Familair Faces From Classic Horror/SciFi films...

[Memphremagog]

There are quite a few character actors that have appeared in many a horror or sco-fi movie over the years that are familiar to fans of the movies..these figures might be just in the background at times or putting in a cameo, other times they may play an active role in the plot of the film. You know them by sight, but not necessarily by name at times, and when they turn up, it's like running into an old friend somewhere. This thread is dedicated to exactly these types of players.

Starting off with:

Skelton Knaggs(6/27/11-4/30/55)



One of the most famous "unknown" faces of the Golden age of horrors; this guy had one of the most unforgettable images appearing in films during the 1940's. Possessed of a creepy voice as well as his macabre appearance, Mr.Skelton appeared in quite a few classics of the day. He was used most notably as the mute sailor who plays the key role in unmasking a killer in Val Lewton's THE GHOST SHIP(1943) and later appears as Steinmuhl, the town instigator in HOUSE OF DRACULA(1945).

His appearances in the horror films include:

The Ghost Ship(1943)
The Lodger(1944)
The Invisible Man's Revenge(1944)
The Picture Of Dorian Gray(1945)
Isle Of the Dead(1945)
House Of Dracula(1945)
Terror By Night(1946)
Bedlam(1946)
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome(1947)
Master Minds(1949)

[Memphremagog]

Next up: Harry Cording(4/26/1891-9/1/1954)



This gentleman's list of movie appearances reads like a who's who of classic horror films from the 1930's through the 1950's. Usually appearing as a rough and tumble character or guard, he shows up in many a film, sometimes briefly, sometimes as a integral part of the story. Whatever the case, when he turns up, it's in a eye-catching appearance.  Used as an almost semi-regular in Universal's Sherlock Holmes movies of the 1940's.

His list of genre films includes:

The Black Cat(1934)
Mystery Of Edwin Drood(1935)
Son Of Frankenstein(1939)
The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes(1939)
Tower Of London(1939)
Hunchback Of Notre Dame(1939)
The Invisible Man Returns(1940)
House Of Seven Gables(1940)
The Wolf Man(1941)
Ghost Of Frankenstein(1942)
Sherlock Holmes & the Voice Of Terror(1942)
The Mummy's Tomb(1942)
Sherlock Holmes & the Secret Weapon(1943)
The Spider Woman(1944)
The Pearl Of Death(1944)
Bluebeard(1944)
The Man In Half Moon Street(1945)
The House Of Fear(1945)
Strange Confession(1945)
Terror By Night(1946)
Dressed To Kill(1946)
The Strange Door(1951)
Abbott & Costello Meet Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde(1953)
The Man In the Attic(1953)

[Memphremagog]

Gale Sondergaard(2/15/1899-8/14/1985)



American actress with a pretty high profile career on stage and in film from the 1930's til early '50's when she and her husband were blacklisted due to their refusal to testify during the witch hunting Communist hearings of the early 1950's. She returned to acting in the late Sixties and acted until the early '80's. Although she didnt appear in as many horror films as some other actresses of the era, she still turned in memorable performances when she did. Possessed of an extremely sexy look for a villainess, she even had a signature role at Universal during the 40's: the Spider Woman. She was intially cast as the Wicked Witch in the Wizard Of Oz(1939), however she turned it down..she looked more sexy than scary when seen in the test makeup.

Her appearances include:

The Cat & the Canary(1939)
The Black Cat(1941)
The Spider Woman(1944)
The Invisible Man's Revenge(1944)
The Climax(1944)
The Spider Woman Strikes Back(1946)
The Time Of Their Lives(1946)
The Cat Creature(1973)

[Memphremagog]

Michael Ripper(1/27/1913-6/28/2000)




If there was a character actor who was in more British horror films than this man, I cant think of him! Michael was an institution in the classic Hammer films and also appeared in horror roles outside of Hammer studios over the years. His list of films is a classic view of the best of British horror. Appearing as everything from graverobbers and police inspectors to pirates and inn keepers, it's like seeing an old uncle when he turns up in a movie.

