Roddy McDowell

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1941), ''My Friend Flicka'' (1943) and ''Lassie Come Home'' (1943). As an adult, McDowall appeared most frequently as a character actor on radio, stage, film, and television. For portraying Octavian in the historical drama ''Cleopatra'' (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He played Cornelius and Caesar in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' film series, as well as Galen in the spin-off television series.

Other notable films included '' The Longest Day'' (1962), ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965), '' That Darn Cat!'' (1965), ''Inside Daisy Clover'' (1965), ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' (1971), '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972), '' Funny Lady'' (1975), ''The Black Hole'' (1979), ''Class of 1984'' (1982), ''Fright Night'' (1985), '' Overboard'' (1987) and ''A Bug's Life'' (1998). His accolades included a Tony Award, an Emmy Award, a Saturn Award, and a National Board of Review Award.

McDowall also served in various positions on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Selection Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors, further contributing to various charities related to the film industry and film preservation. He was a founding Member of the National Film Preservation Board in 1989, and represented the Screen Actors Guild on this Board until his death. For his contributions to the film and television industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Biography

Early life

McDowall was born at 204 Herne Hill Road, Herne Hill, London, the only son of London-born Thomas Andrew McDowall (1896–1978), a merchant seaman of distant Scottish descent, and his Irish wife Winifred (née Corcoran). Both of his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He and his elder sister, Virginia, were raised in their mother's Catholic faith. He attended St Joseph's College, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, a Roman Catholic secondary school in London.

British films

Appearing as a child model as a baby, McDowall appeared in several films as a boy. After winning an acting prize in a school play at age nine, he started appearing in films: ''Murder in the Family'' (1938), '' I See Ice'' (1938) with George Formby, '' John Halifax'' (1938) and '' Scruffy'' (1938).

McDowall appeared in ''Convict 99'' (1938) and '' Hey! Hey! USA'' (1938) with Will Hay, '' Yellow Sands'' (1938), '' The Outsider'' (1939), '' Murder Will Out'' (1939), '' Dead Man's Shoes'' (1940), '' Just William'' (1940), '' Saloon Bar'' (1940), '' You Will Remember'' (1941), and '' This England'' (1941).

Early US films

McDowall's family moved to the United States in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II. He became a naturalized United States citizen on 9 December 1949, and lived in the United States for the rest of his life. McDowall served in the 67th Armored Infantry Battalion Division of the U.S. Army Organized Reserve Corps (headquartered in Los Angeles) from 1946 to 1954, spanning the end of World War II to the Korean War.Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall at
xmoppet.org. Retrieved 9 December 2021. He later served in the 77th Infantry Division between 1960 to 1962.

McDowall's American career began with a part in the 1941 thriller '' Man Hunt'', directed by Fritz Lang. It was made by 20th Century Fox who also produced McDowall's next film ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1941), where he met and became lifelong friends with actress Maureen O'Hara. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and McDowall's role as Huw Morgan made him a household name.

Fox put him in another war film, '' Confirm or Deny'' (1941), then he played Tyrone Power as a boy in '' Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake'' (1942).

Stardom

Fox promoted McDowall to top billing for '' On the Sunny Side'' (1942). He was billed second to Monty Woolley in '' The Pied Piper'' (1942), playing a war orphan, then he had top billing again for an adaptation of ''My Friend Flicka'' (1942).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer borrowed McDowall for the star role in ''Lassie Come Home'' (1943), a film that introduced an actress who would become another lifelong friend, Elizabeth Taylor. MGM kept him on to play a leading role in '' The White Cliffs of Dover'' (1944).

Back at Fox he played Gregory Peck as a young man in '' The Keys of the Kingdom'' (1944). In 1944, exhibitors voted McDowall the number four "Star of Tomorrow".

Fox gave McDowall another starring vehicle, ''Thunderhead – Son of Flicka'' (1945). They reunited him with Woolley in ''Molly and Me'' (1945), which was made as an attempt to turn Gracie Fields into a Hollywood star.

McDowall went back to MGM to support Walter Pidgeon in '' Holiday in Mexico'' (1946).

Theatre

McDowall turned to the theatre, taking the title role of '' Young Woodley'' in a summer stock production in Westport, Connecticut in July 1946.

In 1947, he played Malcolm in Orson Welles's stage production of '' Macbeth'' in Salt Lake City, and played the same role in the actor-director's film version in 1948.

Monogram Pictures

McDowall then signed a three-year contract with Monogram Pictures, a low-budget studio that welcomed established stars, to make two films a year.

