Jerome Thor (January 5, 1915 — August 12, 1993) was an American actor of the stage and screen. He is best known for his work in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

plays from 1935 through 1946, and on American television during the 1950s. He starred as Robert Cannon in ''

Foreign Intrigue ''Foreign Intrigue'' (also known as ''Foreign Assignment'') is a syndicated espionage drama television series produced in Europe by Sheldon Reynolds. The 30-minute series ran for four seasons from 1951 to 1955, producing 156 episodes. It was ...

''; a role which popularized the

trench coat A trench coat is a variety of coat made of Waterproof fabric, waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the Trench warfare, trenches, hence the nam ...

-wearing detective in public consciousness. His costume is part of the collection at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Early life

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 * ...

, Thor began his career as a stage actor.

Career

Thor made his Broadway debut in 1934 at the

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was ...

in Emmet Lavery's ''The First Legion''. He appeared in numerous Broadway plays through 1946, including

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's '' The Marriage Proposal'',

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's ''Get Away Old Man'',

Joseph Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

and

Jerome Chodorov Jerome Chodorov (August 10, 1911 – September 12, 2004) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He co-wrote the book with Joseph A. Fields for the original Broadway musical '' Wonderful Town'' starring Rosalind Russell. The mu ...

's ''

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a My Sister Eileen (play), play, ...

'',

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize–winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withd ...

's '' Golden Boy'', and Leonid Andreyev's '' He Who Gets Slapped''. Thor transitioned into working as a television actor in the late 1940s and early 1950s with guest roles on several American television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, including ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'' and '' Studio One''. His breakthrough role was as Robert Cannon in the 1950s TV series ''

'' in which he popularized the image of the

-wearing detective. Filmed in Europe, the syndicated mystery program ran from 1951 through 1955. The trench coat he wore for the series is part of the permanent collection of the

. When James Daly replaced him on the program, the producers attributed the change to Thor's wanting more money. Thor said, "I didn't ask for all that money . . . I was tired of doing everything — helping direct, rewriting scripts, even carrying camera equipment." He portrayed the recurring character of Art Delgado in ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'' in the early 1980s. Shore also periodically worked as a film actor, appearing in '' Riot in Juvenile Prison'', ''

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing (then still Peking, in English) during the Boxer Uprising, which took place in China in the summer of 1 ...

'', '' Love and Bullets'', '' St. Ives'', '' House of the Black Death'', and '' 10 to Midnight''.

Personal life

Thor was married to actress Synda Scott until his death. He died of a heart attack in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

, on August 12, 1993, at the age of 78.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Jerome Thor at IBDBJerome Thor at IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thor, Jerome 1915 births 1993 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors