CHRISTENED NAME
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall


BORN
September 17, 1928
204 Herne Hill Road
Herne Hill
London SE24
England


DIED
October 3, 1998
3110 Brookdale Road
Studio City, California
USA
Cancer of the lung
Cremated, ashes scattered at sea


Family portrait

PARENTS
Thomas Andrew McDowall
Born: June 28, 1896, London, England
Died: July 14, 1978, Los Angeles, California

Winsfriede L. McDowall nee Corcoran
Born: September 9, 1899, Ireland
Died: May 17, 1965, Los Angeles, California

Married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 25, 19??


SIBLINGS
Virginia McDowall
Born: September 23, 1927, London, England
Died: December 8, 2006, Woodland Hills, California


GENEALOGY
Pedigree Chart and Ahnentafel Chart
Ancestor Tree (PDF file)
Genealogy Report (PDF file)


EDUCATION
St. Joseph College, Beulah Hill, London, England
Hanover Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England
20th Century-Fox Schoolroom for child actors (1940-47)
Graduated University High School, Santa Monica, California (1947)


HONORARY DOCTORATE DEGREE OF PERFORMING ARTS
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
October 9, 1995


PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Studied acting with Edith King-Hall, London, England (1935-40)
Mira Rostova, New York City, New York (1952-57)
David Craig, New York City, New York
Bobby Lewis, New York City, New York


PHOTOGRAPHY MENTORS
Richard Avedon
Elliot Elisofon


NATURALIZATION
September 17, 1949


SERVICE
Organized Reserve Corps (1946-54)
Pvt. R.A. McDowall
1930585 HDQ and HDQ SV CO.
67th Armored Infantry Battalion Division
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California

US Army Reserves (sometime between 1960 to 1962)
77th Infantry Division
New York City


HEIGHT
5'10"

EYES
Brown

Photographer extraordinaire

HOBBIES
Photography
Collecting films & film memorabilia
Expert on the history of cinema
Collecting friends
Swimming


FAVORITE POSSESSIONS
  • A fat, tattered history of the cinema crammed with autographs of the famous and the forgotten.
  • Newsweek November 29, 1965


SUPPORTED


PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL AFFILIATIONS


Parents Magazine Award

AGENT
Innovative Artists
1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2850
Los Angeles, California 90066


HONORS
    Box Office Magazine awards

    Fame Magazine awards

    National Board of Review Award (1941)
    "How Green Was My Valley"
    Best Acting, one of 21 performers cited

    Parents Magazine Award (1942)
    Most Talented Juvenile Actor

    Star of Tomorrow (1944)

    Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award (1960)
    "The Fighting Cock"
    Actor, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic) performance

    The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmy) Award (October 21, 1960)
    "Not Without Honor", Equitable's American Heritage, NBC
    Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Single Program for the 1960-1961 season

    Nominated for Emmy Award
    "Journey Into Darkness", Arrest and Trial, ABC
    Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the 1963-1964 season

    Nominated for Golden Globe Award (1963)
    "Cleopatra"
    Actor in a Supporting Role, 21st Annual Golden Globe Awards

    Mrs. Anne Radcliffe Awards (1971)
    The Count Dracula Society
    Special Award

    Nominated for Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (Saturn) Award (1983)
    "Class of 1984"
    Best Supporting Actor

    Career Achievement Award (November 22, 1985)
    American Cinema Foundation

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (Saturn) Award (1986)
    "Fright Night"
    Best Supporting Actor

    Nominated for Fennecus Award (1989)
    "The Big Picture"
    Actor in a Cameo Role, 9th Annual Fennecus Awards
    Silver Medallion Award of Honor recipient
    The Silver Medallion Award of Honor (October 1991)
    Motion Picture & Television Fund
    Given to individuals whose passion and devotion to the people of the entertainment industry is exhibited by their dedication to the Motion Picture & Television Fund

    The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Award (1992)

