Edward Gildea De Corsia (September 29, 1903 – April 11, 1973) was an American radio, film, and television actor, best remembered for his chilling debut in The Lady from Shanghai (1947), as the ex-wrestler murderer Willie Garzah in the film The Naked City (1948), and as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).
Ted de Corsia | |
|---|---|
 De Corsia in Vengeance Valley (1951) | |
| Born | Edward Gildea De Corsia September 29, 1903 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | April 11, 1973 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1928–1972 |
| Spouses | Mary Robertson
(m. 1934; div. 1935)Rachel Thurber
(m. 1939, divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: background on his upbringing and the path taken to his career. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023) |
Career
Radio
De Corsia was a member of the cast of Blackstone Plantation.[1] He starred in the title role on Mike Hammer[2] and played Sergeant Velie on The Adventures of Ellery Queen.[3] He also voiced roles on Family Theater,[2] The March of Time, Cavalcade of America, Gang Busters,[4] and The Shadow.
Film
He made his film debut in Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films, including The Naked City (1948), The Enforcer (1951), Crime Wave (1954), The Big Combo (1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson (1957), Slightly Scarlet (1956), and The Joker is Wild (1957).
In his last feature, The Outside Man (1972) with Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.
Television
In the late 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, mostly westerns. He appeared in S2 E15 of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" playing George Winters in "Chain Gang" which aired 12/10/1959.
He was featured on three episodes of the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason, including the episodes "The Case of the Drifting Dropout" (1964), in which he played murder victim Mort Lynch, and "The Case of the Positive Negative" (1966), in the role of murder victim George Emory. Other notable television series appearances included The Lone Ranger; The Untouchables; The Twilight Zone; Sea Hunt; I Dream of Jeannie; The Outer Limits, and The Monkees
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | The Lady from Shanghai | Sidney Broome | |
| 1948 | The Naked City | Willie Garzah | |
| 1949 | The Life of Riley | Norman | |
| Neptune's Daughter | Lukie Luzette | ||
| It Happens Every Spring | Manager Jimmy Dolan | ||
| Mr. Soft Touch | Rainey | ||
| 1950 | The Outriders | Bye | |
| Cargo to Capetown | Rhys | ||
| Three Secrets | Del Prince | ||
| 1951 | The Enforcer | Joe Rico | |
| Vengeance Valley | Herb Backett | ||
| A Place In The Sun | Judge R.S. Oldendorff | ||
| Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison | Warden Ben Rickey | ||
| New Mexico | Acoma, Indian Chief | ||
| Crazy Over Horses | Duke | ||
| 1952 | Captain Pirate | Captain Easterling | |
| The Savage | Iron Breast | ||
| The Turning Point | Harrigan | ||
| 1953 | Man in the Dark | Lefty | |
| Ride, Vaquero! | Sheriff Parker | ||
| Hot News | Dino Rizzo | ||
| Crime Wave | 'Doc' Penny | ||
| 1954 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Captain Farragut | |
| 1955 | The Big Combo | Ralph Bettini | |
| Man with the Gun | 'Frenchy' Lescaux | ||
| Kismet | Police Sub-altern | ||
| 1956 | The Conqueror | Kumlek | |
| Slightly Scarlet | Solly Caspar | ||
| The Steel Jungle | Steve Marlin | ||
| The Kettles in the Ozarks | Professor | ||
| Mohawk | Indian Chief Kowanen | ||
| The Killing | Patrolman Randy Kennan | ||
| Showdown at Abilene | Dan Claudius | ||
| Dance with Me, Henry | Big Frank | ||
| 1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Shanghai Pierce | |
| The Lawless Eighties | Grat Bandas | ||
| The Midnight Story | Lieutenant Kilrain | ||
| The Joker is Wild | Georgie Parker | ||
| Gun Battle at Monterey | Max Reno | ||
| Man on the Prowl | Detective | ||
| Baby Face Nelson | Rocca | ||
| 1958 | Handle with Care | Sam Lawrence | |
| South Seas Adventure | Supplemental Narration | Voice | |
| Enchanted Island | Captain Vangs | ||
| The Buccaneer | Captain Rumbo | ||
| 1959 | Inside the Mafia | Augie Martello | |
| 1960 | Oklahoma Territory | Chief Buffalo Horn | |
| Noose for a Gunman | Jack Cantrell | ||
| From the Terrace | Mr. Ralph W. Benziger | ||
| Spartacus | Legionnaire | Uncredited | |
| 1962 | It's Only Money | Patrolman | |
| 1964 | The Quick Gun | Jud Spangler | |
| Blood on the Arrow | Jud | ||
| 1965 | The Money Trap | Police Captain | Uncredited |
| 1966 | Nevada Smith | Hudson, Bartender | |
| 1967 | The King's Pirate | Captain McTigue | |
| 1968 | 5 Card Stud | Eldon Bates | |
| 1970 | The Delta Factor | Ames | |
| 1972 | The Outside Man | Victor | (final film role) |
Selected television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | The Lone Ranger | Sam Slater | Season 4 Episode 34: "Gold Freight" |
| 1957 | Have Gun - Will Travel | Chief Harry Blackfoot | Season 1 Episode 13: "The Englishman" |
| 1957 | Official Detective | Lieutenant Evans | Season 1 Episode 13: "Bombing Terror" |
| 1958 | Official Detective | Lieutenant Evans | Season 1 Episode 39: "Bombing Terror" |
| 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Police Inspector Salva | Season 5 Episode 9: "Dead Weight" |
| 1960 | Wanted Dead or Alive | Arthur Barchester | Season 3, Episode 10 "The Medicine Man" |
| 1961 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Lieutenant Christensen | Season 7 Episode 7: "You Can't Be a Little Girl All Your Life" |
| 1961 | Rawhide | Sheriff | Season 3 Episode 24: "Incident of the Lost Idol" |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Police Lieutenant Herlie | Season 2 Episode 13: "The Magic Shop" |
| 1967 | Get Smart | Spinoza | Season 3, Episode 8 "When Good Fellows Get Together"[5] |
| 1967 | The Monkees | Frank | Season 2 Episode 12: "Hitting the High Seas" |
References
External links
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