Wendell Holmes (actor)

American actor (1914–1962)

For information on Wendell Holmes, the American musician, see The Holmes Brothers.

Wendell Holmes

Press photo from NBC Blue network: Actor Wendell Holmes as Colonel Humphrey J. Flack, 1947

Born| (1914-08-17)August 17, 1914

Cheshire, Ohio, U.S.

Died| April 27, 1962(1962-04-27) (aged 47)

Paris, France

Other names| Oliver Wendell Holmes
Alma mater| The Ohio State University
Occupation| Actor
Years active| 1934–1962
Spouse(s)| Lois Jesson Holmes (1938–?)
Adrienne Marden (1956–1962) (divorced)

Wendell Holmes (August 17, 1914 – April 27, 1962) was an American actor whose career included work in radio,[1] television,[2] Broadway,[3] and film.[4]

## Early years

[edit]

Holmes was born Oliver Wendell Holmes in Cheshire, Ohio to Ferdie and Ada Holmes.[5] Census records indicate that by 1930 the family was living in Columbus, Ohio.[6]

## Career

[edit]

An article appearing in The Des Moines Register (1941) mentions Holmes being born on a farm and describes his winning a Chautauqua competition at age six, entering high school at age ten, and graduating from Ohio State University at age 18 with a degree in Education. It further states that instead of becoming an educator, Holmes hitch-hiked to New York and began working as an actor, starting his radio career in 1934.[7]

An article appearing in The Daily Dispatch (1949) mentions that Holmes' parents were school teachers and adds to the Chautauqua event by noting it took place in Middleport, Ohio, where a talent scout signed him up for more work.[8]

The same Daily Dispatch article (1949) quotes Holmes as saying at the time, "There are about 5,000 radio actors here, and last year they averaged $16 a week salary. Only about 500 manage to earn a truckdriver's living...When I started in 1934 I got $20 a week for working in 30 shows.[9]"

During the years 1948–49, Holmes appeared as Dr. Watson in the radio adaptation of Sherlock Holmes starring John Stanley, but was credited as "George Spelvin" to avoid confusion between his actual surname and the surname of the show's protagonist.[10][11][12]

Over the years, Holmes acted in more than 40 radio dramas, 50 TV episodes, and 10 movies.

## Personal life

[edit]

On June 20, 1938, Holmes married actress Lois E Jesson in Manhattan, New York.[13] Following his divorce (date unknown) from Jesson, Holmes married actress Adrienne Marden in Santa Monica, California, on August 12, 1956.[14]

Wendell Holmes died of what is thought to have been a heart attack in Paris, France, on April 27, 1962.[15]

## Radio acting

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1945 | Words at War: "Apartment in Athens" | voice actor | Radio drama
1947 | Colonel Humphrey Flack[16] | voice actor | Radio drama
1948 | The Ford Theater: "Storm in a Teacup" | voice actor | Radio drama
1948 | The Mysterious Traveler: "The Man Who Vanished"[17] | voice actor | Radio drama
1948 | Sherlock Holmes: "The Blue Carbuncle[11] | voice actor | Radio drama; credited as George Spelvin
1950 | Dimension X: "Almost Human"[18] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "And the Moon Be Still as Bright"[19] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "No Contact"[20] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "Mars Is Heaven"[21] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "The Outer Limit"[22] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "The Potters of Firsk"[23] | voice actor | Radio drama
1950 | Dimension X: "The Roads Must Roll" | voice actor | Radio drama
1951 | John Steele, Adventurer: "Counterpoint"[24] | voice actor | Radio drama
1951 | Dimension X: "First Contact"[25] | voice actor | Radio drama
1951 | Dimension X: "The Last Objective"[26] | voice actor | Radio drama
1952 | Best Plays: Arsenic and Old Lace | voice actor | Radio drama
1952 | The Chase: "Career Girl"[27] | voice actor | Radio drama
1953 | The Chase: "A Frame for Murder"[28] | voice actor | Radio drama
1953 | 21st Precinct: "The Dog Day"[29] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "The Green Hills of Earth"[30] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "A Logic Named Joe"[31] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "No Contact"[32] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "Mars Is Heaven"[33] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "First Contact"[34] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "Nightfall"[35] | voice actor | Radio drama
1955 | X Minus One: "The Outer Limit"[36] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Chain of Command"[37] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "A Gun for Dinosaur"[38] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Honeymoon in Hell"[39] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Mr. Costello, Hero"[40] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "The Old Die Rich"[41] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Protective Mimicry"[42] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "The Roads Must Roll"[43] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Skulking Permit"[44] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "The Snowball Effect"[45] | voice actor | Radio drama
1956 | X Minus One: "Soldier Boy"[46] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "The Category Inventor"[47] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "Discovery of Morniel Mathaway"[48] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "Man's Best Friend"[49] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "Open Warfare"[50] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "Saucer of Loneliness"[51] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "The Scapegoat"[52] | voice actor | Radio drama
1957 | X Minus One: "Something for Nothing"[53] | voice actor | Radio drama
1961 | Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: "The Stock in Trade Matter"[54] | voice actor | Radio drama

