Roddy McDowall appeared on the series as Edward St John V, a former head programmer at Project Quantum Leap who appears in the episode, "A Leap For Lisa". Roddy, a former child actor and veteran actor of six decades, was also a gifted photographer as well. As an actor, Roddy was perhaps best known for his roles in the Planet of the Apes film series, How Green Was My Valley, My Friend Flicka and Lassie Come Home.
Life and career[]
Born in London to Thomas Andrew McDowall (1896-1978) and his wife Winsfriede L. Corcoran (1899-1965), Roddy McDowall had already been in several British films when his family moved to the United States "at the end of 1940" (Roddy McDowall interview on YouTube), to escape the war.[1] His big break came when he was cast in 1941's How Green Was My Valley[2], an emotional drama directed by John Ford. McDowall was the cast in 1943's My Friend Flicka.[3] He then appeared with the the then-unknown child actor Elizabeth Taylor in 1943's Lassie Come Home. (Watch the original trailer here on Youtube.) It is during this time that he and Taylor became close lifelong friends.
Roddy was cast again with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944's The White Cliffs of Dover.[4] Roddy lived in the Los Angeles-area with his parents, graduating from University High School in Santa Monica. Roddy had some good films while a child, but as he became older, his career dived into the B-movies where it stalled. He was only appearing in truly awful schlock. It was time for a change.
Death[]
Roddy died on March 22, 1999, at his home in the Studio City district of Los Angeles of lung cancer. "It was very peaceful," said Dennis Osborne, a screenwriter friend who had cared for the actor in his final months. "It was just as he wanted it. It was exactly the way he planned." Though he was cremated through the Neptune Society Columbarium, his ashes were not distributed in the Pacific Ocean as had been widely reported at the time.
Legacy/posthumous works[]
Roddy became an accomplished photographers and published several books of his photographs of famous people. Roddy McDowall died of lung cancer at his home in Studio City, California. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.
Roddy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6632 Hollywood Blvd, and there is an honorary rose garden "at the Woodland Hills grounds of the Motion Picture & Television Fund" (xmoppet.org) with a statue of him in-costume as Caesar from the Planet of the Apes. His sister Virginia, slightly older than he, survived him, but died Dec 2006.
Filmography[]
Film[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1938 | Murder in the Family | Peter Osborne | |
1938 | John Halifax | Boy | |
1939 | Poison Pen | Choir Boy | Uncredited |
1940 | His Brother's Keeper | Boy | |
1940 | Dead Man's Shoes | Boy | |
1940 | Just William | Ginger | |
1940 | Saloon Bar | Boy | |
1941 | You Will Remember | Young Bob Slater | |
1941 | Man Hunt | Vaner | |
1941 | This England | Hugo | |
1941 | How Green Was My Valley | Huw Morgan | |
1941 | Confirm or Deny | Albert Perkins | |
1942 | Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake | Young Benjamin Blake | |
1942 | On the Sunny Side | Hugh Aylesworth | |
1942 | The Pied Piper | Ronnie Cavanaugh | |
1943 | My Friend Flicka | Ken McLaughlin | |
1943 | Lassie Come Home | Joe Carraclough | |
1944 | The White Cliffs of Dover | Young John Ashwood | |
1944 | The Keys of the Kingdom | Young Francis Chisholm | |
1945 | Thunderhead | Ken McLaughlin | |
1945 | Molly and Me | Jimmy Graham | |
1946 | Holiday in Mexico | Stanley Owen | |
1948 | Rocky | Chris Hammond | |
1948 | Macbeth | Malcolm | |
1948 | Kidnapped | David Balfour | |
