RUSSELL JOHNSON

by Bruce Detman

Over identification with a particular screen character can often spell trouble for an actor, particularly when this identification severely limits their ability to secure other parts not at all resembling the role they have become so closely associated with. Basil Rathbone reportedly came to detest his signature interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. Boris Karloff, on the other hand, was always grateful for the stereotyping of monstrous and horror roles which made him a household name and ensured him a most comfortable livelihood following years of anonymity and struggle. Clayton Moore felt the same way about the Lone Ranger and never played another character on the screen after his mask and silver bullets had been retired, whereas Sean Connery knew when it was time to move on from James Bond and created a whole new acting career in substantial parts of every sort. Fess Parker, who I once interviewed, told me it had taken a long time for him to make peace with the fact that full grown men would constantly approach him only as Davy Crockett but in the end he embraced the character who had made him world famous. Which brings us to Russell Johnson, a solid and dependable character actor who cut his teeth on a wide variety of roles on both the big and small screens -- from comedy to rugged westerns and dramas -- who apparently has also ultimately made peace with the fact that to millions of viewers his theatrical life did not really begin until he was cast as the Professor in the long running TV sit com Gilligan's Island.

Still, there was a time when Johnson was a young and struggling thespian honing his craft and taking just about any part that came his way. So in 1953 he was offered and accepted a role in an episode of The Adventures of Superman called "The Runaway Robot."

Of all the first season shows "Robot" deviated most from the harsh and violent tone of those initial 26 programs. Johnson, appearing a bit young to be a Metropolis mob boss, nonetheless essays the role of Chopper, who oversees two somewhat mentally deficient second bananas (Mousie and Rocco) played by John Harmon and Dan Seymour in the robbing of banks as well as conducting other assorted bits of criminal activity. The mundane aspects of the miscreant behavior are provided with an unexpected boost when they take the controls of an extremely silly-looking robot named Hero created by an even sillier scientist Horatio Hinkle (Lucian Littlefield) to do their nefarious bidding. The gang is about one step up from the Bowery Boys in the cerebellum department and although they unleash the metallic bucket of bolts on both Lois Lane and Superman, Hero ends up looking like the leftover from a low rent garage sale.

It was probably not Russell Johnson's finest or most memorable hour on screen but he played the part as earnestly as one could. But then he was always a dependable presence no matter what he appeared in. He was always a pro.

Russell Johnson was born November 10, 1924 in Ashley, Pennsylvania.

Following the death of his father he was sent to boarding school with his brothers after which he enlisted in the Army Air Corp during World War II and flew forty-four dangerous combat missions as a bombardier in a B-24 Liberator over the Netherlands and East Indies. Attaining the rank of First Lieutenant he was shot down over the Philippines in March of 1945. For his service he would receive the Bronze Star, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory Medal.

After the war he journeyed west and attended acting school on the G.I. Bill. While at the Hollywood Drama School he was spotted by famed actor/director Paul Heinreid (Casablanca) in a production of For Men Only which ultimately led to his entry into film. His earlier roles were often uncredited but he nonetheless began to build a solid and impressive resume with parts in such movies as Rancho Notorious, Lone Shark, The Turning Point, Law and Order, It Came From Outer Space, Last Stand At Apache River, Tumbleweed, Ride Clear of Diablo, Johnny Dark, Rogue Cop, Strange Lady in Town, This Island Earth, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Rock All Night, Space Children, Badman's Country, Saga of Hemp Brown, Invitation to a Gunfighter, The Movie Murder, Three Days of the Condor, Rich Man, Poor Man and MacArthur.

