William Challee
 | This article includes a list of generalreferences,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(September 2017) |
William Challee | |
|---|---|
 William Challee inThe Texan(1958) | |
| Born | William John Challe April 6, 1904 |
| Died | March 11, 1989(aged 84) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1926–1979 |
| Spouses | Ella Franklin Crawford
(m.1944, divorced) |
William John Challee(April 6, 1904 – March 11, 1989) was an American actor.
Biography
[edit]
Challee was born in Chicago and was a student atLake View High School.[1]
Challee appeared onBroadwayby 1926 and by 1931 in earlyGroup Theatreproductions. He married actressRuth Nelsonon August 2, 1931; they divorced on August 13, 1937.[2]The two appeared in the 1947 filmThe Sea of Grass,in supporting roles, after they were divorced.
In 1937, Challee staged a suite of one-act plays at theLafayette TheatreinHarlem,under the headingPlays of the Sea.The suite consisted of theEugene O'NeillplaysBound East for Cardiff,In the Zone,The Long Voyage Home,andMoon of the Caribbees.They were produced by theFederal Theatre Projectof theWorks Progress Administration,running for 68 performances from October 29, 1937.[3]
Challee was living in Chicago by 1940. By the middle 1940s, Challee was working in films in California, mainly in supporting and uncredited roles. Challee married dancer Ella Franklin Crawford on April 19, 1944, inSanta Monica.[4]
Challee appeared in episodes of numerous television series, including a 1953 episode ( "Stage for Mademoiselle") ofThe Lone Rangerand a 1957 episode ( "The Case of the Runaway Corpse") ofPerry Mason.In 1960, Challee appeared as Saunders onLaramiein the episode titled "Duel at Parkinson Town".[citation needed]In 1961, he appeared as Eli in the series finale ofThe Investigators,"The Dead End Man",[citation needed]as well as the 1961 episode "Meeting at the Mimbres" in the Western seriesBat Masterson.
In 1962, Challee appeared (uncredited) as a prisoner on the TV WesternThe Virginianin the episode titled "The Brazen Bell". That same year, he appeared onGunsmokeas Feist, a crazed pioneer who lost his faculties and tries to kill Marshal Dillon in the episode “The Gallows”. Challee played the incapacitated family patriarch in the 1970 filmFive Easy Pieces,whose illness brings his son (Jack Nicholson) home to the family estate.
In 1984, he married his long-time partnerJoan Wheeler Ankrum.Together, in 1960, they opened the Ankrum Gallery onLa Cienega Boulevardin Los Angeles.[5][6]
Challee was buried inAlta Mesa Memorial Parkin Palo Alto.[citation needed]
Broadway roles
[edit]- Grand Street Follies [1927](1927) (revue)
- Red Rust(1929) as Lenov
- House of Connelly(1931) as Jody and as a Serenader
- Night Over Taos(1932) as second Trapper
- Success Story(1932) as Jeffery Haliburton
- Men in White(1933) as Dr. Michaelson
- Gold Eagle Guy(1934) as Pearly and as Ah Kee
- Till the Day I Die(1935) as Edsel Peltz
- Waiting For Lefty(1935) as Actor
- Key Largo(1935) as Osceola Horn
- Paradise Lost(1935) as Homeless man
- Case of Clyde Griffiths(1936) as Working man
- Johnny Johnson(1936) as Private Fairfax and as Doctor
- Rocket to the Moon(1938) as a Salesman
- Awake and Sing!(1939) as Schlosser
Selected filmography
[edit]- ...One Third of a Nation...(1939) as Reporter (uncredited)
- Destination Tokyo(1943) as Rocky the quartermaster (uncredited)
- The Story of Dr. Wassell(1944) as Radio Man (uncredited)
- Days of Glory(1944) as Ducrenko (uncredited)
- The Seventh Cross(1944) as Fischer (uncredited)
- None but the Lonely Heart(1944) as Knocker Jones (uncredited)
- A Song to Remember(1945) as Titus (uncredited)
- God Is My Co-Pilot(1945) as Joe (uncredited)
- Counter-Attack(1945) as Paratrooper (uncredited)
- Miss Susie Slagle's(1946) as Interne (uncredited)
- Tokyo Rose(1946) as Mike Kovac
- Deadline at Dawn(1946) as Ray, Newsstand Proprietor (uncredited)
- From This Day Forward(1946) as Pawnbroker (uncredited)
- Without Reservations(1946) as Corporal (uncredited)
- Swamp Fire(1946) as Barfly (uncredited)
- Nocturne(1946) as Police Photographer Olsen (uncredited)
- Boomerang(1947) as Whitney, Harvey's Assistant (uncredited)
