HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Constantine Flippen Jr. (J.C. or Jay C.) (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American
character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many 1940s and 1950s pictures, particularly in
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
. Before his motion-picture career he was a leading
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
comedian and master of ceremonies.


Early days

John Constantine Flippen Jr. was born on March 6, 1899 in
Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
, He was later known as J. C., or Jay C. He lost his father, John Constantine Flippen Sr., a bookkeeper, at age 9 and his older sister, Era, a year later. His mother, Emma Pack Flippen, earned income as a dance and theatre instructor. Picking up on his mother's interest, Flippen joined the Al G. Field Minstrels at age 16. He began performing as a standup comedian in burlesque, vaudeville and minstrel shows, which made him a natural in obtaining roles in occasional slapstick and light musical comedy. Flippen established himself as a respected
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
singer and stage actor before his film career. He was discovered by famed
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. While some sources have ...
in 1920, and was Williams's Broadway understudy and tour replacement for the 1920 musical revue ''Broadway Brevities''. He called himself "The Ham What Am", and his occasional blackface roles included those as Williams' replacement. Flippen attained the most coveted booking in vaudeville, headlining at the Palace Theatre in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
six times between March 1926 and February 1931. At one time, he was a radio announcer for
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
games and was one of the first game-show announcers. Between 1924 and 1929, Flippen recorded more than 30 songs for Columbia, Perfect, and Brunswick. In 1928, Flippen proclaimed he would no longer perform in blackface. His first film, the 1928
Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...
short subject ''The Ham What Am'', captures his vaudeville act, but not in blackface: he does a comedy monologue and finishes with a song. His Southern-drawl delivery may well be the same that he had used in blackface. Flippen became popular as a master of ceremonies on vaudeville bills, and emceed movie shorts in the 1930s. Flippen was married to Clara Michelsen Dusinberrie (28 July 1940 - ?) and then divorced. His second wife was Cathlyn Young (24 February 1922 - ?) who he also divorced. His last wife was screenwriter Ruth Brooks Flippen (4 January 1947 - 3 February 1971). They married on 4 January 1947 in Los Angeles, California and stayed together for 25 years. When the Broadway stage revue '' Hellzapoppin'' became a success, its stars Olsen and Johnson decided to send the show on tour while they were playing it in New York. They hired Flippen to emcee the roadshow version, with comedian Happy Felton alongside him as a facsimile of Olsen and Johnson. Flippen's film career started in earnest in 1947. Some of Flippen's most noteworthy film work came in support of
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
in five of the films the two made under the direction of
Anthony Mann Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. He came to prominence as a skilled director of ''Film noirs, film noir'' and Western film, Westerns, and for his Epic film ...
during the 1950s, particularly as a cavalry man in 1950's '' Winchester '73''. He gave notable supporting performances in three
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
films: as a humorous, larcenous Marine air-crew line chief in ''
Flying Leathernecks ''Flying Leathernecks'' is a 1951 American Technicolor action war film directed by Nicholas Ray, produced by Edmund Grainger (who had produced ''Sands of Iwo Jima''), and starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan. The movie details the exploits an ...
'' (1951), as Wayne's commanding general in '' Jet Pilot'' (1957) and as a wheelchair-using senior partner of Wayne's in '' Hellfighters'' (1968). He also made a fourth film that co-starred John Wayne ('' How the West Was Won'', 1962), but played his only scene with
Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...
and
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...
. Flippen played a number of memorable roles in
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
, notably as one of the gang members in
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
's 1956 ensemble thriller '' The Killing''. He appeared on television, including a 1960 guest-starring role as Gabe Jethrow in the episode "Four Came Quietly" on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
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 ...
series '' Johnny Ringo'', starring Don Durant. In 1962, he guest-starred on the ABC drama series ''
Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...
,'' as Mike Carmody in "Verdict of 12" and '' Follow the Sun'' and as Fallon in "The Last of the Big Spenders". He also appeared on ABC's '' The Untouchables'' as Al Morrisey in "You Can't Pick the Number" (1959) and as Big Joe Holvak in "Fall Guy" (1962). In the 1962–63 season, Flippen was cast as
Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...
Homer Nelson on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' Ensign O'Toole'', with Dean Jones in the starring role. He guest-starred on CBS' ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions"Calv ...
'' in its first season, playing Rob Petrie's former mentor Happy Spangler. In 1964, he appeared as a loving father and title character in the episode "Owney Tupper Had A Daughter" and in CBS's ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'' with
James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series ''Gunsmoke''. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in f ...
(S9E27). In 1963, he guest-starred on ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
''. He appeared four times on NBC's '' The Virginian'' in the 1960s; in 1966 he appeared on the ABC comedy Western '' The Rounders''. In 1967 Tom Tryon and he guest-starred in the episode "Charade of Justice" of the NBC Western series '' The Road West''. After a leg
amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...
in 1965, Flippen continued acting, usually using a
wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...
, such as in his comeback role in a 1966 episode of ''The Virginian'' and his 1967 guest appearance in '' Ironside'' (season one, "A Very Cool Hot Car").


Personal life

While filming ''
Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his ...
'' in 1965, he had to have a leg amputated due to a serious infection, originally resulting from a minor scrape with a car door, and likely complicated by diabetes.J.C. Flippen profile
''Encyclopedia of Arkansas'', encyclopediaofarkansas.net; accessed March 26, 2017.


Death

Flippen died February 3, 1971 at age 71, during surgery for an
aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
of an artery.


Selected filmography


Television


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flippen, Jay C. 1899 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American amputees American game show hosts American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Major League Baseball broadcasters Male actors from Little Rock, Arkansas Male actors from Los Angeles Male Western (genre) film actors New York Yankees announcers American vaudeville performers Western (genre) television actors