McDowall starred in seven films for them, for which he also worked as associate producer: ''Rocky'' (1948), a boy and dog story directed by Phil Karlson; '' Kidnapped'' (1948), an adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story, where he played David Balfour, directed by William Beaudine; '' Tuna Clipper'' (1949), a fishing tale, again directed by Beaudine; '' Black Midnight'' (1949), a horse story directed by Budd Boetticher; '' Killer Shark'' (1950), a shark hunting tale, again with Boetticher; '' Big Timber'' (1950), as a logger; '' The Steel Fist'' (1952), an anti-communist drama.

1950s: Television and theatre

McDowall left Hollywood to relocate to New York City. He began appearing on television, notably shows like ''Celanese Theatre'', '' Broadway Television Theatre'', ''Medallion Theatre'', '' Campbell Summer Soundstage'', ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'', ''Encounter'', ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' (including an adaptation of '' Great Expectations'' where he played Pip), ''The Elgin Hour'', '' Ponds Theater'', ''General Electric Theater'', '' The Kaiser Aluminum Hour'', ''Lux Video Theatre'', '' Goodyear Playhouse'', '' The Alcoa Hour'', '' Kraft Theatre'', ''Matinee Theatre'', ''Suspicion'', '' Playhouse 90'' (in an adaptation of '' Heart of Darkness''), '' The United States Steel Hour'', ''The DuPont Show of the Month'' (an adaptation of '' Billy Budd'') and ''The Twilight Zone'' (the episode " People Are Alike All Over").

McDowall also had significant success on the Broadway stage. He was in a production of ''Misalliance'' (1953) that ran for 130 performances and which McDowall said "broke the mould" in how he was judged as an actor.

He followed it with ''Escapade'' (1953) with Carroll Baker and Brian Aherne; Ira Levin's '' No Time for Sergeants '' (1955–57), which was a huge hit; ''Diary of a Scoundrel'' (1956); and ''Good as Gold'' (1957).

He had a big critical success with ''Compulsion'' (1957–58) based on Leopold and Loeb – although McDowall was not cast in the film version. He followed it with ''Handful of Fire'' (1958), Noël Coward's '' Look After Lulu!'' (1959) and Peter Brook's '' The Fighting Cock'' (1960). The latter earned him a Tony Award.

1960: Return to Hollywood

McDowall was in another big Broadway hit when he played Mordred in the musical ''Camelot'' (1960–63) with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton.

He played Ariel in a TV production of '' The Tempest'' (1960) with Richard Burton and Maurice Evans, then appeared in his first Hollywood movie in almost a decade, '' The Subterraneans'' (1960). He followed it with '' Midnight Lace'' (1960).

McDowall continued to work on television in shows such as '' Sunday Showcase'', '' Naked City'', and '' Play of the Week''. He was in a TV production of ''The Power and the Glory'' (1961) with Laurence Olivier, George C. Scott and Julie Harris.

In 1963, McDowall appeared as Octavian in the film production of ''Cleopatra'', which starred Elizabeth Taylor. While filming in Europe, he appeared in Fox's war movie '' The Longest Day'' (1963). He continued to guest on television series such as ''Arrest and Trial'', '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', '' The Eleventh Hour'', '' Kraft Suspense Theatre'', ''Combat!'', ''Ben Casey'', ''Twelve O'Clock High'', '' Run for Your Life'', ''The Invaders'', and appeared as a Special Guest Villain as The Bookworm on '' Batman''.

He had supporting roles in Fox's ''Shock Treatment'' (1964) and United Artists' ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965). He was third billed in '' The Third Day'' (1965) and received billing as a member of the ensemble cast in '' The Loved One'' (1965). McDowall went to Disney for '' That Darn Cat!'' (1965) and had a role in ''Inside Daisy Clover'' (1965).

McDowall was given a starring role in '' Lord Love a Duck'' (1966). He also appeared in '' The Defector'' (1966) and returned briefly to Broadway for ''The Astrakhan Coat'' (1967).

Disney gave him the star role in '' The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'' (1967) and he was top billed in '' The Cool Ones'' (1967) and '' It!'' (1967). He was in a TV production of ''Saint Joan'' (1967) and provided the voice for '' Cricket on the Hearth'' (1967). He guest-starred in the series ''The Felony Squad''.

In 1968, McDowall appeared in one of his memorable roles when he was cast in ''Planet of the Apes'' as the ape Cornelius. He would later go on to appear in three sequels and a TV spin-off from the film.

He was Prince John in ''The Legend of Robin Hood'' (1968) for TV, and appeared in '' 5 Card Stud'' (1968), ''Journey to the Unknown

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