Ralph Bellamy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bellamy in 1945 | |
| Born | Ralph Rexford Bellamy (1904-06-17)June 17, 1904 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1991(1991-11-29) (aged 87) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1925–1990 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Sam Huntington (great-nephew)[1] |
| 7thPresident of theActors' Equity Association | |
| In office 1952–1964 | |
| Preceded by | Clarence Derwent |
| Succeeded by | Frederick O'Neal |
Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991)[2] was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and awards, including aTony Award for Best Actor in a Play forSunrise at Campobello as well asAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination forThe Awful Truth (1937). In 1986, Bellamy was awarded with anAcademy Honorary Award.
He gained prominence for his roles inBoy Meets Girl (1938),His Girl Friday (1940),Flight Angels (1940),The Wolf Man (1941), andSunrise at Campobello (1960). He is also known for his later roles inRosemary's Baby (1968),Oh, God! (1977),Trading Places (1983), andPretty Woman (1990).
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Bellamy was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy on June 17, 1904, inChicago,Illinois.[2] He was the son of Lilla Louise (née Smith), a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was 15 and managed to gain employment in a road show. He toured with road shows before finally landing in New York City. He began acting on stage there and, by 1927, owned his own theater company. In 1931, he made his film debut and worked constantly throughout the decade both as a lead and as a capable supporting actor. He co-starred in five films withFay Wray.[3]
His film career began withThe Secret Six (1931), starringWallace Beery and featuringJean Harlow andClark Gable. By the end of 1933, he had already appeared in 22 movies, includingRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm[4] (1932) and the second lead in the action filmPicture Snatcher withJames Cagney (1933). He played in seven more films in 1934 alone, includingWoman in the Dark, based on aDashiell Hammett story, in which Bellamy played the lead, second billed underFay Wray. Bellamy received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role inThe Awful Truth (1937) withIrene Dunne andCary Grant, and played a similar part, that of a naive boyfriend competing with Grant's sophisticated character, inHis Girl Friday (1940). He portrayed detectiveEllery Queen in a few films during the 1940s, but as his film career did not progress, he returned to the stage, where he continued to perform throughout the 1950s. Bellamy appeared in other movies during this time, includingDance, Girl, Dance (1940) withMaureen O'Hara andLucille Ball, and the horror classicThe Wolf Man (1941) withLon Chaney Jr. andEvelyn Ankers.[5] He also appeared inThe Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) with Chaney andBela Lugosi.
Bellamy appeared on Broadway asFranklin Delano Roosevelt inSunrise at Campobello, winning aTony Award for the role in 1957. He reprised the role in the 1960film version.
In the summer of 1961, Bellamy hosted nine original episodes ofFrontier Justice.[5] In 1950, Bellamy became a member of The Lambs, an actors club located in New York.[6]
Bellamy appeared inDeath Valley Days ("The Vintage Years", 1962) as Daniel Quint, a minister. In the story, a young woman whom Quint befriends on a stagecoach ride, Lorna Erickson (Merry Anders), sets him up to be robbed by her paramour (William Bryant).
Highly regarded within the industry, Bellamy served four terms as the president ofActors' Equity from 1952 to 1964. On film, Bellamy starred inThe Professionals (1966) as an oil tycoon, and inRoman Polanski'sRosemary's Baby (1968) as an evil physician. He turned to television during the 1970s.[5] He played many roles in numerous shows, sometimes as a series regular. In 1970, he played the lead role of Ethan Arcane in the seriesThe Most Deadly Game. Bellamy portrayedAdlai Stevenson in the TV movieThe Missiles of October (1974), a treatment of theCuban Missile Crisis. He was a member of the cast of the short-lived seriesHunter in 1977.
AnEmmy Award nomination for the mini-seriesThe Winds of War (1983)—in which Bellamy reprised hisSunrise at Campobello role ofFranklin D. Roosevelt—brought him back into the spotlight. This role was followed by his role as Randolph Duke, a conniving millionaire commodities trader inTrading Places (1983). TheEddie Murphy filmComing to America (1988) included a brief cameo by Bellamy andDon Ameche, reprising their roles as the Duke brothers.[5] Around this time, he again portrayed Franklin Roosevelt inWar and Remembrance (1988), the sequel toThe Winds of War.[5]
Among his later roles was an appearance as a once-brilliant but increasingly senile lawyer sadly skewered byJimmy Smits' character on an episode ofL.A. Law. Bellamy continued working regularly and gave his final performance inPretty Woman (1990).
