]''.<ref name="ind">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Brian Keith|author=Vosburgh, Dick|work=The Independent|date=June 26, 1997|page=18}}</ref> Keith's feature film debut was in a Western for Paramount, ''[[Arrowhead (1953 film)|Arrowhead]]'' (1953). He stayed at that studio for ''[[Alaska Seas]]'' (1954), replacing [[Van Heflin]], and ''[[Jivaro (film)|Jivaro]]'' (1954).<ref>{{cite news|title=DISNEY IS TESTING FOX' CINEMASCOPE: ' Pleased' With Film Process, but Isn't Sure He Will Use It on Dog Cartoon Feature|author= THOMAS M. PRYOR|work=THE NEW YORK TIMES|date=June 27, 1953|page=7}}</ref>

Keith guest starred on ''[[Campbell Summer Soundstage]]'', ''[[The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse]]'', ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'', and ''The Mask'' and also played [[Mike Hammer (character)|Mike Hammer]] in a [[television pilot]] directed by [[Blake Edwards]], but the series was not picked up.

He went to Columbia for ''[[The Bamboo Prison]]'' (1954), ''[[The Violent Men]]'' (1955), ''[[Tight Spot]]'' (1955), and ''[[5 Against the House]]'' (1955), the last two directed by [[Phil Karlson]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Brian Keith Set for 'Five Against House'|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=October 14, 1954|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A13}}</ref> He was meant to support Joan Crawford in ''[[Queen Bee (1955 film)|Queen Bee]]'', but did not appear in the final film.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Brian Keith to Star With Joan Crawford|author=Hopper, Hedda|date=February 5, 1955|work=Los Angeles Times|page=14}}</ref>

He guest starred on ''[[The Elgin Hour]]'', ''[[Mystery Is My Business]]'', ''[[Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre]]'', ''[[The Box Brothers]]'', ''[[The Ford Television Theatre]]'', ''[[Climax!]]'', ''[[Wire Service]]'' and ''[[Studio 57]]''.

In 1955, Keith starred in his own series, ''[[Crusader (TV series)|Crusader]]'', as fictional journalist Matt Anders. He continued to appear in films for Columbia, such as ''[[Storm Center]]'' (1956) co-starring with [[Bette Davis]] and ''[[Nightfall (1956 film)|Nightfall]]'' (1956) with [[Aldo Ray]].

In June 1956, he announced he had formed his own company, Michael Productions, and had optioned a story by Robert Blees called ''Cairo''.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Drama: John Wayne Revives Batjac; Heston to Tour Straw Hat Show Circuit|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=June 4, 1956|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A9}}</ref>

===Film stardom===
Keith was second billed in ''[[Dino (film)|Dino]]'' (1957) with [[Sal Mineo]], and ''[[Run of the Arrow]]'' (1957) with [[Rod Steiger]]. He was top billed in ''[[Chicago Confidential]]'' (1957), but returned to supporting parts with ''[[Appointment with a Shadow]]'' (1957) ''[[Hell Canyon Outlaws]]'' (1957), and ''[[Fort Dobbs (film)|Fort Dobbs]]'' (1958). He announced he would make ''Alien Virus'' for his Michael Productions, but it was not made.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Modern 'Sergeant York' Type Aimed at Sinatra; Rome Fashion Fete Due|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=August 5, 1957|work=Los Angeles Times|page=C11}}</ref> Keith was top billed in some low-budget action movies: ''[[Violent Road]]'' (1958), ''[[Desert Hell]]'' (1958), ''[[Sierra Baron]]'' (1958), and ''[[Villa!!]]'' (1958). The last two were shot back-to-back in Mexico.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://fiftieswesterns.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/highway-to-hollywood1.pdf|title=Highway to Hollywood|first=Maury|last=Dexter|date=2012|page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=THOMAS M PRYOR|date=November 19, 1957|title=REGAL TO START TEN FILMS SOON|work= New York Times}}</ref> He guest starred on ''[[Studio One in Hollywood]]'', ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'', ''[[Laramie (TV series)|Laramie]]'', ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', and an episode of ''[[Zane Grey Theater]]'', which was written and directed by [[Sam Peckinpah]] and later led to ''The Westerner''.

===''The Westerner'' and Disney===
Keith supported Paul Newman in ''[[The Young Philadelphians]]'' (1959), and had the lead in two productions for Disney, the TV show ''Elfego Baca: Move Along, Mustangers'' (1959) and the feature ''[[Ten Who Dared]]'' (1960). In 1960, he won acclaim for his starring role in [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s extremely hard-bitten, adult, and short-lived series ''[[The Westerner (TV series)|The Westerner]]'' (1960). The show aired for only 13 episodes. "Only four or five of those were any good", said Keith later. "But those four or five were as good as anything anybody has ever done."<ref name="archer"/> Keith guest starred in: ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'', ''[[The Americans (1961 TV series)|The Americans]]'', ''[[Frontier Circus (TV series)|Frontier Circus]]'', ''[[Alcoa Premiere]]'', ''[[Outlaws (1960 TV series)|Outlaws]]'', ''[[Follow the Sun (TV series)|Follow the Sun]]'', and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' again. Keith made a second film for Disney, playing the father of twins in the film ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' (1961), costarring [[Hayley Mills]] and [[Maureen O'Hara]], which was a huge hit. Critical acclaim was given to ''[[The Deadly Companions]]'' (1961), a Western with O'Hara, which marked Peckinpah's feature directorial debut. Keith did two more films for Disney, ''[[Moon Pilot]]'' (1962) and ''[[Savage Sam (film)|Savage Sam]]'' (1963).

He guest starred on ''[[Target: The Corruptors]]'', ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'', ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'', ''[[Sam Benedict]]'', ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'', ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'', ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'', ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'', ''[[The Great Adventure (U.S. TV series)|The Great Adventure]]'', and ''[[Profiles in Courage (TV series)|Profiles in Courage]]''. Keith did a Western for Universal, ''[[The Raiders (1963 film)|The Raiders]]'' (1963), then returned to Disney for ''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]'' (1963), ''Bristle Face'' (1964), ''[[The Tenderfoot (miniseries)|The Tenderfoot]]'' (1964), ''[[A Tiger Walks]]'' (1964), and ''[[Those Calloways]]'' (1965).

He went to Fox for ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]'' (1964) and had support roles in ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]'' (1965), ''[[The Rare Breed]]'' (1966) (again with O'Hara), and ''[[Nevada Smith]]'' (1966), co-starring with [[Steve McQueen]] as traveling gunsmith Jonas Cord. Keith did the comedies ''[[The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!]]'' (1966) for [[Norman Jewison]], ''[[Way... Way Out]]'' (1966) with [[Jerry Lewis]], and ''[[With Six You Get Eggroll]]'' (1968) with [[Doris Day]].

===''Family Affair''===
[[File:Family affair 1967.JPG|thumb|right|Cast of ''Family Affair'' in 1967 (clockwise from top):[[Sebastian Cabot (actor)|Sebastian Cabot]] (Mr. French), Brian Keith, [[Anissa Jones]] (Buffy), [[Kathy Garver]] (Cissy) and [[Johnny Whitaker]] (Jody).]]
[[File:Sebastian Cabot, Nancy Walker, Brian Keith (Family Affair - 1970, CBS Television) (1).jpg|thumb|right|[[Nancy Walker]], [[Sebastian Cabot (actor)|Sebastian Cabot]], and Brian Keith on ''Family Affair'' (1970)]]In 1966, Keith landed the role of Uncle Bill Davis on [[CBS]]'s popular television situation comedy ''[[Family Affair]]''. This role earned him three [[Emmy Award]] nominations for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series|Best Actor in a Comedy Series]].<ref name="TVguide">{{Cite web
| url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/brian-keith/bio/142765
| title=Brian Keith Biography
| website=[[TV Guide]]
| access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> The show made him a household name. It was in the vein of successful 1960s and 1970s sitcoms that dealt with widowhood and/or many [[single-parent]] issues, such as ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', ''[[My Three Sons]]'', ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'', ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', ''[[Here's Lucy]]'', ''[[Julia (1968 TV series)|Julia]]'', ''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV series)|The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]'', ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'', ''[[The Partridge Family]]'', and ''[[Sanford and Son]]''. During its first season in 1966, ''Family Affair'' was an immediate hit, ranking number 15 in the [[Nielsen ratings]].<ref name="dvd">{{cite web
| url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/31556/family-affair-season-four/
| title=Family Affair-Season Four
| author=Mavis, Paul
| date=December 1, 2007
| website=[[DVD Talk]]
| access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> By the end of its fifth season, in 1971, ''Family Affair'' still had high ratings, but was cancelled after 138 episodes.

[[Kathy Garver]], who co-starred as Keith's teenaged niece, Cissy, on ''Family Affair'', indicated that Keith said: "I'm a cultural Irishman, don't you know, I'm a cultural Irishman." Garver explained: "But he went through many manifestations and changes of character, during the five years that we shot. At first, he was up and then his second year, he was going through a divorce, and then, the third year, he met somebody else, and he became more anecdotal and told stories that he loved kids, and he was very outspoken about those that he did not like. So, he was a very interesting character and it was Brian and Sebastian Cabot [who played Mr. French] had such a different style of acting and that's another reason I think that ''Family Affair'' was so popular and stayed as it did. Both excellent actors, both coming from very different methods and styles of acting with Sebastian was more from the classical style and he would take home his script and he would dutifully look at every single word and have it to perfection, and then Brian would come in and say, 'Oh what do we have today? Let me see the scene, uh-huh, uh-huh, let's go!' So he was very improvisational, motion of the moment. And those two different styles really worked out for each of them very well."<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://onscreenandbeyond.com/OSBseason3Reruns.htm
| title=OSB Episode 120
| date=July 11, 2010
| website=On Screen & Beyond
| access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

During the series' run Keith appeared in ''[[Reflections in a Golden Eye (film)|Reflections in a Golden Eye]]'' (1967) with [[Marlon Brando]], ''[[With Six You Get Eggroll]]'' (1968) with [[Doris Day]], ''[[Krakatoa: East of Java]]'' (1968) for Cinerama, and ''[[Gaily, Gaily]]'' (1969) for Norman Jewison. He had leading roles in ''[[Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?]]'' (1970) for Cinerama and ''[[The McKenzie Break]]'' (1970).<ref>{{Cite news|title=Break' Role for Keith|author=Martin, Betty|date=October 18, 1968|work=Los Angeles Times|page=f18}}</ref> In 1970, Keith moved to Hawaii.<ref name="archer">{{cite news|title=Brian Keith's playing Lew Archer--but with Hawaii on his mind|author=Smith, Cecil|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 26, 1975|page=q2}}</ref> Keith made ''[[Scandalous John]]'' (1971) for Disney, ''[[Something Big (film)|Something Big]]'' (1972) with Dean Martin and director [[Andrew McLaglen]], and the TV movie ''[[Second Chance (1972 film)|Second Chance]]'' (1972).<ref>{{Cite news|title=MOVIE CALL SHEET: 'big' Role for Carol White|author=Martin, Betty|date=February 19, 1971|work=Los Angeles Times|page=i9}}</ref>

===''The Brian Keith Show'', ''The Zoo Gang'', ''Archer''===
Keith went on to star as [[pediatrician]] Dr. Sean Jamison in the NBC sitcom ''[[The Brian Keith Show]]'' (entitled ''The Little People'' during its first season). The series was cancelled in 1974 after two seasons. "The show ended because it was bad, not because of Hawaii," said Keith.<ref name="archer"/>

Keith also starred in the role of Steven "The Fox" Halliday in the six-part television [[miniseries]], ''[[The Zoo Gang]]'' (1974), about a group of former underground [[French Resistance]] fighters from World War II. The show also starred [[Sir John Mills]], [[Lilli Palmer]], and [[Barry Morse]], and featured a theme by [[Paul McCartney]].<ref name="archer"/> Keith was third billed in ''[[The Yakuza (film)|The Yakuza]]'' (1974) starring [[Robert Mitchum]], and in ''[[The Wind and the Lion]]'' (1975) starring [[Sean Connery]], Keith played [[President Theodore Roosevelt]] for writer-director [[John Milius]]. He starred in the TV series ''[[Archer (1975 TV series)|Archer]]'' (1975) as [[Lew Archer]], replacing [[Peter Graves]] who'd starred in the pilot, but it was cancelled after six episodes and has never been rerun in the United States ([[Jerry Goldsmith]]'s score for the first episode of the series was released in 2018 by Lalaland Records).<ref name="archer"/> Keith did some Westerns, ''[[The Quest (1976 TV series)|The Quest]]'' (1976) pilot, and ''[[Joe Panther]]'' (1976), and the TV movie ''[[The Loneliest Runner]]'' (1976). He had a supporting role in ''[[Nickelodeon (film)|Nickelodeon]]'' (1976) and did the TV movies ''[[In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan]]'' (1977) and ''[[The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer]]'' (1977). He was in ''[[How the West Was Won (TV series)|How the West Was Won]]'' (1978), ''[[Hooper (film)|Hooper]]'' (1978) with [[Burt Reynolds]], ''[[Centennial (TV series)|Centennial]]'' (1979), and ''[[The Chisholms]]'' (1979). In 1992, he starred in the unsold, ABC half-hour pilot ''The Streets of Beverly Hills''.

