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Don Brodie

Donald Ellis Brodie (May 29, 1904 – January 8, 2001) was an American film and television actor.

Don Brodie
Brodie in Second Chorus (1940)
Born
Donald Ellis Brodie

(1904-05-29)May 29, 1904
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 8, 2001(2001-01-08) (aged 96)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years activec. 1922–1989

Early years

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The youngest of six children born to Frank Ellis Brodie and Charlotte Moonert,[1][2][3] Donald Brodie was raised in Cincinnati's Avondale neighborhood and attended Hughes High School and the University of Cincinnati.[4][5] Before becoming a professional actor, Brodie worked in Procter & Gamble's main offices.[3] At age 16, his first-place finish-this-'filmerick' entry was published in The Cincinnati Post:

Little Mary Miles Minter was ill;
She thought that she needed a pill.
Lon Chaney said: "Tarry,
I'll fetch Wesley Barry,
With his capers, the pain he will kill.[6]

Career

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As early as 1922, Brodie was acting on stage.[5][7] In 1924, he co-starred in a production of Lord Dunsany's Fame and the Poet.[8] In November 1927, a story in The Cincinnati Post mentions "Donald Brodie" among the players in the Emery Theatre production of Mrs. Leopold Markbreit's comedy, Diplomatic Perplexities.[9] Five months later, a review in The Cincinnati Enquirer listed him in the cast of the Civic Theater's production of The Pigeon.[10]

Brodie worked with Cincinnati's Civic Repertory Theater for nine years.[5]

A veteran of over 250 film and television productions, Brodie signed his first film contract with Universal Pictures Corporation in 1931.[5] Initially signed as a "feature comedian" and promoted as "Steve" Brodie, a name "already famous as a synonym for daring"[11] (presumably a reference to the suddenly like-named bridge-jumper), Universal evidently thought better of this plan; the nickname was dropped well before Brodie made his debut later that year in the two-reeler, Out Stepping.[12]

He appeared as a callow, mustachioed actor in various utility roles in films from the early 1930s. Usually playing bit parts in features, his more notable credits include his voiceover work in the Disney cartoon features Pinocchio and Dumbo and his portrayal of a carefully used car lot owner in the film noir classic Detour. He also worked off and on as a dialogue director.

In 1938, Brodie, with considerable media fanfare, landed by far the most substantial role of his screen career: prominently featured in the fifth installment of Universal's Crime Club series, The Last Express.[13][14][15] (He had appeared uncredited in each of the four prior entries).[13] Although the film was widely dismissed by critics,[16][17] those few reviewers who did more than merely mention Brodie by name lauded his contribution. The Jackson Sun describes leading man Kent Taylor and Brodie as "mak[ing] most of meaty roles of private detective and stooge, respectively," and notes that "Brodie adapts himself readily to the comic relief,"[18] while the Liverpool Evening Express deems Brodie "very amusing as [Taylor's] assistant."[19]

In 1944, Brodie earned what would prove his sole screen directing credit with A Fig Leaf for Eve. He did get a chance to direct again in 1957, helming the hour-long pilot episode for a proposed series entitled Tricks for Living, scripted by Mary Wellman Harris and starring Dell O'Dell.[20][21] However, it does not appear that this episode was ever aired.

Brodie's final appearance in a film came in Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989).

Personal life

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On March 7, 1930, Brodie married Lucille I. Becker.[22][1]

Death

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On January 8, 2001, Brodie died in Los Angeles, California.[23] His entry in the reference work Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture gave his age as 101 and his birth date as May 29, 1899.[24]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8NY-BV9 : 9 March 2021), Don L Brodie and Lucille I Becker, 07 Mar 1930; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 2,074,789.
  2. ^ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLF9-BQL : accessed 16 February 2023), Donald H Brodie in household of Frank E Brodie, Cincinnati Ward 18, Hamilton, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 207, sheet 3A, family 52, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1193; FHL microfilm 1,375,206.
  3. ^ a b "Movie Actor On Way For Visit In Norwood". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. June 11, 1935. p. 9. Retrieved January 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Avondale Actor". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. September 11, 1938. p. Section 3 – Page 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ a b c d "Don Brodie Signs". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. May 17, 1931. p. Section 3 – Page 4. Retrieved January 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ "Youth, 16, Wins; 'It Pays to Be Persistent, Says Don Brodie'". The Cincinnati Post. February 25, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "Plays Given at East High". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. January 14, 1922. p. 9. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ "In the Dramatic Studios". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. April 20, 1924. p. C3. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ "'Electra' Tuesday". The Cincinnati Post. Ohio, Cincinnati. November 25, 1927. p. 25. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ "Civic Theater". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio, Cincinnati. April 26, 1928. p. 4. Retrieved January 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ "Actor Given Famous Name". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. March 29, 1931. p. Part 4, Page 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ "Universal Two Reel Stars Working Fast". The Film Daily. Ohio, Cincinnati. June 4, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Archive.org.  
  13. ^ a b "First Feature Role for Don Brodie". The Newark Advocate. November, 1938. p. 15. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Kent Taylor, right, with Dorothea Hunt and Don Brodie...". The South Bend Tribune. December 29, 1938. p. 8. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  15. ^ "Film News of the Week: 'The Last Express'". The Sydney Morning Herald. January 12, 1939. p. 31. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Wear (October 19, 1933). "Film Reviews: The Last Express". Variety. October 19, 1938. p. 27. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "The Last Express". Motion Picture Reviews. December 1938. p. 6. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "Crime Club Production, 'The Last Express,' at State Saturday; Uses Formula of Bringing All Suspects Together at Finale for Denouement; Strong Cast Is Headed by Kent Taylor". The Jackson Sun. January 29, 1939. p. 22. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "In Town Monday Night". Liverpool Evening Express. May 13, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "TV–Radio Briefs". The Hollywood Reporter. April 23, 1957. p. 8. ProQuest 2338382294. Dell O'Dell, formerly seen on ABC and KTLA, goes before the cameras of Howard Studios tomorrow to shoot a 60-minute pilot starring herself and featuring her husband Charles Carrer, Ruth Scott, Ron McNeil and Diane Hall. Pilot will be directed by Don Brodie, scripted by Alice Wellman Harris.
  21. ^ "Advertisement: HOLLYWOOD TV FILM PRODUCTION HOLLYWOOD TV FILM PRODUCTION; Howard Prods". The Hollywood Reporter. May 3, 1957. p. 15. ProQuest 2338403572. "Tricks for Living"; Starring Dell O'Dell, Charles Carrer, Ron McNeil, Ruth Scott, Diane Hall; 39 hour films for syndication; Producer — Howard Wormser; Director — Don Brodie; Writer — Alice Wellman
  22. ^ "Don Takes Long Path to Be Film Director; Cincinnatian Goes to Hollywood, Forms Stock Group and Then Turns Actor to Become Something Else". The Cincinnati Post. August 19, 1931. p. 5. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  23. ^ Lentz, Harris, III (October 2001). "Obituaries: Don Brodie". Classic Images. p. 57. ProQuest 2130594. Film and television character actor Don Brodie died at age 101 in Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2001.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (2002). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0-7864-1278-5. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  25. ^ "Call Of The Savage~01. shipwecked". YouTube.
  26. ^ "Missing Girls [1936] Phil Rosen". YouTube.

Further reading

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