Name
Jeff Corey
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1914-08-10
Deathday
2002-08-16 (88 years old)
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American actor, television director, and teacher. After being blacklisted in the 1950s, he became one of the most prominent and influential acting coaches in Hollywood, whose students included the likes of Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, James Dean, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, James Coburn, Leonard Nimoy, Cher, Barbra Streisand and Rob Reiner. He returned to film and television work in the 1960s, playing many character roles.
Early life and education
Corey was born Arthur Zwerling in Brooklyn, New York to working-class Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Nathan Zwerling, was from Austria-Hungary, and his mother, Mary (nee Peskin), was from Russia. He attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn and was active in the school's Dramatic Society. He received a scholarship to the Feagin School of Dramatic Art, where he furthered his studies. Prior to his acting career, he worked as a salesman of sewing machines.
Blacklisted and teacher
Corey's career was again interrupted in the early 1950s, when he was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He refused to give names of alleged Communists and subversives in the entertainment industry and went so far as to ridicule the panel by offering critiques of the testimony of the previous witnesses. That led to his being blacklisted for 12 years. "Most of us were retired Reds. We had left it, at least I had, years before," Corey told Patrick McGilligan, the co-author of Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist, who teaches film at Marquette University. "The only issue was, did you want to just give them their token names so you could continue your career, or not? I had no impulse to defend a political point of view that no longer interested me particularly... They just wanted two new names so they could hand out more subpoenas."
Back to work in the 1960s
In 1962, Corey began working in films again, and remained active into the 1990s. He played Hoban in The Cincinnati Kid (1965); Tom Chaney, the principal villain in True Grit (1969); and Sheriff Bledsoe in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (also 1969), who says to the title characters, "I never met a soul more affable than you, Butch, or faster than the Kid, but you're still nothing but two-bit outlaws on the dodge.
Television
Corey made guest appearances on many television series. He appeared as murder victim Carl Bascom in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Reckless Rockhound" (1964). He was featured on science-fiction series, too, including an episode of The Outer Limits ("O.B.I.T.", 1963) in which he played Byron Lomax; Star Trek ("The Cloud Minders", 1969) in which he played High Advisor Plasus; as Caspay in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and Babylon 5 ("Z'ha'dum", 1996) in which he played Justin.
Personal life
Corey married his wife Hope (nee Victorson) in 1938. They had three children.
Death
Corey died on August 16, 2002, aged 88, after a fall. CLR
Known For
7.607
As the west rapidly becomes civilized, a pair of outlaws in 1890s Wyoming find themselves ...
6.139
Conan is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis to safely escort a teen princess and her p...
6.743
George Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to tr...
6.147
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and...
6.245
An FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years. Now an old flame has recog...
5.763
A color-blind psychiatrist is stalked by an unknown killer after taking over his murdered ...
7.359
Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old f...
6.829
A British multinational company seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. I...
- 1965 The Cincinnati Kid as Hoban
- 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as Sheriff Ray Bledsoe
- 1990 Bird on a Wire as Lou Baird
- 1966 Seconds as Mr. Ruby
- 1942 The Postman Didn't Ring as Harwood Green
- 1942 Tennessee Johnson as Captain (uncredited)
- 1949 Follow Me Quietly as Police Sgt. Art Collins
- 1990 The Rose and the Jackal as James Buchanan
- 1982 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid as (in "The Killers") (archive footage)
