Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the pro ...
, character actor and
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
whose career spanned seven decades.
Dobkin was a prolific performer during the
Golden Age of Radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...
. He narrated the western ''
Broken Arrow'' (1950). His film performances include ''
Never Fear'' (1949), ''
Sweet Smell of Success
''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick from ...
'' (1957) and ''
North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture t ...
'' (1959). Before the closing credits of each episode of the landmark
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television network series ''
Naked City'' (1958–1963), he said, "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."
Early years
Dobkin was born in New York City.
Radio
Dobkin understudied on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
.
When he returned to network radio he was one of five actors who played the detective
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
in ''
The Adventures of Ellery Queen
''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of a radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional detective and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen and the cases he solved ...
''.
In ''
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe
''The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe'' is a 1950–51 American radio drama series starring Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's fictional armchair detective Nero Wolfe. Based on Stout's principal characters but not his stories, the series aired Octobe ...
'' (1950–1951), Dobkin played detective
Archie Goodwin opposite
Sydney Greenstreet's Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in ...
.
While playing Louie,
The Saint's cab-driving sidekick on
NBC Radio
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
in 1951, he was asked to step into the lead role of Simon Templar to replace
Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint ...
for a single episode — making Dobkin one of the few actors to portray
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a List of British Chinese people, British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. ' literary creation.
His other radio work included ''
Escape'' (1947–1954), ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...
'' (1952–1961), ''
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962.
The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'Br ...
'' (1956–1960), and the anthology series ''
Lux Radio Theater
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of Am ...
''. "The few of us who are left," Dobkin said of his radio days not long before he died, "keep telling each other that we never had it so good."
He was also Lieutenant Matthews on ''
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe'', along with several other characters.
Continuing to work as a
voice actor
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...
throughout his career, Dobkin contributed to the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
''
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear'' (1999).
Television
Dobkin began a prolific career in television in 1946, having worked as an actor, narrator and director. In 1953, he guest-starred on
Alan Hale, Jr.'s short-lived
CBS espionage series set in the
Cold War, ''
Biff Baker, U.S.A.''. He was cast in a 1957 episode of the
syndicated
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
series ''
The Silent Service'', in "The Ordeal of the S 38", based on true stories of the
submarine division of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, in which he was the lead actor and was credited incorrectly as Lawrence Bodkin. He appeared also in the religion
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a di ...
, ''
Crossroads
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to:
* Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
'', based on experiences of American
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...
men, and later on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
religion drama, ''
Going My Way
''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ta ...
'', starring
Gene Kelly.
In the 1950s
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' Dobkin played the roles of "Restaurant Man" in episode 66 ("Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans"), "Waiter" in episode 70 ("Equal Rights"), and "Counterfeiter" in episode 145 ("Paris at Last").
In the 1957-1958 television season, Dobkin played a director on the
CBS sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
, ''
Mr. Adams and Eve'', starring
Howard Duff
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...
and
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...
as fictitious married actors residing in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. He guest-starred in 1958 in the first season of ABC's ''
The Donna Reed Show
''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...
''.
In 1957, Dobkin appeared in the third episode of the first season of the CBS Television western ''
Have Gun – Will Travel
''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western (genre), Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was ...
'', entitled "The Great Mohave Chase", as the owner of water rights in the small western town of Mohave.
In the May 9, 1958 episode of the CBS Television western series ''
Trackdown'' entitled, "The End of the World," he portrays a con man named Walter Trump who promises to save a town from destruction by building a wall. Internet posts of this episode have gone viral due to its resemblance to real life US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
and his
controversial policy on immigration.
In 1960, Dobkin appeared as Kurt Reynolds in the episode "So Dim the Light" of the CBS
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a di ...
''
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
''The DuPont Show with June Allyson'' (also known as ''The June Allyson Show'') is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959, to April 3, 1961, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961.
The series wa ...
'', and as an escape artist on the run from a possible murder charge in ''
Wanted: Dead or Alive''. That same year he played "Esteban Garcia" (a long time friend of Marshall Dillon where things go very wrong) in the TV Western ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...
