Raymond Earl Middleton (February 8, 1907 – April 10, 1984) was an American singer and stage, TV and movie actor.

Early years

Middleton was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

Career

Soon after he graduated from college, Middleton sang with the Detroit Civic Opera Company, after which he sang with the St. Louis Opera Company and the

Chicago Civic Opera The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...

. He declined to join the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Company, preferring a career in film. In 1933, Middleton appeared in the Broadway play ''

Roberta ''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It features the songs " Yesterdays", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Let ...

''. Later in 1938, he appeared in the musical ''

Knickerbocker Holiday ''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); based loosely on Washington Irving's '' Knickerbocker's History of New York'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New ...

''. During the early 1940s, he appeared in the movies '' Gangs of Chicago'', the original '' Hurricane Smith'' (playing the title role), and ''

Lady for a Night ''Lady for a Night'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Joan Blondell and John Wayne. The World War II B-17 bomber the ''Memphis Belle'' is named after a steamboat in this film. It is also known as ''The Lady from New Orleans'', ''Memphi ...

'', which starred

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

and John Wayne. He served in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, appearing in the Air Forces show ''

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the ...

''. Superman was featured at the World of Tomorrow exhibit as the "Man of Tomorrow", where Middleton donned the costume and served as the first actor to portray Superman in public. "Superman Day" occurred on July 3, 1940 at the New York World's Fair. In 1946, he co-starred with

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

in the

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 Stree ...

production of '' Annie Get Your Gun''. In 1948, he starred in ''Love Life'' with

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

. In 1950, he co-starred with Mary Martin in ''South Pacific'', succeeding

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

. In 1965, he played the innkeeper in ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cerva ...

''. In television, Middleton's appearances included ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' (once as a guest host), the ''

Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'', and ''Chrysler's Shower of Stars'' in the 1950s. He co-starred with

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

and

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

in a 1967 TV adaptation of '' Damn Yankees!''. During the 1970s, Middleton appeared in the TV movie ''

Hec Ramsey ''Hec Ramsey'' is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1972 to 1974, starring Richard Boone. The series was created by Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited in association with Universal's television productions. The ...

'' as a judge, in the musical movie '' 1776'', as Colonel Thomas McKean, and in the first TV adaptation of '' Helter Skelter'' as ranch-owner

George Spahn George Christian Spahn (February 11, 1889 – September 22, 1974) was an American rancher who once owned the Spahn Ranch near Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Spahn rented the ranch to the movie industry to film Westerns, and later allowed Charles M ...

. He also voiced the character Pepperino in the cartoon ''

Tubby the Tuba Tubby is a nickname and surname and may refer to: People Nickname * Tubby Clayton (1885–1972), Anglican clergyman, founder of the Christian movement Toc H * Michael Lindsay Coulton Crawford (1917–2017), Second World War Royal Navy officer an ...

''. Middleton's last appearances were as Cardinal Reardon in an episode of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker (auth ...

'' (" Blood Brothers", featuring

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

), and as grandfather Huey Rush in the comedy ''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' w ...

''. Middleton died in

Panorama City, California Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born ...

at the age of 77.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Ray American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago 1907 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Actors from Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II