Robert Cornthwaite

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Robert Cornthwaite (born April 28, 1917 in St. Helens , Oregon , † July 20, 2006 in Woodland Hills , California ) was an American actor .

theatre

Cornthwaite gained his first experience as an actor in school theater performances. After graduating from high school , he began working on various California radio stations while attending college in Portland. He also worked as a stage actor in various productions at the local student theater as well as at Southern California's Ahmanson and the Pasadena Playhouse . Even in later years he took on stage engagements, including in 1991 at the South Coast Repertory Theater , where he played "Davies" in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker .

Movie and TV

The theater work soon led to engagements in film and television productions. In 1950 Cornthwaite made his feature film debut with a small role in the drama People Without a Soul ( Union Station ) with William Holden in the lead role. In the following year he became known to a wide audience through the Howard Hawks- produced science fiction film Das Ding aus Another Welt . In it, the 34-year-old Cornthwaite embodied the aging scientist “Dr. Carrington ”, who discovered an extra-terrestrial plant being in the arctic ice and wanted to keep it alive for science despite various murders. Cornthwaite starred in a few other science fiction films such as Battle of the Worlds (based on HG Wells ), Colossus (about the day after tomorrow).

In a film career spanning more than 50 years, Cornthwaite has appeared in over 50 film and 250 television productions. He played Darling I'm Getting Younger in comedies (with Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe ) and Dan Aykroyd's Dr. Detroit , westerns like One against All (with Joel McCrea ) and Waterhole No. 3 (with James Coburn ), thrillers like Rattennest (based on Mickey Spillane ), psychological thrillers like What Really Happened to Baby Jane? (with Bette Davis ), dramas such as Lindbergh - My flight over the ocean (with James Stewart in the role of the aviation pioneer) and music films such as Madonna's Who's That Girl? .

He has also made numerous guest appearances on television series such as Perry Mason , Twilight Zone , Cagney & Lacey , The Munsters , Cheers and The Denver Clan . In David E. Kelley's television series Picket Fences , he also played “Howard Buss” from 1992 to 1994, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and who ultimately even held the office of mayor despite his illness.

Robert Cornthwaite died on July 20, 2006 at the age of 89 at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, where he spent the last years of his life.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cornthwaite, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH St Helens , Oregon
DATE OF DEATH July 20, 2006
Place of death Woodland Hills , California