Ford Rainey

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Ford Rainey (born August 8, 1908 in Mountain Home , Idaho - † July 25, 2005 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American actor .

Life

As a boy, Rainey was very shy but found an outlet in the school theater. He later went to New York City and studied with Michael Chekhov . He pursued a wide variety of work, including as a fisherman and carpenter, before he made his main occupation as an artist as a graduate of the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. After a few appearances in various theaters in the country, he made his debut on Broadway in 1939 . Only two years later he played his first leading role in Shakespeare's King Lear .

During the Second World War he worked for the US Coast Guard , after which he went to California , where he founded the Ojai Valley Players group with Michael Chekhov and some of his fellow actors .

In 1949 he made his feature film debut as a scalded gangster in James Cagey's dark gangster drama Jump to Death . Numerous roles in films of various genres followed. Rainey starred in westerns like Zwei ritten together (with James Stewart ) and Flammender Stern (with Elvis Presley ), monumental epics like Das Gewand (with Richard Burton ), dramas like His Name Was Parrish (with Claudette Colbert ), adventure films like Guardians of the Wild ( in the role of Abraham Lincoln , whom he played several times during his career), horror films such as Halloween II , court drama such as Gideon's bang (with Henry Fonda ), war films such as Gunboat on the Yangtze River (with Steve McQueen ) and comedies such as Agents Live Lonely ( with Roger Moore ).

Rainey also played countless guest roles in television series such as Bonanza , Smoking Colts and Perry Mason . In the series The 7 Million Dollar Woman he played the role of Jim Elgin for two years and in the series The Manhunter the father of the main character, the private detective Dave Barrett ( Ken Howard ). One of his last roles was the weird senior citizen Mickey , whom he played in eight episodes of the sitcom King of Queens between 1999 and 2003 .

Ford Rainey had been married to fellow actress Sheila Hayden since 1954 . He died on July 25, 2005 after multiple strokes in a hospital in Santa Monica , California .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rainey, Ford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Mountain Home , Idaho , United States
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 2005
Place of death Santa Monica , California , United States