Fay Roope

Fay Roope

Fay Roope in Viva Zapata (1952)
Born Winfield Harding Roope
1893
Allston, Massachusetts, USA
Died September 13, 1961
Port Jefferson, New York, USA
Occupation Actor
Years active 1922–1961

Fay Roope (1893–1961), born Winfield Harding Roope, was a Harvard graduate and a character actor who appeared in American theater in New York City from the 1920s through 1950, and in American film and television from 1949 through 1961.

Early life

Winfield Harding Roope was born October 20, 1893 near Boston, in Allston, Massachusetts, the only son of George Winfield Roope and Lucie Mattie Jacobs, a wealthy couple listed in Newton's Blue Book.[1] He "prepared" at Stone School for Boys, a Boston boarding school, and attended Harvard University from 1912 to 1916. During his time there, he appeared in varied dramatic and musical roles in school productions.[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university in 1916.[3]

Acting career

He began acting professionally on stage in New York City in the early 1920s, and continued to do so for almost thirty years, appearing both off and on Broadway.[4] He moved into film around 1950. He did do some television in the early 1950s, but did most of his television work in dramas during the last five years of his life, from 1955 on.

Broadway career

His first appearance on the Broadway stage was in the musical revue One Helluva Night, on June 4, 1924.[5]

From September 5, 1924 through September 12, 1925, he played Lieutenant Aldrich in the drama What Price Glory?.[5]

From March 30, 1949 through April 9, 1949, he played Colonel Jared Rumley in the comedy The Biggest Thief in Town.[5]

His last appearance on Broadway was in the first Broadway production of The Madwoman of Chaillot, June 13–25, 1950, playing both 'One of the Presidents' and 'The Broker'.[5]

Off-Broadway Career

Unknown, but spanned the period from 1925 through 1950.

Film career

Fay Roope portrayed generals, admirals and colonels, in such movies as From Here To Eternity, Rock Hudson's Seminole, the Gary Cooper comedy You're in the Navy Now, and the original version of the science-fiction classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still. He played President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz in the movie Viva Zapata. He appeared in several political, military and crime dramas, and many Westerns, working with such stars as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jimmy Stewart. But, primarily, he worked in comedies with such stars as Fred MacMurray, Red Skelton, Mickey Rooney, the Bowery Boys, Martin & Lewis, and Marjorie Main & Percy Kilbride (Ma and Pa Kettle).

Film Roles

Television career

Faye Roope played judges in Raymond Burr's Perry Mason TV series, had a continuing role as Mr. Botkin in the long-lasting western Gunsmoke, and appeared as an older man of authority in many TV Western's of the 1950s. He played the old-west hanging judge in the classic 1960 Twilight Zone time-travel episode Execution, and appeared in many of the classic drama anthology shows of American television's Golden Age.

Roles in Television Episodes

Personal life

Fay Roope married Marie Teresa Roope. They had two children. Martha and George and many grandchildren. He died September 13, 1961, in Port Jefferson (Long Island), New York.

References

  1. ↑ none (2006). Blue Book of Newton, MA For 1910. Between the Lakes Group LLC. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-9766342-8-7.
  2. ↑ The Radcliffe News. students of Radcliffe College. 1914. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Quinquennial catalogue of the Officers and Graduates, Harvard University" The University (1920) page 503
  4. ↑ Faye Roope webpage (falsely showing him as Female) on the Internet Broadway Database website
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Other works (Fay Roope) webpage of the IMDB website

External links