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John Brown
Publicity Photo of John Brown
Born	(1904-04-04)April 4, 1904 Hull, Yorkshire, England
Died	May 16, 1957(1957-05-16) (aged 53) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1932–1957

John Brown (April 4, 1904 – May 16, 1957) was a British actor.

Radio

Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley, played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.

Film

Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.

Television

In early television, Brown was the second actor (after Hal March) to play "Harry Morton", the next-door neighbor of George Burns and Gracie Allen in their situation comedy show, opposite Bea Benaderet; his tenure on the series lasted six months, and he was replaced by Fred Clark in June 1951.

Personal life

In 1952, Brown was placed on the Hollywood blacklist.

Death

Brown died of a heart attack on May 16, 1957, in West Hollywood, California, while en route to his doctor's office.

Filmography

Radio

Films

Television

References

1. ^ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. p. 43.
2. Buxton, Frank (1997). The Big Broadcast 1920–1950 2nd Edition. Scarecrow Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0810829572. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
3. Gargiulo, Suzanne (2002). Hans Conreid: A Biography; With a Filmography and a Listing of Radio, Television, Stage and Voice Work. McFarland. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7864-1338-6. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
4. "The Life of Riley". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
5. "The Damon Runyon Theatre". Digital Deli Too. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
6. Nachman, Gerald (1998). Raised on Radio, p. 247. Pantheon Books, New York. ISBN 037540287X.
7. "Reliving The Scare: Looking Back On 'Red Channels'". NPR.org.
8. "Digger O'Dell Dies". The Kansas City Times. Associated Press. 18 May 1957. p. 2. Retrieved 26 April 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.

External links

• John Brown at IMDb
• John Brown at Find a Grave
• The Damon Runyon Theatre – audio files of the complete series, freely available at the Internet Archive

• 1904 births
• 1957 deaths
• Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
• English male radio actors
• English male television actors
• English male voice actors
• Hollywood blacklist
• Jewish English male actors
• 20th-century English male actors