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McDowallBorn September 17, 1928 in London, England, Roderick (Roddy) MacDowell was the son of a merchant mariner and housewife mother, both of whom had an interest in the theatre. His older sister Virginia (1927-2006) and he were both child actors.

He made his screen debut in 1938’s Murder in the Family as the younger brother of Jessica Tandy and Glynis Johns. Three years and sixteen films later he made his Hollywood debut at the age of 12 in Fritz Lang’s Man Hunt with Walter Pidgeon. Later that year he was fifth billed but essentially the lead in John Ford’s Oscar winning How Green Was My Valley which made him a household name. While it is often assumed that he won a juvenile acting Oscar for that performance, he sadly did not.

McDowall emerged from How Green Was My Valley as the most popular boy actor of the day. Within the next three years he would appear fifth billed as the young Tyrone Power in Son of Fury, second billed only to Monty Woolley in The Pied Piper, top billed in My Friend Flicka and Lassie Come Home, third billed as Irene Dunne’s son who grows up to be Peter Lawford in The White Cliffs of Dover and fifth billed as the young Gregory Peck in The Keys of the Kingdom. He continued to alternate star roles with major supporting turns throughout his teen years, most notably as the leads in 1945’s Thunderhead – Son of Flicka and 1948’s Kidnapped.

With film roles no longer that easy to come by he turned to TV and the Broadway stage, most notably in 1957’s Compulsion with the eight years younger Dean Stockwell who had succeeded him as Hollywood’s most popular boy actor. He won a Tony for his featured role in 1959’s The Fighting Cock and was memorable as Mordred in 1960’s Camelot. He then began to show up again on screen in minor roles in Midnight Lace and The Longest Day and to some was the best thing about the bloated 1963 version of Cleopatra.

McDowall emerged once again as a household name with his portrayal of the intelligent ape Cornelius in 1968’s Planet of the Apes and several sequels including a 1974 TV series. Although he remained busy on screen for the remainder of his life, his most prominent later roles were in the horror films, The Legend of Hell House (1973) and Fright Night (1986) as well as his last, the animated A Bug’s Life (1998).

The actor was a noted film preservationist, a collector of over 1,000 books on Hollywood and Broadway and a noted photographer, his photographs appearing in numerous high profile magazines. He was the published author of five books of interviews and photographs of his Hollywood friends including Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Maureen O’Hara, Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall. His monthly house parties included guests ranging from Bette Davis and Greta Garbo to Johnny Depp and Billy Bob Thornton in later years.

Although never nominated for an Academy Award himself, Roddy McDowall was chairman of the Actors Branch of the Board of Governors for five terms (ten years) and at the time of his death was President of the Academy Foundation where he worked tirelessly on behalf of the Motion Picture Retirement Home where a rose garden was later named in his honor.

Roddy McDowall died of lung cancer on October 3, 1998 at the age of 70.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941), directed by John Ford

Ford’s masterful film is often dismissed by no-nothing film snobs who can’t get over the fact that it won the Best Picture Oscar over Citizen Kane when it is in fact one of the best films ever to win that award.

The film is timeless in its depiction of the plight of coal-miners, family travails and just plain growing up. Donald Crisp and Sara Allgood are unforgettable as the Welsh parents of five sons and a daughter, all of whom except for their youngest son, played by 12-year-old McDowall, will leave them for greener pastures over the course of the film. So, too, are Maureen O’Hara as the daughter, Anna Lee as the widowed daughter-in-law, Walter Pidgeon as the local minister and too many supporting players to name. McDowall is every bit their equal, appearing in almost every scene in the film, quietly stealing more than a few of them..

THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER (1944), directed by Clarence Brown

After How Green Was My Valley made McDowall a household name, his acting primarily with a horse in My Friend Flicka and a dog in Lassie Come Home kept him an audience favorite, but I think his second best childhood performance was in this MGM tearjerker in the mode of the Oscar-winning Mrs. Miniver.

Irene Dunne was at her best as the American born nurse who loses her British husband (Alan Marshall) to World War I and her son (Peter Lawford) to World War II. Most of her story is told in flashback as her son lies dying in a hospital bed as she attends him. What makes the story so heart-wrenching is that the son as a child is played by McDowall at his most forthright and sincere. Having already seen him grow up to be the stalwart Tyrone Power in Son of Fury and anticipating seeing him as the young Gregory Peck in The Keys of the Kingdom, audiences were brought to tears simply knowing that this wonderful kid was not going to have the awesome life of the characters played by Power and Peck.

CLEOPATRA (1963), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

This bloated epic was nominated for nine Oscars and won four, none of them deserved. Even Leon Shamroy’s Oscar winning cinematography, quite possibly the best aspect of the film, was overshadowed by his also nominated work on The Cardinal.the film that shuld have gotten him his fourth Oscar.

Rex Harrison was nominated for Best Actor, largely for putting up with the wooden acting of Elizabeth Taylor and the over-acting of Richard Burton. Ironically the only performance in the film that deserved awards consideration was that of McDowall as the conniving Octavius Caesar. Unfortunately for him, this was the era of studios having to tell the Academy which actors should be considered leads, and which should be considered supporting. Through a clerical error, the entire cast was submitted as leads, thus extinguishing McDowall’s best shot ever at an Oscar.

PLANET OF THE APES (1968), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

McDowall gave one of his most poignant performances behind an ape mask in this classic science fiction film that spawned numerous sequels and a short-lived TV series, most of them with McDowall. There have been three new theatrical films since 2001 with another in the works.

No ordinary science fiction film, its source novel was written by the author The Bridge on the River Kwai. The screenplay was by Michael Wilson (A Placein the Sun) and Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone). Its director would soon win an Oscar for Patton and its star was Charlton Heston at his best. Best of all, though, was John Chambers’ ape makeup which won an honorary Oscar and the performances of the three principal apes, McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans.

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985), directed by Tom Holland

The last great old-fashioned vampire movie, Holland’s film starts out as a light-hearted comedy but ends up as satisfyingly gory as any horror movie this side of unpleasant ought to be.

Chris Sarandon makes a dashing vampire. It’s not difficult to understand why his victims would be easily seduced. William Ragsdale is perfectly cast as the teenager no one believes has a vampire living next door. Amanda Bearse as his girl and Stephen Geoffreys as his best friend are also quite good as is Jonathan Stark as Sarandon’s helper. Best of all, though, is McDowall as a former movie vampire killer, now a local TV host of horror movies who must find the strength and the courage to battle a real live vampire. It’s one of his finest performances.

RODDY McDOWALL AND OSCAR

  • No nominations, no wins.

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