Films:

1984(1956)
X- The Unknown(1956)
Quatermass II(1957)
Revenge Of Frankenstein(1958)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death(1959)
The Mummy(1959)
Brides Of Dracula(1960)
Curse Of the Werewolf(1961)
Night Creatures(1962)
Phantom Of the Opera(1962)
Curse Of the Mummy's Tomb(1964)
Plague Of the Zombies(1966)
The Reptile(1966)
The Deadly Bees(1966)
The Mummy's Shroud(1967)
Torture Garden(1967)
The Lost Continent(1968)
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave(1968)
Moon Zero Two(1969)
Taste the Blood Of Dracula(1969)
Scars Of Dracula(1970)
The Creeping Flesh(1972)
Legend Of the Werewolf(1975)

[Memphremagog]

Noble Johnson(4/18/1881-01/09/1978)



Character actor who appeared as many ethnic roles over the years from native chiefs and Indians to Gypsies and Russians during his career. He appeared in some notable horror films during the classic era.

Films:

The Thief Of Bagdad(1924)
Dante's Inferno(1924)
Mysterious Dr.Fu Manchu(1929)
Murders In the Rue Morgue(1932)
The Most Dangerous Game(1932)
The Mummy(1932)
King Kong(1933)
The Son Of Kong(1933)
She(1935)
Dante's Inferno(1935)
The Ghost Breakers(1940)
Mad Doctor Of Market Street(1942)
A Game Of Death(1945)

[Memphremagog]

Alan Napier(01/07/1903-8/08/1988)



British character actor best known for playing Alfred the butler on the classic BATMAN tv series during the '60's, however, he had a very successful film career for decades prior to this and appeared in several classic horror films during that time.

Films:

The Invisible Man Returns(1940)
House Of Seven Gables(1940)
Cat People(1942)
The Uninvited(1944)
Hangover Square(1945)
Isle Of the Dead(1945)
House Of Horrors(1946)
Sinbad the Sailor(1947)
Adventure Island(1947)
Master Minds(1949)
The Strange Door(1951)
The Mole People(1956)
Island Of Lost Women(1959)
Journey To the Center Of the Earth(1959)
The Premature Burial(1962)
Batman: The Movie(1966)

[Mike Scott]

Thanks for all of these great profiles!  Where would the movies be without all these wonderful character actors?

Great pic of Noble Johnson! I've seen almost all of those movies and never would have recognized him out of character.

[Memphremagog]

Dick Miller(12/25/1929-present)



A character actor who has been around in film and television since the early '50's and is still working to the present day. Started out as a fixture in many a Roger Corman early opus and has put in appearances in almost every genre since then. Chances are you have seen at least one or two of his roles if you love fantastic films...

Films:

The Undead(1957)
Not Of This Earth(1957)
War Of the Satellites(1958)
A Bucket Of Blood(1959)
Little Shop Of Horrors(1960)
Atlas(1961)
Capture That Capsule!(1961)
The Premature Burial(1962)
The Terror(1963)
X-The Man With the X-Ray Eyes(1963)
Piranha(1978)
The Howling(1981)
Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983)
Space Raiders(1983)
Gremlins(1984)
The Terminator(1984)
Chopping Mall(1986)
Night Of the Creeps(1986)
Innerspace(1987)
Amazon Women On the Moon(1987)
Evil Toons(1992)
Amityville: It's About Time(1992)
Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight(1995)
Trapped Ashes(2006)
Trail Of the Screaming Forehead(2007)
The Hole(2009)

[Memphremagog]

Thanks for all of these great profiles!  Where would the movies be without all these wonderful character actors?

Great pic of Noble Johnson! I've seen almost all of those movies and never would have recognized him out of character.

You're welcome,Mike! There's so many of these type of actors who added to the enjoyment of classic and B-pictures from years ago, it's always a pleasure seeing them turn up somewhere.

As for Noble Johnson, yes, without a lot of the heavy makeups and costumes that he wore on the screen, he was pretty much unrecognizable when seen in a regular photo.  Amazing and a testament to his abilities as a character actor.

