John Brown (actor)

John Brown (April 4, 1904 – May 16, 1957) was a British actor.^[1]

John Brown
Publicity Photo of John Brown
Born	(1904-04-04)April 4, 1904 Hull, Yorkshire, England
Died	May 16, 1957(1957-05-16) (aged 53) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1932–1957

Radio

Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley,^[2] played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma,^[3] both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley,^[4] (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre,^[5] and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.^[6]

Film

Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.

Television

In early television, Brown was the second actor (after Hal March) to play "Harry Morton", the next-door neighbor of George Burns and Gracie Allen in their situation comedy show, opposite Bea Benaderet; his tenure on the series lasted six months, and he was replaced by Fred Clark in June 1951.

Personal life

In 1952, Brown was placed on the Hollywood blacklist.^[7]

Death

Brown died of a heart attack on May 16, 1957, in West Hollywood, California, while en route to his doctor's office.^[1][8]

Filmography

Radio

Original Air Date	Program	Role	Notes
1932	Police Headquarters
1932–1936	Roses and Drums
1935–1943	Town Hall Tonight/The Fred Allen Show/Texaco Star Theatre	John Doe Various characters
1939	Arch Oboler's Plays
1940–1945	Amanda of Honeymoon Hill	Mr. Lenord
1942	Tillie the Toiler	Mr. Simpkins
1943–1949	The Abbott and Costello Show	Travelling salesmen Police officers
1943	Busy Mr. Bingle	Mr. Bingle
1943–1945	The Jack Benny Program	Airplane Captain John Doe Various characters
1944	This Is My Best "The Plot To Overthrow Christmas"	The Devil
1944	The Burns and Allen Show
1944–1945	It's Time to Smile
1945	The Drene Show
1944–1946	The Charlotte Greenwood Show	William Anderson
1944–1950	A Date with Judy	Dad
1944–1951	The Life of Riley	Digby "Digger" O'Dell Gillis Additional voices
1945–1950	The Saint	Inspector Fernack
1945–1952	The Adventures of Maisie	Mr. Dorsey
1945–1954	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	Thorny Thornberry
1946–1951	A Day in the Life of Dennis Day	Mr. Willoughby
1947–1954	My Friend Irma	Al
1948–1949	The Damon Runyon Theatre	Broadway
1949	Young Love	James Lewis' Dad
1952–1953	December Bride	Various characters

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1944	Casanova Brown	Fire chief	Uncredited
1945	The Horn Blows at Midnight	Lew Poplinski – Waiter	Uncredited
1945	It's in the Bag!	Joe – Nightclub Doorman	Uncredited
1946	A Knight for a Day	Narrator[9]	Voice, Uncredited
1946	Make Mine Music	Umpire	Voice
1946	The Stranger	Passport Photographer	Uncredited
1948	Make Mine Freedom	People	Voice, Uncredited
1949	The Life of Riley	Digby "Digger" O'Dell
1949	Winter Storage	Chip 'n' Dale	Voice, Uncredited
1951	Three Desperate Men	Fairwether
1951	The Lemon Drop Kid	Minor Role	Uncredited
1951	Symphony in Slang	St. Peter The Hipster Noah Webster[9]	Voice
1951	Strangers on a Train	Professor Collins
1951	The Day the Earth Stood Still	George Barley	Uncredited
1952	The Sniper	Wise	Uncredited
1952	Somebody Loves Me	Auto Salesman	Uncredited
1952	Something for the Birds	Mr. Lund
1952	Hans Christian Andersen	Schoolmaster
1953	That's My Pup	Spike[9]	Voice, uncredited
1953	T.V. of Tomorrow	Las Vegas Special Narrator "We’re getting a picture now" Narrator[9]	Voice, uncredited
1953	The Unicorn in the Garden	Husband Psychiatrist[9]	Voice
1953	Robot Monster	Ro-Man Great Guidance	Voice
1953	Crazylegs	Keller
1953	Man Crazy	Mr. Duncan
1953	The Bigamist	Dr. Wallace	Uncredited
1953	The Wild One	Bill Hannegan
1954	The Farm of Tomorrow	Tomato Narrator[9]	Voice, uncredited
1954	Dixieland Droopy	Narrator Agent[9]	Voice, Uncredited, (final film role)

Television

Year	Program	Role	Notes
1949–1950	The Life of Riley	Digby "Digger" O'Dell	Was the only original cast member to join the television version
1951	I Love Lucy	Mr. Murdoch	"The Mustache"
1951	The Amos 'n Andy Show	The Loan Shark	"Leroy Lends a Hand" Uncredited
1951	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show	Harry Morton
1952	Biff Baker, U.S.A.	Mueller	"Counterfeit Plates"

References

1. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. p. 43.
2. Buxton, Frank (1997). The Big Broadcast 1920–1950 2nd Edition. Scarecrow Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0810829572. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
3. Gargiulo, Suzanne (2002). Hans Conreid: A Biography; With a Filmography and a Listing of Radio, Television, Stage and Voice Work. McFarland. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7864-1338-6. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
4. "The Life of Riley". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
5. "The Damon Runyon Theatre". Digital Deli Too. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
6. Nachman, Gerald (1998). Raised on Radio, p. 247. Pantheon Books, New York. ISBN 037540287X.
7. "Reliving The Scare: Looking Back On 'Red Channels'". NPR.org.
8. "Digger O'Dell Dies". The Kansas City Times. Associated Press. 18 May 1957. p. 2. Retrieved 26 April 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.

External links

• John Brown at IMDb
• John Brown at Find a Grave
• The Damon Runyon Theatre – audio files of the complete series, freely available at the Internet Archive