His television work equaled if not surpassed his big screen appearances with roles in City Detective, The Lone Ranger, King's Row, Climax, Crossroads, Celebrity Playhouse, You Are There, Circus Boy, Alfred Hitchcock, Rin Tin Tin, The Silent Service, Jefferson Drum, Steve Canyon, The Californians, Rescue 8, Border Patrol, Lawman, Riverboat, The Twilight Zone, Thriller, Ripcord, The Detectives, Route 66, Ben Casey, Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Law and Mr. Jones, Wide Country, Laramie, Empire, Rawhide, Breaking Point, 77 Sunset Strip, Farmer's Daughter, Outer Limits, The Invaders, The Big Valley, Felony Squad, Death Valley Days, Lassie, San Francisco International, The FBI, Marcus Welby, Gunsmoke, Own Marshal, Mannix, Wonder Woman, Alf, Dynasty, Newhart, Fame, Dallas, Bosom Buddies, Days of Our Lives, Lou Grant and Police Story. In 1964 he was also cast as a regular on the TV western Black Saddle where for two seasons he portrayed Marshall Gib Scott opposite star Peter Breck He was also considered for the lead in the hit medical series Ben Casey but the role instead went to Vince Edwards.

Although he continued to work after his original stint on Gilligan's Island was over, it was impossible to get away from the public's identification with him in that role. He would subsequently also portray the clueless but brilliant professor in two later TV films based on the plight of the stranded castaways -- he is now the only surviving male member of the original cast -- and continued to work up through the late 1990s.

Russell Johnson currently resides in the state of Washington.

Robert Rockwell

By Bruce Detman

Save for one fortuitous career move which made him immediately famous with both radio listeners and TV viewers alike, Robert Rockwell would undoubtedly not be recalled at all save by those fans who make it their business to study old and minor Hollywood productions and players. It was not that Rockwell wasn't an effective actor. It was simply that he never was able to fully find a niche that provided him with satisfactory career exposure. The old studio system was dying a quick death by the time he came along and a lot of actors, good ones too, summarily were lost in the celluloid shuffle. But Rockwell got lucky. The highly successful radio series Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden was losing one of its lead players. Actor Jeff Chandler, later to become a Hollywood leading man in many "A" productions, was departing for greener career pastures and a new face -- or rather new voice -- was required for Connie Brooks' clueless boyfriend Philip Boynton, Madison High's science teacher. Later when the incredibly popular series moved to the small screen the majority of the cast came with it, Rockwell included. The show was a mammoth hit with audiences regularly tuning in partly to see if Mr. Boynton would ever take one of Miss Brooks' less than subtle romantic hints. The series ran from 1952-1956.

For fans of the Adventures of Superman, of course, Rockwell's additional claim to fame also rests with his memorable performance as the Man of Steel's biological father, Jor-El of the doomed world Krypton, in the first season episode Superman On Earth where he tries unsuccessfully to warn the planet's stubborn hierarchy of the impending dangers from an overheating sun. His theories ridiculed and rejected, he has no other recourse but to save his only son, the infant Kal-El who he sends in a rocket to the planet Earth before perishing along with his wife Lara and the entire population of Krypton. The handsome Rockwell makes an impressive Jor-El -- a stratosphere away from his role as the timid and obtuse Boynton -- with his solid and unflinching demeanor. It is not hard to believe that the future Superman is the son of this gallant and heroic figure.

The actor was born in 1921 in Lake Bluff, Illinois. He initially tried for a career in business but instead dropped out of school and enrolled in the famed Pasadena Playhouse. His first break after World War II was a good part in a major production of Cyrano de Bergerac but the show never reached Broadway and it was about then that he opted to give Tinseltown a try. The result was picking up and starting anew in Hollywood where he immediately secured a one year contract with Republic Pictures and was featured in what were admittedly fourteen mostly forgettable films. Some of these early productions included You Gotta Stay Happy (his first screen appearance in 1948), the hysterical anti-communist film Red Menace, Task Force, Alias The Champ, The Blonde Bandit, Unmasked, Singing Guns, Bell of Old Mexico, Destination Big House, Stars Over Hollywood, Just For You, Turning Point and The Frogmen.