- 1947 The Gangster as Karty's Brother-in-Law (uncredited)
- 1965 Mickey One as Fryer
- 1984 Conan the Destroyer as Grand Vizier
- 1968 The Boston Strangler as John Asgeirsson
- 1988 Messenger of Death as Willis Beecham
- 1970 Cover Me Babe as Paul Rogers
- 1970 They Call Me Mister Tibbs! as Captain Marden
- 1947 Brute Force as 'Freshman' Stack
- 1948 Wake of the Red Witch as Mr. Loring
- 1965 Once a Thief as Lieutenant Kebner
- 1978 The Pirate as Prince Feiyad
- 1980 Battle Beyond the Stars as Zed
- 1951 Superman and the Mole Men as Luke Benson
- 1946 The Killers as Blinky Franklin (uncredited)
- 1970 Getting Straight as Dr. Edward Willhunt
- 1985 Creator as Dean Harrington
- 1990 To My Daughter as Travis
- 1964 Lady in a Cage as George L. Brady Jr. aka Repent
- 1951 Rawhide as Luke Davis
- 1979 Butch and Sundance: The Early Days as Ray Bledsoe
- 1948 Canon City as Schwartzmiller
- 1976 The Last Tycoon as Doctor
- 1949 City Across the River as Police Lieutenant Louie Macon
- 1950 The Next Voice You Hear... as Freddie Dibson
- 1969 True Grit as Tom Chaney
- 1978 Jennifer as Luke Baylor
- 1940 Third Finger, Left Hand as Johann (uncredited)
- 1967 In Cold Blood as Mr. Hickock
- 1943 My Friend Flicka as Tim Murphy
- 1947 Hoppy's Holiday as Jed
- 1965 Mercenaries of the Rio Grande as Abraham Lincoln
- 1949 Hideout as Beecham
- 1951 Fourteen Hours as Police Sgt. Farley
- 1950 Bright Leaf as John Barton
- 1967 A Bell for Adano as Cacopardo
- 1991 Payoff as Don Anzia
- 1951 Only the Valiant as Joe Harmony
- 1972 Something Evil as Gehrmann
- 1969 Impasse as Wombat
- 1941 You Belong to Me as Mr. Greener (uncredited)
- 1971 Shoot Out as Trooper
- 1942 The Man Who Wouldn't Die as Tim Larsen
- 1996 The Lottery as Albert Smith
- 1977 Moonshine County Express as Hagen
- 1938 I Am the Law as Thug (uncredited)
- 1975 Paper Tiger as Mr. King
- 1949 Roughshod as Jed Graham
- 1982 Cry for the Strangers as Riley
- 1984 The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers as Father
- 1951 Red Mountain as Sgt. Skee
- 1950 The Outriders as Keeley
- 1950 Singing Guns as Richards
- 1951 Never Trust a Gambler as Lou Brecker
- 1960 Inside Magoo as Doctor
- 1985 Final Jeopardy as Derelict
- 2002 From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff as Self
- 1949 Bagdad as Mohammed Jao
- 1980 Homeward Bound as George
- 1992 Ruby Cairo as Joe Dick
- 1940 Bitter Sweet as Second Man on Stairs (uncredited)
- 1977 Oh, God! as Rabbi Silverstone
- 1970 Little Big Man as Wild Bill Hickok
- 1994 Color of Night as Ashland
- 1948 Alias a Gentleman as Zu
- 1951 New Mexico as Coyote
- 1985 Father of Hell Town as Lawyer Sam
- 1941 All That Money Can Buy as Tom Sharp (uncredited)
- 1947 The Shocking Miss Pilgrim as Stenographer (uncredited)
- 1971 Catlow as Merridew
- 1970 Beneath the Planet of the Apes as Caspay
- 1943 The Moon Is Down as Albert (uncredited)
- 1970 The Movie Murderer as Collier Landis
- 1943 Aerial Gunner as Flight Crew Member (uncredited)
- 1993 The Judas Project as Poneras
- 1950 Rock Island Trail as Abraham Lincoln
- 1951 Sirocco as Feisal (uncredited)
- 1948 Kidnapped as Shaun
- 1949 Home of the Brave as Doctor
- 1999 Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man as Self
- 1943 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man as Llanwelly Cemetery Keeper (uncredited)
- 1965 Pyramid of the Sun God as Abraham Lincoln
- 1942 Who Is Hope Schuyler? as Medical Examiner
- 1939 One Third of a Nation as Man in Crowd at Fire (uncredited)
- 1988 Cognac as Colonel Frazier
- 1976 The Premonition as Detective Denver
- 1963 The Yellow Canary as Joe Pyle
- 1946 Somewhere in the Night as Bank Teller
- 1947 Miracle on 34th Street as Reporter (uncredited)
- 1974 The Gun and the Pulpit as Head of Posse
- 1971 Clay Pigeon as Clinic Doctor
- 1942 Syncopation
- 1941 Paris Calling as Benoit's Male Secretary
- 1941 The Lady from Cheyenne as Reporter
- 1950 The Nevadan as Bart
- 1951 The Prince Who Was a Thief as Emir Mokar
- 1942 Girl Trouble as Mr. Mooney (uncredited)
- 1940 You'll Find Out as Mr. Corey (uncredited)
- 1948 The Wreck of the Hesperus as Joshua Hill
- 1948 I, Jane Doe as Immigration Officer
- 1989 The Magic Boy's Easter as The Servant
- 1989 A Deadly Silence as Judge Harvey W. Sherman
- 1986 Second Serve as Dr. Harry Benjamin
- 1978 The Wild Geese as Mr Martin
- 1977 Rooster: Spurs of Death! as Kink