'', in the episode "Don Matteo" (S6E7). He appeared in the
David Janssen
David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
crime drama series, ''
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.
Radio
Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detectiv ...
''. Dobkin appeared in four episodes of ''
The Rifleman
''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...
'' playing four different characters, including a heartfelt portrayal of General
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...
from the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
. He appeared in an episode of ''
The Tab Hunter Show
''The Tab Hunter Show'' is an American situation comedy starring Tab Hunter which centers around a young comic-strip artist and his romantic adventures. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 18, 1960, until April 30, 1961.McNeil, Alex, '' ...
'' in 1961. In 1964 he narrated the USIS documentary film about the Republican and Democrat conventions called "1964 The Conventions."
Often also cast as a villain, Dobkin portrayed
gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer; August 6, 1901October 24, 1935) was an American mobster. Based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the ...
on ABC's ''
The Untouchables''. He appeared on the ABC/
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
crime drama, ''
The Roaring 20s'' and in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
western with a modern setting, ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
''. He was cast as a mass murderer in the 1972 pilot for ABC's ''
The Streets of San Francisco
''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...
'', starring
Karl Malden
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun aut ...
. He guest-starred on ABC's ''
The Big Valley
''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour e ...
'', starring
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
.
He received an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama for his work on the ''
CBS Playhouse
''CBS Playhouse'' is an American anthology drama television series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1970. Airing twelve plays over the course of its run, the series won ten Primetime Emmy Awards and featured many noteworthy actors and playwrights. ...
'' episode, ''
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
"Do not go gentle into that good night" is a poem in the form of a villanelle by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), and is one of his best-known works. Though first published in the journal '' Botteghe Oscure'' in 1951, the poem was written in ...
'' (1967). In 1991, Dobkin appeared in an episode of the television series ''
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...
'' as State Supreme Court Justice Welch.
In the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...
'' media franchise Dobkin directed the
original series
Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...
episode "
Charlie X", and later portrayed the traitorous
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...
ambassador Kell on ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' in the fourth-season episode
"The Mind's Eye."
As a writer, Dobkin created the title character for the 1974 film and the 1977–1978 NBC series ''
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and Raylan D. Jensen for Sun Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title char ...
''.
He began directing for television in 1960, and his work in this area included episodes 1, 9, 10, and 13 of ''
The Munsters
''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anothe ...
'' (1964), 16 episodes of ''
The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...
'' (1972–1981), and an episode of ''
Sara'' (1976).
Films
Dobkin's notable supporting film roles include ''
Twelve O'Clock High
''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...
'' (1949), ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Renn ...
'' (1951), ''
Julius Caesar'' (1953), ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...
'' (1956), ''
The Defiant Ones
''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American adventure drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. ...
'' (1958), ''
Johnny Yuma'' (1966) and ''
Patton'' (1970). He had a cameo appearance in the 1954 sci-fi thriller ''
Them
Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to:
Books
* ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet''
* '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...
''. In an uncredited performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''
North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture t ...
'', Dobkin has a memorable line as an intelligence official who remarks on the plight of the hapless protagonist, on the run for murder after being mistaken for a person who doesn't exist: "It's so horribly sad. Why is it I feel like laughing?"
Personal life
On June 24, 1962, Dobkin married actress
Joanna Barnes
Joanna Barnes (November 15, 1934 – April 29, 2022) was an American actress and writer.
Early life and education
Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the eldest daughter of John Pindar Barnes and Alice Weston Mutch. She had two younger ...
; they had no children, but he had one daughter, Debra Dobkin, by his first wife, Frances Hope Walker. Dobkin married actress Anne Collings in 1970 and had two children: identical twin daughters, Kristy and Kaela.
Death
On October 28, 2002, Dobkin died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles. He was 83 years old.
Filmography
*''
Not Wanted
''Not Wanted'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn.
A few days after shooting started, Clifton suffered a heart attack. Lupino stepped in ...
'' (1949) - Assistant District Attorney
*''
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
'' (1949) - Surgeon Wayne (uncredited)
*''
Twelve O'Clock High
''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...