Keith spoke fluent Russian, which led to his casting as a Russian in two roles: as a Soviet scientist in the film ''[[Meteor (film)|Meteor]]'' (1979) with [[Natalie Wood]] (who also spoke fluent Russian and played his translator), and as the Soviet premier in the NBC miniseries ''[[World War III (miniseries)|World War III]]'' (1982) with [[Rock Hudson]]. He replaced [[Barnard Hughes]] on Broadway in ''[[Da (play)|Da]]'' and was on ''[[The Seekers (TV series)|The Seekers]]'' (1979), ''[[Power (1980 TV series)|Power]]'' (1980), ''[[The Silent Lovers]]'' (1980), ''[[The Mountain Men]]'' (1980) with [[Charlton Heston]], and ''[[Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen]]'' (1981). Of the latter he joked, "I only did the picture because it had a long title, and I seem to specialize in those."<ref name="ind"/> He had support roles in ''[[Sharky's Machine]]'' (1981) with Burt Reynolds and ''[[Cry for the Strangers]]'' (1982).

===''Hardcastle and McCormick'', ''Pursuit of Happiness'', and ''Heartland''===
Keith once again returned to series television in 1983, with ''Hardcastle and McCormick'', in the role of a cranky retired judge named Milton C. Hardcastle. [[Daniel Hugh Kelly]] co-starred as ex-con Mark McCormick in this ABC crime drama with elements of comedy. The chemistry of Keith and Kelly was a hit, and the series lasted three years until its cancellation in 1986.<ref name="lawrence"/> During the series run, Keith was in ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' and ''The B.R.A.T. Patrol'' (1986). Keith starred in ''[[The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory]]'' (1987) (as [[Davy Crockett]]), and ''[[Death Before Dishonor (film)|Death Before Dishonor]]'', then did another TV series ''[[The Pursuit of Happiness (1987 TV series)|Pursuit of Happiness]]'' (1987–88), which ran 10 episodes. He was in ''After the Rain'' (1988), ''[[Young Guns (film)|Young Guns]]'' (1988), and ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson'' (1989). He starred in another short-lived series ''[[Heartland (1989 TV series)|Heartland]]'' (1989). He had roles in ''[[Welcome Home (1989 film)|Welcome Home]]'' (1989), and ''[[Lady in the Corner]]'' (1989).

===Later career===
Keith made a guest appearance in the ''[[Evening Shade]]'' season-one episode "Chip Off The Old Brick" (1991), as the loud-mouthed father of Herman Stiles (played by actor [[Michael Jeter]]). He reprised his character from ''The Westerner'' in ''[[The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw]]'' (1991) (which featured numerous actors from 1950s TV series playing their original roles in brief cameos), had the lead in ''[[Walter & Emily]]'' (1991), a short-lived sitcom, and ''The Streets of Beverly Hills'' (1992), a pilot. Brian Keith appeared on a two-part episode of ''[[Major Dad]]'', season four "The People's Choice" as the Major's ([[Gerald McRaney]]) domineering father who pays a visit to the family. The episode aired on September 25, 1992. Keith performed the role of Mullibok on the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' season-one episode entitled "Progress" (1993), in which an elderly farmer resists forcible relocation by Bajoran authorities.

Among his last performances were ''The Secrets of Lake Success''; ''[[Wind Dancer]]''; ''[[The Commish]]''; ''[[Under a Killing Moon]]'' (1994); ''The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A.'' (1995); ''[[The Monroes (1995 TV series)|The Monroes]]''; ''[[Favorite Deadly Sins]]'' (1995); ''[[Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story]]'' (1996); ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]''; ''[[Touched by an Angel]]''; and ''[[The Second Civil War]]'' (1997). Keith guest-starred in an episode of the TV series ''[[The Marshal]]'' titled "The Bounty Hunter" (1995) in which he played then [[Wichita, Kansas]], Police Chief Rick Stone under the stage name of Chief Skoblow. The [[Wichita Police Department]] cooperated with the Canadian TV production company by providing details of Chief Stone's actual police dress uniform for Keith to wear during the episode. Keith also provided the voice of [[Uncle Ben|Ben Parker]] on ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]''.

In his last film, Keith played President [[William McKinley]] in ''[[Rough Riders (miniseries)|Rough Riders]]'' (1997). Director [[John Milius]] dedicated the film to "Brian Keith, Actor, Marine, Raconteur."<ref name="fame">{{cite web
| url=http://www.walkoffame.com/brian-keith
| title=Brian Keith: Inducted to the Walk of Fame on June 26, 2008, with 1 star.
| date=June 26, 2008
| website=[[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
| access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

His last film appearance was as Roddy Thompson in the Lorenzo Doumani film ''Follow Your Heart'', which was filmed before his death but was not released until 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157655/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_follow%2520your%2520hea|title=Follow Your Heart|author=IMDb|access-date=1 October 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Keith married three times. He was married to [[Frances Helm]] from 1948 to 1954, Judy Landon from 1954 to 1969, and Victoria Young-Keith from 1970 until his death. He had seven children, one of whom committed suicide six weeks prior to his death.<ref> {{Cite web |last=Richmond |first=Ray |date=1997-06-25 |title=Brian Keith, 75, dead in apparent suicide |url=https://variety.com/1997/film/news/brian-keith-75-dead-in-apparent-suicide-1116678811/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Variety}}</ref>

On June 24, 1997, at the age of 75, Keith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just six weeks after his daughter Daisy shot herself on April 17, 1997<ref name="simon">{{cite news
| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-25-me-7884-story.html
| title=Actor Brian Keith Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
| author=Simon, Stephanie
| date=June 25, 1997
| newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]
| access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> at his home in [[Malibu, California]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Actor Brian Keith dies in apparent suicide |url=https://apnews.com/article/fc20a3f609f2c21177b3b7d983035186 |access-date=March 17, 2022 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> He suffered from [[emphysema]] and lung cancer during the latter part of his life, despite having quit [[Tobacco smoking|smoking]] ten years earlier. He reportedly also struggled with financial problems and suffered from depression throughout his final days.<ref name="star">{{cite news |author=Simon, Stephanie |date=June 25, 1997 |title=Brian Keith – Hollywood Star Walk |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/brian-keith/ |access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

Keith's friend [[Maureen O'Hara]] did not believe Keith died as a result of suicide. She stated that he had a large gun collection and he might have been cleaning the gun, or looking at it, when it went off accidentally. She had just visited him and said he was in good spirits and would not have committed suicide given his Catholic beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maureen O'Hara Discusses Her Life in Film|url=http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/28/lklw.00.html|website=CNN Transcripts|publisher=CNN|access-date=May 26, 2017|date=October 28, 2000}}</ref>

Keith's private funeral was attended by ''[[Family Affair]]'' co-stars [[Kathy Garver]] and [[Johnny Whitaker]], and ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' co-star [[Daniel Hugh Kelly]]. His ashes were interred next to those of his daughter Daisy at [[Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brian Keith-Daisy Keith grave plaques|url=http://www.seeing-stars.com/imagepages/briankeithgravephoto.shtml|website=Seeing-Stars|access-date=May 26, 2017}}</ref>

==Legacy==
On June 26, 2008, Brian Keith received a posthumous star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].<ref name="life">{{cite web
| url=http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actor-daniel-hugh-kelly-attends-the-brian-keith-honored-news-photo/81727714
| title=Brian Keith Honored At The Hollywood Walk of Fame
| date=June 28, 2008
| website=[[Getty Images]]
| access-date=August 29, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040557/http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actor-daniel-hugh-kelly-attends-the-brian-keith-honored-news-photo/81727714
|archive-date=September 24, 2015
}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Film===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Pied Piper Malone]]'' (1924) as Little Boy
* ''[[Arrowhead (1953 film)|Arrowhead]]'' (1953) as Captain Bill North
* ''[[Alaska Seas]]'' (1954) as Jim Kimmerly
* ''[[Jivaro (film)|Jivaro]]'' (1954) as Tony
* ''[[The Bamboo Prison]]'' (1954) as Corporal Brady
* ''[[The Violent Men]]'' (1955) as Cole Wilkison
* ''[[Tight Spot]]'' (1955) as Vince Striker
* ''[[5 Against the House]]'' (1955) as Brick
* ''[[Storm Center]]'' (1956) as Paul Duncan
* ''[[Nightfall (1957 film)|Nightfall]]'' (1956) as John
* ''[[Run of the Arrow]]'' (1957) as Captain Clark
* ''[[Dino (film)|Dino]]'' (1957) as Larry Sheridan
* ''[[Chicago Confidential]]'' (1957) as District Attorney Jim Fremont
* ''[[Appointment with a Shadow]]'' (1957) as Lieutenant Spencer
* ''[[Hell Canyon Outlaws]]'' (1957) as Happy Waters
* ''[[Fort Dobbs]]'' (1958) as Clett
* ''[[Violent Road]]'' (1958) as Mitch Barton
* ''[[Desert Hell]]'' (1958) as Captain Robert Edwards
* ''[[Sierra Baron]]'' (1958) as Jack McCracken
* ''[[Villa!!]]'' (1958) as Bill Harmon
* ''[[The Young Philadelphians]]'' (1959) as Mike Flanagan
* ''[[Ten Who Dared]]'' (1960) as William 'Bill' Dunn
* ''[[The Deadly Companions]]'' (1961) as Yellowleg
* ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' (1961) as Mitch Evers
* ''[[Moon Pilot]]'' (1962) as Major General John M. Vanneman
* ''[[Savage Sam (film)|Savage Sam]]'' (1963) as Uncle Beck Coates
* ''[[The Raiders (1963 film)|The Raiders]]'' (1963) as John G. McElroy / Narrator
* ''[[A Tiger Walks]]'' (1964) as Sheriff Pete Williams
* ''[[The Pleasure Seekers (1964 film)|The Pleasure Seekers]]'' (1964) as Paul Barton
* ''[[Those Calloways]]'' (1965) as Cam Calloway
* ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]'' (1965) as Frank Wallingham
* ''[[The Rare Breed]]'' (1966) as Bowen
* ''[[Nevada Smith]]'' (1966) as Jonas Cord
* ''[[The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming]]'' (1966) as Police Chief Link Mattocks
* ''[[Way...Way Out]]'' (1966) as General 'Howling Bull' Hallenby
* ''[[Reflections in a Golden Eye (film)|Reflections in a Golden Eye]]'' (1967) as Lieutenant Colonel Morris Langdon
* ''[[With Six You Get Eggroll]]'' (1968) as Jake Iverson
* ''[[Krakatoa, East of Java]]'' (1969) as Connerly
* ''[[Gaily, Gaily]]'' (1969) as Francis Sullivan
* ''[[Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?]]'' (1970) as Officer Michael M. Nace
* ''[[The McKenzie Break]]'' (1970) as Captain Jack Connor
* ''[[Scandalous John]]'' (1971) as John McCanless
* ''[[Something Big (film)|Something Big]]'' (1971) as Colonel Morgan
* ''[[The Yakuza]]'' (1975) as George Tanner
* ''[[The Wind and the Lion]]'' (1975) as President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
* ''[[Nickelodeon (film)|Nickelodeon]]'' (1976) as H.H. Cobb
* ''[[Hooper (film)|Hooper]]'' (1978) as Jocko
* ''[[Meteor (film)|Meteor]]'' (1979) as Dr. Dubov
* ''[[The Mountain Men]]'' (1980) as Henry Frapp
* ''[[Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen]]'' (1981) as Police Chief
* ''[[Sharky's Machine (film)|Sharky's Machine]]'' (1981) as Papa
* ''[[Death Before Dishonor (film)|Death Before Dishonor]]'' (1987) as Colonel Halloran
* ''After the Rain'' (1988) as Byron Monroe
* ''[[Young Guns (film)|Young Guns]]'' (1988) as Buckshot Roberts
* ''[[Welcome Home (1989 film)|Welcome Home]]'' (1989) as Harry Robins
* ''[[Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story]]'' (1996) as Cardinal
* ''[[The Second Civil War]]'' (1997) as Major General Charles Buford
* ''[[Walking Thunder]]'' (1997) as Narrator (voice)
* ''[[Rough Riders (miniseries)|Rough Riders]]'' (1997) as President [[William McKinley]]
{{div col end}}

