J. Carrol Naish
Naish as Luigi Basco in the radio programLife with Luigi (1950)
Born	Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (1896-01-21)January 21, 1896 New York City, U.S.
Died	January 24, 1973(1973-01-24) (aged 77) La Jolla,California, U.S.
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery,East Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926–1971
Spouse	Gladys Heaney ​ (m. 1929)​
Children	1

Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during theGolden Age of Hollywood.

He became a dialect specialist, and was called upon to play character roles of many nationalities, including Southern European (especially Italian), Eastern European, Latin American, American Indians, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, Pacific Islander—even black, which earned him the moniker "Hollywood's one-manU.N."^[1] His own heritage wasIrish but he rarely played Irish characters, explaining, "When the part of an Irishman comes along, nobody ever thinks of me."^[a]

Naish received twoOscar nominations for his supporting roles in the filmsSahara (1943) andA Medal for Benny (1945), the latter of which also earned him aGolden Globe. He was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Naish was born inNew York City on January 21, 1896.^[2] According to the actor's 1945 résumé, he was educated at St. Cecilia's Academy in New York City, and appeared on stage inParis and New York before beginning his screen career.^[3]

Although he played an uncredited bit role in the silent filmWhat Price Glory? (1926), Naish said his screen career didn't actually begin until 1930, when stage actors were being recruited for the new talking pictures.^[4] He became a prolific supporting actor, appearing in more than 200 films. He was twice nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the first for his role as Giuseppe in the movieSahara (1943), in which he delivers thepropaganda speech:

Mussolini is not so clever like Hitler, he can dress up his Italians only to look like thieves, cheats, murderers, he cannot like Hitler make them feel like that. He cannot like Hitler scrape from their conscience the knowledge right is right and wrong is wrong, or dig holes in their heads to plant his own Ten Commandments- Steal from thy neighbor, Cheat thy neighbor, Kill thy neighbor! But are my eyes blind that I must fall to my knees to worship a maniac who has made of my country a concentration camp, who has made of my people slaves? Must I kiss the hand that beats me, lick the boot that kicks me? NO!

The second was for his performance as the title character's Hispanic father in the movieA Medal for Benny (1945).^[5] For the latter film, he won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.

He often played villains, from gangsters in numerous Paramount pictures to mad scientists, such as Dr. Daka inColumbia'sBatmanserial. In this screen adaptation of the comic book, Naish was originally cast asThe Joker, but was recast as a Japanese supervillain suitable to the patriotic wartime plotline.

In the 1940s Naish was a supporting character in a number of horror films. He playedBoris Karloff's assistant inHouse of Frankenstein (1944).

On radio, Naish starred as Luigi Basco on the CBS programLife with Luigi (1948–1953).^[6]Luigi's popularity resulted in a CBS television series of the same name, with Naish reprising his role.^[7]

In 1955, Naish originated the role of Alfieri in theone-act,verse version ofArthur Miller'sA View from the Bridge on Broadway, also starringVan Heflin andEileen Heckart.^[8]

In 1957–1958, Naish played the lead role in the television seriesThe New Adventures of Charlie Chan. Speaking in 2023, co-starJames Hong said Naish had him fired from the series just because Hong had missed a single line, and accused Naish of having held "a deep prejudice".^[9][10]

Naish worked mostly in guest roles on television through the 1960s; his most recent motion picture credit was from 1964. In 1971, the 75-year-old actor was coaxed out of retirement by producer and horror-film enthusiast Samuel M. Sherman to star in a new big-screen thriller,Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). Naish played a descendant of the originalDr. Frankenstein, who takes to murdering young women for experimentation in hopes of reviving his ancestor's creation. His mute assistant was played byLon Chaney Jr.Dracula vs. Frankenstein was the last film of both Naish and Chaney.

Naish was married (from 1929 until his death) to actress Gladys Heaney; they had one daughter, Elaine.^[1]

Naish retired toSan Diego and died ofemphysema on January 24, 1973, at Scripps Memorial Hospital inLa Jolla, California, three days after his 77th birthday.^[11] He is interred atCalvary Cemetery inEast Los Angeles, California.^[12] For his contributions to television, he has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6145 Hollywood Boulevard.^[11]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJ. Carroll Naish.

• J. Carrol Naish atIMDb
• J. Carrol Naish at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1896 births
• 1973 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• Male actors from New York City
• American male film actors
• American people of Irish descent
• American male radio actors
• American male silent film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• American Roman Catholics
• Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
• Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)
• Deaths from emphysema
• American vaudeville performers

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