    Award for Photography and Motion Picture Contribution (1992)
    The New School, New York

    Second Caldwell Theatre Guild's Spotlight Award (April 17, 1993)
    Boca Raton, Florida
    For a lifetime of distinguished service to advancing the art of theater

    Hall of Fame Award (April 1997)
    Audrey Hepburn Hollywood for Children Fund

    The Charles W. Hemingway Audio Hall of Fame
    Presented annually by noted audio critic Bennet Pomerantz, this award is given to a person in the audio industry who has overall shown a quality in their body of work

    Nominee, American Film Institute's Greatest Screen Legends (aka AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Stars) (1999)


IN MEMORIAM
    The Roddy McDowall Photograph Archive at the Margaret Herrick Library
    Collection of still photographs maintained by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; announced October 1998

    The Roddy McDowall Rose Garden
    Located at the Woodland Hills grounds of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, the garden was grown using rose bushes harvested from Mr. McDowall's home garden

    Roddy McDowall Production Fund
    The Bay Street Theatre, located on The Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, NY, has a Roddy McDowall Production Fund which supports the Mainstage productions at the theater (if you visit the theater, look for the seat with an engraved plaque bearing McDowall's name).


Roddy McDowall Night Gallery Hollywood Roddy McDowall Walk of Fame Star

HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD
WALK OF FAME STAR LOCATION
6632 Hollywood Blvd.
between Hudson & Cherokee
Near: City Life Sports
Category: Television Actor (1960)


NIGHT GALLERY HOLLYWOOD
(murals of celebrities on roll-down security doors)
6554 Hollywood Blvd.
Year: 2002


THE HOLLYWOOD HISTORY MUSEUM
(has the actual bathroom from McDowall's home and many photos taken at his dinner parties)
1666 North Highland Ave, Hollywood, CA
Year: 2003


RODDY McDOWALL SPECIAL COLLECTION
Boston University
Special Collections
Mugar Memorial Library
771 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
*restricted entry; papers sealed until 2098*






RECOMMENDED VIEWING
This Is Your Life - Roddy McDowall
Pearson Television

Roddy McDowall: Hollywood's Best Friend
A&E Biography


RECOMMENDED READING
    Current Biography (April 1961 Vol 22)
    "Roddy McDowall"
    New York

    The Films of Roddy McDowall
    by David Castell
    ©1975 Barnden Castell Williams Limited, London

    Great Child Stars
    by James Robert Parish
    ©1976 Ace Books, New York

    Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (but don't have sex or take the car)
    by Dick Moore
    ©1984 Harper & Row, New York

    Films in Review (Aug/Sept 1988, Oct 1988)
    "Roddy McDowall"
    by Michael Buckley
    The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc.

    Actors: A Celebration
    by Rita Gam
    ©1988 St. Martin's Press, New York

    People Weekly (October 19, 1998)
    "Farewell: Best Buddy"
    by Dan Jewel and Champ Clark
    Time, Inc.


    Classic Images #281 (November 1998)
    "The Lasting Legacy of Roddy McDowall"
    by Diana Serra Cary
    Lee Enterprises, Inc.

    InTheater #60 (November 6, 1998)
    "Roddy McDowall, 1928-1998"
    by Sam Harris
    Parker Publishing & Communications, Inc.

    Vanity Fair #460 (December 1998)
    "The Company He Kept"
    by Dominick Dunne
    The Condé Nast Publications Inc.

    Apesfan Special Edition (February 1999)
    "Long Live the King! Farewell to Roddy McDowall"
    by George R. Reis
    Published by Herman Senerchia, George R. Reis & Joe Lozowsky

    Are You Hungry, Dear?
    by Doris Roberts with Danelle Morton
    ©2003 St. Martin's Press, New York

    16 Celebrities Who Charmed My Life
    by Bill Fine
    ©2003 Xlibris Corporation

    Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins
    by Rupert Everett
    ©2007 Warner Books



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