David Wayne

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This article is about the actor. For the heavy metal vocalist, see David Wayne (singer).
Not to be confused with David Wain.
David Wayne
Wayne in 1955
Born
Wayne James McMeekan

(1914-01-30)January 30, 1914
Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
DiedFebruary 9, 1995(1995-02-09) (aged 81)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma materWestern Michigan University
OccupationActor
Years active1936–1994
Spouse
Jane Gordon
​
​
(m. 1941; died 1993)​
Children3
Awards
Tony Award
(1947, 1954)

David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914[1] – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years.

Early life and career

Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen Matilda (née Mason) and John David McMeekan. His mother died when he was four.[1] He grew up in Bloomingdale, Michigan.[citation needed]

Wayne attended Western Michigan University for two years before working as a statistician in Cleveland. He began acting with Cleveland's Shakesperean repertory theatre in 1936.[2]

When World War II began, Wayne volunteered as an ambulance driver with the British Army in North Africa. When the United States entered the war he joined the United States Army.[2]

Wayne's first major Broadway role was Og the leprechaun in Finian's Rainbow, for which he won the Theatre World Award[3] and the first ever Tony for Actor, Supporting or Featured (Musical).[4] While appearing in the play, he and co-star Albert Sharpe were recruited by producer David O. Selznick to play Irish characters in the film Portrait of Jennie (1948).

In 1948, Wayne was one of 50 applicants (out of approximately 700) granted membership in New York's newly formed Actors Studio.[5]

He was awarded a second Tony for Best Actor (Dramatic) for The Teahouse of the August Moon and was nominated as Best Actor (Musical) for The Happy Time.[4] He originated the role of Ensign Pulver in the classic stage comedy Mister Roberts and also appeared in Say, Darling; After the Fall; and Incident at Vichy.

Film and television career

In films, Wayne was most often cast as a

We're Not Married (1952), O. Henry's Full House (1952) (although he shared no scenes with Monroe), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) where he had scenes with Monroe. He starred in The Tender Trap (1955) with Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, and Celeste Holm
.

In 1955, Wayne starred in the NBC comedy Norby.[6]: 771  Wayne appeared in the late 1950s on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and the Twilight Zone episode "Escape Clause". He starred as Darius Woodley in two 1961 episodes of NBC's The Outlaws starring Barton MacLane. Also in 1961, Wayne appeared in the Bell Telephone Company-produced driver safety film Anatomy of an Accident, about a family outing tragically cut short by a car accident.

He played the

Monitor.[citation needed
]

Wayne and Jean Peters in trailer for As Young as You Feel (1951)

Wayne was known for his role as Dr. Charles Dutton in Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain (1971). He also appeared as Uncle Timothy Jamison in the NBC sitcom The Brian Keith Show and played Charles Dutton in The Good Life, also on NBC.[6]: 404–405  Wayne made a guest appearance in a leading role for a 1975 episode of Gunsmoke titled "I Have Promises to Keep". He co-starred with Jim Hutton in the 1976 television series Ellery Queen (as Inspector Richard Queen).[6]: 305 

In 1978, Wayne played James Lawrence in the ABC drama Family[6]: 324 , and he played Digger Barnes in four episodes of the CBS soap opera Dallas.[6] Wayne's friend Keenan Wynn later replaced Wayne in this role. From 1979 to 1982, Wayne starred as Dr. Amos Weatherby in the television series House Calls.[6]: 480 

Personal life

Wayne was married to Jane Gordon in 1941 and had two daughters, Susan Wayne Kearney and Melinda Wayne, and a son, Timothy. In August 1970, Timothy disappeared and was presumed drowned during a rafting trip.[7][8] Wayne's wife, daughter of opera vocalist Jeanne Gordon, died in 1993.[citation needed]

Wayne was a lifelong Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.[9]

Death

On February 9, 1995, Wayne died in his Santa Monica, California, home from complications of lung cancer at the age of 81.[1] His remains were cremated and distributed to his family.[citation needed]

Awards

Wayne won two

Tony Awards, one in 1947 for Finian's Rainbow and one in 1954 for The Teahouse of the August Moon.[1]

Filmography

Features:

Short Subjects:

  • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Awards (1951) as Himself
  • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952) as Himself
  • Anatomy of an Accident (1961) as John Avery
  • John F. Kennedy: 1917-1963 (1979) as Narrator

