Ted de Corsia
Encyclopedia
Ted de Corsia was a radio and movie actor.
He is probably best remembered for his role as a gangster turned state's evidence in The Enforcer
(1951). In radio, he voiced roles on many radio shows including The March of Time
, The Shadow
and Mike Hammer
.
He made his movie debut in Orson Welles
' The Lady from Shanghai
and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films including The Naked City
(1948),The Big Combo
(1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson
, and Slightly Scarlet (1956).
In the 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, including The Twilight Zone
, Lawman
, Rawhide
, Daniel Boone
, Perry Mason
, I Dream of Jeannie
and Get Smart
.
In his last film, The Outside Man
with Ann-Margret
and Angie Dickinson
, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.
He died at the age of 69 in Encino, California from a heart attack. His body was donated to medical science upon his death.
He was also credited as Ted DeCorsia and Ted De Corsia.
He is probably best remembered for his role as a gangster turned state's evidence in The Enforcer
The Enforcer (1951 film)
The Enforcer is a black-and-white 1951 film noir starring Humphrey Bogart. Based on the Murder, Inc. trials, the film is largely a police procedural directed by Bretaigne Windust with uncredited help from Raoul Walsh, who shot most of the film's suspenseful moments, including the ending...
(1951). In radio, he voiced roles on many radio shows including The March of Time
The March of Time
The March of Time is a radio series, and companion newsreel series, that was broadcast on CBS from 1931 to 1945 and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was created by Time, Inc. executive Roy Edward Larsen, and was produced and written by Louis de Rochemont and his brother Richard de...
, The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
and Mike Hammer
Mike Hammer
Michael "Mike" Hammer is a fictional detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury .-Description:...
.
He made his movie debut in Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai is a 1947 film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, his estranged wife Rita Hayworth and Everett Sloane. It is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.-Plot:...
and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films including The Naked City
The Naked City
The Naked City is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The movie, shot partially in documentary style, was filmed on location on the streets of New York City, featuring landmarks such as the Williamsburg Bridge the Whitehall Building and an apartment building on West 83rd...
(1948),The Big Combo
The Big Combo
The Big Combo is an American film noir directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stylistically photographed by cinematographer and noir icon John Alton with music by David Raksin....
(1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson
Baby Face Nelson (film)
Baby Face Nelson is a 1957 film directed by Don Siegel, starring Mickey Rooney as Baby Face Nelson, and featuring Leo Gordon as John Dillinger.-Cast:Mickey Rooney ... Lester M. 'Baby Face Nelson' Gillis Carolyn Jones ... Sue...
, and Slightly Scarlet (1956).
In the 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, including 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...
, Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
, Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
, Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (TV series)
Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
and 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...
.
In his last film, The Outside Man
The Outside Man
The Outside Man is a 1972 French thriller set in Los Angeles, directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider, and Angie Dickinson.-Plot summary:...
with Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
and Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.
He died at the age of 69 in Encino, California from a heart attack. His body was donated to medical science upon his death.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | The Lady from Shanghai The Lady from Shanghai The Lady from Shanghai is a 1947 film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, his estranged wife Rita Hayworth and Everett Sloane. It is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.-Plot:... |
|
| 1948 | The Naked City The Naked City The Naked City is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The movie, shot partially in documentary style, was filmed on location on the streets of New York City, featuring landmarks such as the Williamsburg Bridge the Whitehall Building and an apartment building on West 83rd... |
Willie Garzah |
| 1949 | The Life of Riley The Life of Riley The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series , and a 1958 Dell comic book... |
|
| It Happens Every Spring It Happens Every Spring It Happens Every Spring is a 1949 comedy film starring Ray Milland directed by Lloyd Bacon. The story of a baseball pitcher is completely fictitious, and the main character King Kelly is not based on or related to the actual player.... |
||
| 1951 | Crazy Over Horses Crazy Over Horses Crazy Over Horses is a 1951 comedy film starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on November 18, 1951 by Monogram Pictures and is the twenty-fourth film in the series.-Plot:... A Place In The Sun A Place in the Sun A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play, also titled An American Tragedy, which was adapted by Patrick Kearney from the novel. It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women; one who... |
|
| 1954 | 20,000 Leagues under the Sea | |
| Crime Wave Crime Wave (1954 film) Crime Wave is a 1954 film noir, directed by André De Toth. It was adapted from a short story which originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post - Criminal Mark by John and Ward Hawkins.-Plot:... |
||
| 1955 | The Big Combo The Big Combo The Big Combo is an American film noir directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stylistically photographed by cinematographer and noir icon John Alton with music by David Raksin.... |
|
| 1956 | Slightly Scarlet | |
| The Killing | ||
| 1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957 film) The film was based on a real event which took place on October 26, 1881. It was directed by John Sturges and featuring a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris, and the movie's supporting cast included Rhonda Fleming, John Ireland, Jo Van Fleet, Martin Milner, Dennis Hopper, Jack Elam, Lee Van... |
Shanghai Pierce |
| 1964 | The Quick Gun | Jud Spangler |
| 1966 | Nevada Smith Nevada Smith Nevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E... |
He was also credited as Ted DeCorsia and Ted De Corsia.