===Television===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Suspense (U.S. TV series)|Suspense]]'' (1952) ([[CBS]]) (7 episodes)
**(Season 4 Episode 24: "Night Drive") as Bob
**(Season 4 Episode 26: "Four Days to Kill") as Johnny
**(Season 4 Episode 34: "The Corsage") as Lieutenant Jim Connor
**(Season 4 Episode 36: "The Debt") as Idaho
**(Season 4 Episode 41: "Fifty Beautiful Girls")
**(Season 4 Episode 44: "Death Cargo")
**(Season 4 Episode 51: "Set-Up for Death") as Kip Caley (starring John Marley)<ref>{{cite news|work=Suspense|title=Set Up for Death|date=1949|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrR-oEQcLeg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/zrR-oEQcLeg |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* ''[[Police Story (1952 TV series)|Police Story]]'' (1952) (CBS) (Season 1 Episode 16: "The California Case") (credited as Robert Keith, Jr.)
* ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]'' (1952) (3 episodes)
**(Season 1 Episode 17: "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: The Chase: Part 1")
**(Season 1 Episode 18: "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: The Escape: Part 2")
**(Season 1 Episode 39: "Appointment on Mars") as Jack (credited as Robert Keith, Jr.)
* ''[[Crusader (TV series)|Crusader]]'' (1955–56) (CBS) (52 episodes in title role) as Matt Anders
* ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1959-1962) (4 episodes)
**(Season 4 Episode 31: "Your Witness") (1959) as Arnold Shawn
**(Season 5 Episode 5: "No Pain") (1959) as Dave Rainey
**(Season 5 Episode 34: "Cell 227") (1960) as Herbert 'Herbie' Morrison
**(Season 7 Episode 20: "The Test") (1962) as Vernon Wedge
* ''[[Disney anthology television series]]'' (1959-1986) (10 episodes)
**(Season 6 Episode 7: "Elfego Baca: Move Along, Mustangers") (for ''[[Walt Disney Presents]]'') (1959) as Shadrak O'Reilly
**(Season 6 Episode 8: "Elfego Baca: Mustang Man, Mustang Maid") (for ''[[Walt Disney Presents]]'') (1959) as Shadrak O'Reilly
**(Season 9 Episode 16: "''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]'': Part 1") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1963) as Sergeant Gabe Trotter
**(Season 9 Episode 17: "''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]'': Part 2") for (''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1963) as Sergeant Gabe Trotter
**(Season 10 Episode 15: "Bristle Face: Part 1") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1964) as Lue Swank
**(Season 10 Episode 16: "Bristle Face: Part 2") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1964) as Lue Swank
**(Season 11 Episode 5: "''[[The Tenderfoot (1964)|The Tenderfoot]]'': Part 1") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1964) as Mose Carson
**(Season 11 Episode 6: "''[[The Tenderfoot (1964)|The Tenderfoot]]'': Part 2") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1964) as Mose Carson
**(Season 11 Episode 7: "''[[The Tenderfoot (1964)|The Tenderfoot]]'': Part 3") (for ''[[Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'') (1964) as Mose Carson
**(Season 31 Episode 4: "The B.R.A.T. Patrol") (for ''[[The Disney Sunday Movie]]'') (1986) ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]) as General Newmeyer
* ''[[The Westerner (TV series)|The Westerner]]'' (1960) ([[NBC]]) (13 episodes) as Dave Blassingame
* ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'' (1961) (Season 2 Episode 16: "The Jamaica Ginger Story") as Jim Martinson
* ''[[Outlaws (1960 TV series)|Outlaws]]'' (1961–62) (NBC) (2 episodes)
**(Season 2 Episode 3: "My Friend, the Horse Thief") (1961) as Jim Whipple
**(Season 2 Episode 14: "The Bitter Swede") (1962) as Sven Johannsen
* ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1962) (CBS) (Season 1 Episode 3: "Night of the Owl") as James 'Jim' Mallory, District Ranger
* ''[[Target: The Corruptors!]]'' (1962) (ABC) (2 episodes) as George Vaclavic
**(Season 1 Episode 32: "The Organizers: Part 1")
**(Season 1 Episode 33: "The Organizers: Part 2")
* ''[[Sam Benedict]]'' (NBC) (1963) (Season 1 Episode 20: "Run Softly, Oh Softly") as Mitchison Dawit
* ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' (1963) (Season 1 Episode 15: "Duel at Shiloh") as Johnny Wade
* ''[[Wagon Train]]'' (1963) (2 episodes)
**(Season 6 Episode 28: "The Tom Tuesday Story") as Tom Tuesday
**(Season 7 Episode 5: "The Robert Harrison Clarke Story") as First Sergeant Gault
* ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (1963) (Season 1 Episode 1 (Pilot): "Fear in a Desert City") as Edward Welles
* ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' (1964) (NBC) (Season 1 Episode 19: "A Cause of Anger") as Andy Bastian
* ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]'' (1966) (CBS) as Himself, Game Show Contestant / Celebrity Guest Star
* ''[[Family Affair]]'' (1966–71) (CBS) (138 episodes) as Uncle Bill Davis
* ''The Bull of the West'' (1972) (TV movie) as Johnny Wade (archive footage)
* ''[[The Brian Keith Show]]'' (1972–74) (NBC) (47 episodes; entitled ''The Little People'' in 1972–73) as Dr. Sean Jamison
* ''[[The Zoo Gang]]'' (1974) ([[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]) (all 6 episodes) as Steven 'The Fox' Halliday
* ''[[Archer (1975 TV series)|Archer]]'' (1975) (NBC) (all 6 episodes) as Lew Archer
* ''[[The Loneliest Runner]]'' (1976) (NBC) (TV movie) as Arnold Curtis
* ''[[In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan]]'' (1977) (TV movie) as Joe Quinlan
* ''[[How the West Was Won (TV series)|How the West Was Won]]'' (originally titled ''The Macahans'') (1978) (ABC) (3 episodes) as General Stonecipher
**(Season 2 Episode 1: "Buffalo Story")
**(Season 2 Episode 2: "Mormon Story")
**(Season 2 Episode 3: "Interlude")
* ''[[Centennial (miniseries)|Centennial]]'' (1978–79) (NBC) (12 episodes) as Sheriff Axel Dumire
* ''[[The Seekers (miniseries)|The Seekers]]'' (1979) (2 episodes: Season 1 Episode 1 and Season 1 Episode 2) as Elijah Weatherby
* ''[[The Chisholms]]'' (1979) (CBS) (Season 1 Episode 4: "Chapter IV") as Andrew Blake
* ''[[World War III (miniseries)]]'' (1982) (2 episodes: Season 1 Episode 1: "Part I" and Season 1 Episode 2: "Part II") as Soviet General Secretary Gorny
* ''[[Cry for the Strangers (film)|Cry for the Strangers]]'' (1982) (TV movie) as Chief Whalen
* ''[[Hardcastle and McCormick]]'' (1983–86) (ABC) (67 episodes) as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle
* ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' (1984) (CBS) (Season 1 Pilot Episode: "''[[The Murder of Sherlock Holmes]]''") as Caleb McCallum
* ''[[The Pursuit of Happiness (1987 TV series)|Pursuit of Happiness]]'' (1987-1988) (ABC) (all 10 episodes) as Professor Roland G. Duncan
* ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson'' (1989) (CBS) (TV movie) as Frank Wellman Sr.
* ''[[Heartland (1989 TV series)|Heartland]]'' (1989) (CBS) (TV movie) as B.L. McCutcheon
* ''[[The Young Riders]]'' (1990) (ABC) (Season 2 Episode 10: "Star Light, Star Bright") as Cyrus Happy
* ''[[Evening Shade]]'' (1991) (CBS) (Season 1 Episode 15: "Chip Off the Old Brick") as Brick Stiles
* ''[[Walter & Emily]]'' (1991–92) (NBC) (all 13 episodes) as Walter Collins
* ''The Streets of Beverly Hills'' (1992) (ABC) (TV movie) as Charlie Street
* ''[[Major Dad]]'' (1992) (CBS) (2 episodes) as Jake MacGillis
**(Season 4 Episode 1: "The People's Choice: Part 1")
**(Season 4 Episode 2: "The People's Choice: Part 2")
* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' (1993) ([[broadcast syndication|syndicated]]) (Season 1 Episode 15: "[[Progress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Progress]]" as Mullibok
* ''[[The Commish]]'' (1994) (ABC) (Season 3 Episode 22: "The Iceman Cometh") as Phil 'Iceman' Greene / Lou Parslow
* ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]'' (1995-1998) (3 episodes) as [[Uncle Ben]] (voice)
**(Season 1 Episode 5: "The Menace of Mysterio") (1995)
**(Season 2 Episode 4: "Neogenic Nightmare Chapter 4: The Mutant Agenda") (1995)
**(Season 5 Episode 13: "Spider Wars, Chapter 2: Farewell Spider-Man") (1998)
* ''[[Cybill]]'' (1996) (CBS) (Season 2 Episode 16: "Who's Who for What's His Name?") as Arthur Minnow
* ''[[Pacific Blue (TV series)|Pacific Blue]]'' (1996) ([[USA Network|USA]]) (Season 1 Episode 2: "First Shoot") as Mac McNamara
* ''[[Touched by an Angel]]'' (1996) (CBS) (Season 3 Episode 8: "The Sky is Falling") as Leonard Pound
* ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]'' (1996) (CBS) (Season 5 Episode 3: "Ghost Rider") as Del Forman
* ''[[Duckman]]'' (1997) (USA) (Season 4 Episode 18: "Kidney, Popsicle, and Nuts") as Duckman's Father (voice)
{{div col end}}

===Stage===
*''Heyday'' (1946)
*''Mr. Roberts'' as First Mate (c. 1950 as Robert Keith, Jr.) N.B. Robert Keith, Sr. was the Doctor in it.
* ''[[Darkness at Noon]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Da (play)|Da]]'' (1978)

===Video games===
* ''[[Under a Killing Moon]]'' (1994) as The Colonel

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{Official website|http://www.briankeith.com/}}
* {{IMDb name|1417}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{tcmdb name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Brian}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:1997 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American male child actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male silent film actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]]
[[Category:Catholics from New Jersey]]
[[Category:East Rockaway High School alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from Bayonne, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from East Rockaway, New York]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in California]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Western (genre) television actors]]

David Strickland

2025-11-02T15:05:45Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{short description|American actor (1969–1999)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Strickland
| image = David Strickland (actor).jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = David Gordon Strickland, Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1969|10|14}}
| birth_place = [[Glen Cove, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|3|22|1969|10|14}}
| death_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], U.S.
| known_for = Todd Stites in ''[[Suddenly Susan]]''
| years_active = 1994–1999
| occupation = Actor
}}
'''David Gordon Strickland, Jr.''' (October 14, 1969 – March 22, 1999) was an American actor. He was best known for playing the boyish rock music reporter Todd Stites in the [[NBC]] sitcom ''[[Suddenly Susan]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ravo |first=Nick |date=March 24, 1999 |title=David Strickland, 29, Actor; Had Role in Television Sitcom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/24/arts/david-strickland-29-actor-had-role-in-television-sitcom.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 26, 2018 |url-access=subscription}} </ref>

==Life and career==
David Gordon Strickland, Jr., was born on October 14, 1969, in [[Glen Cove, New York|Glen Cove, Long Island, New York]]. His parents, David Sr. and Karen, were both business executives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/86/David-Strickland.html |title=David Strickland Biography (1969-1999) |work=Film Reference |access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> Strickland moved with his family to [[Princeton, New Jersey]], and later to Los Angeles, where he became an actor. Strickland guest starred in the television series ''[[Dave's World]]'', ''[[Roseanne]]'', ''[[Mad About You]]'', and ''[[Sister, Sister (TV series)|Sister, Sister]]'', until he landed his role on ''[[Suddenly Susan]]'' in 1996.

