Henry Beckman (26 November 1921 – 17 June 2008) was a Canadian stage, film and television actor.

Career

Beckman appeared in well over 100 productions in the United States and Canada, including recurring roles as Commander Paul Richards in the 1954 ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

'' space opera television series, Bob Mulligan in the ABC

sitcom 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 ...

'' I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'', George Anderson in the television adaptation of '' Peyton Place'', Captain Clancey in the Western comedy-drama '' Here Come the Brides'', Harry Mark on '' Bronk'', conniving

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Douglas Harrigan in '' McHale's Navy'', Colonel Platt in the 1965 movie '' McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'', and as a sheriff in an episode of '' Rango''. He made four guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series '' Perry Mason'', including the role of David the murderer in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Flighty Father", as Sydney L. Garth in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Captain's Coins", as Albert King in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Wrongful Writ" and as William March in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Dead Ringer". He made a guest appearance as Cody on '' Honey West'' "A Matter of Wife and Death" (episode 4) in 1965. In the 1980s he appeared in '' Kane & Abel'', played the security guard Alf on the Don Adams sitcom '' Check It Out!'', and was also a non-celebrity contestant on the TV game show '' Scrabble''. He continued to act through his late seventies on shows like '' The Commish'' and '' MacGyver'', and he had a recurring role in '' The X-Files'' for several seasons.

Awards/legacy

Beckman won two Canadian Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor, in 1975 for ''

Why Rock the Boat? ''Why Rock the Boat?'' is a 1974 Canadian romantic comedy film directed by John Howe. The film stars Stuart Gillard as Harry Barnes, a young journalist in Montreal who becomes romantically involved with Julia Martin ( Tiiu Leek), a reporter for a ...

'' and in 1978 for '' Blood and Guts''. With his first wife, actress Cheryl Maxwell, Beckman founded the Dukes Oak Theater in Cooperstown, New York, and served as the theater company's producer.

War service

He served with the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, including the D-Day Landings at Juno Beach,

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, on 6 June 1944.

Writing

Beckman was the author of ''How to Sell your Film Project'', a how-to guide on getting independent films produced, and ''Hollywood With its Pants Down'', a witty look at some of actors he worked with over the years.

Family

He is the father of astrophysicist and software engineer Brian Beckman.

Death

Beckman died in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain on 17 June 2008 with his second wife Hillary at his side.

Selected filmography

*'' Niagara'' (1953) – Motorcycle Cop (uncredited) *''

The Glory Brigade ''The Glory Brigade'' is a 1953 American war film directed by Robert D. Webb. It stars Victor Mature and Alexander Scourby. The film was referred to in ''M*A*S*H'' (1970), directed by Robert Altman. Plot US Army engineer Lt. Pryor's detachment ...

'' (1953) – Soldier (uncredited) *'' The Wrong Man'' (1956) – Prisoner at Arraignment Hearing (uncredited) *'' So Lovely... So Deadly'' (1957) – Steve Clark *''

Police Station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

'' (1959) – Detective Stan Abramson (TV series) *''

The Bramble Bush ''The Bramble Bush'' is a 1960 American drama film, based on the controversial novel of the same name, directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Richard Burton, Angie Dickinson, Barbara Rush, Jack Carson and James Dunn. It was released by Warner ...

'' (1960) – Bill Watts (uncredited) *'' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961) – Narcotics Detective Cronberger (uncredited) *'' 13 West Street'' (1962) – Joe Bradford *'' The Man from the Diners' Club'' (1963) – Policeman (uncredited) *'' Twilight of Honor'' (1963) – Man Stirring Up Crowd (uncredited) *'' Dead Ringer'' (1964) – Prosecutor (uncredited) *'' Marnie'' (1964) – First Detective *'' A House Is Not a Home'' (1964) – Croupier (uncredited) *''

Kiss Me, Stupid ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' is a 1964 American sex comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the play ''L'ora della fantasia'' (' ...

'' (1964) – Truck Driver *''

The Satan Bug ''The Satan Bug'' is a 1965 American crime science fiction suspense film from United Artists, produced and directed by John Sturges, that stars George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, and Dana Andrews. The screenplay by James Clavell a ...

'' (1965) – Dr. Baxter *''

The Glory Guys ''The Glory Guys'' is a 1965 American Western film directed by Arnold Laven and written by Sam Peckinpah, based on the 1956 novel ''The Dice of God'' by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom T ...

'' (1965) – Salesman *'' McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' (1965) – Col. Platt *'' The Caper of the Golden Bulls'' (1967) – Bendell *'' Madigan'' (1968) – Philip Downes *'' The Stalking Moon'' (1968) – Sgt. Rudabaugh *'' Sweet Charity'' (1969) – Policeman (uncredited) *'' The Undefeated'' (1969) – Thad Benedict *''The Merry Wives of Tobias Rouke'' (1972) – Tobias Rouke *'' Between Friends'' (1973) – Will *'' Peopletoys'' (1974) – Dr. Brown *''

'' (1974) – Philip Butcher *'' Silver Streak'' (1976) – Conventioneer *'' Blood and Guts'' (1978) – Red Henkel *''

The Brood ''The Brood'' is a 1979 Canadian psychological body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, and Art Hindle. Its plot follows a man and his mentally ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by ...

'' (1979) – Barton Kelly *'' Death Hunt'' (1981) – Bill Luce *'' Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety'' (1986) – The Boss *''Family Reunion'' (1988) – Leo *''

I Love You to Death ''I Love You to Death'' is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring an ensemble cast featuring Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, William Hurt, and Keanu Reeves. The screenplay by John ...

'' (1990) – Wendel Carter *''Epicenter'' (2000) – Pat *''

Lion of Oz ''Lion of Oz'' is a 2000 animated film set before the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. It tells the story of how the Cowardly Lion, formerly part of the Omaha Circus, came to be in Oz and how he stopped the Wicked Witch of ...

'' (2000) – Narrator (voice)

References

External links

*
How to Sell your Film Project
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

Brian Beckman: On Analog Computing, Some Beckman History, and Life in the Universe
at Channel 9 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckman, Henry 1921 births 2008 deaths Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian non-fiction writers Male actors from Halifax, Nova Scotia Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia Best Supporting Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners 20th-century non-fiction writers Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian military personnel of World War II