Douglas Fowley

Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated movie director Roscoe Dexter in Singin' in the Rain (1952), and for his regular supporting role as Doc Holliday in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He is the father of rock and roll musician and record producer Kim Fowley.[3]

Douglas Fowley
Fowley in undated photo
Born
Daniel Vincent Fowley

(1911-05-30)May 30, 1911
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 21, 1998(1998-05-21) (aged 86)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
California, U.S.
Other namesDouglas V. Fowley[1]
Alma materXavier High School (New York City)
St. Francis Xavier Military Academy
OccupationActor
Years active1933–1982
Spouse(s)7 marriages; six divorces
Maria Fowley (m. ?-?; divorced)
Shelby Payne (m. 1938-1943; divorced) (1 child)
Mary Hunter (m.1944-?; divorced) (2 children)
Vivian Chamber (m.1947-?; divorced) (1 child)
Joy Torstup (m.1950-?; divorced) (2 children)
Judy Walsh (m.1954-1955; divorced)
Jean Fowley (m. ?-1998; his death)
ChildrenDouglas Jr., Kim, Daniel, Gretchen and Kip[2]

Early years

Fowley was born in The Bronx in New York City.[4] He began acting while attending St. Francis Xavier Military Academy. He later attended Los Angeles City College.[1]

Fowley began as a singing waiter and then worked as a copy boy for The New York Times, a runner for a Wall Street broker,[4] a United States Postal Service employee, a barker, a salesman, a professional football player, and finally a professional actor.

Military service

Fowley's enlistment in the United States Navy during World War II led to his being wounded when he served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean.[5] He was aboard an aircraft carrier when an explosion knocked out his teeth. The dental setback hardly slowed his career as an actor. In fact, he ended up portraying one of the most well-known dentists in American history. "I had a false upper plate, having lost my upper teeth prematurely in mid-life," he explained to Western Clippings in 1994. "I started playing old character roles by removing my false upper plate, adding a beard, voice and gait to match my interpretation."[3]

Film

After nightclub performing and stage work, Fowley appeared in 1933 in his first film, The Mad Game, alongside Spencer Tracy.[1] Early in his acting career, he was usually cast as a movie heavy or gangster in B-movies, including Charlie Chan and Laurel and Hardy features.

Fowley's films include Twenty Mule Team, Fall Guy, Mighty Joe Young, Angels in the Outfield, Battleground, Armored Car Robbery, Chick Carter, Detective, The Naked Jungle, The High and the Mighty, and Walking Tall.

Television

Regular cast

For several seasons, Fowley played the key supporting role of John H. "Doc" Holliday in the 1955-1961 western television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp[6]:600 after having appeared as Doc Fabrique in the show's premiere season. This role allowed Fowley to demonstrate his flair for comedy and other acting skills as a clever, sharp-witted, sardonic, cynical, alcoholic, poker-playing foil to the square-jawed, milk-drinking, church-going Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian), whom Holiday nicknamed "Deacon" due to his rigid sense of morality. Not at all so encumbered Doc would occasionally take the law into his own hands behind Earp's back to protect his friend from legal action or even death when the marshal was legally or morally ham-strung. Holliday, as played by Fowley, having no problem working around morals or the law, could be either hilarious or cold-blooded.[3]

From 1966 to 1967, Fowley portrayed Andrew Hanks in Pistols 'n' Petticoats,[6]:837 a CBS sitcom. Hanks was the patriarch in a family of gun-toting women who seemed to have little need for male assistance.

Fowley portrayed retired businessman Robert Redford in Detective School (1979).[6]

Guest appearances

In the 1950s, he appeared as himself on NBC's The Donald O'Connor Show. In 1954, he demonstrated his comic appeal when he appeared alongside Gracie Allen in The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. He was cast in 1956 as Bob Egan in the "Two-Fisted Saint" episode of the religious anthology series Crossroads. He portrayed a con man in two episodes of the NBC sitcom It's a Great Life. He also guest-starred on Reed Hadley's CBS legal drama The Public Defender. He appeared, too, on the ABC situation comedy The Pride of the Family and on the NBC Western series The Californians and Jefferson Drum. He was cast on two Rod Cameron series, the syndicated City Detective and the Western-themed State Trooper, and in John Bromfield's series, U.S. Marshal. He guest-starred in the David Janssen crime drama Richard Diamond, Private Detective and guest-starred in season two, episode four of the Robert Culp Western Trackdown.

In 1959, Fowley appeared with Frank Ferguson in the episode "A Race for Life" of the CBS Western series The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun.[7]

In 1964, Fowley made a guest appearance on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason playing agent Rubin Cason in "The Case of the Bountiful Beauty". In 1965, he was cast as Sorrowful in episode 83 of the series The Virginian. In 1966, he appeared as "Rufus C. Hoops" in "The Search" season 2, episode 24, of the series "Daniel Boone". Original air date for this episode was March 3, 1966. In 1967, Fowley guest-starred on the short-lived CBS Western Dundee and the Culhane with John Mills.

In 1968, he appeared in episode 273 of My Three Sons as an old pal of Uncle Charley's. He had a role in the syndicated 1959-1960 Western Pony Express in the episode "Showdown at Thirty Mile Ridge". He was cast in 1963 in Miracle of the White Stallions.

Fowley was usually typecast as a villain; when not playing an actual criminal, he often portrayed an argumentative troublemaker. Portraying a member of Tyrone Power's orchestra in Alexander's Ragtime Band, in the early scenes of the film, Fowley's character quarrels with his bandmates, but this is not developed in the film's later scenes.

Fowley continued to act into the 1970s and was frequently billed as "Douglas V. Fowley". One of his last roles was as Delaney Rafferty in Disney's The North Avenue Irregulars, in which he dressed in drag.

Death

Fowley died nine days before what would have been his 87th birthday. He was buried at the Murrieta, California, Laurel Cemetery.

Selected filmography

References
  1. Bergan, Ronald (June 9, 1998). "The happiest rain in Hollywood". The Guardian. England, London. p. 16. Retrieved 29 January 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Douglas V. Fowley, 86, Versatile Character Actor". Associated Press. 29 May 1998 – via NYTimes.com.
  3. https://metv.com/stories/the-hobo-of-the-andy-griffith-show-actually-lost-his-teeth-serving-in-world-war-ii
  4. Rowan, Terry (2015). Who's Who In Hollywood!. Lulu.com. p. 122. ISBN 9781329074491. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  5. Steven Jay Rube, Combat Films (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2011), p. 28
  6. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  7. "The Texan". Classic Television Archive. Archived from the original on April 8, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.