==Personal life==

Strickland suffered from [[bipolar disorder]] and had a long and troubled history of drug and alcohol abuse. Five months before his death, Strickland was arrested for cocaine possession, pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered into drug rehabilitation. He was due in court for a progress report on the day of his death. News reports of events leading up to Strickland's death suggest that he had chosen to stop taking the [[Lithium (medication)|lithium]] he was prescribed to control his bipolar disorder.<ref name=JoalHardy>{{cite news |last=Ryan |first=Joal |date=June 1, 1999 |title=David Strickland's Last Party-Hardy Days |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/38244/david-strickland-s-last-party-hardy-days |work=[[E! News]] |access-date=November 21, 2018 }} </ref>

==Death==
On March 20, 1999, Strickland and comedian [[Andy Dick]] flew from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and spent three days partying in strip clubs.<ref name=JoalHardy/> After checking into a motel, Strickland spent time with a prostitute, consumed six bottles of beer, and then [[hanging|hanged]] himself with a bed sheet over the ceiling beam. He died during the morning hours of March 22, 1999, at the age of 29.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ryan |first=Joal |date=March 24, 1999 |title="Suddenly Susan" Costar's Final Hours |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/37916/suddenly-susan-costar-s-final-hours |work=[[E! News]] |access-date=November 21, 2018 }}</ref> His body was discovered by a private investigator hired by his friend and co-star [[Brooke Shields]] when Strickland missed his appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court for cocaine possession.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shain |first=Michael |date=May 31, 1999|title=Brooke's Private Eye New Revelations in Suicide of Shield' 'Suddenly' Star |url=https://nypost.com/1999/05/31/brookes-private-eye-new-revelations-in-suicide-of-shields-suddenly-star/ |work=[[New York Post]] |access-date=November 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20127872,00.html |title=Dark Forces: Brooke Shields's TV Sitcom Costar David Strickland Takes His Own Troubled Life |last=Gliatto |first=Tom |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=April 5, 1999 |accessdate=2 May 2009 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913125922/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20127872,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Evidence of drug use was found in his room. The [[Clark County Coroner's Office|Clark County Coroner]] concluded that Strickland's body bore the marks of a previous suicide attempt.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldman |first=Adam |date=February 15, 2004|title=Anonymity of Las Vegas Is a Magnet for Suicidal Tourists |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-15-admn-vegas15-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=November 21, 2018 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

After much discussion, the writers of ''Suddenly Susan'' decided to deal with Strickland's death directly by killing off his character, Todd Stites. In the show's third season finale, "A Day in a Life", Todd fails to appear at work one day. When Susan calls Todd regarding tickets to a show, his pager vibrates on his desk. Susan spends the day searching for Todd, learning for the first time about a number of good deeds he had done throughout his life. The episode ends when the police call Jack while he, Susan, and the other characters are gathered in a prayer circle for Todd's well-being. The details of Todd's death are left ambiguous. The episode is peppered with confessional-style monologues delivered directly into the camera by Shields and the show's supporting cast.

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1994
| ''Object of Obsession''
| Homeless Man
|
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Postcards from America]]''
| Driver
|
|-
| 1995
| ''Phobophilia: The Love of Fear''
| (unknown)
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Forces of Nature (1999 film)|Forces of Nature]]''
| Steve Montgomery
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Delivered]]''
| Will Sherman
| Alternative title: ''Death by Pizza''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Dave's World]]''
| Police Officer
| Episode: "What the Early Bird Gets"
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Roseanne]]''
| First Cop
| Episode: "The Getaway, Almost"
|-
| 1995–1996
| ''[[Mad About You]]''
| Hollis
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Sister, Sister (TV series)|Sister, Sister]]''
| Dave Barnes
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1996
| ''Mixed Nuts''
| Ross Kellog
| Unsold [[NBC]] pilot
|-
| 1996–1999
| ''[[Suddenly Susan]]''
| Todd Stites
| Series regular, 71 episodes
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, David}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:1999 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Male actors from Princeton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Glen Cove, New York]]
[[Category:People with bipolar disorder]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in Nevada]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]

Gig Young

2025-11-02T15:01:37Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{Short description|American actor (1913–1978)}}
{{About|the American actor Byron Barr who assumed the name Gig Young|the American actor born in Iowa|Byron Barr}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gig Young
| image = Gig Young - 1953.jpg
| caption = Young in 1953
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|11|4}}
| birth_place = [[St. Cloud, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|10|19|1913|11|4}}
| death_place = New York City, NY, U.S.
| death_cause = Ballistic Trauma ([[murder–suicide]])
| birth_name = Byron Elsworth Barr
| occupation = Actor
| yearsactive = 1940–1978
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|Sheila Stapler|1940|1947|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Sophie Rosenstein|1950|1952|end=died}}
* {{marriage|[[Elizabeth Montgomery]]|1956|1963|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Elaine Williams|1963|1966|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Kim Schmidt|1978|1978|end=d}}
}}
| children = 1
}}

'''Gig Young''' (born '''Byron Elsworth Barr'''; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his performances in ''[[Come Fill the Cup]]'' (1952) and ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]'' (1959), finally winning the award for ''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]'' (1969).

In 1978, Young murdered his 31-year-old wife three weeks after their wedding [[Murder–suicide|before turning the gun on himself]] and committing suicide at the age of 64.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Arneberg |first1=Marianne |last2=Schindler |first2=Jean |date=1978-10-20 |title=Cops Say Actor Kills Wife, Self |page=7 |newspaper=[[Newsday]] |location=Melville, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111564627/cops-say-actor-kills-wife-self/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==Early life==
Born Byron Elsworth Barr in [[St. Cloud, Minnesota]], he and his older siblings were raised by his parents, John and Emma Barr, in [[Washington, D.C.]], where his father was a [[reformatory]] chef.<ref>{{cite book| last=Parish| first=James Robert| title=The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More Than 125 American Movie and TV Idols| publisher=Contemporary Books| year=2002| url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodbookofd0000pari/page/334/mode/2up?q=gig| edition=3| page=335| isbn=978-0-8092-2227-8}}</ref> He attended [[McKinley Technology High School|McKinley High School]], where he developed his first love of acting appearing in school plays.<ref name="bio"/>

==Career==

===Theatre===
After graduating from high school he worked as a used car salesman and studied acting at night. He moved to Hollywood when a friend offered him a ride if he would pay for half the gas. After some amateur experience he applied for and received a [[scholarship]] to the acclaimed [[Pasadena Playhouse]]. "I had two jobs to support me, never rested, but it was great training and when I landed the part at Warner Bros., I was ready for it," he said.<ref name="bio">{{cite news |last1=Coe |first1=Richard L. |title=The Survivors – Still on Scene: Hollywood's Survivors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/09/03/the-survivors-still-on-scene/18d9f0ea-269e-41c2-934f-17c721ca226d/ |access-date=July 27, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 3, 1978 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Barr made early appearances in ''[[Misbehaving Husbands]]'' (1940), credited as "Byron Barr", and in the short ''[[Here Comes the Cavalry]]'' (1941). While acting in ''Pancho'', a south-of-the-border play by Lowell Barrington, he and the leading actor in the play, [[George Reeves]], were spotted by a [[Warner Brothers]] [[talent scout]]. Both actors were signed to supporting player contracts with the studio.<ref>{{cite book| last=Cozad| first=W. Lee| title=More Magnificent Mountain Movies: The Silverscreen Years, 1940–2004| publisher=Rim of the World Historical Society| year=2006| page=147| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uq2IW_Ghso4C&q=gig| isbn=978-0-9723-3723-6}}</ref>

===Warner Bros. as Byron Barr===
His early work was uncredited or as Byron Barr (not to be confused with another actor with the same name, [[Byron Barr]]) or Byron Fleming. It included appearances in ''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]'' (1941), ''[[Dive Bomber (film)|Dive Bomber]]'' (1941), ''[[Navy Blues (1941 film)|Navy Blues]]'' (1941), and ''[[One Foot in Heaven]]'' (1941). Barr had a bigger part in a short, ''[[The Tanks Are Coming (1941 film)|The Tanks Are Coming]]'' (1941) which was nominated for an Oscar.

He was also in ''[[They Died with Their Boots On]]'' (1941) and ''[[You're in the Army Now]]'' (1941). He had an uncredited bit part in the 1942 [[Bette Davis]] film ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942 film)|The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'', saying, in his distinctive voice, "How's the ice?."{{cn|date=February 2024}} He was also in ''[[Captains of the Clouds]]'' (1942), and ''[[The Male Animal]]'' (1942). Warners loaned him to Fox for ''[[The Mad Martindales]]'' (1942).

===''The Gay Sisters'' and becoming Gig Young===
In 1942, six months into his Warner Brothers contract, he was given his first notable role in the feature film ''[[The Gay Sisters]]''<ref>{{cite book| title=The Gay Sisters|last=Longstreet| first=Stephen| url=https://archive.org/details/gaysisters0000step| publisher=Random House / Grosset Dunlap| year=1942| location=New York}}</ref> as a character named "Gig Young". Preview cards praised the actor "Gig Young" and the studio determined that "Gig Young" should become Barr's stage and professional name.<ref>{{cite book| last=Monush|first=Barry| title=Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the Silent Era To 1965| publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation| year=2003| page=810| url=https://archive.org/details/screenworldprese0000monu/page/810/mode/2up?q=gig| isbn=978-1-5578-3551-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Former Washingtonian steps up into big time| date=July 28, 1942| newspaper=The Washington Post| id={{ProQuest|151500647}}}}</ref> About the name change, Young later admitted to having "some hesitancy... but I weighed the disadvantages against the advantages of having it stick indelibly in the mind of audiences. There'd be no confusion with some other actor called Gig."<ref>{{cite news| last=Grant| first=Hank| title=Gig Is No Gag| date=February 27, 1965| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| id={{ProQuest|179803477}}}}</ref> His parts began to get better: a co-pilot in [[Howard Hawks]]'s ''[[Air Force (film)|Air Force]]'' (1943); and [[Bette Davis]]' love interest in ''[[Old Acquaintance]]'' (1943).

