Fred Graham (actor)

Fred Graham
Graham in The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
Born(1908-10-26)October 26, 1908
DiedOctober 10, 1979(1979-10-10) (aged 70)
Resting placeGreen Acres Memorial Park, Scottsdale, Arizona
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman
Years active1934–1973
Children2

Fred Graham (October 26, 1908 – October 10, 1979)[1] was an American actor and stuntman who performed in films from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Early life

Graham was a semiprofessional baseball player.[1] Graham entered the film business in 1928.[2] He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild. He appeared in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).[3]

Career

He broke his ankle while working as Basil Rathbone's stunt double on The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).[4]

Graham coordinated stunts of John Wayne, with whom he made 26 films; Errol Flynn; and Ward Bond.[3]

He played small roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, notably Vertigo, as the Police Officer who falls to his death in its famous opening scene while trying to help James Stewart. He continued working in films until the 1970s.[5]

Graham moved to Arizona in 1963. He was in charge of the Arizona Governor's Office for Motion Picture Development and was vice president and general manager of CineLogistics, part of Southwest Research and Development, which operated the Graham Studios of Carefree, Arizona.[3]

Personal life and death

He had a wife, son, and daughter.[3] He is interred at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale.[6]

Selected filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Rinditch Season 3 Episode 12: "Miss Paisley's Cat"
1959 Rawhide The Bartender S1:E4, "Incident of the Widowed Dove"
1961 Rawhide Shannon S3:E15, "Incident of the Fish Out of Water"
1961 Rawhide Bartender S4:E7, "The Black Sheep"

References

  1. ^ a b Freese, Gene Scott (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7643-5.
  2. ^ "Fred Graham Studios Rising in Phoenix". Boxoffice. Aug 19, 1968. 93, 18. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. W2. Via Proquest.
  3. ^ a b c d "Obituaries". Variety. Nov 7, 1979. 297, 1; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 98. Via Proquest.
  4. ^ Rode, Alan K. (November 17, 2017). Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-7397-9.
  5. ^ Walker, Michael (2005). Hitchcock's motifs. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. p. 454. ISBN 1-4237-4629-5. OCLC 62868619.
  6. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.