Everything about Roddy Mcdowall totally explained
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (
September 17,
1928 –
October 3,
1998) was an
English-born
actor.
Biography
Early life
McDowall was born in
Herne Hill,
London, the son of Winsfriede L. (
née Corcoran), an
Irish-born aspiring actress, and Thomas Andrew McDowall, a
Merchant Mariner of
Scottish descent. Both of his parents were enthusiastic about the
theatre. He had a sister, Virginia (1927 - 2006).
McDowall made his first major
film appearance at age twelve (though he'd previously appeared in several British films), after he and his family came to America because of
the Blitz. He played Huw in
How Green Was My Valley (
1941) a rôle that made his name, and he appeared in other films as a child actor, including
The Keys of the Kingdom (
1944),
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and
Lassie Come Home (
1943) where he co-starred, on the first of many occasions, opposite lifelong friend
Elizabeth Taylor.
Adult career
McDowall was one of the few
child actors to continue his career successfully into adulthood, but it was usually in character roles, notably in heavy makeup as various "chimpanzee" characters in four of the
Planet of the Apes movies (
1968 –
1973) and in the
1974 TV series that followed. Other film appearances included
Cleopatra (1963), in which he played
Octavian, the later
Emperor Augustus;
It! (1966), in which he played a
Norman Bates character reminiscent of
Psycho;
The Poseidon Adventure (1972), in which he played Acres, a dining room attendant;
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974);
Class of 1984 (1982);
Fright Night (1985), in which he played Peter Vincent, a television host and moderator of telecast horror films; and
Overboard (1987) in which he played a kind-hearted butler. He also appeared on stage and was frequently a guest star on television shows, appearing in such series as the original
The Twilight Zone,
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,
Night Gallery,
The Invaders,
The Carol Burnett Show,
Fantasy Island,
Columbo and
Quantum Leap.
He appeared frequently on
Hollywood Squares, and occasionally came up with funny quips himself. For example:
Q. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, what does Queen Gertrude get that was meant for her famous son?
McDOWALL: A dozen roses and a box of candy.
He played a character villain, "The Bookworm", in the
camp 1960s TV series
Batman and had an acclaimed recurring role as
The Mad Hatter in as well as providing his adroit dramatic tones to the audio adaptation of the
1989 Batman film. He also played the rebel scientist Dr. Jonathan Willoway in the
1970s Bermuda Triangle-based sci-fi series,
The Fantastic Journey. His final acting role in animation (at least), was for an episode of in the episode "Dreadloch". In
A Bug's Life (
1998), one of his final contributions to motion pictures, he provides the voice of the ant "Mr. Soil".
During the 1990s, McDowall became active in film preservation and participated in the restoration of
Cleopatra (1963), which had been severely cut by
20th Century Fox studio head
Darryl F. Zanuck after skyrocketing production costs. McDowall served for several years in various capacities on the Board of Governors of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that presents the
Oscar Awards. He was Chairman of the Actor's Branch for five terms. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation the year that he died.
McDowall received recognition as a
photographer and published five books of photographs, one being of his celebrity friends such as
Elizabeth Taylor,
Judy Garland,
Judy Holliday and
Maureen O'Hara.
Personal life
In 1974, the
FBI raided the home of McDowall and seized the actor's collection of films and television series in the course of an investigation of movie piracy and copyright infringement. His collection consisted of 160 16 mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes, at a time before the era of videotapes when there was no legal aftermarket for films (copying or selling prints obtained from studios without owning the copyright was illegal). McDowall had purchased
Errol Flynn's home movies and the prints of his own directorial debut
Tam Lin (1970) starring
Ava Gardner, and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage. McDowall was quite forthcoming about those who dealt with him:
Rock Hudson,
Dick Martin and
Mel Tormé were just a few of the celebrities interested in his film reproductions. No charges were brought against McDowall.
Death
On
October 3,
1998, McDowall died at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles from
Undifferentiated cancer at the age of 70. ``It was very peaceful,`` said Dennis Osborne, a screenwriter friend who had cared for the actor in his final months. ``It was just as he wanted it. It was exactly the way he planned.`` Though he was cremated through the Neptune Society, his ashes were not distributed in the Pacific Ocean as had been widely reported at the time.
The day after his death, his close friend
Angela Lansbury, who'd worked with him over the years, paid tribute to him on
BBC Radio 5 Live, saying that he was 'one of the most wonderful friends anybody could possibly have' and that she'd 'lost a beloved friend'.
One of his last public appearances occurred when he accompanied the actress
Luise Rainer to the 70th Oscar ceremony.
