Eddie Dew (January 29, 1909 – April 6, 1972) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, and

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 prod ...

. As an actor, he is best remembered for his starring roles in

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s during the 1940s. In the 1950s he became active in directing both for film and television, most notably for the television series ''

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit, Michigan, Detroit's WXYT (AM), WXYZ and is an example of a Northern (genre), Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title ...

''.

Career

Dew was born in

Sumner, Washington Sumner is a city in northern Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,621 at the 2020 census. Nearby cities include Puyallup to the west, Auburn to the north, and Bonney Lake to the east. History Sumner was founde ...

, and began his acting career in the mid-1930s, appearing in small film roles. His first film roles of any substance were as Captain Kendall in '' Military Academy'' (1940) and Henchman French in '' Dude Cowboy'' (1941). His first starring role was as Scott Yager in ''

Red River Robin Hood ''Red River Robin Hood'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander with a screenplay by Bennett Cohen and starring Tim Holt. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. The plot was inspired by Zorro. This was the last Tim Holt We ...

'' (1942). This was followed by two leading roles for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

in the westerns '' Beyond the Last Frontier'' (1943) and '' Raiders of Sunset Pass'' (1943). Afterwards Dew worked for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

for the next decade, appearing mostly in supporting roles. Many of the pictures he made with Universal during the 1940s were with Rod Cameron, such as '' Trigger Trail'' (1944) and '' Renegades of the Rio Grande'' (1945). In the early 1950s, Dew's career transferred more into working as a film and television director, although he still acted in the occasional film and television show up until his retirement in 1969. His last film was ''Pagan Island'' (1961) and his television credits included appearances on ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

'', '' Buffalo Bill, Jr.'', and ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

''. Dew directed such films as ''

The Living Bible The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text. "The Way", an illustrated ...

'' (1952), '' The Living Bible: Last Journey to Jerusalem'' (1952), '' Naked Gun'' (1956), '' The Old Testament Scriptures'' (1958), '' Stump Run'' (1959), and '' Wings of Chance'' (1961). His work as a director is most associated with the television show ''

'', for which he directed 40 episodes. He died in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

in 1972, aged 63, from a brain tumor.

External links

*
Biography of Eddie Dew profile
b-westerns.com. Accessed March 6, 2024. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dew, Eddie 1909 births 1972 deaths American male film actors People from Sumner, Washington 20th-century American male actors Film directors from Washington (state) Deaths from brain cancer in California