Walter Reed (born Walter Reed Smith), was an American stage, film and television actor. Reed was born in 1916 in Fort Ward, Washington. Following a stint as a Broadway actor, Reed broke into films in 1941. He appeared in several features for RKO Radio Pictures, including the last two Mexican Spitfire comedies (in which Reed replaced Buddy Rogers as the Spitfire's husband). Perhaps his most memorable role was as the spineless wagon driver husband of Gail Russell in the western Seven Men from Now. Reed also appeared in the very first Superman theatrical feature film Superman and the Mole Men in 1951.
In 1951, Reed made two film serials for Republic Pictures; Reed strongly resembled former Republic leading man Ralph Byrd, enabling Republic to insert old action scenes of Byrd into the new Reed footage. Republic wanted to sign Reed for additional serials but Reed declined, preferring not to be typed as a serial star.
After appearing in 90 films and numerous television programs, such as John Payne's The Restless Gun, Reed changed careers and became a real estate investor and broker in Santa Cruz, California in the late 1960s.
Una O'Connor (born Agnes Teresa McGlade, 23 October 1880 – 4 February 1959) was an Irish-American actress who worked extensively in theatre before becoming a character actress in film and in television. She often portrayed comical wives, housekeepers and servants.
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Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s until 1960, most often cast in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. She was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities.
Beavers was a breakthrough actress for black women and became known as a symbol of a "mammy" on the screen. A mammy archetype "is the portrayal within a narrative framework or other imagery of a black domestic servant, generally good-natured, often overweight, and loud".
Louise Beavers started her career in the 1920s. At the time, black people in films were limited to acting in only very few roles, usually as slaves or domestic help. She played the "mammy" in many of the movies she acted in. She started to gain more attention in the acting world after she played the role of Julia in Coquette, which starred Mary Pickford. In this film she played the black maid and mother figure to a young white woman.
She once received a review which stated: "Personally, Miss Beavers is just splendid, just as fine as she appears on screen, but she also has a charm all her own, which needs no screen role for recognition. She has a very pleasing personality, one that draws people to her instantly and makes them feel that they are meeting a friend instead of a Hollywood Star."
Beavers had an attractive personality, and often played roles in which she helps a white protagonist mature in the course of the movie.
In 1934, Beavers played Delilah in Imitation of Life in a dramatic role. Her character again plays a black maid, but instead of the usual stereotypical comedic or purely functional role, Delilah's story line is a secondary parallel plot. The public reacted positively to Beavers' performance. It was not only a breakthrough for Beavers, but was also "the first time in American cinema history that a black woman's problems were given major emotional weight in a major Hollywood motion picture". Some in the media recognized the unfairness of Hollywood's double standard regarding race. For example, California Graphic Magazine wrote, "the Academy could not recognize Miss Beavers. She is black!"
As Beavers' career grew, some criticized her for the roles she accepted, alleging that such roles institutionalized the view that blacks were subservient to whites. Beavers dismissed the criticism. She acknowledged the limited opportunities available, but said: "I am only playing the parts. I don't live them." As she became more famous, Beavers began to speak against Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of black Americans, both during production and after promoting the films. Beavers became active in public life, seeking to help support African Americans.
In later life, Beavers was plagued by health issues, including diabetes. She died on October 26, 1962, at the age of 60, following a heart attack.
Beavers was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976.
Famed American stage actor. Trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Appeared in many films, initially as a leading man, then in character roles and occasional bits. Consistently billed as Jason Robards, as his more famous son, Jason Robards, did not come into fame until the end of the elder Robards' career. Only referred to as Jason Robards Sr. in retrospect. Died in 1963, having lived to see his namesake son and grandson (Jason Robards III) carry on the family acting tradition.
Harry Harvey Sr. was an American actor of theatre, film, and television.
Harvey appeared in minstrel shows, in vaudeville, and on the Broadway stage but is best remembered as a character actor who appeared in more than three hundred films and episodes of television series.
He had roles in the films The Oregon Trail, Old Overland Trail, Wyoming Renegades, Ride Beyond Vengeance, and many other westerns.
In the 1950s, Harvey was cast in The Roy Rogers Show, Man Without a Gun and The Lone Ranger. In 1962, he appeared on It's a Man's World. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he guest-starred on Branded, Lassie, Hazel, The Wild Wild West, Mannix, Alias Smith and Jones, Bonanza, and Columbo. His last appearance was in an episode of Adam-12-