Young took a hiatus from his movie career and enlisted in the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] in 1941 where he served as a [[Hospital corpsman|pharmacist's mate]] until the end of [[World War II]], serving in a combat zone in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/gigyoung.asp| title=Coast Guard History: Gig Young| date=2008-07-22| website=uscg.mil}}</ref> On Young's return from the war, he was cast as [[Errol Flynn]]'s rival for [[Eleanor Parker]] in ''[[Escape Me Never (1947 film)|Escape Me Never]]'' (1947). The film was directed by [[Peter Godfrey (director)|Peter Godfrey]] who also helmed Young and Parker in ''[[The Woman in White (1948 film)|The Woman in White]]'' (1948), after which Young left Warners, unhappy with his salary.<ref>{{cite news| last=Hopper| first=Hedda| title=Gig Arrives At Last| date=May 17, 1959| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune|Chicago Daily Tribune]]| id={{ProQuest|182304400}}}}</ref>

===Post-Warner Bros.===
Young began freelancing at various studios, eventually obtaining a contract with [[Columbia Pictures]] before returning to freelancing. He came to be regarded as a popular and likable second lead, playing the brothers or friends of the principal characters. In a 1966 interview he said, "Whenever you play a second lead and lose the girl, you have to make your part interesting yet not compete with the leading man. There are few great second leads in this business. It's easier to play a lead – you can do whatever you want. If I'm good, it always means the leading man has been generous."<ref name="gig">{{cite news| last=Thomas| first=Kevin| title=Gig Young: It's harder to be no. 2| date=September 6, 1966| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|155514736}}}}</ref>

Young was [[Porthos]] in [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]'s successful ''[[The Three Musketeers (1948 film)|The Three Musketeers]]'' (1948).<ref>{{cite news| title=Gig Young to play In '3 Musketeers'| first=Thomas F| last=Brady| date=January 3, 1948| newspaper=The New York Times| id={{ProQuest|108153635}}}}</ref> Then he supported [[John Wayne]] in ''[[Wake of the Red Witch]]'' (1948) at [[Republic Pictures]] and [[Glenn Ford]] in Columbia's ''[[Lust for Gold]]'' (1949). Also at Columbia, he supported [[Rosalind Russell]] and [[Robert Cummings]] in ''[[Tell It to the Judge]]'' (1949). Young had his first lead in a feature film at RKO in ''[[Hunt the Man Down]]'' (1951), a film noir. He went back to support roles for ''[[Target Unknown]]'' (1951) a war film at Universal; and ''[[Only the Valiant]]'' (1951), a [[Gregory Peck]] western.

Young began to appear in TV on shows such as ''[[The Silver Theatre]]'', ''[[Pulitzer Prize Playhouse]]'', and ''[[The Bigelow Theatre]]''.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ames| first=Walter| title=Television This Week programs day by day| date=February 11, 1951| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|166187653}}}}</ref>

===''Come Fill the Cup'' and first Oscar nomination===
Young received critical acclaim for his dramatic work as an [[alcoholism|alcoholic]] in the 1951 film ''[[Come Fill the Cup]]'', with [[James Cagney]] back at Warner Brothers. He was nominated for both an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Young later gave Cagney a great deal of the credit for his performance.<ref name="gig"/>

===Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer===
Young supported [[Van Johnson]] in the MGM comedy ''[[Too Young to Kiss]]'' (1952). The studio liked Young so much that he was signed to a term contract.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schallert| first=Edwin| title=Drama 1-...| date=October 2, 1951| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| page=B7| id={{ProQuest|166235151}}}}</ref> After supporting [[Peter Lawford]] in ''[[You for Me]]'' (1952), Young was promoted by MGM to leading man for ''[[Holiday for Sinners]]'' (1952). The film was a box office failure, however. More popular was ''[[The Girl Who Had Everything]]'' (1953) in which Young lost [[Elizabeth Taylor]] to [[Fernando Lamas]].

MGM loaned Young to [[Republic Pictures]] for ''[[City That Never Sleeps]]'' (1953), where he had the starring role as a disillusioned cop. In 2008 [[Martin Scorsese]] selected this film to open a Republic Pictures retrospective that he curated at New York's [[Museum of Modern Art]], citing the movie's amazing energy and creativity. Back at MGM, Young was the lead in the 3-D western ''[[Arena (1953 film)|Arena]]'' (1953), which was a hit. He was a second male lead again – to [[Michael Wilding (actor)|Michael Wilding]] – in the [[Joan Crawford]] vehicle ''[[Torch Song (1953 film)|Torch Song]]'' (1953). Promptly after completing both films, on June 22, 1953, the trade magazine [[Hollywood Reporter]] told its readers that MGM had just assigned its Actor Gig Young to the 4th Leading Role in their future successful Family Viewing hit film of 1954, [[Gypsy Colt]]. Likely noticing that his roles were now moving in the wrong direction, he left MGM. "I played terrible parts there", he later said.<ref>{{cite news| last=Hopper| first= Hedda| title=Gig Young overcame Barr at start of career| date=November 29, 1964| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|155062644}}}}</ref> He decided to relocate to New York.<ref>{{cite news| last=Scheuer| first=Philip K.| title='Simple life' out for Gig| date=March 31, 1958| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| page=C9| id={{ProQuest|167249210}}}}</ref>

===Broadway===
Young said he rarely performed in comedies until he appeared on Broadway in ''[[Oh Men! Oh Women!]]'' (1953–54), which ran for 382 performances. Young recalled, "It was a big smash hit but never helped change my type in Hollywood for quite some time. I still played dull, serious parts like Errol Flynn's brother. Yet on Broadway, they offered me nothing but comedies."<ref name="gig"/>

During this time, Young appeared on TV shows shot in New York, such as ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'', ''[[Schlitz Playhouse]]'', ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'', and ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]''.

===Return to Warner Bros.===
When ''Oh Men! Oh, Women'' ended its run, Young went back to Warner Bros where he lost [[Doris Day]] to [[Frank Sinatra]] in ''[[Young at Heart (1955 film)|Young at Heart]]'' (1955). In 1955 Young became the host of ''[[Warner Bros. Presents]]'', an umbrella title for three television mini-series (''[[Casablanca (1955 TV series)|Casablanca]]'', ''[[Kings Row (TV series)|Kings Row]]'', and ''[[Cheyenne (1955 TV series)|Cheyenne]]'') that aired during the 1955–56 season on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC Television]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Thompson| first=Robert J.| author2=Gary Burns| title=Making Television: Authorship and the Production Process| publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group| year=1999| pages=95–96| isbn=978-0-2759-2746-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Gig Young will play two roles for Warners| date=July 31, 1955| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|166804371}}}}</ref> He played a supporting role the same year in the Humphrey Bogart thriller ''[[The Desperate Hours (1955 film)|The Desperate Hours]]'' and lost [[Katharine Hepburn]] to [[Spencer Tracy]] in ''[[Desk Set]]'' (1957). He continued to appear on TV in such shows as ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'', ''[[Climax!]]'', ''[[Goodyear Theatre]]'', and ''[[Studio One in Hollywood]]'' (the latter starring [[Elizabeth Montgomery]], whom he married in 1956).<ref>{{cite news| title=TV murder story hits near home| first=Oscar| last=Godbout| date=February 10, 1958| newspaper=The New York Times| id={{ProQuest|114363731}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Gig young reported in line for TV award| date=January 5, 1958| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| page=E2| id={{ProQuest|167183910}}}}</ref>

Young is remembered by many [[James Dean]] fans for the "driving safety" interview made shortly before Dean's fatal car accident in September 1955. Dean wears a cowboy outfit as he was taking a break from shooting the 1956 film ''Giant'' while playing with a lasso and counseling the audience to drive carefully.

===''Teacher's Pet'' and second Oscar nomination===
[[George Seaton]] saw Young on Broadway and cast him as a tipsy but ultimately charming intellectual in ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 movie)|Teacher's Pet]]'' (1958), starring [[Clark Gable]] and [[Doris Day]]. It earned Young a second Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Young was promptly reunited with Day in an MGM comedy, ''[[The Tunnel of Love]]'' (1958), though still the second male lead – after [[Richard Widmark]]. Also at MGM, he appeared with [[Shirley MacLaine]] and [[David Niven]] in ''[[Ask Any Girl (film)|Ask Any Girl]]'' (1959). Young had a change of pace in a [[Clifford Odets]] drama starring [[Rita Hayworth]], ''[[The Story on Page One (film)|The Story on Page One]]'' (1959), although he was still the second male lead, to [[Anthony Franciosa]].

On TV he appeared in a 1959 Twilight Zone episode titled "[[Walking Distance]]". He had some excellent parts – all male leads – in TV adaptations of ''[[The Philadelphia Story (1959 film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1959), ''[[The Prince and the Pauper]]'', ''[[Ninotchka (1960 film)|Ninotchka]]'' (1960), and ''[[The Spiral Staircase (1961 film)|The Spiral Staircase]]'' (1961). He guest-starred on ''[[The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' and ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]''.

Young returned to Broadway with ''[[Under the Yum-Yum Tree]]'' (1960–61), which ran for 173 performances, originating the role later played by [[Jack Lemmon]] on film. Some announced film projects fell through, so he instead played second lead in another movie with Day, ''[[That Touch of Mink]]'' (1962), as [[Cary Grant]]'s best friend.<ref name="gig"/> He was [[Elvis Presley]]'s boxing promoter in ''[[Kid Galahad]]'' (1962) and lost [[Sophia Loren]] to [[Anthony Perkins]] in ''[[Five Miles to Midnight]]'' (1962). After supporting [[Kirk Douglas]] in ''[[For Love or Money (1963 film)|For Love or Money]]'' (1963), he was given a rare male lead in MGM's ''[[A Ticklish Affair]]'' (1963) as [[Shirley Jones]]' love interest.

===''The Rogues''===
[[File:The Rogues cast 1964.JPG|right|thumb|The cast of ''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]'' (1964) with [[Charles Boyer]], Gig Young, [[David Niven]], [[Robert Coote]] and [[Gladys Cooper]]]]
On the 1964–65 [[NBC]] TV series ''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]'', he shared appearances on a rotating basis with [[David Niven]] and [[Charles Boyer]], although in practice Young helmed the greater number of episodes since Niven and Boyer were both busy with other film projects.<ref>{{cite book| last=Guida| first=Fred| author2=Edward Wagenknecht| title=A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens's Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television| publisher=McFarland| year=2006| page=193| url=https://archive.org/details/christmascarolit0000guid/page/192/mode/2up?q=gig| isbn=978-0-7864-2840-3}}</ref> The charming con man he played on that show was one of Young's favorite roles, and it raised his profile with the television viewing public. He later said, "I loved it, the public loved it, only NBC didn't love it."<ref name="gig"/> Despite its popularity and critical acclaim, ''The Rogues'' was cancelled after one 30-episode season.