1949 | Tuna Clipper | Alec MacLennan | |
1949 | Black Midnight | Scott Jordan | |
1950 | Big Timber | Jimmy | |
1950 | Killer Shark | Ted | |
1952 | The Steel Fist | Eric Kardin | |
1958 | The Big Country | Hannassey Watchman | Uncredited |
1960 | The Subterraneans | Yuri Gilgoric | |
1960 | Midnight Lace | Malcolm Stanley | |
1962 | The Longest Day | Pvt. Morris | |
1963 | Cleopatra | Octavian | |
1964 | Shock Treatment | Martin Ashley | |
1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Matthew | |
1965 | That Darn Cat! | Gregory Benson | |
1965 | The Third Day | Oliver Parsons | |
1965 | The Loved One | D.J. Jr. | |
1965 | Inside Daisy Clover | Walter Baines | |
1966 | Lord Love a Duck | Alan Musgrave | |
1966 | The Defector | Agent Adams | |
1967 | The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin | Bullwhip Griffin | |
1967 | The Cool Ones | Tony Krum | |
1967 | It! | Arthur Pimm | |
1968 | Planet of the Apes | Cornelius | |
1968 | 5 Card Stud | Nick Evers | |
1969 | Midas Run | Wister | |
1969 | Hello Down There | Nate Ashbury | |
1969 | Angel | Santoro | |
1971 | Pretty Maids All in a Row | Proffer | |
1971 | Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Cornelius | |
1971 | Terror in the Sky | Ralph Baird | |
1971 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Rowan Jelk | |
1972 | Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | Caesar | |
1972 | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Frank Gass | |
1972 | The Poseidon Adventure | Acres | |
1973 | Arnold | Robert | |
1973 | The Legend of Hell House | Benjamin Franklin Fischer | |
1973 | Battle for the Planet of the Apes | Caesar | |
1974 | Dirty Mary Crazy Larry | Grocery Store Manager | |
1975 | Funny Lady | Bobby | |
1976 | Mean Johnny Barrows | Tony Da Vince | |
1976 | Embryo | Frank Riley | |
1977 | Sixth and Main | Skateboard | |
1978 | Laserblast | Dr. Mellon | |
1978 | The Cat from Outer Space | Mr. Stallwood | |
1978 | Circle of Iron | White Robe | |
1978 | The Thief of Baghdad | Hasan | |
1979 | Scavenger Hunt | Jenkins | |
1979 | Nutcracker Fantasy | Franz/Fritz | [5] |
1979 | The Black Hole | V.I.N.CENT. | Voice |
1981 | Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen | Gillespie | |
1982 | Evil Under the Sun | Rex Brewster | |
1982 | Class of 1984 | Terry Corrigan | |
1985 | Fright Night | Peter Vincent | |
1986 | GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords | Nuggit | Voice |
1987 | Dead of Winter | Mr. Murray | |
1987 | Overboard | Andrew | |
1988 | Doin' Time on Planet Earth | Minister | |
1988 | Fright Night Part 2 | Peter Vincent | |
1989 | The Big Picture | Judge | |
1989 | Cutting Class | Mr. Dante | |
1990 | Shakma | Sorenson | |
1991 | Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas | Narrator | Voice |
1991 | Going Under | Secretary Neighbor | |
1992 | Double Trouble | Philip Chamberlain | |
1993 | The Evil Inside Me | Pauly | |
1994 | Mirror | Dr. Lasky | |
1995 | The Grass Harp | Amos Legrand | |
1995 | The Alien Within | Dr. Henry Lazarus | |
1995 | Last Summer in the Hamptons | Thomas | |
1995 | Star Hunter | Riecher | |
1996 | It's My Party | Damian Knowles | |
1997 | The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo | King Murphy | |
1998 | Something to Believe In | Gambler | |
1998 | A Bug's Life | Mr. Soil | Voice[5] |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951 | Family Theatre | Private Huntington (The Professor) | Episode: "Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration" |
1960 | The Twilight Zone | Sam Conrad | Episode: "People Are Alike All Over" |
1960 | The Tempest | Ariel | Television film |
1961 | Naked City | Donnie Benton | Episode: "The Fault in Our Stars" |
