Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host.

Biography

Austin was born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Frank Willis, was a radio broadcaster with the

Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), also referred to as the Canadian Radio Commission (CRC), was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Origins The CRBC was establi ...

(later the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

). In 2002, Austin was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

. He is best known internationally for his appearance as Simmons, the man whom

Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjectiv ...

beats at cards in the opening scenes of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

film, '' Goldfinger''. Originally he was to have played

Felix Leiter Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the ...

but, at the last minute, fellow Canadian

Cec Linder Cecil Yekuthial Linder (March 10, 1921 – April 10, 1992) was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. He was Jewish and managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, ...

switched roles with him. In Canada, he had a varied film and TV career, ranging from the early science-fiction series ''

Space Command A space command is a military organization with responsibility for space operations and warfare. A space command is typically a joint organization or organized within a larger military branch and is distinct from a fully independent space force. ...

'', to hosting '' Cross-Canada Hit Parade'' for several years in the 1950s. In the 1970s he found new fans as the host of the humorous game show ''

This Is the Law ''This Is the Law'' was a Canadian panel game show which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1976. It presented short, humorous vignettes supposedly set in various towns and cities across Canada which ran with musical accompaniment rather than ...

''. Willis was married twice. His first marriage was in 1953, to Canadian actress

Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in ''Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film '' Atlantic C ...

, and they had two children together before divorcing in 1962. He married Gwen LaForgy in 1984, and was with her until his death, at 86, in 2004.

Filmography

* 1945 ''Guests of Honour'' * 1947 ''

Bush Pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

'' as "Red" North * 1948 '' Sins of the Fathers'' as Dr. Ben Edwards * 1953 ''

'' as Dr. Fleming * 1955-1958 '' Cross-Canada Hit Parade'' as Host * 1956 ''The Cage'' * 1958 '' A Dangerous Age'' as Police Officer * 1958 '' Wolf Dog'' as Clem Krivak * 1959 '' The Mouse That Roared'' as

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...

* 1959 ''

Upstairs and Downstairs ''Upstairs and Downstairs'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James. It features the ...

'' as McGuffey * 1959 '' Too Young to Love'' as Mr. Collins * 1960 ''Q.E.D.'' as Host * 1960 '' Crack in the Mirror'' as Hurtelaut * 1960 '' I Aim at the Stars'' as John B. Medaris * 1960 '' The Barbarians'' as Varro * 1960 ''The Night They Killed Joe Howe'' * 1961 ''Arch Oboler's 1+1: Exploring the Kinsey Reports'' as Sam Tooray, The Divorcee * 1964 '' Goldfinger'' as Mr. Simmons * 1964 '' Seaway'' (TV) as Admiral Henry Fox * 1966 ''Don't Forget to Wipe the Blood Off'' * 1967 ''One Hundred Years Young'' (TV) as Host * 1967 '' Eight on the Lam'' as Mr. Pomeroy * 1967 ''

Hour of the Gun ''Hour of the Gun'' is a 1967 Western film depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona ...

'' as Anson Safford * 1967 ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert ...

– Season 1, Episode 26'' as Dr. Anderson * 1968 '' The Boston Strangler'' as Dr. Nagy * 1970 ''Frankenstein on Campus'' as Cantwell * 1970 ''

The Silent Force ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' episode "The Octopus" * 1971 ''

Face-Off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

'' as Graydon Hunter * 1972-1976 ''

'' as Host * 1979 '' C.H.O.M.P.S.'' as Head Engineer * 1980 ''

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark ''The Last Flight of Noah's Ark'' is a 1980 American family adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions starring Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold and Ricky Schroder. The film was released by Buena Vista Distribution on July 9, 1980. A full ...

'' as Slabotsky * 1982 ''

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and ...

'' as Walters * 1985 '' Kane & Abel'' as Senator Willis * 1986 '' The Boy in Blue'' as Bainbridge

References

External links

* *
Order of Canada citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Austin 1917 births 2004 deaths Canadian male stage actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian television hosts Canadian people of English descent Members of the Order of Canada Male actors from Halifax, Nova Scotia