| Wendell Corey | |
| Office: | Member of the Santa Monica City Council |
| Term Start: | 1965 |
| Term End: | 1968 |
| Birth Name: | Wendell Reid Corey |
| Birth Date: | March 20, 1914 |
| Birth Place: | Dracut, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Woodland Hills, California, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Children: | 4 |
Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a board member of the Screen Actors Guild, and also served on the Santa Monica City Council.
Corey was born in Dracut, Massachusetts,[1] the son of Milton Rothwell Corey (October 24, 1879 – October 23, 1951) and Julia Etta McKenney (April 11, 1882 – June 16, 1947). His father was a Congregationalist clergyman and an actor who appeared in Rawhide as Dr Tucker. Wendell was educated in Springfield, Massachusetts. His ancestors included U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.[1]
After graduating from high school in Springfield, Corey sold washing machines and refrigerators at a Springfield department store, when he stopped by to see a friend who was acting at the Springfield Repertory Theater.
The group needed an actor to play the role of a Swedish janitor in Street Scene. Corey took the role and stayed with the theater group for a year, working in the department store during the day and acting at night. He went into acting full time after that with a theater group in Holyoke. He went on to serve a long apprenticeship in the theater, producing, directing and acting in hundreds of plays in summer stock.[2] [3] Corey also was employed by the Federal Theatre Project".[4]
While appearing as the cynical newspaperman in Elmer Rice's comedy Dream Girl (1945), he was seen by producer Hal Wallis, who persuaded him to sign a contract with Paramount and pursue a motion picture career in Hollywood.[5] Corey's feature film debut came as a gangster in Wallis's Desert Fury (1947) starring Burt Lancaster, John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, and Mary Astor. In 1947 he appeared in The Voice of the Turtle on stage with Margaret Sullavan in England.[6]
Wallis promoted him to co-star status in The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) where he appeared opposite Barbara Stanwyck. Corey had a good part in Columbia's No Sad Songs for Me (1950) playing Margaret Sullavan's husband.[7] He co-starred with Lana Turner in A Life of Her Own but pulled out after only a few days claiming he was miscast. He was replaced by Ray Milland.[8] Corey had one of his most memorable roles when he played Lt. Thomas Doyle in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. He toured the US on stage in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial in 1954.[9]
Corey portrayed Lou Gehrig in "The Lou Gehrig Story" for the television series Climax! (1955). He was a series lead in Harbor Command (1957–1958) for which Corey starred with Casey Walters.[10]
Corey was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1961 to 1963 and was a member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild. A Republican campaigner in national politics since 1956, Corey was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in April 1965.[11] Corey supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.[12]
Corey died November 8, 1968, at age 54 at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.[13] Initial reports stated the cause of death was liver disease, however the likely cause was cirrhosis of the liver as Corey's alcoholism was well-known.[2] [14] Funeral services were held at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, California.[15]
Wendell Corey has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded for his work in TV, at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles.[16]
| Year | Title | width=250px | Role ! | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Desert Fury | Johnny Ryan | ||
| 1948 | I Walk Alone | Dave | ||
| The Search | Jerry Fisher | |||
| Man-Eater of Kumaon | Dr. John Collins | |||
| Sorry, Wrong Number | Doctor Alexander | |||
| 1949 | The Accused | Lieutenant Ted Dorgan | ||
| Any Number Can Play | Robbin Elcott | |||
| Holiday Affair | Carl Davis | |||
| 1950 | The File on Thelma Jordon | Cleve Marshall | ||
| No Sad Songs for Me | Brad Scott | |||
| The Furies | Rip Darrow | |||
| Harriet Craig | Walter Craig | |||
| 1951 | The Great Missouri Raid | |||
| Rich, Young and Pretty | Jim Stauton Rogers | |||
| The Wild Blue Yonder | Captain Harold Calvert | |||
| 1952 | The Wild North | Constable Pedley | ||
| Carbine Williams | Captain H.T. Peoples | |||
| My Man and I | Ansel Ames | |||
| 1953 | Jamaica Run | Todd Dacey | ||
| Laughing Anne | Captain Davidson | |||
| 1954 | Hell's Half Acre | Chet Chester | ||
| Rear Window | Detective Lieutenant Thomas J. "Tom" Doyle | |||
| 1955 | The Big Knife | Smiley Coy | ||
| 1956 | The Killer Is Loose | Leon Poole | ||
| The Bold and the Brave | Dave Fairchild | |||
| The Rack | Major Sam Moulton | |||
| The Rainmaker | Deputy Sheriff J.S. File | |||
| 1957 | Loving You | Walter "Tex" Warner | ||
| 1958 | The Light in the Forest | Wilse Owens | ||
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Timber Woods | Season 4 Episode 1: "Poison" | ||
| 1959 | Alias Jesse James | |||
| 1964 | Blood on the Arrow | Clint Mailer | ||
| 1966 | Agent for H.A.R.M. | Jim Graff | ||
| Broken Sabre | Major Whitcomb | (episodes of Branded edited for a feature film) | ||
| Women of the Prehistoric Planet | Admiral David King | |||
| Waco | Preacher Sam Stone | |||
| Cyborg 2087 | Sheriff | |||
| Picture Mommy Dead | Lawyer Clayborn | |||
| 1967 | Red Tomahawk | Sy Elkins | ||
| 1968 | Buckskin | Rep Marlowe | ||
| The Star Maker | Paul Lemont | |||
| 1969 | The Astro-Zombies | Holman | (final film role) |
| Year | Program | Episode/source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America | Away Boarders | |
| 1952 | Broadway Playhouse | The Big Clock[17] | |
| 1953 | Theatre Guild on the Air | Kate Fennigate[18] | |
| 1953 | Stars over Hollywood | Bus Driver's Holiday[19] |