Roddy McDowall

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Roddy McDowall

Roddy McDowall at the 1988 Academy Awards
Birth name Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall
Born September 17, 1928
London, England
Died October 3, 1998 at age 70
Los Angeles, California

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (September 17, 1928 – October 3, 1998) was a British actor.

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[edit] Early life

McDowall was born in London in Herne Hill to a Scottish father, Thomas Andrew McDowall, and an Irish mother, Winifred. Both his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He also had a sister, Virginia (1927 - 2006).

McDowall made his first major film appearance at the age of twelve (though it should be noted that he had previously starred in a handful of British films), after he and his family had moved to America because of The Blitz. He played as "Huw" in How Green Was My Valley (1941) that he made his name, and he appeared in many other films as a child actor, including The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Lassie Come Home (1943) where he co-starred (in what would be one of many occasions) opposite lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor.

Roddy McDowall in Lassie Come Home (1943)
Roddy McDowall in Lassie Come Home (1943)

[edit] Career

McDowall was one of the few child actors to continue his career successfully into adulthood, but it was usually in character roles, notably in heavy make-up as various "chimpanzee" characters in the five original Planet of the Apes movies (1968 – 1973) and in the 1974 TV series that followed. Other film appearances included Cleopatra (1963), in which he played Octavian, the later Emperor Augustus, It! (1966), in which he played a Norman Bates character reminiscent of Psycho, The Poseidon Adventure (1972), in which he played Acres a dining room attendant, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Class of 1984 (1982), Fright Night (1985), in which he plays Peter Vincent, a television host and moderator of telecast horror films, and Overboard (1987). He also appeared on stage and was a frequent guest star on television, appearing on such series as the original Twilight Zone, The Invaders, The Carol Burnett Show, Fantasy Island and Quantum Leap.

He played a character villain, "The Bookworm", in the camp 1960s TV series Batman and had an acclaimed recurring role as The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series as well as providing his adroit dramatic tones to the audio adaptation of the 1989 Batman film. He also had a starring role in the 1970s Bermuda Triangle based sci-fi series, "The Fantastic Journey". His final acting role in animation, if indeed not overall, was for an episode of Godzilla: The Series in the episode "Dreadloch". In A Bug's Life (1998), one of his final contributions to motion pictures, he portrays the voice of the ant "Mr. Soil."

During the 1990s, McDowall became active in film preservation and was active in the preserving of Cleopatra (1963), which had been severely cut by 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck after skyrocketing production costs.

McDowall served for several years in various capacities on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that presents the Oscar. He was Chairman of the Actor's Branch for five terms. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation the year he died.

[edit] Photographer

He received recognition as a photographer and published five books of photographs, one being of his celebrity friends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Judy Holliday, and Maureen O'Hara.

[edit] Private life

This article appears to contradict itself. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

In 1974, the FBI raided the home of McDowall and seized the actor's collection of films and television series in the course of an investigation of movie piracy and copyright infringement. His collection consisted of 160 16 mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes. This was before the era of VCRs and VHS tapes, when there was no legal aftermarket for films, so copying or selling prints obtained from studios (without owning the copyright) was illegal. McDowall had purchased Errol Flynn's home movies and the prints of his own directorial debut Tam Lin (1970) starring Ava Gardner, and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage.

McDowall was forthcoming about some of the individuals he had dealt with on the black market: Rock Hudson, Dick Martin, and Mel Torme were some of the celebrities that were interested in his creations. No charges were pressed against McDowall.

[edit] Death

McDowall died in Studio City, California from lung cancer at the age of 70, the guardian of many secrets (nefarious and otherwise) that Hollywood holds. One of his last public appearances was when he accompanied the then-88 year old actress, Luise Rainer to the 70th Oscar ceremony. Rainer was the earliest awardee of a Best Actress Oscar who attended that year's Academy Award telecast, which featured all the living previous Oscar winners who were willing and able to attend (more than 70 did).

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television Work

[edit] External links

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