While Rockwell never created a large or successful body of big screen work he was later kept very busy in the new medium of television. His extensive credits include The Lone Ranger, Racket Squad, Tales of Wells Fargo, State Trooper, How To Marry A Millionaire, The Gale Storm Show, The Silent Service, The Millionaire, Yancy Derringer, The Roaring Twenties, Checkmate, Surfside Six, Death Valley Days, Maverick, Bus Stop, Bronco, The Lucy Show, Room For One More, Perry Mason (five episodes), Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Bill Cosby Show, Lassie, Eight Is Enough, Lou Grant and The Waltons, Beverly Hills 90210, Dynasty, The Bob Newhart Show, Dallas, Growing Pains, Knots Landing and ER.

Rockwell also had the lead in The Man from Blackhawk, a 1959 western series about a sagebrush lawyer. It only lasted one year.

His final part was in the theatrical crime thriller 1995's Perfect Alibi.

Robert Rockwell was one of the founding members of the California Artist's Radio Theatre Group. He also did some 200 voice-overs for commercials.

In 2001, in what would be one of his last public appearances, the former Jor-El participated in the gala Superman Week festivities held in Los Angeles.

Robert Rockwell died January 25, 2003 in Malibu, California. He was married with five children.

Bruce - March 2012

EXTRA ----

As many readers of the TAC web-site know, July 10, 2001 was a very special day. It was a day the fans honored the making of the 1951 season, the Adventures of Superman. The event took place in the city of Los Angeles at the Kenneth Hahn Hall and later The Cafe Pinot restaurant and those fans who were able to attend walked away with many special friendships. One friendship that was forged that day was between Mr. Rockwell and myself. It started at the restaurant The Cafe Pinot where many of us gathered for lunch. Both Jim Nolt and I sat at the same table with Mr. Rockwell and his lovely daughter Allison. During our time there, Mr. Rockwell graced us with several stories of the old days of film and television. We at the table were indeed awe struck. "I kept thinking to myself, "pinch my arm, I'm conversing with Jor-el. And when Jor-el speaks, one listens. Allison of course was beaming brightly with smiles and appreciated the attention we extended to her father.

Mr. Rockwell entertained us with his stories, and at one point I spoke up to gain everyone's attention asking all for a round of confidence that his portrayal of Jor-el outshined that of the performance by Marlon Brando's in Superman: The Movie. An acknowledgement of this sort I thought should please Mr. Rockwell since a comparison to Marolon Brando is an extraodinary actor by any standard. When the room gave out a rousing applause in approval, well "Rocky," as he prerred to be called, took it in stride and had a wide smile on his face, very much appreciating the moment.

Eventually, Rocky grew a bit tired from the long day. He offered his apologies for needing to leave a great group of people. He thought it was really wonderful that the Adventures of Superman from the 50's was so greatly admired still by so many fans. Before he and Allison departed, Rocky offered his home address to me so I could write to him. I thanked him, marvelled in his trusting of me and told him that I would write and send a nice vintage magazine article I have in my collection of him and his family from 1955. He couldn't wait to get it. As Rocky was leaving the restaurant, everyone was cheering for him and he gave out a cowboy style "Hee-Ya" high kick as he exited and never looked back.

In the next few days after arriving home I wrote to Rocky, and included the article I had promised. A couple of weeks later I received a letter from Rocky, who couldn't thank me enough and wanted my phone number so we could talk. When we spoke he wondered where in the world did I find this magazine. He was so thankful for thinking of him. He ask if I had any questions about the TV/Film industry. So of course I asked him about Eve Arden and Our Miss Brooks. He said she was an absolute gem and a wonderful person. He couldn't say enough about her and enjoyed working with her.

As the months went on we traded a couple of more letters. They were filled with wonderful comments as well as he confiding to me his illness. Like a spokesman for a health commercial, he added that annual visits to the doctor is key to good health and early detection. I wasn't going to ignore Rocky's insight. This was good advise and I wasn't going to heed his words, recalling a certain council from Krypton that didn't fair too well when his warnings were ignored. My last contact with him was a call I made to him to wish him a happy holiday. His daughter answered the phone mentioning he was resting and she didn't want to disturb him. It was not long after that, he passed away. I'm sure he entered Heaven with that high kick "Hee-ya" he did so well. What I liked most about Mr. Rockwell was that he was a devoted family man and a gentlemen.

