Russ Brown (actor)

For other people named Russell Brown, see Russell Brown (disambiguation).
Russ Brown
Born
Russel Brown

(1892-05-30)May 30, 1892
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 19, 1964(1964-10-19) (aged 72)
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1912–1964

Russell Brown (May 30, 1892 – October 19, 1964) was an American actor of stage, television, and screen. He also had a career as a journalist, working for several newspapers in the city of Philadelphia. On stage, he is a best known for his Tony Award-winning role of Benny Van Buren in the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees; a role he also reprised on film in 1958. Other highlights of his work in film were his portrayal of Captain Brackett in Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1958 movie version of the 1949 Broadway musical South Pacific, and as park caretaker George Lemon in the classic courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Murder (1959). On television he portrayed the recurring character of Thomas Jones, the father of the title character, in the legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones from 1960–1962.

Early life and career

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Russ Brown grew up in South Philadelphia. In his youth he sang as a boy soprano in his church's choir.[1] He made his Broadway debut as a member of the chorus in the original production of The Firefly in 1912-1913.[1] After this he toured the United States and Canada performing in vaudeville; getting stranded twice on tour, once in Fall River and once in Toronto.[1]

Brown returned to Philadelphia where he worked as a reporter for several Philadelphia newspapers.[1] Eventually he returned to the stage performing in vaudeville in an act with Bert Wheeler.[2] He married the actress Gertrude Whitaker during World War I, and the two performed in a vaudeville act together entitled Brown and Whitaker. Their marriage eventually ended in divorce.[1]

Broadway

Brown's first leading role on Broadway was as Jimmy Ridgeway in Lewis E. Gensler's 1928 musical Ups-a Daisy.[2] This was followed by the role of Sport in the 1930 musical Flying High in which he had particular success performing in the duet "Good for you–Bad for me".[3] He next starred on Broadway in two plays: Robert Carlyle in One Good Year (1935) and Pat Dunn in Louis Pelletier and Robert Sloane's Howdy Stranger (1937).[1] In 1940-1941 he starred as Dinky in the Yip Harburg and Burton Lane musical Hold On to Your Hats; a character reutilized by the musical book's writing team, Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, in several of their later musicals.[4]

In 1941 Brown had the biggest critical flop of his career, starring in the title role of the short lived Broadway musical Viva O'Brien; a creation of the composer María Grever.[3] He returned to Broadway with better success as the press agent Bob Becket in George S. Kaufman's Hollywood Pinafore in 1945. In 1947 he starred as Timothy Moore in the revival of Herbert and Dorothy Fields Up in Central Park. This was followed by appearances in the plays The Biggest Thief in Town (1949, as Horton Paige) and Clutterbuck (1949–1950). In 1950 he starred in the title role of a national tour of Finian's Rainbow;[5] a role which was reportedly the favorite of his career.[1]

From 1955–1957, Brown starred as Van Buren, the good natured manager of the Washington Senators baseball team, in Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musical Damn Yankees. He had particular success in this work with the song "Ya Gotta Have Heart".[1] For his stage performance in "Damn Yankees!", he earned the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1956; with his fellow stage partners Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon along with choreographer Bob Fosse all winning Tony Awards for the same production.[6] In 1959 Brown gave his final performance on Broadway portraying New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia in the Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick musical Fiorello!.[7]

Film and television

Brown made his screen debut in a short film with RKO Pictures, Russ Brown in 'the Palooka Flying School' (1930). One of the early films to experiment with sound, it was deemed a "novelty chatter routine that's too smart for the average picture audience."[8] This was followed by performances in the Broadway Brevities short film Footlights in December 1931,[9] and the 1933 Vitaphone Varieties comic short film Pie a la mode which features a baking contest that devolves into a pie throwing fight.[10]

Brown's first appearance in the United Artists feature length film was as Joe in the 1934 Sidney Lanfield musical film Moulin Rouge.[7][11] This was followed by supporting roles in the feature films Let's Talk It Over (1934), The Love Captive (1934), and Sweet Surrender (1935); all for Universal Pictures.[12] After this he appeared in several more short films, Carnival Time (1936, Universal Pictures), Boy, Oh Boy (1936, Mack Sennett Inc.), Strike! You're Out (1936, Skibo Productions), Off the Horses (1937, 20th Century Fox), and Air Parade (1938, Skibo Productions).[13]