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Bellamy was seen socially with a select circle of friends known affectionately as the Irish Mafia, but they preferred the less sensational Boy's Club as its name. This group consisted of a group of Hollywood A-listers who were mainly of Irish descent (despite Bellamy having no Irish family connections). Others includedJames Cagney,Pat O'Brien,Spencer Tracy,Lynne Overman,Frank Morgan andFrank McHugh.[7] Bellamy opened thePalm Springs Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California, with fellow actorCharles Farrell in 1934.[8][9]
Bellamy was married four times: first to Alice Delbridge (1927–1930), then to Catherine Willard (1931–1945), then to organistEthel Smith (1945–1947), and finally to Alice Murphy (1949–1991; his death).[10]
ADemocrat, Bellamy was in attendance at the1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.[11]
On November 29, 1991, Bellamy died from a lung ailment at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was 87 years old.[2]
In 1984, Bellamy was presented with a Life Achievement Award from theScreen Actors Guild, and in 1987, he received an Honorary Academy Award "for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting." Bellamy has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6542 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on theWalk of Stars was dedicated to him.[12]
In a 2007 episode ofBoston Legal, footage ofThe Defender, a 1957 episode ofStudio One, was used. The episode featured Bellamy andWilliam Shatner as a father-and-son lawyer duo. This was used in the present day to explain the relationship between Shatner'sDenny Crane character and his father in the show.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | The Secret Six | Johnny Franks | |
| 1931 | The Magnificent Lie | Bill Childers | |
| 1931 | West of Broadway | Mac, the Ranch Foreman | |
| 1931 | Surrender | Captain Ebbing | |
| 1932 | Forbidden | Holland | |
| 1932 | Disorderly Conduct | Captain Tom Manning | |
| 1932 | Young America | Judge Blake | |
| 1932 | The Woman in Room 13 | John Bruce | |
| 1932 | Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | Dr. Ladd | |
| 1932 | Almost Married | Deene Maxwell | |
| 1932 | Wild Girl | Jack Marbury | |
| 1932 | Air Mail | Mike Miller | |
| 1933 | Second Hand Wife | Carter Cavendish | |
| 1933 | Parole Girl | Joseph B. 'Joe' Smith | |
| 1933 | Below the Sea | McCreary | |
| 1933 | Destination Unknown | Stowaway | |
| 1933 | Picture Snatcher | McLean | |
| 1933 | The Narrow Corner | Eric Whittenson | |
| 1933 | Flying Devils | 'Speed' Hardy | |
| 1933 | Headline Shooter | Hal Caldwell | |
| 1933 | Blind Adventure | Jim Steele | |
| 1933 | Ace of Aces | Captain/Major Blake | |
| 1933 | Ever in My Heart | Jeff | |
| 1933 | Before Midnight | Inspector Steve Trent | |
| 1934 | Spitfire | George Fleetwood | |
| 1934 | Once to Every Woman | Dr. Barclay | |
| 1934 | This Man Is Mine | Jim Dunlap | |
| 1934 | The Crime of Helen Stanley | Inspector Steve Trent | |
| 1934 | One Is Guilty | Inspector Steve Trent | |
| 1934 | Girl in Danger | Inspector Steve Trent | |
| 1934 | Woman in the Dark | John Bradley | |
| 1935 | Helldorado | J.F. Van Avery | |
| 1935 | Rendezvous at Midnight | Commissioner Robert Edmonds | |
| 1935 | Gigolette | Terry Gallagher | |
| 1935 | The Wedding Night | Fredrik Sobieski | |
| 1935 | Eight Bells | Steve Andrews | |
| 1935 | Air Hawks | Barry Eldon | |
| 1935 | The Healer | Dr. Holden | |
| 1935 | Navy Wife | Dr. Quentin Harden | |
| 1935 | Hands Across the Table | Allen Macklyn | |
| 1936 | Dangerous Intrigue | Tony Halliday | |
| 1936 | Roaming Lady | Daniel S. 'Dan' Bailey | |
| 1936 | The Final Hour | John Vickery | |
| 1936 | Straight from the Shoulder | Curt Hayden | |
| 1936 | The Man Who Lived Twice | Dr. James Blake/'Slick' Rawley | |
| 1936 | Wild Brian Kent | Brian Kent | |
| 1936 | Counterfeit Lady | Johnny Pierce | |
| 1937 | Let's Get Married | Kirk Duncan | |
| 1937 | It Can't Last Forever | Russ Matthews | |
| 1937 | The Awful Truth | Daniel Leeson | |
| 1938 | The Crime of Dr. Hallet | Dr. Paul Hallet | |
| 1938 | Fools for Scandal | Phillip Chester | |
| 1938 | Boy Meets Girl | C. Elliott Friday | |