'' (1949) - Capt. Twombley (uncredited)
*''
Never Fear'' (1949) - Dr. Middleton
*''
D.O.A.'' (1950) - Dr. Schaefer
*''Frenchie'' (1950) - Bartender
*''
Broken Arrow'' (1950) - (uncredited)
*''
Chain of Circumstance'' (1951) - Dr. Callen
*''
People Will Talk
''People Will Talk'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy/drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Mankiewicz, based on the German play by Curt Goetz, which was made into a movie in German ...
'' (1951) - Business Manager (uncredited)
*''
The Mob'' (1951) - Clegg's Doctor (uncredited)
*''
Angels in the Outfield'' (1951) - Rabbi Allen Hahn (uncredited)
*''
The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Renn ...
'' (1951) - Army Physician (uncredited)
*''
On the Loose'' (1951) - Ruegg, Defense Attorney (uncredited)
*''
Bannerline'' (1951) - Hugo's Doctor (uncredited)
*''
The Living Christ Series'' (1951) - Caiaphas
*''
Red Skies of Montana'' (1952) - Leo (uncredited)
*''
The First Time'' (1952) - Doctor (uncredited)
*''
5 Fingers
''5 Fingers'', known also as ''Five Fingers'', is a 1952 American spy film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Otto Lang. The screenplay written by Michael Wilson was based on the 1950 book ''Operation Cicero'' (original German: ...
'' (1952) - Santos (uncredited)
*''
Deadline - U.S.A.'' (1952) - Larry Hansen, Rienzi's Lawyer (uncredited)
*''
Loan Shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
'' (1952) - Walter Kerry
*''
Young Man with Ideas
''Young Man with Ideas'' is a 1952 romantic comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Ruth Roman and Glenn Ford. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay concern a young small-town lawyer, who moves his family from Montan ...
'' (1952) - Prosecutor at Hearing (uncredited)
*''
Diplomatic Courier
A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and ...
'' (1952) - Russian Agent (uncredited)
*''
Washington Story'' (1952) - Secretary of the Senate (uncredited)
*''
Above and Beyond'' (1952) - Dr. Van Dyke
*''
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation'' (1953) - U.S. Agent James Farrell (uncredited)
*''
Julius Caesar'' (1953) - Citizen of Rome
*''
Remains to Be Seen'' (1953) - Captain (uncredited)
*''
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
''The Affairs of Dobie Gillis'' is a 1953 American comedy musical film directed by Don Weis. The film is based on the short stories by Max Shulman collected as ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also the title of the later TV series). Bobby Va ...
'' (1953) - Mr. McCandless, Student Advisor (uncredited)
*''
Riders to the Stars
''Riders to the Stars'' is a 1954 independently made American science fiction film produced by Ivan Tors Productions and released by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Carlson (who also stars) and Herbert L. Strock (uncredited) an ...
'' (1954) - Dr. Delmar
*''
The Long Wait'' (1954) - Doctor (uncredited)
*''
Them!
''Them!'' is a 1954 American black-and-white science fiction monster film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by David Weisbart, directed by Gordon Douglas, and starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness. The film ...
'' (1954) - Los Angeles City Engineer (uncredited)
*''
Sabaka
''Sabaka'' (originally to be called ''Gunga Ram'') is a 1953 American adventure film written, directed and co-produced by Frank Ferrin, filmed partially on location in India. The film also starred Victor Jory, Boris Karloff, Peter Coe, Reginald ...
'' (1954) - General's Aide (uncredited)
*''
The Silver Chalice
''The Silver Chalice'' is a 1952 English language historical novel by Thomas B. Costain. It is the fictional story of the making of a silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail (itself here conflated with the Holy Chalice) and includes 1st century b ...
'' (1954) - Epharim
*''
Day of Triumph'' (1954) - Matthew
*''
African Manhunt'' (1955) - Commentator (voice)
*''
Jump Into Hell'' (1955) - Maj. Maurice Bonet
*''
Kiss of Fire'' (1955) - Padre Domingo
*''
Illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the cr ...
