Job Actor, photographer, director
Years active 1938-98
Top Roles Hannassey Watchman, Pvt. Morris, Nate Ashbury, John Ashwood II as a Boy, Gregory Benson
Top GenresDrama, Comedy, Film Adaptation, Family, Romance, Thriller/Suspense
Top TopicsBook-Based, World War II, Animals
Top Collaborators (Producer), (Producer), , (Producer)
Shares birthday with Dolores Costello, Anne Bancroft, Helen Vinson  see more..

Roddy McDowall Overview:

Legendary actor, Roddy McDowall, was born Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall on Sep 17, 1928 in Herne Hill, London. McDowall died at the age of 70 on Oct 3, 1998 in Studio City, CA and was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.

MINI BIO:

Clever and resourceful light-haired British born child actor, in Hollywood from 1940, and popular as the star of boy-and-animal films. Proved ineffectual as a young adult star but after ten years learning his craft in the theatre came back as an astringent and interesting character actor who frequently stole scenes from those billed above him. Won great personal popularity as star of the Apes films. Also a photographer. Died from cancer.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television. McDowall was never nominated for an Academy Award.

BlogHub Articles:

Warner Archive: Produces and Stars In Black Midnight (1949)

By KC on May 13, 2015 From Classic Movies

As a twenty-year-old maturing child star in 1949, must have wondered about his fate. So many actors struggle to successfully make the transition to adult careers. He was at that awkward age when Monogram Studios signed him to a contract, where he would star in and coproduce six films.... Read full article


Mini Tribute:

By Annmarie Gatti on Sep 17, 2012 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Born September 17, 1928, ! started out as a Child Actor (i.e. How Green Was My Valley, My Friend Flicka, Lassie Come Home), and successfully moved on to some fabulous ‘adult’ roles including Midnight Lace, Inside Daisy Clover, Cleopatra, and of course –... Read full article


Stars & Their Hobbies ~ (1)

By Raquel Stecher on Nov 30, -0001 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

, Home Movies was a trustworthy kind of a guy and he made many close friends in Hollywood. Every Sunday he would have an open house at his Malibu Beach home. This was a time when the Hollywood elite could come over relax and be themselves. They let their guard down whe... Read full article


Stars & Their Hobbies ~ (2)

By Raquel Stecher on Nov 30, -0001 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog

, Home Movies was a trustworthy kind of a guy and he made many close friends in Hollywood. Every Sunday he would have an open house at his Malibu Beach home. This was a time when the Hollywood elite could come over relax and be themselves. They let their guard down whe... Read full article


See all articles

Roddy McDowall Quotes:

Joe Carraclough: Ye're my Lassie come home.


Vaner: Have you committed a crime?
Captain Alan Thorndike: No.
Vaner: Was it, um, about a woman?
Captain Alan Thorndike: [smiling] I see you know life.
Vaner: I thought so. They're a dickens of a problem, aren't they, sir?


Alan: Dear sweet simple minded Barbara Ann. Barbara Ann whose deepest and most heartfelt yearnings express with a kind of touching lyricism the total vulgarity of our time.


read more quotes from Roddy McDowall...



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Roddy McDowall on the
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Roddy McDowall Facts
In 1974 the FBI raided his home and seized his collection of films and TV series during an investigation of copyright infringement and movie piracy. The collection consisted of 160 16mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes. The value of the films was conservatively assessed at $5,005,426 by representatives of the movie industry. The actor was not charged and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. There was then no aftermarket for films, as the commercial video recorder had not been marketed, and studios routinely destroyed old negatives and prints of classic films they felt had no worth. Film buffs like McDowall had to purchase 16mm prints of films from the studios, or movie prints on the black market, or from other collectors. He claimed that he had once had as many as 337 movies in his collection, but at the time of the investigation he was not sure how many were still in his possession. He had bought Errol Flynn's movie collection, and had acquired other films through purchases or swaps. McDowall told the FBI that he had transferred many of his films to videotape in order to conserve space and because tape was longer-lasting than film, and subsequently had sold or traded the prints, plus other prints of movies he had lost interest in, to other collectors. He said that he collected the films due to his love of the cinema and to help protect t

Life-long friend of Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor has since referred to him as the one friend she had to whom she confided everything, and who was always understanding.

He was a close friend of Maureen O'Hara for 57 years, from the time that they made How Green Was My Valley (1941), their first and only film together, until his death in October 1998.

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