[Memphremagog]

Les Tremayne(4/16/1913-12/19/2003)



As well as having a long career doing voices in many a cartoon for decades, Les was known to show up in a sci-fi film or two during his heyday, usually as a professor or expert of some sort. He had a long and varied career in radio, films and television. Here we'll remember him for his stoicism in the face of monsters and alien invasions during the classic sci-f era.

Films:

War Of the Worlds(1953)
Forbidden Planet(1956) narrator
Unidentified Flying Objects: True Story Of Flying Saucers(1956) narrator
The Monolith Monsters(1957)
Monster Of Piedras Blancas(1958)
Angry Red Planet(1959)
King Kong vs Godzilla(1962) voices/ narrator
The Slime People(1963)
War Between the Planets(1966) voice
Creature Of Destruction(1967)
The Naked Monster(2003)

[Mike Scott]

Favorite Les Tremayne line:

"Everybody out of here! Everybody ou . . !  ZZZZAAAAAPPPPP!!!!

[Pauspy]

These are great-how about Milton Parsons?

[Memphremagog]

Milton Parsons(5/19/1904-5/15/80)



A gaunt American character actor who usually appeared as a butler, mortician , lawyer or other public figure, many times of a ghoulish nature in a career spanning decades and included films, radio & television.

Films:

Dead Men Tell(1941)
Hold That Ghost!(1941)
Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde(1941)
Castle In the Desert(1942)
Fingers At the Window(1942)
Whispering Ghosts(1942)
Who Done It?(1942)
The Hidden Hand(1942)
Cry Of the Werewolf(1944)
Murder In the Blue Room(1944)
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome(1947)
Bury Me Dead(1947)
The Monster That Challenged the World(1957)
The Haunted Palace(1963)
The Cat Creature(1973)
The Dead Dont Die(1975)

[Memphremagog]

Whit Bissell(10/25/1909-3/5/1996)



Character actor who had many varied roles in movies and television in a career that began in 1940 and ran through the late 1980's. If you grew up watching tv during the '60's and '70's chances are that you saw an episode of some show with Mr.Bissell in it at one time or another. He also had an impressive list of horror/sci-fi films in which he was usually a scientist or military officer. He had a regular series role in Irwin Allen's TIME TUNNEL series of 1967-68. Also appeared in genre series such as STAR TREK, LAND OF THE GIANTS, INCREDIBLE HULK, THE BIONIC WOMAN, PROJECT U.F.O., KNIGHT RIDER, THE INVADERS, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and THE OUTER LIMITS.

Films:

The Lost Continent(1951)
Creature From the Black Lagoon(1954)
Target Earth(1954)
The Atomic Kid(1954)
Invasion Of the Body Snatchers(1956)
I Was A Teenage Werewolf(1957)
I Was A Teenage Frankenstein(1957)
Monster On the Campus(1958)
The Time Machine(1960)
City Beneath the Sea(1971)
Soylent Green(1973)
Psychic Killer(1975)
The Time Machine(1978)

[Memphremagog]

Mary Gordon(5/16/1882-8/23/63)



Scottish character actress who usually played matronly types in many kinds of films over the years ranging from thrillers and westerns to horror and comedy. Most famous for playing Basil Rathbone's landlady, Mrs.Hudson, in the Sherlock Holmes films of the late '30's-early '40s.

Films:

The Invisible Man(1933)
Bride Of Frankenstein(1935)
Hound Of the Baskervilles(1939)
Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes(1939)
The Invisible Man Returns(1940)
The Invisible Woman(1940)
Strange Case Of Dr.Rx(1942)
Sherlock Holmes & the Voice Of Terror(1942)
The Mummy's Tomb(1942)
Sherlock Holmes & the Secret Weapon(1943)
Sherlock Holmes In Washington(1943)
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death(1943)
The Spider Woman(1944)
Secrets Of Scotland Yard(1944)
The Pearl Of Death(1944)
The Body Snatcher(1945)
The Woman In Green(1945)
Strange Confession(1945)
Dressed To Kill(1946)
Mighty Joe Young(1949)