'' (1955) - Al Carol
*''
The Killer Is Loose'' (1956) - Bank Robber (uncredited)
*''
That Certain Feeling
"That Certain Feeling" is a 1925 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
It was introduced by Allen Kearns and Queenie Smith in the 1925 musical ''Tip-Toes''. It was later used as the title of a 1956 Bob Hope film when ...
'' (1956) - Bit Part (uncredited)
*''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...
'' (1956) -
Hur Ben Caleb
*''
The Badge of Marshal Brennan'' (1957) - Chicamon
*''
Sweet Smell of Success
''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick from ...
'' (1957) - Leo Bartha (uncredited)
*''
Portland Exposé'' (1957) - Garnell
*''
Raiders of Old California
''Raiders of Old California'' is a 1957 American black-and-white Western film produced and directed by Albert C. Gannaway and starring Jim Davis, Arleen Whelan, and Faron Young.
This film is now in the public domain.
It was the final film ap ...
'' (1957) - Don Miguel Sebastian
*''
The Defiant Ones
''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American adventure drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. ...
'' (1958) - Editor
*''
Wild Heritage'' (1958) - Josh Burrage
*''
The Lost Missile
''The Lost Missile'' is a 1958 American science fiction film written by John McPartland and science-fiction writer Jerome Bixby. It was to have been directed by William Berke, who was also the executive producer, but following Berke's sudden dea ...
'' (1958) - Narrator (voice)
*''
Tokyo After Dark'' (1959) - Maj. Bradley
*''
North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture t ...
'' (1959) - U.S. Intelligence Agency official (uncredited)
*''
The Big Operator'' (1959) - Phil Cernak
*''
The Gene Krupa Story
''The Gene Krupa Story'' (also known as ''Drum Crazy'') is a 1959 biopic of American drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa. The conflict in the film centers on Krupa's rise to success and his corresponding use of marijuana.
Plot synopsis
The young ...
'' (1959) - Speaker Willis
*''
Geronimo
Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ...
'' (1962) - Gen. George A. Crook
*''
The Cabinet of Caligari
''The Cabinet of Caligari'' is a 1962 American horror film by Roger Kay, starring Glynis Johns, Dan O'Herlihy, and Richard Davalos, and released by 20th Century Fox.
Although the film's title is very similar to the German silent horror film ...
'' (1962) - Dr. Frank David
*''
Johnny Yuma'' (1966) - Linus Jerome Carradine
*''
Patton'' (1970) - Colonel Gaston Bell
*''
Underground'' (1970) - Boule
*''
The Midnight Man'' (1974) - Mason
*''Hotwire'' (1980) - Bodine
*''
Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time'' (1991) - Admiral Binns
Television
Stagecoach West (1961) - S1 E26 “Fort Wyatt Crossing” - Captain Eli.
The Adventures of Superman (1953) - S2 E3 "The man who Could Read Minds" - the Swami.
*''
Biff Baker, U.S.A.'' (1953) - Shahab Hussein (as Larry Dobkin)
*''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'', 2 episodes: "Equal Rights" and "Paris at Last" (1953-1956) - Waiter / Counterfeiter
*''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...
'' (1956-1960) - Jacklin /Outlaw Brand /Mr. Garcia
*''
Mr. Adams and Eve'' (1957–1958) - Max Cassolini / Director
*''
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.
Radio
Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detectiv ...
'' (1957) - Warburton Flagge
*''
The Silent Service'' (1957) - "The Ordeal of The S 38" - Chappie - mistakenly cast listed as Lawrence Bodkin
*''Adventures of the Falcon'' (1957) – Jack McKenzie in "Snake Eyes"
*''
Trackdown'', 3 episodes: "Look For the Woman", "The Boy", and "The End of the World" (1957-8) - Lee Caldwell / Joel Paine / Walter Trump
*''
Naked City'' (1958–1963) - Narrator
*''
The Donna Reed Show
''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...