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1941 | Always Tomorrow: The Portrait of an American Business | Bottler | Promotional film, Uncredited
1949 | Lost Boundaries | Mr. Morris Mitchell | Movie
1955 | Medic | Dr. Welch | Episode: "Dr. Impossible"
1955 | The Man Behind the Badge | Lawrence Deshaw | Episode: "The Case of the Dying Past"[55]
1955 | The Man Behind the Badge | Pawling | Episode: "The Case of the Part-Time Cop"
1955 | Mr. Citizen |  | Minor role, Episode: "One for the Padre"
1957 | Official Detective | Wendell Jordan | Episode: "Body in the Trunk"
1957 | The Court of Last Resort | Terry Booth | Episode: "The Clarence Redding Case"[56]
1958 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Henry C. Farnsworth | Season 3 Episode 36: "The Safe Place"[57]
1958 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Mr. Herrick, the Prosecutor | Season 4 Episode 5: "The $2,000,000 Defense"[58]
1958 | The Californians | Krego | Episode: "Death By Proxy"
1958 | Young and Wild | Lewis J. Christopher | Movie
1958 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Seth Morton | Episode: "Man on the Street"
1958 | Father Knows Best | Dr. Runeberg | Episode: "Be Kind to Bud Week"
1958 | I Want to Live! | Detective | Movie
1958 | Leave It to Beaver | Mr. T.J. Willet | Episode: "Music Lesson"[59]
1958 | Perry Mason | Dr. Forbes | Episode: "The Case of the Desperate Daughter"
1958 | Perry Mason | Howard Evans | Episode: "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant"
1959 | Good Day for a Hanging | Tallant Joslin | Movie
1959 | Never Steal Anything Small | George Alper | Movie, Uncredited
1959 | Gunsmoke | Betchel | Episode: "Doc Quits"
1959 | Behind Closed Doors | Boris Gorin | Episode: "The Geneva Story"
1959 | Zorro | Storekeeper | Episode: "The Brooch"
1959 | Zorro | Storekeeper Avila | Episode: "The Missing Father"
1959 | Zorro | Episode: "Please Believe Me"
1959 | Compulsion | Jonas Kessler | Movie, Uncredited
1959 | Playhouse 90 | Judge Ives | Episode: "Judgment at Nuremberg"
1959 | The Rough Riders | Sam Hanks | Episode: "Hired Gun"
1959 | But Not for Me | Miles Montgomery | Movie
1959 | Edge of Eternity | Sam Houghton | Movie
1959 | The Twilight Zone | Cooper | Episode: "Escape Clause"
1959 | Man with a Camera | Carl Ganza | Episode: ":Missing"
1959 | Special Agent 7 | Neeley | Episode: "Male Order"
1959 | Lawman | Cal Nibley | Episode: "The Press"
1959 | Leave It to Beaver | Mr. T.J. Willet | Episode: "Beaver's Hero"[60]
1959 | Maverick | Mayor Uli Bemus | Episode: "The Cats of Paradise"
1959 | The Texan | Marshal Sommers | Episode: "Dangerous Ground"
1959 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Lieutenant Holson | Episode: "So Tender, So Profane"
1960 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | John B. Halverson | Season 5 Episode 19: "Not the Running Type"[61]
1960 | Bonanza | Judge Scribner | Episode: "Death at Dawn"[62]
1960 | Hawaiian Eye | Dr. Abner Moses Good | Episode: "The Kamehameha Cloak"
1960 | Leave It to Beaver | Andy Hadlock | Episode: "Beaver and Andy"[63]
1960 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Governor | Episode: "The Governor's Visit"
1960 | Black Saddle | Doc Hazen | Episode: "Mr. Simpson"
1960 | Zane Grey Theater | Cobson, Auctioneer | Episode: "Never Too Late"
1960 | Maverick | Colonel Dutton | Episode: "Greenbacks, Unlimited"
1960 | Perry Mason | District Attorney Williams | Episode: "The Case of the Bashful Burro"
1960 | Startime | Rigsby | Episode: "Incident at a Corner"
1960 | Mr. Lucky | David Bullitt | Episode: "Hit and Run"
1960 | Because They're Young | Principal Dolan | Movie
1960 | Overland Trail | Mayor Bill Filmore | Episode: "First Stage to Denver"
1960 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse |  | Minor role, Episode: "City in Bondage"
1960 | Hawaiian Eye | Sam Perkins | Episode: "Little Blalah"
1960 | Peter Gunn | Janos Thorwald | Episode: "The Semi-Private Eye"
1960 | Inherit The Wind | Banker, Critic at City Meeting | Movie, Uncredited
1960 | Elmer Gantry | Reverend Ulrich | Movie
1960 | The Texan | Henry Morton | Episode: "24 Hours to Live"
1960 | Bonanza | Judge Rand | Episode: "Badge Without Honor"[64]
1960 | The Westerner | Henry Hadley | Episode: "Mrs. Kennedy"
1960 | The Great Imposter | Surgeon Commander Winston | Movie, Uncredited
1960 | Shotgun Slade |  | Minor role, Episode: "A Plate of Death"
1960 | Grand Jury | Taylor | Episode: "Condemned"
1961 | The Absent Minded Professor | General Poynter | Movie
1961 | Checkmate | Mervin Everhardt | Episode: "Portrait of a Man Running"
1961 | Bus Stop | Dean Drayton | Episode: "Success Story"
1961 | Follow The Sun | The Judge | Episode: "The Woman Who Never Was"
1961 | The Untouchables | The Judge | Episode: "Loophole"
1961 | Dr. Kildare | Judge Inley | Episode: "Hit and Run"
1961 | Leave It to Beaver | Mr. Blair | Episode: "Beaver's English Test"[65]
1962 | Hazel | Mr. Wagner | Episode: "Hazel's Dog Days"
1962 | Leave It to Beaver | Mr. Blair | Episode: "Farewell to Penny"[66]
1962 | Room for One More | Judge | Episode: "The Anniversary"
1962 | Lawman | Frank MacStrowd | Episode: "The Barber"
1962 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Sylvester Tupper | Season 7 Episode 34: "The Twelve Hour Caper"[67] (final appearance)

