Booth Colman (March 8, 1923 – December 15, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor. In his later years he played older authority figures, such as doctors and lawyers. Colman appeared in films since 1952, when he debuted (uncredited) in '' The Big Sky'' directed by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

Life and career

Colman was born in Portland, Oregon. As a child actor in local productions, he became active in local radio. He studied Oriental language at the University of Washington and University of Michigan. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army on May 12, 1943, and attended language training at the University of Michigan from 1943 to 1944. After language training, he worked in New York City and was discharged from the army in 1944 at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...

, New Jersey.''High Council - An Interview with Booth Colman''
by Jeff Krueger - 'Simian Scrolls' #12 While in New York, he began a long career in Broadway theater, first appearing in a production of Irwin Shaw's war drama ''The Assassin''. He was soon invited to join Maurice Evans' acting company, where he continued to act on stage, and later in films. His other Broadway credits include ''Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'' (1950), ''Tonight at 8:30'' (1948), and ''Hamlet'' (1945). He appeared dozens of times on prime-time television dramas and comedies. In 1964, he appeared in two full episodes of '' Perry Mason'', one as a doctor in police investigations and the other as a prosecuting attorney. Other televisions appearances include '' My Three Sons'' (1962), '' Frasier'', ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

'', '' McCloud'' and '' The Monkees''. Films include '' Them!'' (1954), ''

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), ''

Moonfleet Moonfleet may refer to: * Moonfleet (novel), a 1898 novel by J. Meade Falkner * Moonfleet (film), a 1955 film directed by Fritz Lang, inspired by the novel * Moonfleet (1984 TV series), a British period television drama series, based on the novel * ...

'' (1955), ''

My Gun Is Quick ''My Gun Is Quick'' (1950) is Mickey Spillane's second novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer Michael Hammer or Mike Hammer may refer to: *Michael Armand Hammer (1955–2022), American philanthropist and businessman *Michael Martin ...

'' (1957), '' Wild on the Beach'' (1965), '' Maryjane'' (1968), '' The Lawyer'' (1970), ''

Scandalous John ''Scandalous John'' is a 1971 American comedy-drama Western (genre), western film directed by Robert Butler (director), Robert Butler and produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Productions. It stars Brian Keith and Alfonso Arau. The music w ...

'' (1971), '' Time Travelers'' (1976), '' Norma Rae'' (1979) and '' Intolerable Cruelty'' (2003). In 1983, he portrayed the kindly scientist, Professor Hector Jerrold, in the ABC daytime melodrama ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. In 1974, Colman played the role of

Dr. Zaius The primary characters of the American film franchise of ''Planet of the Apes'' are a combination of humans and intelligent apes with both species acting as protagonist and antagonist across the series in three disparate timelines. The original f ...

in the popular short-lived TV series, '' Planet of the Apes''; the role made famous on the big screen by his former teacher, Maurice Evans. In the six episodes in which he appeared, he wore the original costume Evans used in '' Planet of the Apes'' and '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes''. Colman played Scrooge over 600 times on stage in ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' at the Meadow Brook Theatre in the Detroit area. He died in his sleep in Los Angeles at the age of 91 on December 15, 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Obituary - Los Angeles Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Booth 1923 births 2014 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Portland, Oregon University of Washington alumni 21st-century American male actors United States Army soldiers