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Wally Cassell
Wally Cassell
	Cassell in Quicksand (1950)
Born	Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano; March 3, 1912; Agrigento, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
Died	April 2, 2015 (aged 103); Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Nationality	Sicilian American
Occupations	Actor; businessman;
Years active	1937–2006
Spouse	Marcy McGuire (m. 1947)

Wally Cassell (March 3, 1912 – April 2, 2015) was an Italian-born American character actor and businessman.

Early years

Wally Cassell was born as Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano. (A 1951 newspaper article gives Cassell's real name as Osvaldo Tripolini Ronaldo Vincennes Castelleno.)^[1] The son of Luigi and Luisa Castellano,^[2] Oswaldo was born in Agrigento, Sicily, and moved with his family to the United States when he was two years of age. (Another source says that his parents brought him to Brooklyn, New York, "when I was a babe in arms.")^[3] As a youngster, Cassell was a dancer, but he abandoned dancing to concentrate on acting.^[3]

Film

Cassell began his film career in 1942, initially working in small, uncredited roles.^[4]^[2] Mickey Rooney, with whom Cassell appears in the 1950 film noir Quicksand, is credited with suggesting the change of name to Wally Cassell.^[5] Rooney is also credited with helping Cassell gain a screen test and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.^[6]

His films include The Thin Man Goes Home (1945), The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), The Clock (1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Guilty (1947), Loves of Carmen (1948), Saigon (1948), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), White Heat (1949),Quicksand (1950), Highway 301 (1950), City That Never Sleeps (1953), Island in the Sky (1953), Law and Order (1953), Princess of the Nile (1954), Until They Sail (1957), and I, Madman (1989).

Television

Cassell was later cast in two syndicated programs starring Jim Davis: Stories of the Century, in the role of gunman Luke Short, and Rescue 8, as Johnny French in "One More Step." Cassell also guest-starred in several television series, including The Loretta Young Show (1955), as "Oley" in James Arness's TV Western series Gunsmoke in the 1956 episode "Hack Prine" (S1E26), the 1959 premiere episode of The Untouchables ("The Empty Chair"), Rawhide (1960), and The Beverly Hillbillies (1963).

Later years

Cassell retired from acting in 1964 and became a successful businessman.

Personal life and death

Cassell was married to actress and singer Marcy McGuire from August 30, 1947,^[7] until his death.^[8] Cassell's daughter, Cindy Cassell, became an actress. At age 13, she had the role of Pony Hutchinson in the Walt Disney Studios film Emil and the Detectives (1964).^[9]

Cassell died at his home in Palm Desert, California in 2015 at age 103.^[5]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1942	Fingers at the Window	Photographer	Uncredited
	Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant	Gangster	Uncredited
	Stand By for Action	Talker	Uncredited
1943	The Human Comedy	Man flirting	Uncredited
	Presenting Lily Mars	Man	Uncredited
	Pilot ♯5	Soldier	Uncredited
	Salute to the Marines	Marine corporal	Uncredited
	Thousands Cheer	Jack	Uncredited
	Swing Fever	Cassidy	Uncredited
1943	Maisie Goes to Reno	Reporter	Uncredited
	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo	Sailor	Uncredited
	The Thin Man Goes Home	Bill Burns	Uncredited
	National Velvet	Jockey	Uncredited
	Music for Millions	Soldier	Uncredited
1945	Main Street After Dark	Jenkins	Uncredited
	The Clock	Soda jerk	Uncredited
	Son of Lassie	POW	Uncredited
	Dangerous Partners	Drumman Son	Uncredited
	Story of G.I. Joe	Private Dondaro
	Anchors Aweigh	Sailor	Uncredited
1946	The Postman Always Rings Twice	Ben
	Bad Bascomb	Curley	Uncredited
	Gallant Bess	Mike	Uncredited
1947	Ramrod	Virg Lea
	The Guilty	Johnny Dixon
	Killer McCoy	Louie - Gambler	Uncredited
1948	Summer Holiday	Salesman	Uncredited
	Saigon	Sgt. Pete Rocco
	Homecoming	Patient	Uncredited
	The Loves of Carmen	Dragoon Stagecoach Passenger	Uncredited
	Joan of Arc	French Soldier Offering Amulet	Uncredited
1949	Streets of San Francisco	Den Driscoll
	We Were Strangers	Miguel
	Arctic Manhunt	Tooyuk
	White Heat	Cotton Valletti
	Sands of Iwo Jima	PFC Benny Regazzi
1950	Quicksand	Chuck
1950	Highway 301	Robert 'Bobby' Mais
1951	Oh! Susanna	Trooper Muro
	Little Big Horn	Pvt. Danny Zecca
	The Wild Blue Yonder	Sgt. Pulaski
1952	Sound Off	Tony Baccigalupi
	Breakdown	Pete Sampson
	One Minute to Zero	Pvt. Means	Uncredited
	Thunderbirds	Pfc. Sam Jacobs
1953	Law and Order	Durango Kid
	City That Never Sleeps	Gregg Warren
	The Charge at Feather River	Member of Rescue Party	Uncredited
	Island in the Sky	D'Annunzia
1954	Princess of the Nile	Goghi
1955	Timberjack	Veazie
1955	Paris Follies of 1956	Harry
1956	The Come On	Tony
	Wetbacks	Coast Guard lieutenant
	Accused of Murder	Cipriano's Doorman	Uncredited
1957	Until They Sail	Phil Friskett aka Shiner
1958	The Walter Winchell File	"David & Goliath" - Costa
1960	The Rat Race	Hotel Clerk	Uncredited

References and notes

^ Mason, Buddy (May 31, 1951). "Behind The Movie Sets". The Algona Upper Des Moines. Iowa, Algona. p. 31. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Wally Cassell, Boro Vet, Forges Ahead in Films". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. December 9, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Todd, John (December 10, 1945). "In Hollywood". The Tipton Daily Tribune. Indiana, Tipton. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ With regard to the year that Cassell began his film career, another source states, "He...realized a childhood ambition to become an actor with a role in Labor Pains in 1937."
^ ^a ^b Wally Cassell, Gangster in 'White Heat,' Dies at 103, Hollywood Reporter, May 28, 2015
^ "(untitled brief)". The Kingston Spy. Wisconsin, Kingston. January 4, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "(untitled brief)". Medford Mail Tribune. Oregon, Milford. August 31, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Marcy McGuire". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
^ "Girl 13 Chosen for Lead Role in Disney Movie". Valley News. California, Van Nuys. December 4, 1964. p. 25. Retrieved March 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.