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Terrace p. 80
2. ^ Pressnell/McGee p. 37
3. ^ "('Wendell Holmes' search results)". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
4. ^ Andreychuk, Ed (2005). Burt Lancaster: A Filmography and Biography. McFarland & Company. p. 110\. ISBN 9780786404360.
5. ^ "Ohio, County Births, 1841–2003". FamilySearch. March 13, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
6. ^ "United States Census, 1930". FamilySearch. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
7. ^ "Descendant of Writer Now Plays on Radio Serial". The Des Moines Register. October 27, 1941. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
8. ^ "At 34, Wendell Holmes Isn't Making as Much as When 6". The Dispatch. May 28, 1949. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
9. ^ "At 34, Wendell Holmes Isn't Making as Much as When 6". The Dispatch. May 28, 1949. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
10. ^ Dickerson, Ian (2019). Sherlock Holmes and His Adventures on American Radio. BearManor Media. p. 258\. ISBN 978-1629335087.
11. ^ a b " "mp3".
12. ^ Harmon, Jim (2011). Radio Mystery and Adventure and Its Appearances in Film, Television and Other Media. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 175\. ISBN 9780786485086.
13. ^ "Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York City". New York Municipal Archives; New York City; Borough: Manhattan; Volume Number: 5. New York Municipal Archives. June 20, 1938. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
14. ^ "Adrienne Marden and Wendell Holmes Wed". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas, Corpus Christi. Associated Press. August 13, 1956. p. 19. Retrieved July 1, 2017 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Report of the Death of An American Citizen: Holmes, Oliver Wendell". Foreign Service of the United States of America. Department of State. May 18, 1962. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
16. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2015). Radio Programs, 1924–1984. McFarland. p. 80\. ISBN 9781476605289.
17. ^ "mp3".
18. ^ "mp3".
19. ^ "mp3".
20. ^ "mp3".
21. ^ "mp3".
22. ^ "mp3".
23. ^ "mp3".
24. ^ "mp3".
25. ^ "mp3".
26. ^ "mp3".
27. ^ "mp3".
28. ^ "mp3".
29. ^ "mp3".
30. ^ "mp3".
31. ^ "mp3".
32. ^ "mp3".
33. ^ "mp3".
34. ^ "mp3".
35. ^ "mp3".
36. ^ "mp3".
37. ^ "mp3".
38. ^ "mp3".
39. ^ "mp3".
40. ^ "mp3".
41. ^ "mp3".
42. ^ "mp3".
43. ^ "mp3".
44. ^ "mp3".
45. ^ "mp3".
46. ^ "mp3".
47. ^ "mp3".
48. ^ "mp3".
49. ^ "mp3".
50. ^ "mp3".
51. ^ "mp3".
52. ^ "mp3".
53. ^ "mp3".
54. ^ "mp3".
55. ^ "video".
56. ^ "video".
57. ^ "video".
58. ^ "video".
59. ^ "video".
60. ^ "video".
61. ^ "video".
62. ^ "video".
63. ^ "video".
64. ^ "video".
65. ^ "video".
66. ^ "video".
67. ^ "video".

## General bibliography

[edit]

* Andreychuk, Ed. Burt Lancaster: A Filmography and Biography. McFarland, 2005.
* Presnell, Don and McGee, Marty. A Critical History of Television's The Twilight Zone, 1959–1964. McFarland, 2015.
* Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Wendell Holmes at IMDb
* Lois Holmes at IMDb
* Adrienne Marden at IMDb
* otr.com – Dimension X
* Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs