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

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

, 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 pro ...

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

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

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 i ...

films 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's WXYZ and is an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title changed from ''Challenge of the Yukon'' to '' ...

''.

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 A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

'' (1940) and Henchman French in ''

Dude Cowboy ''Dude Cowboy'' is a 1941 American western film. David Howard directed the film (his final one) and Morton Grant wrote the screenplay. The film stars Tim Holt as Terry McVey, Eddie Kane as Gordon West, Marjorie Reynolds as Barbara Adams (alias ...

'' (1941). His first starring role was as Scott Yager in '' Red River Robin Hood'' (1942). This was followed by two leading roles for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

in the westerns ''

Beyond the Last Frontier ''Beyond the Last Frontier'' is a 1943 American Western film about an undercover Texas Ranger, John Paul Revere, within Big Bill Hadley's gang of crooks. Howard Bretherton directed the film and John K. Butler and Morton Grant wrote the screenp ...

'' (1943) and '' Raiders of Sunset Pass'' (1943). Afterwards Dew worked for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

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 ''Renegades of the Rio Grande'' is a 1945 American Western film about a crooked financier and a corrupt sheriff that conspire to steal land from ranchers in Oklahoma Territory for the purposes of a railroad right-of-way. A young lawyer, Clint F ...

'' (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 Pagan is a volcanic island in the Marianas archipelago in the northwest Pacific Ocean, under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It lies midway between Alamagan to the south, and Agrihan to the north. The isla ...

'' (1961) and his television credits include appearances on ''

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

'', ''

Buffalo Bill, Jr. ''Buffalo Bill, Jr.'' is a half-hour western series that aired in syndication starting in March 1955. The last new episode was broadcast in September 1956. The series was produced by Gene Autry's Flying A Productions, and distributed by CBS Tele ...

'', and '' Hawaii Five-O''. Dews directed six films during his career: ''

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. Origin In a 1979 interview ...

'' (1952), '' The Living Bible: Last Journey to Jerusalem'' (1952), ''

Naked Gun Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

'' (1956), '' The Old Testament Scriptures'' (1958), '' Stump Run'' (1959), and '' Wings of Chance'' (1961). His work as a director, however, 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 has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...

, in 1972.

External links

*
Biography of Eddie Dew at b-westerns.com
{{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)