Michael J. Pollard
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| Michael J. Pollard | |
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| Born | May 30, 1939 Passaic, New Jersey |
Michael J. Pollard (born May 30, 1939) is an American actor.
Pollard was born Michael John Pollack, Jr. in Passaic, New Jersey, the son of Sonia (née Dubanowich) and Michael John Pollack.[1] He attended the Montclair Academy and the Actors Studio.[2]
Pollard played the character C. W. Moss in the film Bonnie and Clyde, for which he received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and won a British Academy Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.
Pollard also created the non-singing role of Hugo Peabody in the Original Broadway cast of the 1960 smash hit musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie (lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse), the 1961 Tony Award winner for Best Musical among others, which ran for over 10,500 performances on Broadway.
Pollard appeared with Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, Chita Rivera as Rosie (and who would reprise this role in the West End production of 1962), Dick Gautier as Conrad Birdie, Paul Lynde as Kim's father, Harry MacAfee, and featured Charles Nelson Reilly, who played Mr. Henkel and was the understudy to Van Dyke and Lynde.
In 1962, he appeared in the short-lived Robert Young comedy and drama series Window on Main Street on CBS in a episode entitled "The Boy Who Got Too Many Laughs".[3]
Pollard played the role on Broadway opposite Susan Watson as Kim MacAfee. This role was made even more famous by Ann-Margaret, who replaced Susan Watson, and was catapulted into superstardom in the 1960s by her performance in the 1963 film version of the show. In this film, Pollard was replaced by a singing Hugo in the person of Bobby Rydell, although Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde reprised their Broadway roles. (Bobby Rydell recorded the album "Bye Bye Birdie: All the Great Songs Recorded by Bobby Rydell " on Cameo Records in 1962.)
Pollard was not the only member of the original Broadway cast of Bye Bye Birdie who was replaced for the 1963 filmization; Chita Rivera was replaced in the film as Rosie by Janet Leigh, and Dick Gautier as Conrad Birdie by Jesse Pearson.
Pollard is noted for his short stature, which had him playing child roles well into his twenties (including on Star Trek, where he played one of the inhabitants of the planet of children in the episode "Miri") and resulted in a recurring role as the diminutive trans-dimensional imp Mister Mxyzptlk in two episodes of the Superboy television series. He also appeared in a memorable first season episode of Irwin Allen's "Lost In Space" series as a mysterious boy who lives on the other side of all mirrors. Adept at comic roles, but with an odd edge to the portrayal, he had a stand-out bit part in the classic Norman Jewison Cold War comedy "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming". He also played Packy in Hannibal Brooks.
Pollard appeared in episode #2-30, production #062 of "The Andy Griffith Show" which originally aired on April 30, 1962. Pollard portrayed Barney Fife's clumsy young cousin, Virgil, who stops by for a visit and manages to wreak havoc at the courthouse.
Actor Michael J. Fox has stated that he adopted the J. in his name as a homage to Pollard.[4]
He suggested the title "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" for the Traffic song of the same name.[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Michael J. Pollard at the Internet Movie Database
- Michael J. Pollard article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Michael J. Pollard at the Internet Broadway Database
- Michael J. Pollard at TV.com