'' (1958) - Dr. Winfield Graham
*''
The Untouchables'' (1959-1960) - Gangster Dutch Schultz, Falcon, 1957,
*''
Have Gun – Will Travel
''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western (genre), Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was ...
'' (1957–1963) - Ranch Owner Billy Joe Kane, 1957; Col. Oliver Lacey, 1962, "Penelope"
*''
The Rifleman
''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...
'' (1958-1962) - Ben Judson / Don Chimera del Laredo / Gen. Philip H. Sheridan / Juan Argentez
*''
Wanted: Dead or Alive'' - (1959) - Bartolo Baffler
*''
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...
'' (1960) - 'General Sheridan' *Credited as Larry Dobkin* Episode: "Gold, Glory and Custer - Requiem"
*''
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
''The DuPont Show with June Allyson'' (also known as ''The June Allyson Show'') is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959, to April 3, 1961, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961.
The series wa ...
'' (1960) - "So Dim the Light" - Kurt Reynolds
*''
The Roaring 20s'' (1960-1961) - Max Winslow / Big Lou Burnett
*''
The Tab Hunter Show
''The Tab Hunter Show'' is an American situation comedy starring Tab Hunter which centers around a young comic-strip artist and his romantic adventures. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 18, 1960, until April 30, 1961.McNeil, Alex, '' ...
'' (1961) - "Holiday in Spain" — Calleja
*''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' (1962) - Dr. Karr
*''
The Munsters
''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anothe ...
'' (1964) as director for episodes 1, 9, 10, and 13
[
*'']Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
"Do not go gentle into that good night" is a poem in the form of a villanelle by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), and is one of his best-known works. Though first published in the journal '' Botteghe Oscure'' in 1951, the poem was written in ...
'' (1967) - Dr. Gettlinger
*''The Big Valley
''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour e ...
'' (1968) - Ben Dawes
*'' Star Trek: TOS'' (1969), one episode: " Charlie X"
*'' Mission Impossible'' (1971), one episode: " Kitara" - Colonel Alex Kohler
*''The Streets of San Francisco
''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...
'' (1972) - Gregory Praxas
*''The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...
'' (1972–1981), director for 16 episodes
*'' Sara'' (1976), as director of an episode
*''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and Raylan D. Jensen for Sun Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title char ...
'' (1974-1978), created the title character for the 1974 film and the TV series
*''Knight Rider
''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original '' Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...
'' (1982) - 'Col. Alvin B. Kincaid' Episode: "Inside Out"
*''Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...
'' (1990) - actor Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...
*'' War and Remembrance'' (1989) - General George S. Patton
*'' L.A. Law'' (1990-1994) - Judge Saul Edelstein
* ''Matlock'' (TV series) (1991) - Marvin Shea
*''Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...
'' (1991) - State Supreme Court Justice Welch
*'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1991), one episode: " The Mind's Eye" - Klingon ambassador Kell
*'' NYPD Blue'' (2001) - Season 8, Episode 7, "In-Laws, Outlaws" - John Gilbert
Radio
*'' Escape'' (1947-1954)
*''The Adventures of Ellery Queen
''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of a radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional detective and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen and the cases he solved ...
'' - Ellery Queen
*''The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe
''The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe'' is a 1950–51 American radio drama series starring Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's fictional armchair detective Nero Wolfe. Based on Stout's principal characters but not his stories, the series aired Octobe ...
'' (1950-1951) - Archie Goodwin
*''Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...
'' (1952-1961)
*''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962.
The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'Br ...
'' (1956-1960)
*''Lux Radio Theater
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of Am ...
''
*'' The Adventures of Philip Marlowe''
Video game
*'' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear'' (1999) - Lukyan (voice)
References
External links
*
Lawrence Dobkin biography at All Movie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobkin, Lawrence
1919 births
2002 deaths
Male actors from New York City
American male screenwriters
American male radio actors
American male voice actors
American male television actors
American television directors
Writers from New York City
Male actors from Los Angeles
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army soldiers
Writers from Los Angeles
Western (genre) television actors
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Screenwriters from California
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters