Wendell Holmes (actor)

Wendell Holmes (August 17, 1914 – April 27, 1962) was an American actor whose career included work in radio,[1] television,[2] broadway,[3] and film.[4]

For information on Wendell Holmes, the American musician, see The Holmes Brothers.
Wendell Holmes
Press photo from NBC Blue network: Actor Wendell Holmes as Colonel Humphrey J. Flack, 1947
Born(1914-08-17)August 17, 1914
Cheshire, Ohio, U.S.
DiedApril 27, 1962(1962-04-27) (aged 47)
Paris, France
Other namesOliver Wendell Holmes
Alma materOhio State University
OccupationActor
Years active1934–1962
Spouse(s)Lois Holmes (1938-?)
Adrienne Marden (1956-1962) (divorced)

Early years

Holmes was born Oliver Wendell Holmes in Cheshire, Ohio to Ferdie and Ada Holmes.[5] Census records indicate that by 1930 the family was living in Columbus, Ohio.[6]

Career

An article appearing in The Des Moines Register (1941) mentions Holmes being born on a farm and describes his winning a Chautauqua competition at age six, entering high school at age ten, and graduating from Ohio State University at age 18 with a degree in Education. It further states that instead of becoming an educator, Holmes hitch-hiked to New York and began working as an actor, starting his radio career in 1934.[7]

An article appearing in The Daily Dispatch (1949) mentions that Holmes' parents were school teachers and adds to the Chautauqua event by noting it took place in Middleport, Ohio, where a talent scout signed him up for more work.[8]

The same Daily Dispatch article (1949) quotes Holmes as saying at the time, "There are about 5,000 radio actors here, and last year they averaged $16 a week salary. Only about 500 manage to earn a truckdriver's living...When I started in 1934 I got $20 a week for working in 30 shows.[9]"

During the years 1947–48, Holmes appeared as Dr. Watson in the adaptation of Sherlock Holmes starring John Stanley, but was credited as "George Spelvin" to avoid confusion between his actual surname and the surname of the show's protagonist.[10][11][12]

Over the years, Holmes acted in more than 40 radio dramas, 50 TV episodes, and 10 movies.

Personal life

On June 20, 1938, Holmes married actress Lois E Jesson in Manhattan, New York.[13] Following his divorce from Jesson, Holmes married actress Adrienne Marden in Santa Monica, California on August 12, 1956.[14]

Wendell Holmes died of what is thought to have been a heart attack in Paris, France, on April 27, 1962.[15]

Radio Acting
Year Title Role Notes
1945Words at War: Apartment in Athensvoice actorRadio drama
1947Colonel Humphrey Flack[16]voice actorRadio drama
1948The Ford Theater: Storm in a Teacupvoice actorRadio drama
1948The Mysterious Traveler: The Man Who Vanished[17]voice actorRadio drama
1948Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Carbuncle[11]voice actorRadio drama; credited as George Spelvin
1950Dimension X: Almost Human[18]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: And the Moon Be Still as Bright[19]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: No Contact[20]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: Mars Is Heaven[21]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: The Outer Limit[22]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: The Potters of Firsk[23]voice actorRadio drama
1950Dimension X: The Roads Must Rollvoice actorRadio drama
1951John Steele, Adventurer: Counterpoint[24]voice actorRadio drama
1951Dimension X: First Contact[25]voice actorRadio drama
1951Dimension X: The Last Objective[26]voice actorRadio drama
1952Best Plays: Arsenic and Old Lacevoice actorRadio drama
1952The Chase: Career Girl[27]voice actorRadio drama
1953The Chase: A Frame for Murder[28]voice actorRadio drama
195321st Precinct: The Dog Day[29]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: The Green Hills of Earth[30]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: A Logic Named Joe[31]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: No Contact[32]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: Mars Is Heaven[33]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: First Contact[34]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: Nightfall[35]voice actorRadio drama
1955X Minus One: The Outer Limit[36]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Chain of Command[37]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: A Gun For Dinosaur[38]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Honeymoon in Hell[39]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Mr. Costello, Hero[40]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: The Old Die Rich[41]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Protective Mimicry[42]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: The Roads Must Roll[43]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Skulking Permit[44]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: The Snowball Effect[45]voice actorRadio drama
1956X Minus One: Soldier Boy[46]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: The Category Inventor[47]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: Discovery of Morniel Mathaway[48]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: Man's Best Friend[49]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: Open Warfare[50]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: Saucer of Loneliness[51]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: The Scapegoat[52]voice actorRadio drama
1957X Minus One: Something For Nothing[53]voice actorRadio drama
1961Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Stock in Trade Matter[54]voice actorRadio drama

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1941Always Tomorrow: The Portrait of an American BusinessBottlerPromotional film, Uncredited
1949Lost BoundariesMr. Morris MitchellMovie
1955MedicDr. WelchEpisode: "Dr. Impossible"
1955The Man Behind the BadgeLawrence DeshawEpisode: "The Case of the Dying Past"[55]
1955The Man Behind the BadgePawlingEpisode: "The Case of the Part-Time Cop"
1955Mr. CitizenMinor role, Episode: "One for the Padre"
1957Official DetectiveWendell JordanEpisode: "Body in the Trunk"
1957The Court of Last ResortTerry BoothEpisode: "The Clarence Redding Case"[56]
1958Alfred Hitchcock PresentsHenry C. FarnsworthEpisode: "The Safe Place"[57]
1958Alfred Hitchcock PresentsMr. HerrickEpisode: "The $2,000,000 Defense"[58]
1958The CaliforniansKregoEpisode: "Death By Proxy"
1958Young and WildLewis J. ChristopherMovie
1958The Adventures of Jim BowieSeth MortonEpisode: "Man on the Street"
1958Father Knows BestDr. RunebergEpisode: "Be Kind to Bud Week"
1958I Want To Live!DetectiveMovie
1958Leave It To BeaverMr. T.J. WilletEpisode: "Music Lesson"[59]
1958Perry MasonDr. ForbesEpisode: "The Case of the Desperate Daughter"
1958Perry MasonHoward EvansEpisode: "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant"
1959Good Day for a HangingTallant JoslinMovie
1959Never Steal Anything SmallGeorge AlperMovie, Uncredited
1959GunsmokeBetchelEpisode: "Doc Quits"
1959Behind Closed DoorsBoris GorinEpisode: "The Geneva Story"
1959ZorroStorekeeperEpisode: "The Brooch"
1959ZorroStorekeeper AvilaEpisode: "The Missing Father"
1959ZorroEpisode: "Please Believe Me"
1959CompulsionJonas KesslerMovie, Uncredited
1959Playhouse 90Judge IvesEpisode: "Judgment at Nuremberg"
1959The Rough RidersSam HanksEpisode: "Hired Gun"
1959But Not for MeMiles MontgomeryMovie
1959Edge of EternitySam HoughtonMovie
1959The Twilight ZoneCooperEpisode: "Escape Clause"
1959Man with a CameraCarl GanzaEpisode: ":Missing"
1959Special Agent 7NeeleyEpisode: "Male Order"
1959LawmanCal NibleyEpisode: "The Press"
1959Leave It To BeaverMr. T.J. WilletEpisode: "Beaver's Hero"[60]
1959MaverickMayor Uli BemusEpisode: "The Cats of Paradise"
1959The TexanMarshal SommersEpisode: "Dangerous Ground"
1959Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseLt. HolsonEpisode: "So Tender, So Profane"
1960Alfred Hitchcock PresentsJohn B. HalversonEpisode: "Not the Running Type"[61]
1960BonanzaJudge ScribnerEpisode: "Death at Dawn"[62]
1960Hawaiian EyeDr. Abner Moses GoodEpisode: "The Kamehameha Cloak"
1960Leave It To BeaverAndy HadlockEpisode: "Beaver and Andy"[63]
1960Tales of Wells FargoGovernorEpisode: "The Governor's Visit"
1960Black SaddleDoc HazenEpisode: "Mr. Simpson"
1960Zane Grey TheaterCobson – AuctioneerEpisode: "Never Too Late"
1960MaverickColonel DuttonEpisode: "Greenbacks, Unlimited"
1960Perry MasonDistrict Attorney WilliamsEpisode: "The Case of the Bashful Burro"
1960StartimeRigsbyEpisode: "Incident at a Corner"
1960Mr. LuckyDavid BullittEpisode: "Hit and Run"
1960Because They're YoungPrincipal DolanMovie
1960Overland TrailMayor Bill FilmoreEpisode: "First Stage to Denver"
1960Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseMinor role, Episode: "City in Bondage"
1960Hawaiian EyeSam PerkinsEpisode: "Little Blalah"
1960Peter GunnJanos ThorwaldEpisode: "The Semi-Private Eye"
1960Inherit The WindBanker – Critic at City MeetingMovie, Uncredited
1960Elmer GantryRev. UlrichMovie
1960The TexanHenry MortonEpisode: "24 Hours to Live"
1960BonanzaJudge RandEpisode: "Badge Without Honor"[64]
1960The WesternerHenry HadleyEpisode: "Mrs. Kennedy"
1960The Great ImposterSurgeon Commander WinstonMovie, Uncredited
1960Shotgun SladeMinor role, Episode: "A Plate of Death"
1960Grand JuryTaylorEpisode: "Condemned"
1961The Absent Minded ProfessorGeneral PoynterMovie
1961CheckmateMervin EverhardtEpisode: "Portrait of a Man Running"
1961Bus StopDean DraytonEpisode: "Success Story"
1961Follow The SunThe JudgeEpisode: "The Woman Who Never Was"
1961The UntouchablesThe JudgeEpisode: "Loophole"
1961Dr. KildareJudge InleyEpisode: "Hit and Run"
1961Leave It To BeaverMr. BlairEpisode: "Beaver's English Test"[65]
1962HazelMr. WagnerEpisode: "Hazel's Dog Days"
1962Leave It To BeaverMr. BlairEpisode: "Farewell to Penny"[66]
1962Room for One MoreJudgeEpisode: "The Anniversary"
1962LawmanFrank MacStrowdEpisode: "The Barber"
1962Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSylvester TupperEpisode: "The Twelve Hour Caper",[67] (final appearance)

References
  1. Terrace p.80
  2. Pressnell/McGee p.37
  3. "("Wendell Holmes" search results)". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  4. Andreychuk, Ed (2005). Burt Lancaster: A Filmography and Biography. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 110. ISBN 9780786404360.
  5. "Ohio, County Births, 1841–2003". FamilySearch. March 13, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  6. "United States Census, 1930". Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  7. "Descendant of Writer Now Plays on Radio Serial". The des Moines Register. October 27, 1941. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  8. "At 34, Wendell Holmes Isn't Making as Much as When 6". The Dispatch. May 28, 1949. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  9. "At 34, Wendell Holmes Isn't Making as Much as When 6". The Dispatch. May 28, 1949. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  10. Dickerson, Ian (2019). Sherlock Holmes and His Adventures on American Radio. BearManor Media. p. 258. ISBN 978-1629335087.
  11. " "mp3".
  12. Harmon, Jim (2011). Radio Mystery and Adventure and Its Appearances in Film, Television and Other Media. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 175. ISBN 9780786485086.
  13. "Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York City". New York Municipal Archives; New York City; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 5. New York Municipal Archives. June 20, 1938. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  14. "Adrienne Marden and Wendell Holmes Wed". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas, Corpus Christi. Associated Press. August 13, 1956. p. 19. Retrieved July 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Report of the Death of An American Citizen: Holmes, Oliver Wendell". Foreign Service of the United States of America. Department of State. May 18, 1962. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  16. Terrace, Vincent (2015). Radio Programs, 1924–1984. McFarland. p. 80. ISBN 9781476605289.
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Bibliography
  • Terrace, Vincent Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland, 2015.
  • Presnell, Don and McGee, Marty A Critical History of Television's The Twilight Zone, 1959–1964. McFarland, 2015.
  • Andreychuk, Ed Burt Lancaster: A Filmography and Biography. McFarland, 2005.
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