Thanks for reading, Lou

Lou Krugman

The versatile Lou Krugman would show up in both films and early TV cast in a wide variety of parts and you would never for an instant question his participation or authenticity. For a time he found himself pigeon-holed as a character from the Middle East and he appeared often as potentates, sheiks, Maharajas, not always of the likable variety. Later, as he matured, he moved into less exotic parts and was showcased in all manner of dramas and comedies.

He made two appearances on the Adventures of Superman, both in the show's premiere season. In the first, The Human Bomb, he plays Conway, a member of the of the Metropolis Social Club, whose conversation with the notorious gambler "Bet A Million" Butler (Trevor Bardette) provides the lynch pin for the action to follow. The scene between Bardette and Krugman, where they discuss Superman and the possibility of circumventing his influence on crime in Metropolis, is one of the odder moments in the show's long-running history with its slightly veiled references to Butler's perverse perspective and willingness to do anything for a wager. Krugman only appears in this first scene but makes a strong and lasting impression.

Next he was featured as the main villain in Ghost Wolf where he portrays Jacque Olivier, a devious French-Canadian trapper with a plan to swindle Jane Adams (as Babette) out of her timber holdings. Not the most subtle of his characterizations, Krugman, chewing the scenery with great gusto, seems to be in a contest with Adams as to who can create the more over-the-top French accent. Still, he gives the part great energy and is fun to watch.

But then he always was.

Not a great deal is known about Krugman's early years.

He was born in 1914 in Passaic, New Jersey. Somewhere along the line he became interested in radio drama and worked for a while at local station WODA. He later moved to New York where he spent a few years working on the stage, his theatrical debut being in the play Yoshe Kalb in 1933.

With his distinct voice and ability to create a myriad of characters he returned to radio in 1941 where he became a staple on many shows of the period. It is estimated that Lou Krugman appeared in over 10,000 radio dramas and some 700 commercial voiceovers. Just a few of his on-air appearances would include I Love Adventure, The Sears Radio Theatre, Those Websters, The Romance of Helen Trent and The Buster Brown Show. When he pulled up stakes and relocated to the Pacific Coast his radio work continued with numerous guest roles particularly on Gunsmoke and Escape where he became a semi-regular.

It was this relocation that also got him started in motion pictures. Many of his early roles were uncredited but he soon built up a reputation as a dependable and versatile performer in front of the camera, his somewhat exotic appearance leading to a great variety of colorful parts. He made his film debut in the Dana Andrews-Gene Tierney crime film Where the Sidewalk Ends in 1950 which was followed by To the Ends of the Earth, Kim, The Glass Wall, Jump Into Hell, The Purple Gang, The Rains of Ranchipur and The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima.

Having begun his film work just about the time that television exploded on the scene he soon found himself imbedded in work on the small screen. His TV credits are immense and include, amongst others, The Abbott and Costello Show, The Lone Wolf, Inner Sanctum, The Mickey Rooney Show, You Are There, The Schlitz Playhouse, The Lone Ranger, Andy's Gang, The Crusader, I Love Lucy, The Zane Gray Theatre, The Gale Storm Show, The Restless Gun, Rin Tin Tin, Rescue 8, The Lawless Years, M-Squad, The Thin Man, Tightrope, Wyatt Earp, Peter Gun, Mr. Lucky, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Bourbon Street Beat, Bonanza, Two Faces West, The Asphalt Jungle, Cain's Hundred, Maverick, Whispering Smith, Ben Casey, Ensign O'Toole, The Eleventh Hour, Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, Hazel, Perry Mason, Burke's Law, The Rogues, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Loner, The Lucy Show, Mr. Ed, My Three Sons, F Troup, Hogan's Heroes, The Outsider, Family Affair, Love American Style, I Spy and The Most Deadly Game.

The actor was also a talented and gifted painter whose works were exhibited in many galleries.

He passed away August 8, 1992 in Burbank, California at the age of 78.

