Wendell Corey

Wendell Corey

from the trailer for The Search (1948)
Santa Monica City Council
In office
1965  November 8, 1968
Personal details
Born Wendell Reid Corey
(1914-03-20)March 20, 1914
Dracut, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died November 8, 1968(1968-11-08) (aged 54)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)

Alice Wiley (1939-1968) (his death) 4 children- Jonathan, Jennifer, Bonnie Alice,

Robin
Occupation Actor/Politician
Religion Congregationalist

Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician.

Early years

Corey was born in Dracut, Massachusetts,[1] the son of Milton Rothwell Corey (October 24, 1879 – October 23, 1951) and Julia Etta McKenney (April 11, 1882 – June 16, 1947). His father was a Congregationalist clergyman. Wendell was educated in Springfield. His ancestors included U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.[1]

Before becoming an actor, Corey was a washing-machine salesman in a department store.[2]

Stage

Corey "began acting in 1938 with the depression-spawned Federal Theatre Project".[3]

His Broadway debut was in Comes the Revelation (1942). After appearing in a number of supporting roles, he scored his first hit as a cynical newspaperman in Elmer Rice's comedy Dream Girl (1945). While appearing in the play, Corey was seen by producer Hal Wallis, who persuaded him to sign a contract with Paramount and pursue a motion picture career in Hollywood.

Film

His movie debut came as a gangster in Desert Fury (1947) starring John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, and Mary Astor. Corey appeared in Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster, and a year later as Janet Leigh's fiancé in the Robert Mitchum romantic comedy Holiday Affair. He co-starred with Stanwyck twice more in 1950 in The File on Thelma Jordon and The Furies, and also opposite Joan Crawford in Harriet Craig, which was released the same year.

Corey's memorable roles include that of police Lt. Thomas Doyle in Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. He appeared in The Big Knife (1955) starring Jack Palance, Ida Lupino and Shelley Winters, The Rainmaker (1956) starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn and Loving You (1957) starring Elvis Presley and Lizabeth Scott.

Television

He starred with Casey Walters in the television series Harbor Command (1957–1958), co-starred on The Nanette Fabray Show (1961), and had the lead role in the medical drama The Eleventh Hour (1962–1963). With Fabray, Corey played a widower who married Fabray's character. Bobby Diamond also starred in the short-lived series. In The Eleventh Hour, Corey appeared as Dr. Theodore Bassett, co-starring with Jack Ging in the role of psychologist Paul Graham. In the second season of The Eleventh Hour, however, Corey was replaced by Ralph Bellamy, who assumed the role of psychiatrist Richard Starke.

Corey made guest appearances on a number of programs, including Target: The Corruptors!, Channing, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, Burke's Law, The Road West, and The Wild Wild West. He made a guest appearance during the final season of Perry Mason in 1966 as murder victim Jerome Klee in "The Case of the Unwelcome Well."

Other activities

Corey served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1961 to 1963 and was a member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild. A Republican campaigner in national politics since 1956, Corey was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in April 1965.[4] The conservative politician ran for a California seat in the United States Congress in 1966, but lost the primary election. He was still a councilman at the time of his death.

Family

Corey and Alice Wiley had one son and three daughters, Jonathan, Jennifer, Bonnie Alice, and Robin.

Death

Corey died November 8, 1968,[5] at age 54 at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital[6] in Woodland Hills, California, of cirrhosis of the liver as a result of alcoholism. Funeral services were held at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, California.[7] He is interred in Washington Cemetery in Washington, Massachusetts.

Walk of Fame

Wendell Corey has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in TV at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role
1947 Desert Fury Johnny Ryan
1948 I Walk Alone Dave
The Search Jerry Fisher
Sorry, Wrong Number Doctor Alexander
Man-Eater of Kumaon Dr. John Collins
1949 The Accused Lt. Ted Dorgan
Any Number Can Play Robbin Elcott
Holiday Affair Carl Davis
1950 The File on Thelma Jordon Cleve Marshall
No Sad Songs for Me Brad Scott
The Furies Rip Darrow
Harriet Craig Walter Craig
1951 The Great Missouri Raid Frank James
Rich, Young and Pretty Jim Stauton Rogers
The Wild Blue Yonder Capt. Harold Calvert
1952 The Wild North Constable Pedley
Carbine Williams Capt. H.T. Peoples
My Man and I Ansel Ames
1953 Jamaica Run Todd Dacey
1954 Hell's Half Acre Chet Chester
Laughing Anne Capt. Davidson

Year Title Role
1954 Rear Window Det. Lt. Thomas J. "Tom" Doyle
1955 The Big Knife Smiley Coy
The Killer Is Loose Leon Poole
The Bold and the Brave Fairchild
The Rack Maj. Sam Moulton
The Rainmaker Deputy Sheriff J.S. File
1957 Loving You Walter "Tex" Warner
1958 The Light in the Forest Wilse Owens
1959 Alias Jesse James T.J. "Jesse" James
1964 Blood on the Arrow Clint Mailer
1966 Agent for H.A.R.M. Jim Graff
Broken Sabre (episodes of Branded edited for a feature film Major Whitcomb
Women of the Prehistoric Planet Adm. David King
Waco Preacher Sam Stone
Picture Mommy Dead Clayborn
Cyborg 2087 Sheriff
1967 Red Tomahawk Sy Elkins
1968 Buckskin Rep Marlowe
The Star Maker Paul Lemont
1969 The Astro-Zombies Holman

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1952 Cavalcade of America Away Boarders[9]
1952 Broadway Playhouse The Big Clock[9]
1953 Theatre Guild on the Air Kate Fennigate[10]
1953 Stars over Hollywood Bus Driver's Holiday[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Corby, Jane (January 22, 1950). "Screenings". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 27. Retrieved June 18, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Short Illness Claims Life Of Film Actor". Eugene Register-Guard. November 9, 1968. p. 8A. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  3. "Wendell Corey Dies Friday; Liver Ailment". Lawrence Journal World. November 9, 1968. p. 7. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. "Wendell Corey Wins City Council Seat". Park City Daily News. April 12, 1965. p. 9. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  5. "Wendell Corey Dies; Veteran Movie Actor". The Morning Record. November 9, 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  6. "Wendell Corey Dies". Herald-Journal. November 9, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. "Wendell Corey Services Held". The Tuscaloosa News. November 12, 1968. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  8. "Wendell Corey". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 Kirby, Walter (November 16, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 48. Retrieved June 18, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Kirby, Walter (May 24, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 48. Retrieved June 28, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Kirby, Walter (October 11, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved July 6, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wendell Corey.
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Valentine Davies
President of Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences
1961-1963
Succeeded by
Arthur Freed
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