Work
Filmography
Yellow Sands (1938)
Scruffy (1938)
Sarah Siddons (1938)
Murder in the Family (1938)
Hey! Hey! USA (1938)
I See Ice (1938)
John Halifax (1938)
Convict 99 (1938)
Dirt (1939)
The Outsider (1939)
Poison Pen (1940)
His Brother's Keeper (1940)
Murder Will Out (1940)
Dead Man's Shoes (1940)
Just William (1940)
Saloon Bar (1940)
You Will Remember (1941)
Man Hunt (1941)
This England (1941)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Confirm or Deny (1941)
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942)
On the Sunny Side (1942)
The Pied Piper (1942)
My Friend Flicka (1943)
Lassie Come Home (1943)
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
Thunderhead - Son of Flicka (1945)
Molly and Me (1945)
Holiday in Mexico (1946)
Rocky (1948)
Macbeth (1948)
Kidnapped (1948)
Tuna Clipper (1949)
Black Midnight (1949)
Killer Shark (1950)
Everybody's Dancin' (1950) (Cameo)
Big Timber (1950)
Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes to Bat (1950) (short subject)
The Steel Fist (1952)
The Subterraneans (1960)
Midnight Lace (1960)
The Longest Day (1962)
Cleopatra (1963)
Shock Treatment (1964)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
The Third Day (1965)
The Loved One (film) (1965)
That Darn Cat! (1965)
Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
Lord Love a Duck (1966)
The Defector (1966)
It! (1966)
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)
The Cool Ones (1967)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
5 Card Stud (1968)
Midas Run (1969)
Hello Down There (1969)
Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969)
Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Arnold (1973)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Funny Lady (1975)
Mean Johnny Barrows (1976)
Embryo (1976)
Sixth and Main (1977)
Laserblast (1978)
Rabbit Test (1978)
The Cat from Outer Space (1978)
Circle of Iron (1978)
Nutcracker Fantasy (1979) (voice)
The Black Hole (1979) (voice)
Scavenger Hunt (1979)
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Class of 1984 (1982)
Zoo Ship (1985) (voice)
Fright Night (1985)
GoBots: War of the Rock Lords (1986) (voice)
Dead of Winter (1987)
Overboard (1987)
Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988)
Fright Night II (1988)
Heroes Stand Alone (1989)
Cutting Class (1989)
The Big Picture (1989)
Shakma (1990)
Going Under (1990)
The Naked Target (1992)
Double Trouble (1992)
The Magical World of Chuck Jones (1992) (documentary)
The Evil Inside Me (1993)
Angel 4: Undercover (1993)
The Color of Evening (1994)
Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994)
Star Hunter (1995)
The Grass Harp (1995)
Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995)
The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (1995) (documentary)
It's My Party (1996)
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997) (documentary)
(1997)
When It Clicks (1998) (short subject)
Something to Believe In (1998)
A Bug's Life (1998) (voice)
Keepers of the Frame (1999) (documentary)
Television
The Twilight Zone (1960)
The Tempest (1960)
Naked City: The Fault In Our Stars (1961)
Alfred Hitchcock Hour (episode - The Gentleman Caller) (1964)
The Cricket on the Hearth (1967) (voice)
The Legend of Robin Hood (1968)
Night Gallery (1969) (pilot for series)
Terror in the Sky (1971)
A Taste of Evil (1971)
What's a Nice Girl Like You...? (1971)
Columbo: Short Fuse (1972)
The Rookies: Dirge for Sunday (1972)
Topper Returns (1973) (unsold pilot)
Miracle on 34th Street (1973)
Black Day for Bluebeard (1974)
Planet of the Apes (TV series) (1974)
The White Seal (1975) (voice)
Flood! (1976)
Mowgli's Brothers (1977) (voice)
The Rhinemann Exchange (1977) (miniseries)
The Fantastic Journey (1977) (canceled after 10 episodes)
Supertrain - The Green Lady (1978)
The Immigrants (1978)
The Thief of Baghdad (1978)
Hart to Hart (1979) (pilot for series)
The Martian Chronicles (1980) (miniseries)
The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980)
The Return of the King (1980) (voice)
The Million Dollar Face (1981)
Mae West (1982)
Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982-1983)
This Girl for Hire (1983)
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984)
Hollywood Wives (1985) (miniseries)
Alice in Wonderland (1985)
Bridges to Cross (1986) (canceled after a few episodes)
Remo Williams (1988) (unsold pilot)
Around the World in 80 Days (1989) (miniseries)
The Pirates of Dark Water (1991-1992) (voice)
The Sands of Time (1992)
Quantum Leap - (Season 4 - A leap for Lisa) (1992)
Heads (1993)
Red Planet (1994) (miniseries)
(1994) as Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter
Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (1994)
The Alien Within (1995)
Pinky and the Brain (1995-1998) (voice)
Dead Man's Island (1996)
Unlikely Angel (1996)
Loss of Faith (1997)
Stage
Misalliance (1953)
Escapade (1953)
No Time for Sergeants (1955)
Good as Gold (1957)
Compulsion (1957)
Handful of Fire (1958)
Look After Lulu (1959)
The Fighting Cock (1959)
Camelot (musical) (1960)
The Astrakhan Coat (1967)
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