| 1938 | Carefree | Stephen Arden | |
| 1938 | Girls' School | Michael Hendragin | |
| 1938 | Trade Winds | Ben Blodgett | |
| 1939 | Smashing the Spy Ring | John Baxter | |
| 1939 | Let Us Live | Lieutenant Everett | |
| 1939 | Blind Alley | Dr. Shelby | |
| 1939 | Coast Guard | Lt. Raymond 'Ray' Dower | |
| 1940 | His Girl Friday | Bruce Baldwin | |
| 1940 | Flight Angels | Bill Graves | |
| 1940 | Brother Orchid | Clarence P. Fletcher | |
| 1940 | Queen of the Mob | FBI Agent Scott Langham | |
| 1940 | Dance, Girl, Dance | Steve Adams | |
| 1940 | Public Deb No. 1 | Bruce Fairchild | |
| 1940 | Meet the Wildcat | Lt. Brad Williams | |
| 1940 | Ellery Queen, Master Detective | Ellery Queen | |
| 1941 | Footsteps in the Dark | Dr. Davis | |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | Ellery Queen | |
| 1941 | Affectionately Yours | Owen Wright | |
| 1941 | Dive Bomber | Lance Rogers | |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime | Ellery Queen | |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring | Ellery Queen | |
| 1941 | The Wolf Man | Colonel Montford | |
| 1942 | The Ghost of Frankenstein | Erik Ernst | |
| 1942 | Lady in a Jam | Stanley Gardner | |
| 1942 | Men of Texas | Major Lamphere | |
| 1942 | The Great Impersonation | Sir Edward Dominey / Baron Leopold von Ragenstein | |
| 1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Ralph Bellamy | |
| 1944 | Guest in the House | Douglas Proctor | |
| 1945 | Delightfully Dangerous | Arthur Hale | |
| 1945 | Lady on a Train | Jonathan Waring | |
| 1955 | The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell | Congressman Frank R. Reid | |
| 1960 | Sunrise at Campobello | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | |
| 1966 | The Professionals | Grant | |
| 1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Dr. Abraham Sapirstein | |
| 1971 | Doctors' Wives | Jake Porter | |
| 1972 | Cancel My Reservation | John Ed | |
| 1975 | The Log of the Black Pearl | ||
| 1977 | Oh, God! | Sam Raven | |
| 1980 | The Memory of Eva Ryker | William E. Ryker | |
| 1983 | Trading Places | Randolph Duke | |
| 1983 | The UnBob | Police Officer | |
| 1983 | Little House on the Prairie | Dr. Marvin Haynes | |
| 1984 | Terror in the Aisles | (Archival footage) | |
| 1987 | Disorderlies | Albert Dennison | |
| 1987 | Amazon Women on the Moon | Mr. Gower | Segment: "Titan Man" |
| 1988 | Coming to America | Randolph Duke | cameo |
| 1988 | The Good Mother | Frank, Grandfather | |
| 1990 | Pretty Woman | James Morse |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The F.B.I. | Captain Jennerson | episode "The Death Wind" |
| 1961 | Rawhide | Judge Quince | S4:E4, "Judgment at Hondo Seco" |
| 1961 | Checkmate | Governor Tom Barker | episode "Portrait of a Running Man" |
| 1965 | Rawhide | Marshal Hanson Dickson | S8:E9, "The Pursuit" |
| 1967 | Gunsmoke | Sheriff Bassett | episode "Rope Fever" |
| 1968 | The F.B.I. | Dryden | episode "The Butcher" |
| 1968 | The Virginian | Jeremiah | season 7 episode 01 (The saddle warmer) |
| 1974 | The Missiles of October | U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson | television film |
| 1976 | Once an Eagle | Ed Caldwell | TV miniseries |
| 1976 | The Moneychangers | Jerome Patterton | TV miniseries |
| 1977 | The Bob Newhart Show | Professor Alan Dreeben | episode "You're Fired, Mr. Chips" |
| 1977 | Testimony of Two Men | Dr. Jim Spaulding | TV miniseries |
| 1978 | Wheels | Lowell Baxter | TV miniseries |
| 1980 | Condominium | Lee Messenger | Television film |
| 1984 | The Winds of War | Franklin D. Roosevelt | TV miniseries |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Emile Francis Bendictson | S1:E15a, "Monsters!" |
| 1987 | Matlock | Sen. Lambert Crawford | "The Power Brokers" parts 1 and 2 (season 2, episodes 5 and 6) |
| 1988 | War and Remembrance | Franklin D. Roosevelt | TV miniseries |
| 1988 | L.A. Law | August Redding | S2:E15, "The Bald Ones" |
| 1989–1990 | Christine Cromwell | Cyrus Blain | four episodes |
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre | Phantom Lady[13] |
Notes
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
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| People | |
| Other | |
