George Dolenz

George Dolenz (born Jure Dolenc; akas: Giorgio Dolenz and George Dolentz; January 5, 1908  – February 8, 1963) was an American film actor born in Trieste (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Italy), in the city's Slovene community.^{[citation needed]}

George Dolenz
Dolenz in Vendetta (1950)
Born	Jure Dolenc (1908-01-05)January 5, 1908 Trieste, Austria-Hungary
Died	February 8, 1963(1963-02-08) (aged 55) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S.
Other names	Giorgio Dolenz George Dolentz
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1941–1963
Spouse	Janelle Johnson ​ ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	4, including Micky Dolenz
Relatives	Ami Dolenz (granddaughter)[1]

Biography

Under the name Giorgio Dolenz (Slovene: Jure Dolenc), he emigrated to the United States via Cuba, arriving by steamship at the port of Key West, Florida, in October 1934. By 1937, Dolenz was in Hollywood and working as a waiter.^{[citation needed]} After appearing in small parts in B movies, he graduated to supporting roles. Following the end of World War II, Dolenz became a leading man under contract to RKO Pictures under Howard Hughes. However, the failure of the feature film Vendetta in 1950 resulted in his return to character and supporting parts for other studios, including MGM's The Last Time I Saw Paris as the husband of Donna Reed's character.

He was cast as the star of the 1956 ITC Entertainment 39-episode television series The Count of Monte Cristo as title character Edmond Dantes.

On April 21, 1958, Dolenz played Count Peter Von Gilsa in the episode "The Outlander" of the NBC Western television series The Restless Gun.^[2]

In 1959, he portrayed Colonel Gutterez in "The Town Is a Prisoner" episode of the NBC Western series Cimarron City.

Dolenz played Juan Amontillo in the 1961 episode "The Uncourageous" of the ABC Western series The Rebel. That same year, he played Ramon Ortega in the "Brand of Honesty" episode of the NBC Western series The Deputy. His last role was playing Eduard D'Arcy in the season 4 episode 20 of Bonanza titled "Marie, My Love" aired February 10, 1963.

Dolenz married actress Janelle Johnson and they had four children: actor and singer Micky Dolenz (George Michael Dolenz) of the 1960s musical band the Monkees, Gemma "Coco" Dolenz, Gina Dolenz and Debbie Dolenz. ^[3]

Dolenz died of a heart attack in 1963 at the age of 55. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.^{[citation needed]}

Partial filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1941	Unexpected Uncle	George, Colony Club Headwaiter	Uncredited
1942	Take a Letter, Darling	Assistant Headwaiter	Uncredited
1943	No Time for Love	Captain of Waiters	Uncredited
	Young Ideas	Pepe
	Fired Wife	Oscar Blix
	The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler	Herman Marbach
	She's for Me	Phil Norwin
	Moonlight in Vermont	Lionel Devereau
1944	Resisting Enemy Interrogation	Capt. Volbricht	Uncredited
	In Society	Count Alexis
	The Climax	Amato Roselli
	Bowery to Broadway	George Henshaw
	Enter Arsène Lupin	Dubose
1945	Song of the Sarong	Kalo
	Easy to Look At	Antonio
	The Royal Mounted Rides Again	Constable 'Frenchy' Moselle	Serial
1946	Girl on the Spot	Leon Lorenz
	Idea Girl	Wilfred Potts
	Night in Paradise	Frigid Ambassador
1947	Song of Scheherazade	Pierre, the Headwaiter
1950	Vendetta	Lt. Orso Antonio della Rabia
1952	My Cousin Rachel	Guido Rainaldi
1953	Scared Stiff	Mr. Cortega
	Wings of the Hawk	Col. Paco Ruiz
1954	The Last Time I Saw Paris	Claude Matine
	Sign of the Pagan	Emperor Theodosius
1955	The Racers	Count Salem
	A Bullet for Joey	Dr. Carl Macklin
	The Purple Mask	Marcel Cadonal
1957	The Sad Sack	Ali Mustapha
1958	The Restless Gun	Peter VonGilsa	Episode "The Outlander"
1959	Timbuktu	Colonel Charles Dufort
1961	Look in Any Window	Carlo
1962	Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse	Gen. von Kleig

References

1. Cozad, W. Lee. More Magnificent Mountain Movies. W. Lee Cozad. p. 308. ISBN 0-9723372-3-7.
2. "The Outlander," The Restless Gun, DVD, Timeless Media Group
3. Rix, Juliet (August 14, 2015). "Micky Dolenz: my family values". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 24, 2023.

External links

• George Dolenz at IMDb
• New York Times Movies
• George Dolenz at Find a Grave