- 1977 Curse of the Black Widow as Aspa Soldado
- 1963 The Balcony as Bishop
- 1946 Rendezvous with Annie as Howard (uncredited)
- 1979 Up River as Bagshaw
- 1994 Surviving the Game as Hank
- 1964 The Big Parade of Comedy as Sergeant in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1942 Roxie Hart as Orderly (uncredited)
- 1977 Captains Courageous as Salters
- 1982 The Sword and the Sorcerer as Craccus
- 1973 Set This Town on Fire as Walter Stafford
- 1993 Beethoven's 2nd as Janitor
- 1948 Joan of Arc as Joan's prison guard
- 1996 Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach as Self
- 1941 Mutiny in the Arctic as The Cook
- 1970 A Clear and Present Danger as Beiseker
- 1976 Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free as Judge Janeway
- 1948 Let's Live Again as Bartender
- 1947 California as Clem (uncredited)
- 1977 Lou Grant ( 1 episode )
- 1984 Night Court ( 1 episode ) as Judge Hirsch
- 1967 Garrison's Gorillas ( 1 episode )
- 1966 Star Trek ( 1 episode ) as Plasus
- 1997 Perversions of Science ( 1 episode ) as The Judge
- 2000 The District ( 1 episode ) as Vernon Stanley
- 1974 Little House on the Prairie ( 2 episodes ) as Judge Parker
- 1998 Brimstone ( 1 episode ) as Collector
- 1988 War of the Worlds ( 1 episode ) as Francis Flannery
- 1976 The Bionic Woman ( 1 episode )
- 1981 Simon & Simon ( 1 episode )
- 1968 Hawaii Five-O ( 1 episode ) as Dr. William Hanson
- 1972 The Bob Newhart Show ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Scott Rivers
- 1998 Charmed ( 1 episode ) as Council Member
- 1964 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ( 1 episode )
- 1972 The Streets of San Francisco ( 1 episode )
- 1988 Roseanne ( 1 episode )
- 1971 Alias Smith and Jones ( 1 episode )
- 1973 Hawkins ( 1 episode ) as Julian Maynard
- 1983 Manimal ( 1 episode )
- 1979 Knots Landing ( 1 episode ) as Peter Mackenzie
- 1973 Kojak ( 1 episode ) as Frank Raynor
- 1994 Babylon 5 ( 1 episode ) as Justin
- 1955 Gunsmoke ( 1 episode ) as Judge Procter
- 1957 Perry Mason ( 1 episode ) as Carl Bascom
- 1979 Archie Bunker's Place ( 1 episode )
- 1987 Jake and the Fatman ( 1 episode )
- 1974 Run, Joe, Run ( 1 episode )
- 1975 Doctors' Hospital ( 1 episode )
- 1959 Rawhide ( 1 episode ) as Morgan Kane
- 1965 Run for Your Life ( 1 episode ) as Abe Lincoln
- 1973 Police Story ( 1 episode )
- 1975 Switch ( 2 episodes ) as A.J. Gunther
- 1972 Search ( 1 episode )
- 1970 McCloud ( 1 episode )
- 1970 The Headmaster ( 1 episode )
- 1967 Judd, for the Defense ( 1 episode )
- 1985 Hell Town ( 15 episodes ) as Lawyer Sam
- 1991 Lightning Force ( 1 episode )
- 1980 Breaking Away ( 1 episode )
- 1963 The Outer Limits ( 1 episode ) as Byron Lomax
- 1986 Morningstar/Eveningstar ( 5 episodes )
- 1974 Paper Moon ( 1 episode )
- 1959 Bonanza ( 1 episode ) as Tuck Dowling
- 1982 Faerie Tale Theatre ( 1 episode ) as Father
- 1959 Bonanza ( 1 episode ) as Frank Brennan
- 1984 Night Court ( 1 episode ) as Santa
- 1974 The Six Million Dollar Man ( 1 episode ) as Orin Thatcher
- 1968 Hawaii Five-O ( 1 episode ) as Duncan
- 1965 Run for Your Life ( 1 episode ) as Fred Morrissey
- 1965 The Wild Wild West ( 1 episode ) as Col. Tacitus Mosely
- 1977 Lou Grant ( 1 episode ) as Larry Hill
- 1963 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre ( 1 episode ) as Reverend Mr. Mansard
- 1983 The A-Team ( 1 episode ) as A.J. Bancroft
- 1994 Spider-Man ( 5 episodes ) as Silvermane (voice)
- 1954 The Wonderful World of Disney ( 2 episodes ) as Gen. McClellan
- 1972 The Streets of San Francisco ( 1 episode ) as Ralph Bowen, U.S. Senator
- 1965 The Wild Wild West ( 1 episode ) as Captain Ansel Coffin
- 1975 One Day at a Time ( 1 episode )
- 1975 Barney Miller ( 1 episode ) as Caleb Webber
- 1975 Barney Miller ( 1 episode ) as Ralph Timmons
- 1975 Starsky & Hutch ( 1 episode ) as Andrew Mello
- 1967 Mannix ( 1 episode ) as Paul Sorenson
- 1952 Adventures of Superman ( 2 episodes ) as Luke Benson
- 1969 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors ( 1 episode ) as Jack Mitgang
- 1959 The Untouchables ( 1 episode ) as Max Frimmel
- 1995 The Home Court ( 1 episode ) as Arthur
- 1977 The Pirate ( 2 episodes ) as Prince Feiyad
- 1970 Night Gallery ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Miles Talmadge (segment "The Dead Man")
- 1987 Beauty and the Beast ( 1 episode ) as Winston Burke
- 1976 What's Happening!! ( 1 episode ) as Hassan