Bruce - November 2011

Trevor Bardette

The first season of TV's the Adventures of Superman is recognized as distinctly different in tone, structure, plotlines and execution from the seasons that would follow. The emphasis in these 26 episodes was a more adult -- not to mention violent -- approach to the stories which were dominated by excessive crime and mayhem. In addition to the plots and action there was also a vast difference in the harsher and more threatening manner in which the Man of Steel's numerous enemies were depicted. These were quite often vicious and dangerous individuals, brutal messengers of destruction, physical and otherwise. They were malcontents who beat women, ran over people, murdered, kidnapped, plundered, even abused a small crippled child, all far removed from the show's later crop of criminals who, with a few exceptions, were rather incompetent screw-ups and even buffoons who it was difficult, even as kids, to take seriously. The first season gave us the likes of the murderous crime boss Lou Cranek (The Mind Machine), criminal mastermind Walter Canby (Crime Wave), bottom feeder blackmailer and all-around thug Greer (Mystery of the Chinese Jade). It also provided us with one of the show's quirkier first year villains, "Bet A Million" Butler who, while not practicing violent methods in the conventional sense, still managed to come up with a plan to both confound Superman while at the same time seriously endangering the life of Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates). Butler in this episode is portrayed by Trevor Bardette, a seasoned veteran of hundreds of movies and television shows, who imbues the character with an effective and highly entertaining combination of quirky arrogance and lethal intentions. He strikes just the right balance in this and makes Butler a fascinating figure to watch.

The actor would also show up most effectively in the third season's Great Caesar's Ghost portraying the phony spirit of the Roman emperor who is in league with some underworld figures trying to drive Perry White crazy. Bardette shares some lively and entertaining scenes here with John Hamilton.

Bardette was born on November 19, 1902 in Nashville, Arkansas. His ancestral roots were mainly Irish and French with a bit of American Cherokee thrown into the mix. As a youth he did a bit of gold mining in Mexico but this didn't pan out (no pun intended) and he wound up at Northwestern University with the intention of becoming a mechanical engineer. Despite earning his masters in this field he was somewhere along the line bitten by the acting bug which led to stock company work in New York and the popular musical Flossie. This in turn led him to New York in 1936 where he began to mount impressive credentials.

His film roles were numerous. His aquiline features and dark eyes made him a natural for villainous parts but he also had his share of solid character roles, many of a quirky or offbeat nature. He was seen in big prestigious productions and scads of B's. He was all over the map career-wise but he was always dependable and interesting to watch. Only a partial cinematic resume would include Borderland (his first film assignment in 1937), White Bondage, In Old Mexico (a Hopalong Cassidy western), The Great Garrick, Marie Antoinette, The Oklahoma Kid, Charlie Chan At Treasure Island, Gone With The Wind, Abe Lincoln In Illinois, The Grapes of Wrath, Virginia City, Dark Command, Torrid Zone, Island of Doomed Men, Three Faces West, The Westerner, Topper Returns, International Lady, Wild Bill Hickok Rides, The Moon Is Down, The Deerslayer, Dick Tracy, The Whistler, The Hoodlum Saint, The Beginning Or the End, The Big Sleep, Dragonwyck, Silver River, The Loves of Carmen, Hills of Home, Hellfire, Gun Crazy, Tarzan and the Slave Girl, Broken Arrow, Union Station, Flight to Mars, Macao, The San Francisco Story, Man From the Alamo (as Davy Crockett), Johnny Guitar, Rawhide Years, The Monolith Monsters, Thunder Road, Papa's Delicate Condition and his final film appearance MacKenna's Gold in 1969.

His credits also included a number of serials including Overland With Kit Carson, Winners of the West, Jungle Girl (a dual role) and The Secret Code.