- The Sea of Grass(1947) as Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
- The Guilt of Janet Ames(1947) as Ambulance Surgeon (uncredited)
- Desperate(1947) as Reynolds
- Another Part of the Forest(1948) as Passenger on the Train (uncredited)
- Tap Roots(1948) as Sergeant (uncredited)
- Beyond Glory(1948) as Sergeant at Depot (uncredited)
- Force of Evil(1948) as Gunman #1 (uncredited)
- Reign of Terror(1949) as Bourdon (uncredited)
- Port of New York(1949) as Leo Stasser
- Outrage(1950) as Lee Wilkins
- The Lone Ranger(1950) (TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 25: "Buried Treasure" ) as Flint Foster
- Gambling(1950) as Parking Attendant (uncredited)
- The Whip Hand(1951) as Guard (uncredited)
- On Dangerous Ground(1951) as Thug (uncredited)
- The Big Trees(1952) as Brother Williams (uncredited)
- This Woman Is Dangerous(1952) as Ned Shaw (uncredited)
- The Glenn Miller Story(1954) as Dispatch Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
- Man Without a Star(1955) as Brick Gooder (uncredited)
- The Lone Ranger(1955, TV Series) as Bad-Eye
- The Lone Ranger(1955, TV Series, episode “Wanted: The Lone Ranger” ) as Hawk
- Chicago Syndicate(1955) as Dolan
- The Desperados Are in Town(1956) as Tom Kesh
- Calypso Heat Wave(1957) as Second Thug
- Raintree County(1957) as Spectator (uncredited)
- Official Detective(1957, TV Series) as Hatch
- Adventures of Superman(1957) (Season 5 Episode 9:” The Phony Alibi” ) as Clippy Jones
- The Lone Ranger(1957, TV Series, season 5, episode 23: “Code of Honor” ) as Fake Soldier (uncredited)
- Saddle the Wind(1958) as Barfly (uncredited)
- Twilight for the Gods(1958) as Sweeney
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents(1959) (Season 4 Episode 32: "Human Interest Story" ) as Barney Welch
- The Sound and the Fury(1959) as Roustabout (uncredited)
- The Story on Page One(1959) as Lemke (uncredited)
- Toby Tyler(1960) as Jailbird (uncredited)
- Noose for a Gunman(1960) as Gorse
- One Foot in Hell(1960) as Pete's Friend (uncredited)
- The Plunderers(1960) as First Citizen
- Cimarron(1960) as Barber (uncredited)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents(1961) (Season 6 Episode 23: "Incident in a Small Jail" ) as Petrie
- All Fall Down(1962) as third Bum (uncredited)
- War Hunt(1962) as Lieutenant Colonel
- Gunsmoke(1962) as Feist
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(1963) (Season 1 Episode 24: "The Star Juror" ) as Jess Bartholomew
- The Hook(1963) as Schmidt
- Seven Days in May(1964) as General Riley (uncredited)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(1965) (Season 3 Episode 14: "Final Performance" ) as Wint Davis
- Nightmare in the Sun(1965) as Old Coot in a bar
- Joy in the Morning(1965) as an Old Derelict (uncredited)
- The Cincinnati Kid(1965) as an Old Man (uncredited)
- Billy the Kid Versus Dracula(1966) as Tom, Station Agent
- Five Easy Pieces(1970) as Nicholas Dupea
- Zachariah(1971) as "The Old Man"
- The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid(1972) as Old-timer (uncredited)
- The Irish Whiskey Rebellion(1972) as Timothy
- Moonchild(1974) as Alchemist
- From Noon till Three(1976) as Piano Player (uncredited) (final film role)
References
[edit]- ^"Challee Plays Real Reporter".The Philadelphia Inquirer.March 8, 1942. p. 14 SO.RetrievedJuly 14,2022– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"COURT ACTIONS FILED".Reno Gazette-Journal.August 13, 1937.
- ^"One-Act Plays of the Sea".Internet Broadway Database.RetrievedSeptember 15,2017.
- ^"California, County Marriages, 1850-1952", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K82G-G63:18 August 2022), William John Challe and Ella Franklin Crawford, 1944.
- ^Staff Writers (December 23, 2001)."Joan Ankrum, 88; Actress, Influential Art Gallery Owner".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedSeptember 20,2017.
- ^"Ankrum Gallery records, circa 1900-circa 1990s, bulk 1960–1990".Archives of American Art.Smithsonian Institution.RetrievedSeptember 20,2017.
Sources
[edit]- Los Angeles Times obituary – William Challee
- New York Times obituary – Ruth Nelson
- Answers.com -William Challee
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
