Roddy McDowall

Roddy McDowall was born in Herne Hill, London, England, to Winifriede Lucinda (Corcoran), an Irish-born aspiring actress, and Thomas Andrew McDowall, a merchant seaman. Roddy was enrolled in elocution courses at age five and by ten had appeared in his first film, Murder in the Family (1938), playing Peter Osborne, the younger brother of sisters played by Jessica Tandy and Glynis Johns. His mother brought Roddy and his sister to the U. S.

at the beginning of World War II, and he soon got the part of Huw, youngest child in a family of Welsh coal miners, in John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941), acting alongside Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara and Donald Crisp in the film that won that year's best film Oscar.

Became close, lifelong friends with Peggy Ann Garner while filming The Pied Piper (1942) with her in 1941.

He went on to many other child roles, in films like My Friend Flicka (1943) and Lassie Come Home (1943) until, at age eighteen, he moved to New York, where he played a long series of successful stage roles, both on Broadway and in such venues as Connecticut's Stratford Festival, where he did Shakespeare. He became a U. S.

He cast his mother Winifriede McDowall as the innkeeper's wife in Kidnapped (1948). Although she dreamed of being an actress, it was her only on screen role.

An accomplished ballroom dancer, he won both the Charleston and Cha-Cha contests on the The Arthur Murray Party (1950).

Won Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "The Fighting Cock".

A clerical error on the part of 20th Century-Fox cost McDowall a likely Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Caesar Augustus Octavian in Cleopatra (1963). The studio erroneously listed him as a leading player rather than a supporting one. When 20th Century-Fox asked the Academy to correct the error, it refused, saying the ballots already were at the printer. 20th Century-Fox then published an open letter in the trade papers, apologizing to McDowall: "We feel that it is important that the industry realize that your electric performance as Octavian in Cleopatra, which was unanimously singled out by the critics as one of the best supporting performances by an actor this year, is not eligible for an Academy Award nomination in that category... due to a regrettable error on the part of 20th Century-Fox.".

On March 10, 1965, he attended the Los Angeles premiere of The Sound of Music (1965) as the date of the movie's star, Julie Andrews.

Had appeared on three different Batman series: he played the Bookworm in Batman (1966) and the Mad Hatter (Dr. Jervis Tetch) in Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and its spin-off The New Batman Adventures (1997).

Had appeared on an episode of The Carol Burnett Show (1967) wearing his Planet of the Apes (1968) make-up. The look of fright on Carol Burnett's face was reputed to be genuine.

Along with Woodrow Parfrey, Norman Burton and Eldon Burke, he is one of only four actors to appear in both Planet of the Apes (1968) and Planet of the Apes (1974).

Both of the series in which he starred were short-lived science fiction series produced in the 1970s: Planet of the Apes (1974) and The Fantastic Journey (1977).

In 1974, the FBI raided his home and seized his collection of films and television series during an investigation of copyright infringement and movie piracy. The collection consisted of 160 16mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes. The value of the films was conservatively assessed at $5,005,426 by representatives of the movie industry. The actor was not charged and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. There was then no aftermarket for films, as the commercial video recorder had not been marketed, and studios routinely destroyed old negatives and prints of classic films they felt had no worth. Film buffs like McDowall had to purchase 16mm prints of films from the studios, or movie prints on the black market, or from other collectors. He claimed that he had once had as many as 337 movies in his collection, but at the time of the investigation he was not sure how many were still in his possession. He had bought Errol Flynn's movie collection, and had acquired other films through purchases or swaps. McDowall told the FBI that he had transferred many of his films to videotape in order to conserve space and because tape was longer-lasting than film, and subsequently had sold or traded the prints, plus other prints of movies he had lost interest in, to other collectors. He said that he collected the films due to his love of the cinema and to help protect the movies' heritage. McDowall also said that being in possession of prints of his own films allowed him to study his acting and improve his craft. One of the films he had purchased, from American-International Pictures, was Tam Lin (1970), a movie he himself had directed. He explained that he believed that he was not in violation of copyright, as he was not showing the films for profit, nor trying to make a profit when selling his prints as he charged only what he remembered as the price he himself paid. He believed he had purchased some of the films outright from 20th Century-Fox, but learned subsequently from his lawyer that his agreement with 20th Century-Fox meant the studio retained ownership of the prints, and that he was forbidden to sell, trade or lend them out. McDowall was forthcoming about the individuals he dealt with on the black market, and also named Rock Hudson, Dick Martin and Mel Tormé as other celebrities with film collections.

After working with him in The Fantastic Journey (1977), Roddy sent Christmas cards to his co-star Ike Eisenmann every year without fail; until his death in 1998.

Was Jay Sandrich's first choice for the lead role of Arthur Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), but was unavailable, hence, the role was given to Gordon Jump, who previously played the chief police officer on Soap (1977).

He was considered for the role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the horror miniseries It (1990), which went to Tim Curry.

Had played the same character (The Mad Hatter) on three different series: Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Superman: The Animated Series (1996) and The New Batman Adventures (1997).

Explained in 1995 during an interview for American cable station USA Network the limitations of his make-up on Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Overwhelmed by frustration over the inability to eat, touch his face and the constant itch brought on by the chimpanzee prosthetics, he admitted to crying.

Final stage appearance was as Ebenezer Scrooge in the New York City production of "A Christmas Carol" in 1997. He alternated performances with Hal Linden.

In December 1998, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) honored him for his acting career and critically acclaimed photography by naming its photo archive after him. The collection, which includes several million negatives and stills, will be known as the Roddy McDowall Photograph Archive at the Margaret Herrick Library.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 396-398. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.