During the filming of ''The Rogues'', Young's alcoholism was starting to take a toll on his career; [[Larry Hagman]] had to be brought in as a substitute for the final two episodes. After the show ended, Young went on tour as Harold Hill in ''[[The Music Man]]'', his first stage musical.<ref>{{cite news| last=Smith| first=Cecil| title=Gig Young as Harold Hill—Distant Cousin of Rogues| date=August 2, 1965| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|155286594}}}}</ref> He supported [[Rock Hudson]] in the comedy ''[[Strange Bedfellows (1965 film)|Strange Bedfellows]]'' (1965), had the lead in a British horror film ''[[The Shuttered Room]]'' (1967), and starred in a TV mystery movie ''[[Companions in Nightmare]]'' (1968). He enjoyed a successful return to Broadway in the hit comedy from Britain ''[[There's a Girl in My Soup (play)|There's a Girl in My Soup]]'' (1967–68), which ran for 322 performances.<ref>{{cite news| title=Theater: Frisby comedy, 'There's A Girl in My Soup'| first=Clive| last=Barnes| author-link=Clive Barnes| date=October 19, 1967| newspaper=The New York Times| id={{ProQuest|117476946}}}}</ref>

===''They Shoot Horses Don't They?''===
Young won the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Rocky, the alcoholic [[Marathon dancing|dance marathon]] [[Master of Ceremonies|emcee]] and promoter in the 1969 film ''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]'' Young had not been the choice of director [[Sydney Pollack]], but his casting was mandated by the head of ABC Pictures, [[Martin Baum (agent)|Marty Baum]], Young's former agent.<ref>{{cite news| last=Begley| first=Mary| title=Gig hitches Oscar hopes to 'Horses'| date=March 31, 1970| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|156403491}}}}</ref> According to his fourth wife, Elaine Williams, "What he was aching for, as he walked up to collect his Oscar, was a role in his own movie—one that they could finally call 'a Gig Young movie.' For Gig, the Oscar was literally the kiss of death, the end of the line."<ref name=holden>{{cite book| last=Holden| first=Anthony| title=Behind the Oscar: The Secret History of the Academy Awards| publisher=Simon & Schuster| year=1993| page=[https://archive.org/details/behindoscarsecre00hold/page/275 275]| isbn=978-0-6717-0129-1| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/behindoscarsecre00hold/page/275}}</ref>

Young himself had said to [[Louella Parsons]] after failing to win in 1951, "so many people who have been nominated for an Oscar have had bad luck afterwards."<ref name=holden /> However, when he finally won, Young called the Oscar "the greatest moment of his life."<ref>{{cite news| title=Gig finally made it, didn't he| last=Harmetz| first=Aljean| date=April 26, 1970| newspaper=The New York Times|page=D15| id={{ProQuest|119156135}}}}</ref>

Young had a good part in the popular ''[[Lovers and Other Strangers]]'' (1970), also from ABC Pictures, and toured in ''[[Nobody Loves an Albatross]]'' (1970) in summer stock. He was in the TV movie ''[[The Neon Ceiling]]'' (1971), his performance earning him an [[Emmy Awards|Emmy]] nomination. A profile of Young around this time said, "The well-established image of the boozy charmer Gig plays on and off camera fools you. That armour surrounds an intense dedicated artist, constantly involved with his profession."<ref name="smith">{{cite news|author=Smith, C.| title=Gig young: The rogue at twilight stars in 'the neon ceiling'| date=February 7, 1971| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|156616256}}}}</ref>

===Career decline===
Young's worsening alcoholism began to cost him roles. Originally cast as The Waco Kid, Young collapsed on the set of the comedy film ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' during his first day of shooting due to [[Alcohol withdrawal syndrome|alcohol withdrawal]] and was fired by director [[Mel Brooks]].<ref name=donnelly>{{cite book| last=Donnelly| first=Paul| title=Fade To Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries| publisher=Omnibus| location=New York| year=2005| url=https://archive.org/details/fadetoblackbooko0000donn_d0k3/page/986/mode/2up?q=%22blazing+saddles%22| edition=3| page=987| isbn=978-1-8444-9430-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Parish| first=James Robert| title=It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WM8ZEm2KRZoC&q=gig| publisher=John Wiley and Sons| year=2008| page=9| isbn=978-0-470-22526-4}}</ref> Brooks replaced him with [[Gene Wilder]]. Young had a supporting role in ''[[Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia]]'' (1974), directed by [[Sam Peckinpah]], and was in a horror movie, ''[[A Black Ribbon for Deborah]]'' (1974). He was in the TV movies ''[[The Great Ice Rip-Off]]'' (1974) and ''[[Gibbsville (TV series)|The Turning Point of Jim Malloy]]'' (1975); Peckinpah used him again in ''[[The Killer Elite]]'' (1975). In 1976 [[Aaron Spelling]] cast Young as the offscreen Charlie in his new action show ''[[Charlie's Angels]]''. However, Young's alcoholism prevented him from performing the role, even only as a voice actor, and he was replaced at the last minute by [[John Forsythe]].

Young was one of several names to star in ''[[The Hindenburg (film)|The Hindenburg]]'' (1975). He guest-starred on ''[[McCloud (TV series)|McCloud]]'', had supporting roles in ''[[Sherlock Holmes in New York]]'' (1976) and ''[[Spectre (1977 film)|Spectre]]'' (1977), and was a semi-regular on the TV series ''[[Gibbsville (TV series)|Gibbsville]]'' (1976–77), a spinoff from the TV movie ''The Turning Point of Jim Malloy''. His last role was in the 1978 revised version of ''[[Game of Death]]'', which was released nearly six years after the film's original star [[Bruce Lee]] died during production in 1973.<ref>{{cite book| last=Eleftheriotis| first=Dimitris| author2=Gary Needham| title=Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide| publisher=University of Hawaii Press| year=2006|page=423| url=https://archive.org/details/asiancinemasread0000unse/page/422/mode/2up?q=gig| isbn=978-0-8248-3085-4}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Young was married five times. His first marriage to Sheila Stapler, a Pasadena Playhouse classmate, lasted seven years, ending in 1947. "We were too young, it couldn't have lasted", he later said.<ref name="bio"/> In 1950, he married Sophie Rosenstein, the resident drama coach at [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] who was several years Young's senior. She was soon diagnosed with [[cancer]] and died just short of two years after the couple's wedding. For a time, he was engaged to actress [[Elaine Stritch]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Alix |last=Kirsta |title=Nobody's Perfect |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=February 20, 2009 |access-date=April 20, 2009 |quote=Despite a long engagement to Gig Young and living with Ben Gazzara, whom she threw over for Rock Hudson ('and we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be') she got married only once, at the age of 47, to the actor John Bay whom she met in London on Small Craft Warnings. |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4728845/Nobodys-perfect.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4728845/Nobodys-perfect.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Young met actress [[Elizabeth Montgomery]] after she appeared in an episode of ''Warner Bros. Presents'' in 1956, and the two married later that year.<ref name=donnelly /> In 1963, Montgomery divorced Young because of his worsening alcoholism.<ref>{{cite book| last=Strodder| first=Chris |title=Swingin' Chicks of the '60s: A Tribute to 101 of the Decade's Defining Women|publisher=Cedco Publishing| url=https://archive.org/details/swinginchicksof60000stro/page/166/mode/2up?q=montgomery| year=2000| page=167| isbn=978-0-7683-2232-3}}</ref> Young married his fourth wife, real estate agent Elaine Williams, nine months after his divorce from Montgomery was final. Williams was pregnant at the time and gave birth to his only child, Jennifer, in April 1964. After three years of marriage, the couple divorced. During a legal battle over [[child support]] with Williams, Young denied that Jennifer was his biological child. After five years of court battles, Young lost his case.<ref>{{cite book| last=Lindsay| first=Mark| author2=David Lester| title=Suicide By Cop: Committing Suicide by Provoking Police to Shoot You| publisher=Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zY0O7OIhd2MC&q=young| year=2004| pages=72–73| isbn=978-0-8950-3290-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Suit by Gig Young Denied| date=February 25, 1971| newspaper=The New York Times| id={{ProQuest|119371124}}}}</ref>

On September 27, 1978, Young, age 64, married his fifth wife, 31-year-old German magazine editor Kim Schmidt,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19781020&id=y8ktAAAAIBAJ&pg=2903,6310914| newspaper=Reading Eagle| agency=Associated Press| via=Google News Archive Search| title=Gig Young, Wife Found Dead| page=3| access-date=June 13, 2025}}</ref> whom he had met in Hong Kong while working on ''[[Game of Death (1978 film)|Game of Death]]''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19781020&id=BydJAAAAIBAJ&pg=3780,4564450| newspaper=[[The Hour (newspaper)|The Hour]]| location=Norwalk, Connecticut| via=Google News Archive Search| title=Oscar-Winning Actor Gig Young and Bride Found Shot to Death| access-date=June 13, 2025| page=37}}</ref>

==Death==
On October 19, 1978, three weeks after his marriage to Schmidt, the couple was found dead in their apartment at [[Osborne Apartments|The Osborne]] in [[Manhattan]].<ref name=aplmt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-f4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=1765%2C1323454 |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Gig Young, wife found dead |date=October 20, 1978 |first= Henrietta| last=Leath| page=1A}}</ref> Police surmised that Young shot his wife and then himself. Young was found face down on the floor of his bedroom, a [[.38 caliber]] [[Smith & Wesson]] [[pistol]] in his hand. His wife was found face down beside him. Young had apparently shot himself in the mouth and the bullet exited the back of his head. His wife had been shot in the back of the head. No suicide note was found.<ref name=":0"/>

A motive for the murder of his wife, and Young's suicide, was never discovered.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623682,00.html| title=Oscars: Woman Seeks Dad's Statuette| last=Darst| first=Elizabeth| newspaper=[[People (magazine)|People]]| date=March 15, 2002| access-date=June 18, 2013| archive-date=March 3, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203735/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623682,00.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> Police said there was a diary opened to September 27 with "we got married today" written on it. The couple appear to have died around 2:30 p.m., when shots were heard by a building employee,<ref name=":0" /> and their bodies were found five hours later.<ref name="aplmt" /> Young was at one time under the care of the psychologist and psychotherapist [[Eugene Landy]], who later had his professional California medical license revoked amid accusations of ethical violations and misconduct with patients.<ref>{{cite news| title=Obituary: Eugene Landy| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/31/db3102.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/03/31/ixportal.html| newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| location=London| date=March 31, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225202250/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F03%2F31%2Fdb3102.xml&sSheet=%2Fportal%2F2006%2F03%2F31%2Fixportal.html| archive-date=February 25, 2008| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Young's funeral was held in [[Beverly Hills, California]]<ref>{{cite news| title=Gig Young rites will be held in Beverly Hills| date=October 24, 1978| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|158747481}}}}</ref>and he was buried in [[Green Hill Cemetery (Waynesville, North Carolina)|Green Hill Cemetery in Waynesville, North Carolina]],<ref>{{cite book| last=Brettell| first=Andrew| author2=Noel King| author3=Damien Kennedy| author4=Denise Imwold| others=Warren Hsu Leonard; Heather von Rohr| title=Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781740480802/page/292/mode/2up?q=gig| publisher=Barrons Educational Series| year=2005| page=292| isbn=978-1-7404-8080-2}}</ref> under his birth name, Byron E. Barr, in his family's plot along with his parents, siblings, and an uncle.<ref name=grave>{{cite news| title=The Bizarre Death and Mysterious Burial of a Hollywood Oscar Winner| first=Alan| last=Parker| date=March 2, 2011| url=http://blogs.canoe.ca/parker/news/the-bizarre-death-and-mysterious-burial-of-a-hollywood-oscar-winner/comment-page-2/| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150209194554/http://blogs.canoe.ca/parker/news/the-bizarre-death-and-mysterious-burial-of-a-hollywood-oscar-winner/comment-page-2/| archive-date=February 9, 2015| access-date=June 13, 2025| newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]]}}</ref>

Young's [[Will and testament|will]], which covered a $200,000 estate, left his Academy Award to his agent [[Martin Baum (agent)|Martin Baum]] and Baum's wife Bernice.<ref name="holden" /> Young's daughter Jennifer launched a campaign in the early 1990s to get the award back from his agent and struck an agreement that she would be given the Oscar upon the agent's death, which occurred in 2010.<ref name=grave/>

