George Mathews (actor)
George Mathews | |
---|---|
Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | October 10, 1911
Died | November 7, 1984 | (aged 73)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1933–1972 |
Spouse(s) | Mary Haynsworth |
George Mathews (October 10, 1911 – November 7, 1984) was an American actor whose career stretched from an uncredited appearance in Stage Door Canteen in 1943 to Going Home in 1971.[citation needed]
Mathews was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1]
Mathews was tall (6' 1.5"). His career on stage began in the early 1930s, when he failed to get a job with the U.S. Mail. He joined the W.P.A. Theatre, and landed a role in the play Processional (1937) as Dynamite Jim.
Mathews was often cast as heavies or hardened military types. He appeared in both the stage (1942–43) and film version (1944) of The Eve of St. Mark, as Sergeant Ruby. He also portrayed comic thugs in Pat and Mike (1952), starring Katharine Hepburn, and in the Garson Kanin-directed musical comedy Do Re Mi (1960–62), as Fatso O'Rear, starring Phil Silvers. In 1962 he appeared in Have Gun – Will Travel, Season 6, Episode 6.[2] He also demonstrated his comedic talent in the short-lived television comedy series Glynis (1963), playing ex-cop Chick Rogers, who assists a mystery writer and amateur sleuth, played by Glynis Johns, in solving "whodunnits", He was also in the Broadway play Catch Me If You Can in 1965. Perhaps his most memorable role was as Harvey in The Bensonhurst Bomber episode of The Honeymooners. He also played the bar owner, John Shanssey, who helped Doc Holliday from hanging in "Gunfight At The OK Corral".
Mathews retired from the screen in 1972.
Personal life and death[]
Mathews died from heart disease in Caesars Head, South Carolina, in November 1984.[3] He was married to stage actress Mary (Haynsworth) Mathews from 1951 until his death in 1984.[4]
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Marine Sergeant with Ray Bolger | Uncredited |
1944 | Up in Arms | Blackie | |
1944 | The Eve of St. Mark | Sgt. Ruby | |
1944 | Wing and a Prayer | Dooley | |
1944 | Wilson | Army Sergeant | Uncredited |
1945 | The Corn Is Green | Trap Driver | Uncredited |
1945 | The Great John L. | John Flood | |
1952 | Pat and Mike | Spec Cauley | |
1952 | Sally and Saint Anne | Father Kennedy | |
1952 | Yankee Buccaneer | Chief Petty Officer Link | |
1953 | Last of the Comanches | Romany O'Rattigan | |
1953 | City Beneath the Sea | Capt. Meade aka Ralph Sorensen | |
1953 | Act of Love | Henderson | |
1954 | The Great Diamond Robbery | Duke Fargoh | |
1955 | The Man with the Golden Arm | Williams | |
1956 | The Proud Ones | Dillon | |
1956 | The Last Wagon | Sheriff Bull Harper | |
1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | John Shanssey | |
1958 | The Buccaneer | Pyke | |
1960 | Heller in Pink Tights | Sam Pierce | |
1962 | The Hole | Construction Worker | (winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film) |
1971 | Going Home | Malloy | (final film role) |
Selected Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1955 | Death Valley Days | Season 2, Episode 14, "Husband Pro-Tem" | |
1960 | Have Gun - Will Travel | Clerk | Season 3, Episode 21 "The Night the Town Died" |
1953 | The Lone Ranger | Bill Adams | Episode "The Devil's Bog" |
1961 | Wanted Dead or Alive | Krebs | Season 3, Episode 20 "The Long Search" |
References[]
- ^ "George Mathews, actor who played gangsters". The Courier News. New Jersey, Bridgewater. Associated Press. November 13, 1984. p. 23. Retrieved February 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ http://transgalaxy.com/tvshows/HaveGunWillTravel/
- ^ "George Mathews, 73, Actor On Broadway And In Movies", The New York Times, November 13, 1984.
- ^ Obituary of Mary H. Matthews, The Greenville News, May 7, 2011 (reprinted at legacy.com).
External links[]
- 1984 deaths
- 1911 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male stage actors
- Male actors from New York City
- American film actor, 1910s birth stubs