TV work was just as extensive and varied. Few shows of the era escaped his participation. A small sampling of his work would include guest appearances on Lux Video Theatre, The Loretta Young Show, My Friend Flicka, Navy Log, Frontier (as Sam Houston), The Lone Ranger, Sheriff of Cochise, The Zane Gray Theatre, Panic, Broken Arrow, Tombstone Territory, The Rough Riders, Man Without a Gun, Trackdown, State Trooper, Restless Gun, Lineup, The Texan, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Rebel, Maverick, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, Have Gun Will Travel, Bronco, Laramie, Death Valley Days, Perry Mason, Cheyenne, Wagon Train, Andy Griffith, Run for Your Life, Flipper, Gomer Pyle and Gunsmoke, his final TV appearance. He was also featured semi regularly on both Lassie and on Wyatt Earp where he was featured as "Old Man" Clanton.

Although having retired to Green Valley, AZ, Trevor Bardette died in Los Angeles November 28, 1977.

He will always be remembered with fondness and admiration as one of the great body of featured players and character actors from Hollywood and TV's "Golden Ages" whose presence elevated and made richer so many memorable productions.

Bruce - September 2011

Dale Van Sickel

If the old adage indeed be true that behind every good man there is a good woman, it might also be said with equal conviction and accuracy that behind every great film hero there is a great stuntman. Nowhere in the annals of cinema has this saying been more on the mark than in movie serials, a genre where not only was action the foremost ingredient but where, more often than not, the titular star shared equal, if not less, time on the silver screen than his athletic stand-in.

Among the best in the business was Dale Van Sickel who had a long and incredibly active career performing every sort of imaginable stunt on both the big screen and on television. Van Sickle is perhaps best known for the work he did at Republic Studios, the home of what were arguably the very finest serials ever produced. He doubled heroes like Captain America as well as hundreds of villains. He also acted in many of these serials-- usually in small parts -- and at various times in his career stood in for such screen notables as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor and Dana Andrews.

In the beginning, however, it was acting alone that brought him to Hollywood from Eatonville, Georgia where he was born November 29, 1907.

Always athletic, Dale was later an All-American football star at the University of Florida and would subsequently serve as a coach for the team from 1930 to 1932. In 1975 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In 1933 he came to Hollywood where he first went before the cameras appearing in a Hollywood on Parade short. Following this he worked steadily as actor, stuntman and even occasional dancer, eventually having over 200 films on his celluloid resume although the vast majority of his roles were uncredited. Some of his early pictures include Duck Soup, Navy Wife, After Office Hours, Dodsworth, Charlie Chan at the Olympics, Kid Galahad, Thank You, Mr. Moto, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, Second Fiddle, The Return of Frank James, Gone With the Wind, The Falcon Takes Over, Cobra Woman, Bells of Rosarita, The Farmer's Daughter, His Kind of Woman and Jim Thorpe, All-American. In the Universal skit-like comedy Hellzappopin, starring the team of Olsen and Johnson, he appeared in the Frankenstein Monster makeup during a short scene.

Early on he became involved in the making of serials. His immeasurable contributions to these can be found at all the cliffhanger-making studios such as Columbia and Universal but it was at Republic that he finally found a real home in 1945. He made scores of these, acting in some (at times actually portraying more than one character over the course of the multi-chaptered stories) but mostly contributing his considerable talents as a stuntman doubling hero and bad guy alike. His list of serials include King of the Royal Mounted, The Spider Returns, Holt of the Secret Service, Don Winslow of the Navy, The Masked Marvel, G-Men Versus the Black Dragon, Tiger Woman, Zorro's Black Whip, Haunted Harbor, Manhunt on Mystery Island, Federal Operator 99 and the aforementioned Captain America.

TV would eventually also beckon and he worked nearly non-stop as well. Video credits include Sky King, Stories of the Century, Rocky Jones, Public Defender, Soldiers of Fortune, Highway Patrol, Whirlybirds, Sheriff of Cochise, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, Wagon Train, Harbor Patrol, Trackdown and The Zane Grey Theatre.

On TAOS his contributions were not large, at least not in the acting department. He appeared as the surly foreman who bounced Dabbs Greer off the walls of the line shack in the second season's lead-off episode Five Minutes to Doom before taking a lethal bullet. In Money to Burn he was the obnoxious and wisecracking member of a team of arsonists and thieves.

