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Everett Sloane | |
|---|---|
 As Mr. Bernstein inthe trailer forCitizen Kane (1941) | |
| Born | (1909-10-01)October 1, 1909 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1965(1965-08-06) (aged 55) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1927–1965 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an Americancharacter actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television.
Sloane was born inManhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gerstein) Sloane.[1][2] Aged seven, he playedPuck in a production ofWilliam Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream at Manhattan's Public School 46, and decided to become an actor.[3] He completed two years[4] at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, and left in 1927 to joinJasper Deeter'sHedgerow Theatre repertory company. He made his New York stage debut in 1928. Sloane took a Wall Street job as a stockbroker's runner, but when his salary was cut in half after thestock market crash of 1929, he began to supplement his income with radio work. He became the sleuth's assistant onWOR'sImpossible Detective Mysteries,[3] played thetitle character's sidekick, Denny, inBulldog Drummond[5] and went on to perform in thousands of radio programs.[6]
Sloane married Lillian (Luba) Herman, a stage and radio actress, on January 4, 1933, in Manhattan.[3][7][8]
Sloane made hisBroadway debut in 1935, playing Rosetti the agent inGeorge Abbott's hit comedy,Boy Meets Girl.[3][9][10]
Sloane was a member of the repertory company that presented the radio news dramatization seriesThe March of Time.[11]: 13 "It was like a stock company, whose members were the aristocrats of this relatively new profession of radio acting," wrote fellow actorJoseph Julian. At that time Julian had to content himself with being an indistinguishable voice in crowd scenes, envying this "hallowed circle" that included Sloane,Kenny Delmar,Arlene Francis,Gary Merrill,Agnes Moorehead,Jeanette Nolan,Paul Stewart,Orson Welles,Richard Widmark,[12]: 9 Art Carney,Ray Collins,Pedro de Cordoba,Ted de Corsia,Juano Hernandez,Nancy Kelly,John McIntire,Jack Smart, andDwight Weist.The March of Time was one of radio's most popular shows.[11]: 12–13
Sloane's radio work led him to be hired by Orson Welles to become part of hisMercury Theatre. Sloane recorded one program withThe Mercury Theatre on the Air and became a regular player when the show was picked up by a sponsor and becameThe Campbell Playhouse. Sloane moved with the rest of the company to Los Angeles to continue recording the show after Welles signed his contract withRKO Pictures. In 1941, Sloane played Mr. Bernstein in Welles' first movie,Citizen Kane. After filming had wrapped, Sloane returned to New York to perform (together with fellowKane stars Ray Collins and Paul Stewart) in Mercury Theatre's last play,Richard Wright'sNative Son, which had 114 performances from March to June 1941.[13] Although he did not appear in Welles's second film,The Magnificent Ambersons, in 1943, he joined fellow Mercury Theatre alumni Welles,Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, andRuth Warrick inJourney into Fear. In 1947, Sloane also starred as villainous lawyer Arthur Bannister inThe Lady from Shanghai, produced and directed by Welles, who also starred. He played an assassin inRenaissance-era Italy opposite Welles'Cesare Borgia inPrince of Foxes (1949).
Sloane portrayed a doctor forparaplegic World War II veterans in 1950'sThe Men withMarlon Brando (in his film debut).
Sloane'sBroadway theater career ended in 1960 withFrom A to Z, arevue for which he wrote several songs. In between, he acted in plays such asNative Son (1941),A Bell for Adano (1944), andRoom Service (1953), and directed themelodramaThe Dancer (1946).
In the 1940s, Sloane was a frequent guest star on theradio theater seriesInner Sanctum Mystery andThe Shadow (as comic relief Shrevie, the cab driver, among other roles), and was inThe Mysterious Traveler episode "Survival of the Fittest" withKermit Murdock. Sloane co-starred withTony Curtis andPiper Laurie in Universal's 1951The Prince Who Was a Thief as a thief who adopts a baby and raises the child as his own. In 1953, he starred as Captain Frank Kennelly in theCBS radio crime drama21st Precinct. In 1957, he co-starred in the ninth episode ofSuspicion co-starringAudie Murphy andJack Warden. In 1958, he playedWalter Brennan's role in a remake ofTo Have and Have Not calledThe Gun Runners.
Sloane also worked extensively on television. In 1950, for example, he portrayedVincent van Gogh inThe Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse'sproduction "The Life of Vincent Van Gogh".[14] Later, in November 1955, he starred in theAlfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Our Cook's a Treasure". He appeared on theNBCanthology seriesThe Joseph Cotten Show, also known asOn Trial, in the 1956 episode "Law Is for the Lovers", with co-starInger Stevens.
Sloane performed renditions of passages fromThe Great Gatsby on theNBC program devoted toF. Scott Fitzgerald in August 1955, part of the "Biography in Sound" series on great American authors.
Sloane appeared inWalt Disney'sZorro series in 1957–1958 as Andres Felipe Basilio, in the "Man from Spain" episodes. He also appeared in a few episodes ofBonanza and an episode inRawhide.
On March 7, 1959, he guest-starred in an episode of NBC'sCimarron City titled "The Ratman", appearing alongside the show's star,John Smith.[15] Later that same year, Sloane appeared as a guest in "Stage Stop", the premiere episode of John Smith's second NBC Western series,Laramie.[16] He played the vengeful, grieving father Tate Bradley on "Wanted: Dead or Alive" S2 E10 "Reckless" which aired 11/6/1959.
In 1961, Sloane appeared in an episode ofThe Asphalt Jungle. In the early 1960s, he voiced thetitle character ofThe Dick Tracy Show in 130 cartoons. Beginning in 1964, he provided character voices for the animated TV seriesJonny Quest. He also starred in theABC sci-fi television seriesVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the episode "Hot Line". He wrote the unused lyrics to "The Fishin' Hole", the theme song forThe Andy Griffith Show. Sloane guest-starred on the show in 1962, playing Jubal Foster in the episode "The Keeper of the Flame". He starred in both the film and television versions ofRod Serling'sPatterns, and in the first season ofThe Twilight Zone in the episode"The Fever" . He guest starred as a San Francisco attorney in the 1962Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Poison Pen Pal".
In 1963, he guest-starred onThe Dick Van Dyke Show in the episode "I'm No Henry Walden" as writer Henry Walden. That same year he starred in the episode "Quint's Trail" on the TV Western SeriesGunsmoke (S9E7) as Cyrus Neff, a concerned father taking his family to Oregon for a new life after his daughter killed a man for forcibly taking her.
Sloane died by suicide at age 55 on August 6, 1965; he took an overdose ofbarbiturates because he feared he was going blind[17] as a result ofglaucoma.[18] Sloane's cremated remains are interred atAngelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.[19][20]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Molle Mystery Theater | Solo Performance[24] |