For his contribution to the television industry, Young has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6821 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2019-10-25 |title=Gig Young |url=https://walkoffame.com/gig-young/ |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Film appearances
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1940
|''[[Misbehaving Husbands]]''
|Floor Walker
|Credited as Byron Barr
|-
|rowspan=8|1941
|''[[Here Comes the Cavalry]]''
|Trooper Rollins
|Short, credited as Byron Barr
|-
|''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]''
|Marching soldier
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Dive Bomber (film)|Dive Bomber]]''
|Pilot Abbott
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Navy Blues (1941 film)|Navy Blues]]''
|Sailor in storeroom
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[One Foot in Heaven]]''
|First groom asking for dog license
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Tanks Are Coming (1941)|The Tanks Are Coming]]''
|Jim Allen
|Short, credited as Byron Barr
|-
|''[[They Died with Their Boots On]]''
|Lieutenant Roberts
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[You're in the Army Now]]''
|Soldier
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=5|1942
|''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]''
|Bit part
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Captains of the Clouds]]''
|Student pilot
|Credited as Byron Barr
|-
|''[[The Male Animal]]''
|Student
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Mad Martindales]]''
|Peter Varney
|Credited as Byron Barr
|-
|''[[The Gay Sisters]]''
|Gig Young
|Credited as Byron Barr (credited as Gig Young in later rereleases)
|-
|rowspan=2|1943
|''[[Air Force (film)|Air Force]]''
|Co-Pilot
|
|-
|''[[Old Acquaintance]]''
|Rudd Kendall
|
|-
|1946
|''[[They Made Me a Killer]]''
|Steve Reynolds
|Credited as Byron Barr
|-
|1947
|''[[Escape Me Never (1947 film)|Escape Me Never]]''
|Caryl Dubrok
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1948
|''[[The Woman in White (1948 film)|The Woman in White]]''
|Walter Hartright
|
|-
|''[[The Three Musketeers (1948 film)|The Three Musketeers]]''
|Porthos
|
|-
|''[[Wake of the Red Witch]]''
|Samuel 'Sam' Rosen
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1949
|''[[Lust for Gold]]''
|Pete Thomas
|
|-
|''[[Tell It to the Judge]]''
|Alexander Darvac
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1950
|''[[Tarnished]]''
|Joe Pettigrew
|
|-
|''[[Hunt the Man Down]]''
|Paul Bennett
|
|-
|rowspan=5|1951
|''[[Target Unknown]]''
|Captain Reiner
|
|-
|''[[Only the Valiant]]''
|Lieutenant William Holloway
|
|-
|''[[Slaughter Trail]]''
|Ike Vaughn aka Murray
|
|-
|''[[Come Fill the Cup]]''
|Boyd Copeland
|Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]
|-
|''[[Too Young to Kiss]]''
|John Tirsen
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1952
|''[[You for Me]]''
|Dr. Jeff Chadwick
|
|-
|''[[Holiday for Sinners]]''
|Dr. Jason Kent
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1953
|''[[The Girl Who Had Everything]]''
|Vance Court
|
|-
|''[[City That Never Sleeps]]''
|Johnny Kelly
|
|-
|''[[Arena (1953 film)|Arena]]''
|Hob Danvers
|
|-
|''[[Torch Song (1953 film)|Torch Song]]''
|Cliff Willard
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1954
|''[[Rear Window]]''
|Jeff's Editor
|Voice, Uncredited
|-
|''[[Young at Heart (1954 film)|Young at Heart]]''
|Alex Burke
|
|-
|1955
|''[[The Desperate Hours (1955 film)|The Desperate Hours]]''
|Chuck Wright
|
|-
|1957
|''[[Desk Set]]''
|Mike Cutler
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1958
|''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]''
|Dr. Hugo Pine
|Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
|-
|''[[The Tunnel of Love]]''
|Dick Pepper
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1959
|''[[Ask Any Girl (film)|Ask Any Girl]]''
|Evan Doughton
|
|-
|''[[The Story on Page One (film)|The Story on Page One]]''
|Larry Ellis
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1962
|''[[That Touch of Mink]]''
|Roger
|
|-
|''[[Kid Galahad]]''
|Willy Grogan
|
|-
|''[[Five Miles to Midnight]]''
|David Barnes
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1963
|''[[For Love or Money (1963 film)|For Love or Money]]''
|'Sonny' John Dayton Smith
|
|-
|''[[A Ticklish Affair]]''
|Key Weedon
|
|-
|1965
|''[[Strange Bedfellows (1965 film)|Strange Bedfellows]]''
|Richard Bramwell
|
|-
|1967
|''[[The Shuttered Room]]''
|Mike Kelton
|
|-
|1969
|''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]''
|Rocky
|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] Nominated – [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
|-
|1970
|''[[Lovers and Other Strangers]]''
|Hal Henderson
|
|-
|1973
|''A Son-in-Law for Charlie McReady''
|Charlie McReady
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1974
|''[[Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia]]''
|Quill
|
|-
|''[[A Black Ribbon for Deborah|Deborah]]''
|Ofenbauer
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1975
|''Michele''
|
|
|-
|''[[The Killer Elite]]''
|Lawrence Weyburn
|
|-
|''[[The Hindenburg (1975 film)|The Hindenburg]]''
|Edward Douglas
|
|-
|1978
|''[[Game of Death (1978 film)|Game of Death]]''
|Jim Marshall
|
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Television appearances
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1950
|''[[The Silver Theater]]''
|Tim Davis
|Season 1 Episode 32: "Lady with Ideas"
|-
|rowspan=2|1951
|''[[Pulitzer Prize Playhouse]]''
|George Callahan
|Season 1 Episode 15: "Ned McCobb's Daughter"
|-
|''[[The Bigelow Theatre]]''
|
|Season 1 Episode 6: "Rewrite for Love"
|-
|rowspan=2|1953
|''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]''
|Tony Marino
|Season 5 Episode 8: "The Sunday Punch"
|-
|''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]''
|Jimmy Sampson
|Season 3 Episode 16: "Part of the Game"
|-
|rowspan=2|1954
|''[[Producers' Showcase]]''
|Simon Gayforth
|Season 1 Episode 1: "Tonight at 8:30" (Segment: "Shadow Play")
|-
|''[[Lux Video Theatre]]''
|
|Season 5 Episode 13: "Captive City"
|-
|1955–1956
|''[[Warner Bros. Presents|Warner Brothers Presents]]''
|Host
|36 episodes
|-
|1956
|''[[The United States Steel Hour]]''
|Dave Corman
|Season 4 Episode 3: "Sauce for the Goose"
|-
|rowspan=2|1957
|''[[Climax!]]''
|Edgar Holt
|Season 4 Episode 1: "Jacob and the Angels"
|-
|''[[Studio One (radio-TV series)|Studio One]]''
|Philip Adams / Alan Fredericks
|Season 10 Episode 23: "A Dead Ringer"
|-
|1958
|''[[Alcoa Theatre|Goodyear Theatre]]''
|Herman Worth
|Season 2 Episode 3: "The Spy"
|-
|rowspan=2|1959
|''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''
|Martin Sloan
|Season 1 Episode 5: "[[Walking Distance]]"
|-
|''[[The Philadelphia Story (1959 film)|The Philadelphia Story]]''
|C.K. Dexter Haven
|[[Television film]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1960
|''[[Ninotchka (1960 film)|Ninotchka]]''
|Leon Dolga
|Television film
|-
|''[[Shirley Temple's Storybook]]''
|Miles Hendon
|Season 2 Episode 7: "The Prince and the Pauper"
|-
|1961
|''[[The Spiral Staircase (1961 film)|The Spiral Staircase]]''
|Stephen Warren
|Television film
|-
|1962
|''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents|The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]''
|John 'Jack' 'Duke' Marsden
|Season 1 Episode 1: "A Piece of the Action"
|-
|1963
|''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]''
|Hugo Myrich
|Season 1 Episode 3: "The End of the World, Baby"
|-
|1964–1965
|''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]''
|Tony Fleming
|22 episodes
|-
|1965
|''[[The Andy Williams Show]]''
|Himself
|1 episode
|-
|1968
|''[[Companions in Nightmare]]''
|Eric Nicholson
|Television film
|-
|1971
|''[[The Neon Ceiling]]''
|Jones
|Television film Nominated – [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]]
|-
|1974
|''[[The Great Ice Rip-Off]]''
|Harkey Rollins
|Television film
|-
|1975
|''[[Gibbsville (TV series)|John O'Hara's Gibbsville]]'' a.k.a. ''The Turning Point of Jim Malloy''
|Ray Whitehead
|Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1976
|''[[McCloud (TV series)|McCloud]]''
|Jack Haferman
|Season 6 Episode 6: "The Day New York Turned Blue"
|-
|''[[Sherlock Holmes in New York]]''
|Mortimer McGrew
|Television film
|-
|1976–1977
|''[[Gibbsville (TV series)|Gibbsville]]''
|Ray Whitehead
|13 episodes
|-
|1977
|''[[Spectre (1977 film)|Spectre]]''
|Dr. Amos "Ham" Hamilton
|Television film
|}

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Results
! Ref.
|-
| [[24th Academy Awards|1951]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| ''[[Come Fill the Cup]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952 |title=The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093825/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/24th-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[31st Academy Awards|1958]]
| ''[[Teacher's Pet (1958 film)|Teacher's Pet]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1959 |title=The 31st Academy Awards (1959) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 21, 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706094137/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/31st-winners.html |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[42nd Academy Awards|1969]]
| rowspan="2"| ''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |title=The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) Nominees and Winners |access-date=January 11, 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228193311/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970 |archive-date=December 28, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| [[24th British Academy Film Awards|1970]]
| [[British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1971/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1971 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards]] |access-date=June 5, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| [[16th Golden Globe Awards|1958]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Awards]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| ''Teacher's Pet''
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/gig-young |title=Gig Young |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[27th Golden Globe Awards|1969]]
| rowspan="2"| ''They Shoot Horses, Don't They?''
| {{won}}
|-
| 1970
| [[Kansas City Film Critics Circle|Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| Best Supporting Actor
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1970-79/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79 |date=December 14, 2013 |publisher=[[Kansas City Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 1958
| rowspan="3"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| Top Male Comedy Performance
| ''Teacher's Pet''
| {{draw|4th place}}
| align="center"|
|-
| 1959
| rowspan="2"| Top Male Supporting Performance
| ''[[The Tunnel of Love]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[That Touch of Mink]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"|
|-
| [[23rd Primetime Emmy Awards|1971]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Awards]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]]
| ''[[The Neon Ceiling]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/gig-young |title=Gig Young |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{IBDB name|65919}}
*{{IMDb name|0949574}}
* {{tcmdb name}}
*{{find a Grave|6120}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Gig Young
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Gig}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:1978 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American murderers]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:Male actors from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Murder–suicides in New York City]]
[[Category:People from St. Cloud, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in New York City]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. contract players]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]

C. W. Post

2025-11-02T14:39:10Z

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */

{{short description|American businessman (1854–1914)}}
{{redirect|CW Post|the former C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University|LIU Post|the breakfast cereal|C.W. Post (cereal)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = C. W. Post
| image = C.W. Post LCCN2014696048 (cropped).jpg
| birth_name = Charles William Post
| caption = Post in the early 20th century
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1854|10|26}}
| birth_place = [[Springfield, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1914|5|9|1854|10|26}}
| death_place = [[Santa Barbara, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Oak Hill Cemetery, [[Battle Creek, Michigan]]
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| occupation = Innovator, entrepreneur
| organization =
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Ella Letitia Merriweather|November 1874|1904|end=div.}}
* {{Marriage|Leila Young|November 1904}}
}}
| children = [[Marjorie Merriweather Post]]
| mother = [[Caroline Lathrop Post]]
| relatives = [[Eleanor Post Hutton]] (granddaughter) [[Dina Merrill]] (granddaughter)
| signature = Signature of Charles William Post.png
| signature_size =
}}
'''Charles William Post''' (October 26, 1854 – May 9, 1914) was an American innovator, breakfast cereal and foods manufacturer and a pioneer in the prepared-food industry. He was the founder of what became [[Post Consumer Brands]].