His participation went beyond these meager acting assignments, however, as his role in the series also included, not surprisingly, a great deal of uncredited stunt work, particularly during the first couple of seasons. His stunt-doubling assignments were varied but on several he stood in for George Reeves in the Superman duds, particularly being noticeable in the climactic fight scene from The Mind Machine. He also performed stunt work in The Haunted Lighthouse, Night of Terror, No Holds Barred and Riddle of the Chinese Jade.

Dale Van Sickel, one of the founding members of the Stuntman's Association of Motion Pictures, died January 25, 1977 in Newport Beach. He left behind a tremendous legacy of film work both as an actor and as one of Hollywood's premiere and most admired stuntmen.

Bruce - July 9, 2011

Elisha Cook Jr.

By Bruce Dettman

The ironic thing about Elisha Cook's one performance on the Adventures of Superman as Homer Garrity, the mild-mannered shamus in the second season's Semi Private Eye episode, is that it might just rank as one of the screen's best known and quirkiest character actor's blandest roles. Various featured performers who rarely got a chance to strut their thespian stuff on other TV shows were able to tackle juicier parts on TAOS, over-the-top villains and such, but Cook, who carved out a long Hollywood career impersonating misfits, psychos, killers and oddballs wound up with Garrity, a good part but not a very showy one. Still, he's likable and earnest and has excellent chemistry with Jack Larson's Jimmy Olsen in the several scenes they share together. Nonetheless, I can't help thinking that Whitney Elsworth and the Superman TV team missed a real opportunity in not coming up with a more colorful part for one of filmdom's most famous eccentric players.

Elisha Cook Jr. was born December 26, 1903 in San Francisco. The son of a pharmacist, he spent most of his formative years in Chicago. By the tender age of fourteen he was already involved in theatrics and had done a turn on the vaudeville circuit. He also began acting in legitimate theatre in such productions as The Kingdom of God and Booth Tarkington's Seventeen. His first real break came when noted playwright Eugene O'Neill personally cast him in the two year run of his celebrated play Ah, Wilderness for which he received excellent reviews. Not long after this he made his first screen appearance in the film version of the stage production Her Unborn Child made in 1930 which he had earlier starred in on Broadway.

It was not until 1936, however, when the diminutive actor (5 foot 5 inches) made the pilgrimage to Hollywood to actually stake out a movie career. Initially he was cast only in juvenile roles, many of them uncredited, but he kept working gaining both in experience and maturity until better and more interesting parts began to come his way.

Some of his most memorable roles were as the psychotic "gunsel" Wilmer Cook in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, mad dog murderer Lawrence Tierney's sycophantic partner in crime in Born to Kill, the doomed stoolie in The Big Sleep (again with Bogart), the drunken drum soloist in Phantom Lady and the victim of gunman Jack Palance in the classic western Shane.

Other cinematic roles can be found in Stranger on the Third Floor, Sergeant York, A-Haunting We Will Go (with Laurel and Hardy), The Long Night, The Great Gatsby, Don't Bother to Knock, I, The Jury, The Killing, Baby Face Nelson, House on Haunted Hill, One-Eyed Jacks, Rosemary's Baby, The Night Stalker, Blacula, Emperor of the North, The Phantom of Hollywood, Hammett and Messiah of Evil. In addition, he was called upon to reprise the role of Wilmer Cook in the film The Black Bird.

His TV credits were also extensive. His face was rarely absent from the small screen with appearances in The Jackie Gleason Show, The Lone Wolf, Wild Bill Hickok, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Crusader, Climax, Whirleybirds, Wyatt Earp, Panic, Trackdown, The Third Man, Bat Masterson, Tombstone Territory, Peter Gunn, Tightrope, The Rebel, Thriller, The Real McCoys, The Islanders, 77 Sunset Strip, The Untouchables, The Dick Powell Theatre, The Fugitive, Destry, Wagon Train, Rawhide, The Wild Wild West, Perry Mason, The Man From Uncle, Star Trek, Batman, Bonanza, Baretta, The A Team and The Fall Guy. He also appeared on a semi-regular basis on the series Magnum P.I. in the colorful role of Francis 'Ice Pick' Hofstetler.

