John Ericson (sometimes Erickson; born Joachim Alexander Ottokar Meibes; September 25, 1926 - May 3, 2020) was a German-American actor and film and television star. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, played the lead role in Stalag 17 by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski on Broadway (1951). He went on to make a number of films for MGM in quick succession in the 1950s. His first appearance was in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann, which also launched the film careers of Pier Angeli and Rod Steiger. He then went on to appear in a series of films which included Rhapsody, The Student Prince, Green Fire (all in 1954), and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).
His career continued, mostly on television, for the next thirty years. He appeared in the lead role in "The Peter Bartley Story" of CBS's fantasy drama, The Millionaire. Child actor Johnny Washbrook appeared in the same episode in a flashback segment of Ericson as a boy. He appeared with Dorothy Malone in the January 1, 1956, episode entitled "Mutiny" of CBS's Appointment with Adventure. He guest-starred in 1958 in the NBC western series The Restless Gun, starring John Payne. He also guest-starred in the 1961 ABC crime drama, Target: The Corruptors! In 1965-1966, he co-starred with Anne Francis in the detective series Honey West. He occasionally appeared in such films as Pretty Boy Floyd (1960), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
He was married twice and had two children from his first marriage to Milly Coury.
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Petite, attractive Mari Blanchard rarely managed to get the lucky breaks. The daughter of an oil tycoon and a psychotherapist, she suffered from severe poliomyelitis from the age of nine, which denied her a hoped-for dancing career. For several years, she worked hard to rehabilitate her limbs from paralysis, swimming and later even performing on the trapeze at Cole Brothers Circus. At the urging of her parents, she then attended the University of Southern California, where she studied international law before dropping out nine units short of a degree. Her university studies did not lead to a career either. Sometime in the late 1940s, she joined the Conover Agency as an advertising model and, at the same time, was promoted by famed cartoonist and writer Al Capp, becoming the inspiration for one of his Li'l Abner characters.
As the result of an advertisement on the back page of the Hollywood Reporter, Mari was signed to a contract with Paramount. However, her early experience in the movie business proved an unhappy one, most of her roles being walk-ons and bit parts. Ten Tall Men (1951), for example, limited her to a token stroll down a street, twirling a parasol and smiling seductively at members of the Foreign Legion. It wasn't until Mari joined Universal that her fortunes improved somewhat, with a co-starring role (opposite Victor Mature) in The Veils of Bagdad (1953). After that, it was all downhill again. Burt Lancaster, co-producer and star (with Gary Cooper of the excellent A-grade western Vera Cruz (1954), had requested Mari as his leading lady, but Universal refused her release to United Artists and forbade her to accept the lucrative role (Denise Darcel ended up getting the part). Mari then lost the lead in a much lesser picture,Saskatchewan (1954), to Shelley Winters. Instead, she was cast as Venusian Queen Allura in one of the least exciting outings by Universal's leading comic duo, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953).
Mari did end up with a respectable starring role in the western Destry (1954) opposite Audie Murphy. A remake of the classic Destry Rides Again (1939), she was cast in the Marlene Dietrich part and took great pains to affect a totally different look, darkening her hair so as not to be compared to the great star. Even the name of her character was changed from 'Frenchy' to 'Brandy'. "Destry" was not all smooth sailing. There was tension between her and director George Marshall (who had also directed the original version) and Mari suffered a facial injury as the result of a fight scene. The film was critically well received, but unfortunately Universal failed to renew its contract with Miss Blanchard, and her career then went into free fall.
Freelancing for lesser studios, she played a TB victim injected with a serum turning her into a Mr. Hyde-like killer in the lurid She Devil (1957) (during filming she nearly died of acute appendicitis). Mari then appeared for Republic in the eminently forgettable No Place to Land (1958) before briefly starring in her own short-lived adventure series Klondike (1960). Her last role of note was as the cheerful and likeable town madam in the rollicking John Wayne western comedy McLintock! (1963). Sometime that year, Mari Blanchard developed the cancer which was to claim her life in 1970 at the age of just 47.
Charles McGraw (born Charles Butters) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He developed into a leading man, especially in film noir classics during the late 1940s and early 1950s. His gravelly voice and rugged looks enhanced his appeal in the noir stylistic genre and provided him many roles as cops, military officers, and the such.
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Steve Brodie (November 21, 1919 — January 9, 1992) was an American movie and television actor.
Born as John Stevenson in El Dorado, Kansas, he reportedly selected his screen name in tribute to Steve Brodie, who jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886 and survived.
Most of his acting work was from the mid 1940s to the early 1950s working at MGM, RKO and Republic Pictures appearing mostly in westerns and B-movies. He mainly played supporting roles in films such as the film noir classic Out of the Past (1947) and the classic crime film Armored Car Robbery (1950), although he did have the starring role in Desperate (1947). He later appeared with Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii (1961) and Roustabout (1964).
Beginning in the mid-1950s he appeared largely on television, including, for instance, The Public Defender, three episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and in the episode "Vendetta" of the syndicated western series Pony Express. He and Sterling Holloway appeared in the 1960 episode "Love Me, Love My Dog" of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan.
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Alan Hale, Jr. (March 8, 1921– January 2, 1990) was an American movie and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper (Jonas Grumby) on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale.
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Stafford Alois Repp (April 26, 1918 – November 5, 1974) was an American actor best known for his role as Police Chief Clancy O'Hara, opposite Adam West's character on ABC's Batman television series.
Born in East Boston, Johnny Indrisano was from a poverty stricken family. As a youth he vowed to "have money" some day. He boxed 155 amateur fights. He turned professional and went on to fight 83 main events in which he won 80. He defeated 5 world champions. His career lasted from 1924 to 1934. He defeated among others, Joe Dundee(World Welterweight Champ/non-title fight), Nick Testo, Johnny Freeman, Sig Keppen, and Sammy Baker. From 1934 to 1949 he worked as a boxing referee. He began as a boxing coach for movie stars and from there became a full-time boxing adviser on films. He also worked as a character actor. Among the stars he trained were John Garfield, Spencer Tracy, Carey Grant, Mickey Rooney, Robert Ryan, Robert Taylor, Jimmy Durante, Fred MacMurray, Ricardo Montalban, and William Lundigan. He died under mysterious conditions - possibly a suicide.
Date of Death 9 July 1968, San Fernando Valley, California (apparent suicide by hanging)
Tim Ryan was an American performer who is probably best known today as a film actor. Ryan and his wife, Irene who later played Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies, were a show business team that performed on Broadway, film and radio. They made some short films for Educational Pictures in the mid-1930s based on their vaudeville act.
They were married from 1922 to 1942. Even after their divorce in 1942, the couple occasionally worked together. In the 1940s, Ryan found opportunities at Monogram Pictures where he acted in films as well as wrote screenplays. In films of the 1940s and the early 1950s, Ryan appeared on screen playing numerous roles as cops, newspaper editors and detectives.