Gary Merrill

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Gary Merrill

Merrill in the trailer for the film A Blueprint for Murder
Born August 2, 1915(1915-08-02)
Hartford, Connecticut
Died March 5, 1990 (aged 74)
Falmouth, Maine
Spouse(s) Barbara Leeds (1941-1950)
Bette Davis (1950-1960)

Gary F. Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of TV guest appearances.

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[edit] Biography

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he attended Bowdoin College and began acting in 1944, while still in the United States Army Air Forces, in Winged Victory. Before entering films, Merrill's deep cultured voice won him a recurring role as Batman in the Superman radio series. His film career began promisingly, with roles in films like Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and All About Eve (1950), but he rarely moved beyond supportive roles in his many Westerns, war movies, and medical dramas. His television career was extensive, if not consistent. Two of his recurring roles, which included Then Came Bronson and Young Doctor Kildare, lasted less than a season.

Merrill's first marriage, to Barbara Leeds in 1941, ended in divorce in 1950. He immediately married Bette Davis, his co-star from All About Eve, adopting her daughter Barbara from a previous marriage. He and Davis adopted two more children, but divorced in 1960. Merrill was later romantically linked with actress Rita Hayworth.

Often politically active, he campaigned to elect Edmund Muskie to governor of Maine in 1953. Merrill also took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. In response to President Johnson's Vietnam policy, he unsuccessfully sought nomination to the Maine legislature as an anti-war, pro-environmentalist primary candidate.[1]

Aside from an occasional role as narrator, Merrill had essentially retired from the entertainment business after 1980. Shortly before his death, he authored the autobiography Bette, Rita and the Rest of My Life (1989). Merrill died of lung cancer at Falmouth, Maine and is buried there in the Pine Grove Cemetery. During his long residence in Falmouth, Merrill received some complaints from locals due to his habit of appearing in public wearing a caftan instead of a shirt and trousers.

[edit] Theatrical film appearances

[edit] Television

Merrill's television work spanned from 1953 to 1980. Most of his appearances were in guest-star roles in episodic and anthology series, although he did work as a regular character in some later TV shows. Among the more famous programs in which he appeared are: The 20th Century-Fox Hour, Wagon Train, Studio 57, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Alcoa theatre, Rawhide, Laramie, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (the episode "Manacled" original air date 1957), Zane Grey Theater, The Twilight Zone, General Electric Theater, Ben Casey, Combat!, The Outer Limits, Bob Hope's Chrysler Theatre, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Marcus Welby, M.D., Medical Center, Kung Fu, and Cannon.

[edit] References

  1. ^ New York Times biography, and All Movie Guide

[edit] External links