==Early life and education==
[[File:PORTRAIT OF ELLA LETITIA MERRIWEATHER POST (cropped).png|thumb|In November 1874, Post married Ella Letitia Merriweather.]]
Post, commonly known as "C. W.", was born October 26, 1854, in [[Springfield, Illinois]], the son of Charles Rollin Post and [[Caroline Lathrop Post]], and grew up in the adopted hometown of [[Abraham Lincoln]], who served as [[President of the United States]] during Post's childhood.<ref name=NAM>"Obituary: C.W. Post," ''American Industries,'' vol. 14, no. 11 (June 1914), pg. 43.</ref>

Post graduated from public schools in Springfield, and then enrolled at [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|Illinois Industrial University]], where he remained for two years before leaving without a degree.<ref name=TSHA>William M. Pearce, [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpo26 "Charles William Post,"] The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, www.tshaonline.org/</ref>

After a brief stay in [[Independence, Kansas]], Post returned to Springfield, where he remained for over a decade working as a salesman and manufacturer of agricultural machinery. During this interval Post invented and patented several farm implements, including a [[Plough|plow]], a [[harrow (tool)|harrow]], and a [[hay]]-stacking machine.<ref name=TSHA />

In November 1874, Post married Ella Letitia Merriweather; they had one daughter, [[Marjorie Merriweather Post|Marjorie]]. Ella supported her husband throughout his career and cared for him when he was ill. As Post became wealthier and began spending more time away from Ella, who was often ill, his relationship with her waned. Against her wishes, Post separated from her in 1904 and married his second wife, Leila Young, his 27-year-old secretary, in November 1904.<ref name="TSHA" /> Marjorie, who remained close to her father, later said that her mother died of "a broken heart" after Post divorced her and married his secretary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paulbowles.org/marjoriemerriweatherpost.html|title=Marjorie Merriweather Post: a biography by Kenneth Lisenbee|website=www.paulbowles.org|access-date=October 14, 2018|archive-date=January 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125003116/http://www.paulbowles.org/marjoriemerriweatherpost.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a deceitful attempt to have his daughter become closer with his secretary (soon to be wife), C. W. hired her to be a travel companion for Marjorie. When Marjorie realized the ruse, she deeply resented Leila.

==Career==
[[File:cw post marj.jpg|thumb|Post holding his only child, daughter [[Marjorie Merriweather Post]]]]
Post suffered a [[mental breakdown]] in November 1885, the result of the [[stress (psychological)|stress]] and overwork which accompanied his job as a farm implement manufacturer. Post made a break with his previous life, moving to [[Texas]] in 1886, where he came into association with a group of [[Real estate development|real estate developers]] in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], who were attempting to establish a new community on the eastern outskirts of a town called Riverside. In 1888, Post began a real estate development of his own in Fort Worth on {{Convert|200|acre|ha}} that he had obtained, [[plat]]ting the land for streets and homes and constructing two mills.<ref name=TSHA />

The stress of this work again proved too much for Post's constitution, and a second breakdown followed in 1891.<ref name=TSHA/> Post began a period of extensive travels in search of a cure, coming to take particular interest in the chemistry of [[Human gastrointestinal tract|digestion]].<ref name=NAM /> After a period traversing Europe, Post visited the [[Battle Creek Sanitarium]] of [[Battle Creek, Michigan]], a facility operated by [[John Harvey Kellogg]] (brother of [[Kellogg's|Kellogg Company]] founder [[Will Keith Kellogg]]). Post has been accused of stealing several of Kellogg's recipes, including Kellogg's Caramel Coffee Cereal (Post's [[Postum]]), [[Corn flakes|Cornflakes]] ([[Post Toasties]]), and Malted Nuts ([[Grape-Nuts]]).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America|date=2013|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=Andrew F.|isbn=9780199734962|edition=2nd|location=New York, NY|pages=536|oclc=781555950}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Kelloggs: the battling brothers of Battle Creek|last=Markel|first=Howard|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|date=2017|isbn=9780307907271|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=139|oclc=964294340}}</ref>

In 1895, Post founded [[Post Foods|Postum Cereal Co.]], with his first product, Postum cereal beverage. Post's first breakfast cereal premiered in 1897, and he named the product Grape-Nuts cereal because of the fruity aroma noticed during the manufacturing process and the nutty crunch of the finished product. In 1904, he followed up the Grape-Nuts label with a brand of [[corn flakes]], which was first called Elijah's Manna before being renamed [[Post Toasties]] in 1908.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nilsen|first=Alleen Pace|date=1994|title=Why Big Businesses Break Spelling Rules|jstor=820410|journal=The English Journal|volume=83|issue=5|pages=51|doi=10.2307/820410}}</ref> The British government refused to allow Post to market his cereal in the United Kingdom using the name Elijah's Manna, stating that it was sacrilegious.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nilsen|first=Alleen Pace|date=1994|title=Why Big Businesses Break Spelling Rules|jstor=820410|journal=The English Journal|volume=83|issue=5|pages=48–53|doi=10.2307/820410}}</ref>

In 1906, Post invested some of his substantial earnings from his food products manufacturing into Texas real estate, purchasing a massive {{Convert|225,000|acre|ha|adj=on}} tract in [[Garza County, Texas|Garza]] and [[Lynn County, Texas|Lynn]] Counties. Post platted a new town, which he called [[Post, Texas|Post City]]. Shade trees were planted, farm parcels laid out, and a hotel, a school, churches, and a department store were constructed for the new Garza County seat.<ref name=TSHA />

In 1907, ''[[Collier's]] Weekly'' published an article questioning the claim made in advertisements that Grape-Nuts could cure [[appendicitis]]. Post responded with advertisements questioning the mental capacity of the article's author, and ''Collier's Weekly'' sued for libel. The case was heard in 1910, and Post was fined $50,000. The decision was overturned on appeal, but advertisements for Postum products stopped making such claims.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pendergrast |first=Mark| year=2010 |title= Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World |location=New York, NY |publisher=Basic Books |pages= 101–102|isbn=978-0-465-01836-9}}</ref>

Post was a staunch opponent of the trade union movement and was remembered by the [[National Association of Manufacturers]] as one who "opposed bitterly [[boycott]]s, strikes, [[lockout (industry)|lockouts]], picketing and other forms of coercion in the relations between employer and employee". Post was also a leading public advocate of the open shop system.<ref name=NAM /> However, as compensation, Post paid the highest wages, and provided bonuses and benefits. Near Battle Creek, he had model homes built that were sold to employees under certain conditions.<ref name="benefits">{{cite web |title=Post, William Charles |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/post-william-charles |website=www.encyclopedia.com |access-date=March 11, 2022}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Grave of Charles William Post (1854–1914) at Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek 1.jpg|thumb|Post's mausoleum at Oak Hill Cemetery]]
[[File:Garza courthouse.jpg|thumb|A [[statue]] of C. W. Post in front of the Garza County Courthouse]]
At the end of 1913, Post's health deteriorated to the point that he canceled public appearances.<ref>{{Cite book|title=American empress : the life and times of Marjorie Merriweather Post|last=Stuart, Nancy Rubin.|isbn=9780595752027|location=Lincoln, Neb.|pages=89–90|oclc=988334937|date = January 4, 2004}}</ref>

In early March 1914, he was believed to be suffering from [[appendicitis]] and was rushed via a nonstop train from [[California]] to the [[Mayo Clinic]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]]. He was operated on by [[William James Mayo|William Mayo]] and [[Charles Horace Mayo|Charles Mayo]], who were regarded as the nation's preeminent surgeons at the time. The Mayo brothers operated successfully on Post sometime between March 5 and 10, 1914, but Post's abdominal pain persisted, according to the book ''American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post''.<ref name=Despondent>{{Cite news|publication-date=May 10, 1914|title=C. W. Post a Suicide in California Home; Battle Creek Cereal Manufacturer, Despondent Over his continued Illness |language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-may-10-1914-3831393/|access-date=April 9, 2023|issn=0362-4331 |date=May 9, 1914 |place=Santa Barbara, California |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Charles W. Post|url=http://www.migenweb.org/calhoun/cwpost.htm|access-date=January 17, 2021|website=www.migenweb.org}}</ref>

Post then returned to his home in [[Santa Barbara, California]], with his stomach pain persisting. On May 9, 1914, despondent over his ongoing stomach illness and its symptoms, Post died by [[suicide]] with a [[Suicide methods#Shooting|self-inflicted gunshot]]. He was 59 years old.<ref name=Despondent/> He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.

==Legacy==
Post's 27-year-old daughter, [[Marjorie Merriweather Post]], inherited his company along with most of his vast fortune, one of the largest of the early 20th century.<ref name=Despondent/><ref>Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (January 6, 2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=enWfAgAAQBAJ&dq=May+9%2C+1914%2C+C.W.+POst%2C+gunshot&pg=PA1080 ''History of Seventh-day Adventist Work with Soyfoods, Vegetarianism, Meat Alternatives, Wheat Gluten, Dietary Fiber and Peanut Butter (1863-2013): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook'']. p. 1080. Soyinfo Center,, Archived at [[Google Books]]. Retrieved September 1, 2019.</ref>

Marjorie Merriweather Post later married financier [[Edward Francis Hutton|E. F. Hutton]] and owned a {{convert|177|acre|ha|adj=on}} estate on Long Island's North Shore called "Hillwood". Marjorie sold the estate in 1951 for $200,000 to [[Long Island University]], which founded its residential C. W. Post College in 1954, marking the 100th anniversary of C. W. Post's birth. For a while it was named the C. W. Post Center and then the C. W. Post Campus. What was C. W. Post College has become mainly a commuter campus called LIU/Post with about 8,500 full- and part-time students and over 100,000 [[Alumnus|alumni]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liu-cw-2754/student-life|title=LIU Post ''U.S. News & World Report''|access-date=September 1, 2019}}</ref>

The [[World War II]] [[Liberty Ship]], {{SS|C. W. Post}}, was named in his honor.

==See also==
*[[Close City, Texas]]
*[[Post Foods]]
*[[Garza County Historical Museum]]
*[[General Foods]]
*[[South Plains Council#Camps|C. W. Post Memorial Camp]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Charles Dudley Eaves and Cecil Allen Hutchinson, ''Post City, Texas: C.W. Post's Colonizing Activities in West Texas.'' Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1952.
* Nettie Letich Major, ''C.W. Post: The Hour and the Man: A Biography with Genealogical Supplement.'' Washington: Judd and Detweiler, 1963.
* Jan Reid, "C.W. Post," ''Texas Monthly,'' March 1987.
* {{citation |first1= Mary |last1= Butler |first2= Frances |last2= Thornton |first3= Martin |last3= Ashley |year= 1995 |title= Walking the road to Wellville: C.W. Post and the Postum Cereal Company |location= Battle Creek, Mich. |publisher= Heritage Publications |oclc= 34222587 }}
*{{cite book |last= Rubin Stuart |first= Nancy |author-link= Nancy Rubin Stuart |year= 1995 |title= American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post |location= New York |publisher= Villard |isbn= 0-679-41347-2 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/americanempressl00rubi }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.postcereals.com/post%5Fheritage/ History of C.W. Post (company site)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105215228/http://postcereals.com/post_heritage/ |date=January 5, 2012 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110225214115/http://www.ccaheritagehouse.com/history.html Another biography of C.W. (Charles William) Post]
*[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00004/tsw-00004.html Records of Post land colonization company in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University] See also other Double U Ranch records.
*[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00078/tsw-00078.html Blueprints of structures at Post, Texas, 1908–1915, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University]
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-85519?byte=56106741;focusrgn=summaryinfo;subview=standard;view=reslist Finding Aid for the Post Family Papers, 1882-1973, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan]
* {{cite web | title = POST: The Town | work = CCA: Post History | url = http://www.ccaheritagehouse.com/history.html| url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110225214115/http://www.ccaheritagehouse.com/history.html | archive-date = February 25, 2011 }}>
* {{cite web |last=Lisenbee |first=Kenneth |title=MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST: a biography by Kenneth Lisenbee |website=paulbowles.org |date=May 15, 2011 |url=https://paulbowles.org/marjoriemerriweatherpost.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218151449/https://paulbowles.org/marjoriemerriweatherpost.html |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |url-status=dead |ref=none}}
{{Post Holdings}}
{{General Foods}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, C. W.}}
[[Category:1854 births]]
[[Category:1914 deaths]]
[[Category:American food company founders]]
[[Category:American nutritionists]]
[[Category:People from Battle Creek, Michigan]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in California]]
[[Category:People from Springfield, Illinois]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Illinois]]
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:1914 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:Post Holdings]]
[[Category:General Foods]]
[[Category:Illinois Industrial University alumni]]