Anthony Eisley
Encyclopedia
Anthony Eisley was born Frederick Glendinning Eisley in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, whose father was a general sales manager for a large corporation. Father of Amanda Eisley, Jonathan Eisley, Nan R. Eisley, David Glen Eisley
and grandfather of actress India Eisley
.
, and landed his first acting job in a Pennsylvania stock company production of A Slight Case of Murder, which starred veteran actor James Dunn
. Eisley also acted in the stage play productions of Picnic, Mr. Roberts and The Desperate Hours.
drama Gray Ghost
with Tod Andrews
. Eisley was in the 1959 Roger Corman
film The Wasp Woman
, which he described as,"...a hell of a lot of fun..."
that ran on ABC
television between 1959 and 1963. After being seen in the play Who Was that Lady? he was signed to Warners. He changed his name from Fred to Anthony at the request of Warner Brothers. Anthony had thought he would play a comedian but Warner Brothers Television placed him in a suave private eye role in Hawaiian Eye. Eisley said he left after the third season to be replaced by Troy Donahue
as an advertising executive didn't like him.
in Los Angeles
. Project Prayer had been organized to flood the United State Congress with letters in favor of school prayer. Eisley was joined at the event by Walter Brennan
, Rhonda Fleming
, Lloyd Nolan
, Dale Evans
, Pat Boone
and Gloria Swanson
.
Eisley co-starred as character Clint Braden, suitor to the Nancy Kovack
character of Nellie Bly, in the 1966 Elvis Presley
vehicle Frankie and Johnny
.
His most memorable role in film was as Griff in The Naked Kiss
, Sam Fuller's controversial attack on American small town hypocrisy. Eisley became known as a cult schlock
star for his appearances in Antonio Margheriti
's Lightning Bolt (film) (1965), Jack Broder's' The Navy vs. the Night Monsters
(1966), and Ted V. Mikels
's The Doll Squad (1974).
.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, whose father was a general sales manager for a large corporation. Father of Amanda Eisley, Jonathan Eisley, Nan R. Eisley, David Glen Eisley
David Glen Eisley
David Glen Eisley is an American actor and musician.Eisley was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Anthony Eisley. While in high school, he played drums for the band Mammoth, an Iron Butterfly cover band. He has been in the AOR bands Giuffria and Dirty White Boy...
and grandfather of actress India Eisley
India Eisley
India Joy Eisley is an American teen actress best known for playing Ashley Juergens in the ABC Family teen drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager.-Life and career:...
.
Stage work
He took drama classes at the University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, and landed his first acting job in a Pennsylvania stock company production of A Slight Case of Murder, which starred veteran actor James Dunn
James Dunn
James Dunn, Jim Dunn or Jimmy Dunn may refer to:James Dunn:*James Dunn , an actor who performed in Bad Girl and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn*James Dunn , Australian Senator...
. Eisley also acted in the stage play productions of Picnic, Mr. Roberts and The Desperate Hours.
Early career
His first on-screen role was as a military policeman in the 1952 movie Fearless Fagan. He began appearing on television the following year. He appeared in the 1958 episode "The Trial" of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
drama Gray Ghost
Gray Ghost (TV series)
The Gray Ghost is an American historical series which aired in syndication from October 10, 1957, to July 3, 1958. It depicts the true story of Major John Singleton Mosby, a Virginia officer in the Confederate Army, whose cunning and stealth earned him the nickname "Gray Ghost".-Synopsis:The Gray...
with Tod Andrews
Tod Andrews
Tod Andrews was an American actor on the stage, screen, and television. Born in New York, he was raised in California. He studied acting and journalism at Washington State College.-Career:...
. Eisley was in the 1959 Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
film The Wasp Woman
The Wasp Woman
The Wasp Woman is a science fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman which was completed in 1959...
, which he described as,"...a hell of a lot of fun..."
Hawaiian Eye
Eisley was, however, best known for his starring role in the series, Hawaiian EyeHawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:...
that ran on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television between 1959 and 1963. After being seen in the play Who Was that Lady? he was signed to Warners. He changed his name from Fred to Anthony at the request of Warner Brothers. Anthony had thought he would play a comedian but Warner Brothers Television placed him in a suave private eye role in Hawaiian Eye. Eisley said he left after the third season to be replaced by Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
as an advertising executive didn't like him.
Later career
In 1964, Eisley emceed a Project Prayer rally of 2,500 persons at the Shrine AuditoriumShrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue, in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Project Prayer had been organized to flood the United State Congress with letters in favor of school prayer. Eisley was joined at the event by Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
, Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming , is an American film and television actress.She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most beautiful and glamorous actresses of her day...
, Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
, Dale Evans
Dale Evans
Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...
, Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
and Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
.
Eisley co-starred as character Clint Braden, suitor to the Nancy Kovack
Nancy Kovack
__forcetoc__Nancy Kovack is a former American actress.-Biography:She attended the University of Michigan at age 15 and graduated by 19. At the age of 20 she had won eight beauty titles....
character of Nellie Bly, in the 1966 Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
vehicle Frankie and Johnny
Frankie and Johnny (1966 film)
Frankie and Johnny is a 1966 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a riverboat gambler. The role of "Frankie" was played by Donna Douglas from The Beverly Hillbillies TV series. The film reached #40 on the Variety weekly national box office list for 1966. The budget of the film was estimated at...
.
His most memorable role in film was as Griff in The Naked Kiss
The Naked Kiss
The Naked Kiss is a 1964 neo-noir film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, starring Constance Towers as Kelly, Anthony Eisley as Captain Griff and Michael Dante as J.L. Grant.-Plot:...
, Sam Fuller's controversial attack on American small town hypocrisy. Eisley became known as a cult schlock
Schlock
Schlock is an English word of Yiddish origin meaning "something cheap, shoddy, or inferior "In the field of science, "schlock" refers to shoddy or unreliable results....
star for his appearances in Antonio Margheriti
Antonio Margheriti
Antonio Margheriti , also known under the pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson, was a prolific Italian filmmaker. He was born in Rome and died in 2002 from a heart attack in Monterosi, Viterbo, near Rome at the age of 72....
's Lightning Bolt (film) (1965), Jack Broder's' The Navy vs. the Night Monsters
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters is a 1966 American science fiction film directed by Michael A. Hoey. The movie was based on the novel The Monster from Earth's End by Murray Leinster.- Plot summary:...
(1966), and Ted V. Mikels
Ted V. Mikels
Ted V. Mikels is an American filmmaker of independent cult films. Mikels was also known for his home life, as he once lived with a harem in a Glendale, California castle that contained secret passageways....
's The Doll Squad (1974).
Death
Anthony Eisley died of heart failure in 2003 in Woodland Hills, California, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
.