Jeff Corey
Encyclopedia
Jeff Corey was an American
stage and screen actor
and director
who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted
in the 1950s.
, the son of Mary (née
Peskin) and Nathan Zwerling. After a Shakespearean stint in New York in the late 1930s, Corey made the move to Hollywood in 1940, where he became a highly respected character actor. One of his most notable movie roles was in a 1951 feature film, Superman and the Mole Men
, which was later edited to a two-part episode of the television series The Adventures of Superman
, retitled "The Unknown People". His portrayal of a xenophobic vigilante coincidentally reflected what was about to happen to him.
His career was halted in the early 1950s, when he was summoned before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Corey refused to give names and went so far as to ridicule the panel by offering critiques of the testimony of the previous witnesses. This behavior led to his being blacklisted for twelve years. "Most of us were retired reds. We had left it, at least I had, years before," Corey told Patrick McGilligan, the co-author of "Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist" who also teaches film at Marquette University. "The only issue was, did you want to just give them their token names so you could continue your career, or not? I had no impulse to defend a political point of view that no longer interested me particularly .... They just wanted two new names so they could hand out more subpoenas."
During his blacklisting, Corey drew upon his experience in various actors' workshops (including the Actors Lab, which he helped establish) by seeking work as an acting teacher. His soon grew to be one of the most influential teachers in Hollywood. His students, at various times, included Robert Blake
, Richard Chamberlain
, James Dean
, Jane Fonda
, Peter Fonda
, Michael Forest
, James Hong
, Penny Marshall
, Darrell M. Smith
, Diane Varsi
, Sharon Tate
, Rita Moreno
, Jack Nicholson
, Leonard Nimoy
, Anthony Perkins
, Rob Reiner
, Barbra Streisand
, and Robin Williams
.
In 1962, Corey began working in films again, and remained active into the 1990s. He played the principal villain in the earlier film version of True Grit, and was a sheriff who warned Butch and Sundance
that no good would come of their breaking the law.
He made guest appearances on many TV shows. His best-known science fiction
appearances were in "O.B.I.T.", an episode of The Outer Limits
; "The Cloud Minders", a third-season episode of Star Trek
, in which he played High Advisor Plasus; and "Z'ha'dum
", the third-season finale of Babylon 5
, in which he played Justin, and as Caspay in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
. He also appeared in the short-lived Paper Moon
, a comedy about a father and his presumed daughter roaming through the American Midwest during the Great Depression
, trying to get rich quick. He had a memorable role in a third-season Night Court
as a burned-out judge who'd lost his grip on reality.
In an interview in February 1973 aboard the SS Universe Campus, of Chapman College, Corey detailed his TV work on Rod Serling's Night Gallery. Up to this time he was proudest of this work, for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Returning to one aspect of his acting roots, he can be seen directing some of the screen tests for Superman in the DVD extras.
Corey died on August 16, 2002, from complications from pneumonia
caused by his lung cancer
infection. He was 88 years old.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage and screen actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
in the 1950s.
Biography
Corey was born Arthur Zwerling in Brooklyn, New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of Mary (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Peskin) and Nathan Zwerling. After a Shakespearean stint in New York in the late 1930s, Corey made the move to Hollywood in 1940, where he became a highly respected character actor. One of his most notable movie roles was in a 1951 feature film, Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men is a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a...
, which was later edited to a two-part episode of the television series The Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
, retitled "The Unknown People". His portrayal of a xenophobic vigilante coincidentally reflected what was about to happen to him.
His career was halted in the early 1950s, when he was summoned before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Corey refused to give names and went so far as to ridicule the panel by offering critiques of the testimony of the previous witnesses. This behavior led to his being blacklisted for twelve years. "Most of us were retired reds. We had left it, at least I had, years before," Corey told Patrick McGilligan, the co-author of "Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist" who also teaches film at Marquette University. "The only issue was, did you want to just give them their token names so you could continue your career, or not? I had no impulse to defend a political point of view that no longer interested me particularly .... They just wanted two new names so they could hand out more subpoenas."
During his blacklisting, Corey drew upon his experience in various actors' workshops (including the Actors Lab, which he helped establish) by seeking work as an acting teacher. His soon grew to be one of the most influential teachers in Hollywood. His students, at various times, included Robert Blake
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
, Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
, James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
, Michael Forest
Michael Forest
Gerald Michael Charlebois, better known as Michael Forest is an American actor who provides the voices for many animated titles. At the age of 71, he provided the voice of Prince Olympius in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue...
, James Hong
James Hong
James Hong is an American actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists . A prolific acting veteran, Hong's career spans over 50 years and includes more than 350 roles in film, television, and video games.-Early life:Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His...
, Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
, Darrell M. Smith
Darrell M. Smith
Darrell M. Smith is an American entrepreneur, businessman, producer and actor.-Career:He studied at Stella Adler, the drama school where actors like Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro went, in New York City for a few years. After finishing his studies he went on to do numerous off-broadway plays,...
, Diane Varsi
Diane Varsi
Diane Marie Antonia Varsi was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets...
, Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
, Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
, Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
, Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
.
In 1962, Corey began working in films again, and remained active into the 1990s. He played the principal villain in the earlier film version of True Grit, and was a sheriff who warned Butch and Sundance
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
that no good would come of their breaking the law.
He made guest appearances on many TV shows. His best-known science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
appearances were in "O.B.I.T.", an episode of The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
; "The Cloud Minders", a third-season episode of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, in which he played High Advisor Plasus; and "Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum is the final episode of the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Teaser:Anna Sheridan, John Sheridan's lost wife, returns to the station, unexpectedly showing up at Sheridan's room, much to the shock and anxiety of Delenn. Anna attempts to get close to...
", the third-season finale of Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, in which he played Justin, and as Caspay in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
. He also appeared in the short-lived Paper Moon
Paper Moon (TV series)
Paper Moon is a short-lived situation comedy which aired on ABC during the fall of 1974, starring Christopher Connelly and Jodie Foster in the roles of Moses Pray and his presumed daughter, Addie...
, a comedy about a father and his presumed daughter roaming through the American Midwest during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, trying to get rich quick. He had a memorable role in a third-season Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
as a burned-out judge who'd lost his grip on reality.
In an interview in February 1973 aboard the SS Universe Campus, of Chapman College, Corey detailed his TV work on Rod Serling's Night Gallery. Up to this time he was proudest of this work, for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Returning to one aspect of his acting roots, he can be seen directing some of the screen tests for Superman in the DVD extras.
Corey died on August 16, 2002, from complications from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
caused by his lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
infection. He was 88 years old.
External links
- Official Website
- Back Stage West Interview