The twice married actor spent much of his later years in Bishop, California. He loved the Sierras where fishing was one of his great joys. It has been reported that whenever his talents were needed for a specific role, a studio courier would search him out in his beloved mountains, relay the message and the actor would then take a break from his angling and the lure of the great outdoors for another Hollywood effort.

Elisha Cook Jr., one of the screen's most memorable character actors, died May 18, 1995 in Big Pine, California.

Bruce - April 5, 2011

Peter Whitney

By Bruce Dettman

Of all the villains who appeared on the Adventures of Superman over the years the only one who even approached giving me the willies the way the mad magician Brockhurst (Leonard Mudie) did in season two's A Ghost For Scotland Yard was that same year's Peter Whitney as the demented Captain MacBain in The Golden Vulture. I think what bothered me most about the latter -- as opposed to Brockhurst who was obviously batty from the git-go -- was the way Whitney's scenery-chewing pirate changed nearly in a second's time from congenial nautical host showing Lois and Jimmy around the Vulture to seriously unhinged, psychotic and very dangerous foe. As a kid I was more accustomed to my villains wearing black from the moment they stepped before the camera not one who would lull me into false security as to his motives and then in a near instant transform into a frightening and threatening figure. But Whitney, with his burly physique, bushy eyebrows and madman's stare, pulled it off very nicely. It was a wonderful over-the-top performance by an actor who rarely dabbled in subtlety during his long career in film and television.

The future pirate was born Peter King Engle in Long Branch, New Jersey, May 24, 1916 of German ancestry.

Educated at the Exeter Academy he took a keen interest in theatrical productions.

He would later attend the famous Pasadena Playhouse as well as doing a great deal of summer stock. Feeling, given the era and the anti- German political sentiments of the time, that his last name was too Teutonic sounding he opted to take his first wife's middle name of Whitney.

Moving to films he landed a contract with Warner Brothers where he worked between the years 1941-1945. A good many of his early parts were uncredited, sometimes merely walk-ons, but he slowly amassed an impressive resume with appearances in such productions as Underground, Nine Lives Are Enough, Blues In The Night, Action in the North Atlantic, Mr. Skeffington, Three Strangers, The Notorious Lone Wolf and Blonde Alibi. A particular standout film for the young actor was the comedy Murder, He Says where he essayed the dual roles of hillbilly twins. It was arguably this part -- in addition to his putting on weight to his already impressive frame -- that regularly led his being cast as lumbering, villainous types, often of the hayseed or backwoods variety.

He continued to build on his screen credits with parts in The Great Sioux Uprising, The Iron Curtian, All the Brothers Were Valiant, Man from Del Rio, Buchanan Rides Alone, Destination Tokyo, The Gangster, Gorilla At Large, The Sea Chase, The Cruel Tower, Reunion In France, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and In The Heat of the Night.

His TV work was equally prodigious with dozens and dozens of small screen roles, of just about every variety, on such series as Public Defender, The Lone Ranger, Navy Log, My Friend Flicka, The Sheriff of Cochise, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Climax, Tombstone Territory, The Texan, Northwest Passage, Riverboat, Johnny Ringo, Fury, Peter Gun, Mr. Lucky, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Maverick, The Rebel, Wells Fargo, Lawman, Cheyenne, The Untouchables, Bonanza, and Laramie. He holds the record for the most guest appearances (nine) on the popular Rifleman series and was also a regular component of the 1958-1959 show The Rough Riders where he played Sgt. Buck Sinclair one of three soldiers of fortune roaming the west after the Civil War. His last part was on Night Gallery in 1972 the year of his death.

He died in Santa Barbara near the sea. A fitting spot for a man who a three-year old boy once viewed as the scariest pirate to ever sail the seas.

Peter Whitney as Captain McBain prepares Clark Kent to meet Davey Jones' Locker

Bruce - February 07, 2011

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