In 1940 Brown returned briefly to making feature films with the RKO Radio Pictures feature Millionaire Playboy. He did not appear in any more films for nearly two decades; until 1958 when made the two musical films he is best known for: Benny Van Buren in Damn Yankees and Captain Brackett in South Pacific.[1] This was followed by significant supporting roles in two films in 1959: Uncle Otis in It Happened to Jane and George Lemon in the seminal film Anatomy of a Murder. His final film role was as Dr. Heller in The Cardinal (1963).[1]

In 1951 Brown made his television debut on the anthology series Pulitzer Prize Playhouse in the episode "Portrait of a President"; a tele-play about Andrew Jackson's presidential election based on the Pulitzer Prize winning biography by Marquis James.[14] From 1960-1962 he portrayed the recurring character of Thomas Jones on the legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones.[15] In 1963 he appeared on The Dick Powell Theatre opposite Lee Marvin in the tele-play "The Loosers".[16]

Death

Brown died on October 19, 1964, in Englewood, New Jersey.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "RUSS BROWN DIES; SINGER AND ACTOR; Career Spanned 50 Years, From Choir to Broadway". The New York Times. October 21, 1964. p. 43.
  2. ^ a b Ruth Benjamin, Arthur Rosenblatt (2006). "Russ Brown". Who Sang what on Broadway, 1866-1996: The singers (A-K). McFarland & Company. p. 96. ISBN 9780786421893.
  3. ^ a b Dan Dietz (2018). "Flying High". The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 26–28. ISBN 9781538102770.
  4. ^ Dan Dietz (2015). "Hold On to Your Hats". The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 34–36. ISBN 9781442245280.
  5. ^ "Finian's Rainbow". The New Leader. 33: 29. 1950.
  6. ^ Isabelle Stevenson, Roy A. Somlyo, ed. (2001). The Tony Award: A Complete Listing of Winners and Nominees of the American Theatre Wing's Tony Award with a History of the American Theatre Wing. Heinemann. p. 19. ISBN 9780325002941.
  7. ^ a b James C. Jewell, Thomas E. Howard (1977). Broadway and the Tony Awards: The First Three Decades, 1947-1977. University Press of America. p. 64. ISBN 9780819103390.
  8. ^ Edwin M. Bradley (2015). The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926-1931. McFarland & Company. p. 301. ISBN 9781476606842.
  9. ^ Edwin M. Bradley (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. McFarland & Company. p. 342. ISBN 9780786420292.
  10. ^ Roy Liebman (2003). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. McFarland & Company. p. 95. ISBN 9781476609362.
  11. ^ Edwin M. Bradley (2016). Unsung Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Era: 50 Overlooked Films and Their Stars, 1929-1939. McFarland & Company. pp. 95–96. ISBN 9781476624006.
  12. ^ Michael G. Fitzgerald (1977). Universal Pictures: A Panoramic History in Words, Pictures, and Filmographies. Arlington House. ISBN 9780870003660.
  13. ^ Graham Webb (2020). Encyclopedia of American Short Films, 1926-1959. McFarland & Company. pp. 31, 80, 99–100, 394, 535. ISBN 9781476639260.
  14. ^ Larry James Gianakos (1987). Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1982-1984, Volume 5. Scarecrow Press. p. 485. ISBN 9780810818767.
  15. ^ Hal Erickson. "The Law and Mr. Jones". Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows. McFarland & Company. pp. 166–167.
  16. ^ Robert J. Lentz (2015). Lee Marvin: His Films and Career. McFarland & Company. p. 201. ISBN 9781476604053.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1934 Moulin Rouge Joe
1934 Let's Talk It Over Bill
1934 The Love Captive Larry Chapman
1935 Sweet Surrender Jerry Burke
1940 Millionaire Playboy Mr. Bob Norman
1958 South Pacific Capt. Brackett, USN
1958 Damn Yankees Benny Van Buren
1959 It Happened to Jane Uncle Otis
1959 Anatomy of a Murder George Lemon
1962 Advise & Consent Night Watchman (Mike)
1963 The Cardinal Dr. Heller