1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | George, Gerald Musgrove | 2 episodes |
1964 | Combat! | Murfree | Episode: "The Long Walk" |
1964 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Robert "Professor" Benson | Episode: "The Wine-Dark Sea" |
1965 | Ben Casey | Dwight Franklin | Episode: "When I am grown to Man's Estate" |
1966 | 12 O'Clock High | Technical Sergeant Willets | Episode: "Angel Babe" |
1966 | Batman | Bookworm | 2 episodes |
1966 | Run for Your Life | Gyula Bognar | Episode: "Don't Count on Tomorrow" |
1967 | The Cricket on the Hearth | Cricket Crocket | Voice, television film[5] |
1967 | The Invaders | Lloyd Lindstrom | Episode: "The Experiment" |
1968 | The Legend of Robin Hood | Prince John | Episode dated 18 February 1968 |
1969 | Journey to the Unknown | Rollo Verdew | Episode: "The Killing Bottle" |
1969 | It Takes a Thief | Roger | Episode: "Boom at the Top" |
1969 | Night Gallery | Jeremy Evans | Segment: "The Cemetery" |
1969 | The Name of the Game | Philip Saxon | Episode: "The White Birch" |
1970 | The Name of the Game | Early McCorley | Episode: "Why I Blew Up Dakota" |
1971 | Terror in the Sky | Dr. Ralph Baird | Television film |
1971 | A Taste of Evil | Dr. Michael Lomas | Television film |
1971 | What's a Nice Girl Like You...? | Albert Soames | Television film |
1972 | Columbo | Roger Stanford | Episode: "Short Fuse" |
1972 | The Rookies: Dirge for Sunday | Fenner | Episode: "Dirge for Sunday" |
1972 | Mission: Impossible | Leo Ostro | Episode: "The Puppet" |
1973–1974 | The Carol Burnett Show | Himself – Guest | |
1973 | Barnaby Jones | Stanley Lambert | Episode: "See Some Evil... Do Some Evil" |
1973 | Miracle on 34th Street | Dr. Sawyer | 1973 remake, television film |
1973 | McMillan & Wife | Jamie McMillan | Episode: "Death of a Monster... Birth of a Legend" |
1974 | Planet of the Apes | Galen | 14 episodes |
1974 | The Elevator | Marvin Ellis | Television film |
1976 | Ellery Queen | The Amazing Armitage | Episode: "The Adventure of the Black Falcon" |
1976 | Flood! | Mr. Franklin | Television film |
1976 | Mowgli's Brothers | Narrator, Mowgli, Shere Khan, Baloo, Bagheera, Tabaqui | Voice, television short |
1977 | The Feather and Father Gang | Vincent Stoddard | Episode: "The Mayan Connection" |
1977 | The Rhinemann Exchange | Bobby Ballard | 3 episodes |
1977 | The Fantastic Journey | Dr. Jonathan Willoway | 8 episodes |
1977 | Wonder Woman | Henry Roberts, Professor Arthur Chapman | 2 episodes |
1978 | The Immigrants | Mark Levy | Television film |
1978 | The Thief of Baghdad | Hasan | Television film |
1979 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Governor Saroyan | Episode: "Planet of the Slave Girls" |
1979 | $weepstake$ | Theodore | Episode: "Billy, Wally and Ludmilla, and Theodore" |
1979 | Supertrain | Talcott | Episode: "The Green Lady" |
1979 | Fantasy Island | Gary Pointer | 1 episode |
1979 | Hart to Hart | Dr. Peterson | Episode: "Hart to Hart" |
1979 | The Love Boat | Fred Beery | Episode: "Second Chance/Don't Push Me/Like Father, Like Son" |
1979 | Mork & Mindy | Chuck the Robot | Voice, episode: "Dr. Morkenstein" |
1980 | The Martian Chronicles | Father Stone | 3 episodes |
1980 | The Memory of Eva Ryker | MacFarland | Television film |
1980 | The Return of the King | Samwise Gamgee | Voice, television film |
1980–1981 | Fantasy Island | Mephistopheles | 2 episodes |
1981 | The Million Dollar Face | Derek Kenyon | Television film |
1982–1983 | Tales of the Gold Monkey | Bon Chance Louie | 20 episodes |
1984 | The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood | Prince John | Television film |
1985 | Hollywood Wives | Jason Swankle | 3 episodes |
1985 | Alice in Wonderland | March Hare | Television film |
1985–1989 | Murder | Gordon Fairchild, Dr. Alger Kenyon | 2 episodes |
1985 | Bridges to Cross | Norman Parks | Episode: "Memories of Molly" |
1987–1989 | Matlock | Don Mosher, Christopher Hoyt | 2 episodes |
1987 | The Wind in the Willows | Ratty | Voice, television film |
1988 | Remo Williams: The Prophecy | Chuin | Television film |
1989 | Around the World in 80 Days | McBaines | 3 episodes |
1991 | The Pirates of Dark Water | Niddler | Voice, 5 episodes |
1991 | An Inconvenient Woman | Cyril Rathbone | 2 episodes |
1991 | Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas | Narrator | Voice |
1992 | The Legend of Prince Valiant | King Frederick | Voice, episode: "The Battle of Greystone" |
1992 | Quantum Leap | Edward St. John V | Episode: "A Leap for Lisa" |
1992 | Darkwing Duck | Sir Quackmire Mallard | Voice, episode: "Inherit the Wimp" |
1992–1994 | Batman: The Animated Series | Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter | Voice, 4 episodes[5] |
1992 | Camp Candy | Voice, episode: "When it Rains… it Snows" | |
1993 | 2 Stupid Dogs | Chameleon | Voice, episode: "Chameleon" |
1993 | SWAT Kats | Lenny Ringtail, Madkat | Voice, episode: "Enter the Madkat" |
1994 | Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is | Jeremy Sennet | Television film |
1994 | Red Planet | Headmaster Marcus Howe | Voice, 3 episodes |
1994 | The Tick | Breadmaster | Voice, 6 episodes |
1996 | Tracey Takes On... | Rex Gaydon | Episode: "Nostalgia" |
1996 | Gargoyles | Proteus | Voice, episode: "The New Olympians"[5] |
1996 | Duckman | Akers | Voice, episode: "Apocalypse Not" |
1996 | Pinky and the Brain | Snowball | Voice, 6 episodes[5] |
1996 | Dead Man's Island | Trevor Dunnaway | Television film |
1996 | Unlikely Angel | Saint Peter | Television film |
1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter | Voice, 2 episodes[5] |
1998 | Superman: The Animated Series | Voice, episode: "Knight Time" | |
1998 | Behind the Planet of the Apes | Narrator | Television documentary |
1999 | Godzilla: The Series | Dr. Hugh Trevor | Voice, episode: "DeadLoch"; posthumous role |
Stage[]
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|
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Radio appearances[]
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1943 | Lux Radio Theatre | My Friend Flicka[6] |
1947 | Suspense | One Way Street[7] |
1948 | The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen | Rocky Iii and the Dead Mans Chest[8] |
1952 | Family Theater | A Lullaby for Christmas[9] |
Further reading[]
- Virginia McDowall (his sister) on YouTube (last third of this video by the Musgrave Foundation)
Appearances[]
- "A Leap For Lisa" (Season 4, episode 22)
References[]
- ↑ here
- ↑ How Green Was My Valley at County Historian.com
- ↑ 35 second Clip of My Friend Flicka at YouTube
- ↑ The White Cliffs of Dover film trailer on YouTube
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Roddy McDowall (visual voices guide). Behind The Voice Actors. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
- ↑ "Lux Theatre Guest", Harrisburg Telegraph, 5 June 1943, p. 17. Template:Open access
- ↑ Suspense – One Way Street.
- ↑ "Radio Echos", 11 February 1948.
- ↑ "Better Radio Programs for the Week", The Decatur Daily Review, 14 December 1952, p. 54.
External links[]
- "Roddy McDowall" at countyhistorian
- "Biographical Stats", A Tribute to Roddy McDowall, xmoppet.org
- Roddy McDowall article at Wikipedia
- Roddy McDowall at the Internet Movie Database
- xmoppet.org – tribute site with career and biographical information, image gallery, sound clips, links, articles, US TV guide, and a fan club with mailing list]]