William Henry Redfield (January 26, 1927 – August 17, 1976) was an American actor and author who appeared in many theatrical, film, radio, and television roles.

Early years

Born in New York City, Redfield was the son of Henry C. Redfield and the former Mareta A. George. His father was a conductor and arranger of music, and his mother was a chorus girl with the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

Acting career

Redfield began acting when he was 9 years old, appearing in the Broadway production '' Swing Your Lady'' (1936). He appeared in the original 1938 Broadway production of ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

''. A founding member of New York's

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

, Redfield's additional theatre credits include '' A Man for All Seasons'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', ''

You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'', and ''

Dude ''Dude'' is Regional vocabularies of American English, American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous ...

''. He also sang and danced the role of Mercury in

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's '' Out of This World''. Other Broadway credits include ''Excursion'' (1937), ''Virginia'' (1937), ''Stop-over'' (1938), ''Junior Miss'', ''Snafu'', ''U.S.A.'', ''Barefoot Boy With Cheek'' (1947), ''Montserrat'' (1949), ''Misalliance'' (1953), ''Double in Hearts'' (1956), ''Midgie Purvis'' (1961), ''A Minor Adjustment'' (1967) and ''The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks'' (1972). His film credits include '' The Connection'', ''

Such Good Friends ''Such Good Friends'' is a 1971 American black comedy-drama film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Dyan Cannon, Ken Howard, James Coco, Jennifer O'Neill and Laurence Luckinbill. The screenplay by Elaine May (credited under the pseudonym, Es ...

'', ''

Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who is shrunk to microsco ...

'', '' A New Leaf'' '' and For Pete's Sake''. Redfield's best known film appearance was as Dale Harding in ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

''. On television, Redfield played the title role in the DuMont series ''

Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop ''Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop'' is an American crime show that aired on the DuMont Television Network from May 8, 1953, to July 3, 1953. Premise Jimmy Hughes ( William Redfield) returns from the Korean War when his policeman father is killed by cr ...

'' (1953), and appeared in ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...

'', ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...

'', ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. ...

'', '' Studio One'', ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' Naked City'', '' Maude'', ''

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II ''Rich Man, Poor Man Book II'' is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977. A sequel to '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' that had aired the pre ...

'', '' Bewitched '', and ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

''. His best known TV appearance was as Floyd, the younger brother of Felix Unger (played by

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor of film, television and stage. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in the 1970–1975 television adaptation of ...

), on ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...

''.

Military service

During his acting career, Redfield served as an infantryman during WWII, holding the rank of technician fifth grade.

Author

Redfield was a columnist for ''Playfare Magazine'' and collaborated with

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and played the title character of the popular early American television series '' Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 195 ...

on ''Mr. Peepers'', a book about the television character with that name. Most significantly, he authored "Letters From An Actor", first copyrighted in 1966. It consists of letters written to his friend, Robert Mills, between January and August of 1964 and chronicles the rehearsals and performances of

. This production was conceived and directed by Sir John Gielgud as a modern-dress "rehearsal" of the play. Hamlet was played by

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

; during rehearsals in Toronto he and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

were married for the first time. Redfield, cast as Guildenstern, witnesses the enormous difficulty of both acting in and directing Hamlet while also trying to manage celebrity and notoriety. This classic book of the theater was out of print for several decades, until a new edition was published in March 2024 in response to a production of "The Motive and The Cue", a play by

Jack Thorne Jack Thorne FRSL (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer. A massive fan of hard science fiction, he is best known for writing the stage play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', the fil ...

. The play is based in part on Redfield's history of the Geilgud-Burton production of Hamlet.

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

, who directed "The Motive and The Cue", wrote the foreword to the new edition of "Letters From An Actor."

Death

During the filming of ''

'', Redfield was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, after a doctor on set had noticed he was exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Redfield died at Saint Clare's Hospital on August 17, 1976, at the age of 49, with the cause of death given as "a respiratory ailment complicated by leukemia." With his wife, he had a son and a daughter. Redfield is buried at

Long Island National Cemetery Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue (County Road 3) – these include P ...

Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 8,466 at the time of the 2020 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State ...

.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Filmography

Radio appearances

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redfield, William 1927 births 1976 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors American male radio actors Burials at Long Island National Cemetery Male actors from New York City Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II