Television work

  • Great Catherine (1948, TV Movie)
  • Norby (1955) as Preston Norby / Pearson Norby (canceled after 13 episodes)
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (Season 2 Episode 28: "One More Mile to Go") as Sam Jacoby
  • The Strawberry Blonde (1959, TV Movie) as Biff Grimes
  • The Twilight Zone, "Escape Clause" (1959) as Walter Bedeker
  • Wagon Train (1960) ('The Shad Bennington Story') as Shadrack Bennington
  • Naked City, "The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish" (1962) as Herbert Konish
  • Teahouse of the August Moon (1962 TV movie) as Sakini
  • Kings of Broadway (1962, TV Movie) (unsold pilot)
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
     (1963) (Season 1 Episode 15: "The Thirty-First of February") as Andrew Anderson
  • Cowboy and the Tiger (1963, TV Movie) as Narrator (unsold pilot)
  • Lamp At Midnight (1966, TV Movie) as Father Firenzuola
  • Batman (1966, guest villain, episodes 13, 14, 69, 70) as The Mad Hatter
  • Arsenic and Old Lace (1969, TV Movie) as Teddy Brewster
  • The Boy Who Stole the Elephant (1970, TV Movie) as Colonel Rufus Ryder
  • Night Gallery, "The Diary" (1971) as Dr. Mill (segment "The Diary")
  • Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971, TV Movie) as Himself (uncredited)
  • The Good Life (1971–1972) as Charles Dutton
  • The Catcher (1972, TV Movie) as Armand Faber
  • The Dark Side (1972) (unsold pilot)
  • The Streets of San Francisco (1972, TV Series) as Wally Sensibaugh
  • Banacek ("Ten Thousand Dollars a Page") (1973) as Walter Tyson
  • Hawaii Five-O ("30,000 Rooms and I Have the Key") (1974) as Monsieur Bordeaux
  • Return of the Big Cat (1974, TV Movie) as Grandpa Jubal
  • Barney Miller ("Bureaucrat") (1975) as E. J. Heiss[10]
  • Gunsmoke ("I Have Promises to Keep") (1973-1975) as Reverend Byrne / Judge Warfield
  • It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
     (1975, TV Movie) as Dr. Abner Sedgwick
  • Ellery Queen (1975–1976) as Inspector Richard Queen
  • Once an Eagle
     (1976, TV Mini-Series) as Colonel Terwilliger
  • In the Glitter Palace (1977, TV Movie) as Nate Redstone
  • Hunter
     ("Yesterday Upon the Stair") (1977)
  • Black Beauty (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Mr. Dowling / Narrator
  • Loose Change (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Dr. Moe Sinden
  • Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978, TV Movie) as Mickey Mills
  • Dallas (1978) as Digger Barnes
  • The Gift of Love (1978, TV Movie) as O'Henry / Narrator
  • The Girls in the Office (1979, TV Movie) as Ben Nayfack
  • An American Christmas Carol (1979, TV Movie) as Merrivale
  • Eight is Enough
     (1980) as Matt
  • House Calls (1979–1982) as Dr. Amos Weatherby
  • Matt Houston (1984) S2/Ep20, “Blood Ties” as Bill Houston
  • Murder, She Wrote (1985, TV Series) as Cyrus Leffingwell
  • Newhart (1985, TV Series) as Mr. Pittman (episode "Pirate Pete")
  • The Golden Girls (1986) as Big Daddy
  • Poker Alice (1987, TV Movie, based on the frontier gambler Poker Alice, with Elizabeth Taylor in the starring role) as Amos (final film role)

Stage appearances

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1952 Stars in the Air Good Sam[11]
1953 Lux Radio Theatre Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie[12]

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lueck, Thomas J. (February 13, 1995). "David Wayne, Sprightly and Versatile Actor, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015. When World War II began he was rejected by the Army, but volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in North Africa with the American Field Service.
  2. ^ a b Folkart, Burt A. (February 13, 1995). "David Wayne, 81; Versatile Actor Won 2 Tony Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 December 2019. In the early days of the war he drove an ambulance in Africa for the British. After the United States joined the war he served with the U.S. Army.
  3. ^ "Theatre World Award Recipients". Theatre World Awards. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Search Results: David Wayne". Tony Awards. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. ^ Kleiner, Dick. "The Actors Studio: Making Stars Out of the Unknown," The Sarasota Journal. December 21, 1956, p. 26. "That first year, they interviewed around 700 actors and picked 50. In that first group were people like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, Margaret Phillips, Maureen Stapleton, Kim Stanley, Jo Van Fleet, Eli Wallach, Ray Walston and David Wayne."
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0
    . Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  7. ^ "David Wayne's Son Missing With a Friend in Canada". The New York Times. August 24, 1970.
  8. ^ "Actor's Son Believed Dead". The New York Times. August 29, 1970. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
  10. ^ "Barney Miller (TV series) "Bureaucrat" (1975)". IMDb. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ Kirby, Walter (May 3, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 52. Retrieved June 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links

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