Harry Bartell
Encyclopedia
Harry Bartell was an American
actor and announcer
in radio
, television
and film
. With his rather youthful sounding voice, Bartell was one of the busiest West Coast character actors from the early 1940s until the final end of network radio drama in the 1960s.
Bartell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana
, but grew up in Houston, where he got his start at station KRPC. Upon moving to California
, he became a favorite of producer/director Norman MacDonnell
, performing frequently on Escape
(notably as Ronald Dawson in The Second Class Passenger and Peyton Farquar in Ambrose Bierce
's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge), and was a leading member of the Gunsmoke
repertory company. Bartell was with the latter series from the first broadcast on April 26, 1952 until the last show on June 18, 1961; his roles ranged from friendly townspeople to victims to heavies, from the occasional role of Dodge City printer Mr. Hightower to famed gunslinger Doc Holliday
in a 1952 episode. With fellow actor Vic Perrin
, he also co-wrote two episodes near the end of the radio run, and appeared many times on the TV version of Gunsmoke, sometimes reprising his radio roles.
Bartell worked on other radio Western
s such as The Six Shooter
, Frontier Gentleman
, Have Gun Will Travel, and Fort Laramie
(a regular as Lt. Seiberts). Other recurring radio parts included a stint as one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin
in The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe starring Sydney Greenstreet
, Tommy Brooks on the situation comedy
The Charlotte Greenwood Show, and Officer Ed Miller on Rogers of the Gazette. As an announcer, he was heard on The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
for several years, interviewing Dr. Watson and segueing into commercials for Petri Wine (he also announced on Silver Theater in the 1940s and on the radio version of Dear Abby
from 1960 until 1972).
Other radio acting jobs included multiple roles in Norman Corwin
's VE day special On a Note of Triumph, frequent appearances on Jack Webb
's shows Dragnet and Pete Kelly's Blues
, and episodic parts on The Modern Adventures of Casanova (starring Errol Flynn
), My Favorite Husband
, The Saint, Suspense
, and Lux Radio Theater
,
In films and television, his youthful voice was revealed to come from a silver-haired figure. His TV appearances included guest roles on Get Smart
, I Love Lucy
, Wild Wild West
, and The Twilight Zone
, in addition to the television versions of Gunsmoke and Dragnet (reprising his radio role of Father Rojas in Christmas
episodes of both the 1951 and 1967 series). His few films included the 1954 Dragnet movie and an unbilled part in Howard Hawks
' Monkey Business.
Apart from his acting work, Bartell was an active photographer (many of his photos of the Gunsmoke cast appeared in the 1990 book on the series Gunsmoke: A Complete History). In his last years, he was a frequent presence at old-time radio
conventions and recreations, wrote online articles about the medium and his experiences, and even participated in radio-themed chat rooms. His final radio appearance was on Seattle radio producer Jim French's
series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, guest starring as a blustery American publisher in an August 2003 episode. He died the following February.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
in radio
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. With his rather youthful sounding voice, Bartell was one of the busiest West Coast character actors from the early 1940s until the final end of network radio drama in the 1960s.
Bartell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, but grew up in Houston, where he got his start at station KRPC. Upon moving to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, he became a favorite of producer/director Norman MacDonnell
Norman MacDonnell
Norman MacDonnell was an American radio and television producer best known for co-creating and producing the Western radio and television series, Gunsmoke. He was also a long-time executive producer for the television series The Virginian....
, performing frequently on Escape
Escape (radio program)
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed...
(notably as Ronald Dawson in The Second Class Passenger and Peyton Farquar in Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge), and was a leading member of the Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
repertory company. Bartell was with the latter series from the first broadcast on April 26, 1952 until the last show on June 18, 1961; his roles ranged from friendly townspeople to victims to heavies, from the occasional role of Dodge City printer Mr. Hightower to famed gunslinger Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
in a 1952 episode. With fellow actor Vic Perrin
Vic Perrin
Vic Perrin was an American actor and voice artist. He is best remembered as the "Control Voice" in the original version of the TV series The Outer Limits ....
, he also co-wrote two episodes near the end of the radio run, and appeared many times on the TV version of Gunsmoke, sometimes reprising his radio roles.
Bartell worked on other radio Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s such as The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter was a weekly old-time radio program in the United States. It was created by Frank Burt, who also wrote many of the episodes, and lasted only one season of 39 episodes on NBC . Through March 21, 1954 it was broadcast Sundays at 8 p.m...
, Frontier Gentleman
Frontier Gentleman
Frontier Gentleman was a radio Western series heard on CBS from February 2 to November 16, 1958, initially heard Sunday afternoons at 2:30pm through March when it moved to 7pm....
, Have Gun Will Travel, and Fort Laramie
Fort Laramie (radio)
Fort Laramie was a radio Western series that aired Sunday afternoons at 5:30pm on CBS from January 22 to October 28, 1956.Produced and directed by Norman Macdonnell, this Western drama depicted life at old Fort Laramie during the 19th Century. The 41 episodes starred Raymond Burr as Lee Quince,...
(a regular as Lt. Seiberts). Other recurring radio parts included a stint as one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
in The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe starring Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
, Tommy Brooks on the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Charlotte Greenwood Show, and Officer Ed Miller on Rogers of the Gazette. As an announcer, he was heard on The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was an old-time radio show which aired in the USA from October 2, 1939 to July 7, 1947. Most episodes were written by the team of Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher....
for several years, interviewing Dr. Watson and segueing into commercials for Petri Wine (he also announced on Silver Theater in the 1940s and on the radio version of Dear Abby
Dear Abby
Dear Abby is the name of the advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name Abigail Van Buren and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name....
from 1960 until 1972).
Other radio acting jobs included multiple roles in Norman Corwin
Norman Corwin
Norman Lewis Corwin was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing...
's VE day special On a Note of Triumph, frequent appearances on Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
's shows Dragnet and Pete Kelly's Blues
Pete Kelly's Blues (radio series)
Pete Kelly's Blues was an American radio drama which aired over NBC as an unsponsored summer replacement series on Wednesday nights at 8pm from July 4 through September 19, 1951. The series starred Jack Webb as Pete Kelly and was created by writer Richard L...
, and episodic parts on The Modern Adventures of Casanova (starring Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
), My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the novel Mr. and Mrs...
, The Saint, Suspense
Suspense (radio program)
-Production background:One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era...
, and Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
,
In films and television, his youthful voice was revealed to come from a silver-haired figure. His TV appearances included guest roles on Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Wild Wild West
Wild Wild West
Wild Wild West is a 1999 American steampunk action-comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline , Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek.Similar to the original TV series it was based on, The Wild Wild West, the film features a large amount of gadgetry...
, and The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, in addition to the television versions of Gunsmoke and Dragnet (reprising his radio role of Father Rojas in Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
episodes of both the 1951 and 1967 series). His few films included the 1954 Dragnet movie and an unbilled part in Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
' Monkey Business.
Apart from his acting work, Bartell was an active photographer (many of his photos of the Gunsmoke cast appeared in the 1990 book on the series Gunsmoke: A Complete History). In his last years, he was a frequent presence at old-time radio
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
conventions and recreations, wrote online articles about the medium and his experiences, and even participated in radio-themed chat rooms. His final radio appearance was on Seattle radio producer Jim French's
Jim French (radio)
James R. "Jim" French is an American radio personality and producer who has written and produced, as of 2011, over 803 radio shows, including The Adventures of Harry Nile and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series.-Life and career:...
series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, guest starring as a blustery American publisher in an August 2003 episode. He died the following February.