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 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 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 The Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation 22212 Ventura Blvd., Suite 300 Woodland Hills, CA 91364 A Minor Consideration (support group for child actors) 14530 Denker Ave Gardena, CA 90247 Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Movie Museum Las Vegas, Nevada The Humane Society of the United States Hollywood Office (formerly The Ark Trust) (animal welfare) Santa Fe Cares (a community AIDS foundation) U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL AFFILIATIONS Gish Film Theater National Advisory Committee - co-chair (1989-?) Lillian & Dorothy Gish Prize Fund Board (1989-?) Screen Actors Guild National Film Preservation Board (1989-1998) charter member A Minor Consideration (1991?-1998) charter member Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Board of Governors (1992-2001) Secretary (1995-1998) Treasurer (1998-1999) left vacant for remainder of term in honor of Mr. McDowall Chairman of Actors Branch Executive Committee (1992-1997) Chairman of Finance Committee (1998-1999) Academy Foundation Board of Trustees (1994-1999) Treasurer (1995-1998) Chairman of Student Academy Awards Committe (1997-1998) President (1998-1999) left vacant for remainder of term Board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund (1997-1998) Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund - Advisory Board Bette Davis Foundation Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum - Honorary Board Member UCLA Film and Television Archive - Archive Council Founder Kennedy Center Honors - Member, board of selectors 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 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). 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