Tom Conway

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Tom Conway in Cat People (1942)

Tom Conway (September 15, 1904 – April 22, 1967) was an English actor. He was born to English parents as Thomas Charles Sanders in St. Petersburg, Russia. They eventually moved back to England. He was the brother of actor George Sanders. According to the IMDB, Tom lost a coin toss with George to decide which of the two of them would change his last name to avoid any confusion with each other.

Both brothers were educated at Brighton College. Conway is remembered today for playing "The Falcon" in ten of that series' entries, taking over from his brother. He also starred in three of film producer Val Lewton's horror films while a contract actor for RKO Pictures, twice playing Dr. Louis Judd in two otherwise unrelated films Cat People (1942) and The Seventh Victim a year later - even though the character was killed in the first film. In 1951, Conway replaced Vincent Price as the star of the radio mystery series The Saint, coincidentally taking on a role that his brother, Sanders, had played on film a decade earlier.

In October, 1957, Conway performed as ventriloquist Max Collodi in Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Glass Eye" to critical praise. Poor eyesight and bouts with alcoholism took its toll on Conway later in life.

His brother George Sanders stopped all contact with him over his drinking problem.

Though he reportedly amassed a fortune in excess of one million dollars during his Hollywood years, in September of 1965 Conway was reported by newspaper tabloids to be living in a $2-a-day flophouse in Venice, California.

Conway died at the age of 62. His brother, George Sanders, committed suicide five years later.