JEFF COREY

Jeff Corey (1914-2002) was an American stage and screen actor who, out of necessity, became a well-respected acting teacher. After a Shakespearean stint in New York in the late 1930s, he moved to Hollywood and became a highly respected character actor. Busiest during the film noir mid-to-late 1940s, he appeared in such noir classics as BRUTE FORCE and THE KILLERS - usually as a weasley villain. One of his early TV appearances was in a 1950 feature film called SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN. Corey's film career ended abruptly in 1952 when he was unfairly blacklisted for his left-leaning political beliefs. To stay in the business, Corey became an acting coach, eventually running one of the top training schools in the business (one student was Jack Nicholson). Returning to films in the '60s, he took on such roles as a wild-eyed wino in LADY IN THE CAGE (1964), the smarmy owner of a secret organization in the noir thriller/sci-fi SECONDS (1966), the louse who kills Kim Darby's father in TRUE GRIT (1968), and the sympathetic sheriff in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1968). In addition to his film work, Jeff Corey acted in and directed numerous TV series later in his life.