George D. Wallace
Encyclopedia
George Dewey Wallace was an American stage and screen actor.
Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin
in the Broadway musical Jennie and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the male lead in New Girl in Town
opposite Gwen Verdon
. But today he may be best remembered for playing Commando Cody
in the movie serial Radar Men from the Moon
.
. While still in his teens Wallace worked as a coal miner and also joined the Civilian Conservation Corps
.
He joined the U.S. Navy
in 1936 and served for eight years. Wallace served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, where he earned the title of light heavyweight champion.
In 1952 Wallace auditioned for a character part in Radar Men from the Moon
and landed the starring role of Commando Cody
. To play Cody, Wallace's outfit consisted of a leather jacket, a silver bullet-shaped helmet, and an atomic-powered rocket pack controlled by three dials: up/down, fast/slow and on/off. Wallace appeared to fly in the serial by lying face-down on a long two-by-four that stuck out horizontally from a platform in front of a rear-projection screen
.
, Walter Pidgeon introduced him to Richard Rodgers
.
Wallace's Broadway
debut was in the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Pipe Dream
, starring the operatic soprano Helen Traubel
.
Wallace's next break on Broadway came when he was chosen to replace John Raitt
in The Pajama Game
when Raitt left the cast to co-star in the film version of the musical. He starred opposite Mary Martin
in the 1963 flop Jennie
.
While appearing in The Most Happy Fella
at the Long Beach
Community Music Theatre (a theatre company competing with Long Beach Civic Light Opera) in 1963, Wallace met Jane A. Johnston, whom he later married. The couple later appeared together in road company productions of Company
, Kiss Me, Kate
, and Funny Girl.
in Los Angeles
from injuries he sustained during a fall while on vacation in Pisa
, Italy
.
He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
.
Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
in the Broadway musical Jennie and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the male lead in New Girl in Town
New Girl in Town
New Girl in Town is a musical with a book by George Abbott and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill based on Eugene O'Neill's 1921 gloomy play Anna Christie, about a prostitute who tries to live down her past. New Girl, unlike O'Neill's play, focuses on the jealousy of the character Marthy and on...
opposite Gwen Verdon
Gwen Verdon
Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
. But today he may be best remembered for playing Commando Cody
Commando Cody
Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
in the movie serial Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C...
.
Early years
Wallace was born in New York City. When he was 13 his family moved to McMechen, West VirginiaMcMechen, West Virginia
McMechen is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,937 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. While still in his teens Wallace worked as a coal miner and also joined the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
.
He joined the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1936 and served for eight years. Wallace served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, where he earned the title of light heavyweight champion.
Films
After leaving the Navy, Wallace worked as a bartender in Hollywood, California. One night gossip columnist Jimmie Fidler was in the bar and heard Wallace singing along with the jukebox for tips. Fidler was impressed with Wallace's voice and introduced him to some contacts at the film studios.In 1952 Wallace auditioned for a character part in Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C...
and landed the starring role of Commando Cody
Commando Cody
Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
. To play Cody, Wallace's outfit consisted of a leather jacket, a silver bullet-shaped helmet, and an atomic-powered rocket pack controlled by three dials: up/down, fast/slow and on/off. Wallace appeared to fly in the serial by lying face-down on a long two-by-four that stuck out horizontally from a platform in front of a rear-projection screen
Rear projection effect
Rear projection is part of many in-camera effects cinematic techniquesin film production for combining foreground performances with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used for many years in driving scenes, or to show other forms of "distant" background motion...
.
Stage
In 1955, on the set of Forbidden PlanetForbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
, Walter Pidgeon introduced him to Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
.
Wallace's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut was in the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical Pipe Dream
Pipe Dream (musical)
Pipe Dream is the seventh stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; it premiered on Broadway on November 30, 1955. The work is based on John Steinbeck's short novel Sweet Thursday—Steinbeck wrote the novel, a sequel to Cannery Row, in the hope of having it adapted into...
, starring the operatic soprano Helen Traubel
Helen Traubel
Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
.
Wallace's next break on Broadway came when he was chosen to replace John Raitt
John Raitt
John Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.-Early years:...
in The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
when Raitt left the cast to co-star in the film version of the musical. He starred opposite Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
in the 1963 flop Jennie
Jennie
For the Douglas Preston novel, see Jennie .For the name, see Jennifer Jennie is a musical with a book by Arnold Schulman, music by Arthur Schwartz, and lyrics by Howard Dietz, and starred Mary Martin....
.
While appearing in The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...
at the Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
Community Music Theatre (a theatre company competing with Long Beach Civic Light Opera) in 1963, Wallace met Jane A. Johnston, whom he later married. The couple later appeared together in road company productions of Company
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
, Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
, and Funny Girl.
Death
Wallace died at Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterCedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
from injuries he sustained during a fall while on vacation in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
.