Douglas Spencer
| Douglas Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Henry Mesenkop February 10, 1910 Princeton, Illinois, United States |
| 💀Died | October 6, 1960 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, United StatesOctober 6, 1960 (aged 50) |
| Resting place | Oakland Cemetery, Princeton, Illinois |
| 💼 Occupation | Actor |
| 📆 Years active | 1939–1960 |
Douglas Spencer (born William Henry Mesenkop, February 10, 1910 – October 6, 1960) was an American film actor. Starting in the mid-1930s and going through the 1940s, he appeared in dozens of films as an extra, then cameo roles and uncredited roles.
Life and career[edit]
Spencer was born in Princeton, Illinois, the son of Grace Beerus (née Evarts) and William Lewis Messenkop.
He worked as a stand-in and in production departments. An early featured film appearance of Spencer was in 1945's The Lost Weekend where he portrayed a delusional patient in the alcoholic ward at Bellevue Hospital, tormented by visions of beetles crawling over him in a fit of delerium tremens. He also appeared in The Big Clock (1948), Monkey Business with Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant (1952). Also in the western classic Shane with Alan Ladd (1953) as "Swede" and in the thriller The Glass Wall (1953). The balding, lanky actor usually appeared in films as a doctor or wise-cracking reporter, as he did in Houdini (1953) and Them! (1954). He appeared in a number of science fiction and fantasy themed movies, including reporter Ned Scott in the horror classic The Thing from Another World (1951), in which he uttered the film's final line: "Keep watching the skies!". Spencer also had a memorable role as a two-headed Martian in The Twilight Zone episode, aired the year after his death, "Mr. Dingle, the Strong", and played the role of Mr. Kraler, a protector of Anne Frank, in the 1959 film The Diary of Anne Frank, for a total of 83 films and TV shows. Other notable appearances (often uncredited):
The Rebel (1960), Bonanza (1960), The Rifleman (1959), War of the Planets (Film Short, 1958), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Shortcut to Hell (1957), This Island Earth (1955), The Kentuckian (1955), A Place in the Sun (1951), Father of the Bride (1950), Double Indemnity (1944), The Mayor of 44th Street (1942), Lady Scarface (1941), The Day the Bookies Wept (1939) (uncredited).
Although he appeared in numerous films, he was in real-life Ray Milland's stand-in. He was given small uncredited acting parts in Milland's films, which led to his being cast in several featured parts including The Big Clock (1948), The Monitor in This Island Earth (1955) and as Scotty the reporter in The Thing from Another World (1951). In 1960 Spencer appeared as the Sheriff in the TV western Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson in the episode called Doc Dawson.
Spencer died from complications of diabetes on 6 October 1960, Los Angeles, California.
Filmography[edit]
- The Day the Bookies Wept (1939) - Auction Spectator (uncredited)
- Allegheny Uprising (1939) - Prisoner in Irons (uncredited)
- Lucky Partners (1940) - Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Men Against the Sky (1940) - Mechanic (uncredited)
- I'm Still Alive (1940) - Niblo's Assistant Director (uncredited)
- Christmas in July (1940) - Man Listening to Radio (uncredited)
- Little Nellie Kelly (1940) - Policeman in Dance Line (uncredited)
- Million Dollar Baby (1941) - Reporter (uncredited)
- Hurry, Charlie, Hurry (1941) - Reporter (uncredited)
- Lady Scarface (1941) - Police Secretary (uncredited)
- The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941) - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- A Date with the Falcon (1942) - Witness at Accident (uncredited)
- Call Out the Marines (1942) - Marine Lieutenant (uncredited)
- The Mayor of 44th Street (1942) - Dance Floor Extra, Latham's at the Lake (uncredited)
- Fall In (1942) - Military Policeman (uncredited)
- Princess O'Rourke (1943) - Pilot (uncredited)
- And the Angels Sing (1944) - Casino Patron (uncredited)
- Double Indemnity (1944) - Lou Schwartz (uncredited)
- Incendiary Blonde (1945) - New Years Eve Party Patron (uncredited)
- The Lost Weekend (1945) - Beetle Man in Drunk Tank (uncredited)
- Kitty (1945) - Ball Guest (uncredited)
- The Dark Corner (1946) - Deli Customer (uncredited)
- Smoky (1946) - Mack Gordon - Gambler (uncredited)
- The Return of Monte Cristo (1946) - Georges (uncredited)
- Adventure Island (1947) - Prisoner (uncredited)
- The Big Clock (1948) - Bert Finch
- The Sainted Sisters (1948) - Townsman (uncredited)
- Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) - Dr. Ramsdell
- Sealed Verdict (1948) - Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
- Alias Nick Beal (1949) - Henry T. Finch
- Bride of Vengeance (1949) - False Physician
- It Happens Every Spring (1949) - Train Conductor (uncredited)
- Follow Me Quietly (1949) - Phony Judge
- The Great Dan Patch (1949) - Boswell Co. Fair Racing Official (uncredited)
- Top o' the Morning (1949) - Townsman at Dance (uncredited)
- Red, Hot and Blue (1949) - Actor in Theatre Group (uncredited)
- Trapped (1949) - Sam Hooker (uncredited)
- My Friend Irma (1949) - Interior Decorator (uncredited)
- The Heiress (1949) - Minister (uncredited)
- Chicago Deadline (1949) - Charlie - Reporter (uncredited)
- Samson and Delilah (1949) - Courtier (uncredited)
- Paid in Full (1950) - Curtain Hanger in Nursery (uncredited)
- Father of the Bride (1950) - Fritz the Organist (uncredited)
- Union Station (1950) - Stationmaster (uncredited)
- Southside 1-1000 (1950) - Prison Chaplain
- The Goldbergs (1950) - Superintendent Corrigan (uncredited)
- The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) - Skinny Santa Claus (uncredited)
- The Redhead and the Cowboy (1951) - Perry
- A Place in the Sun (1951) - Boatkeeper (uncredited)
- The Thing from Another World (1951) - Ned Scott
- Warpath (1951) - Kelso
- Come Fill the Cup (1951) - Ike Bashaw
- Something to Live For (1952) - Joey, the Artist (uncredited)
- Untamed Frontier (1952) - Clayton Vance
- Monkey Business (1952) - Dr. Brunner
- She's Back on Broadway (1953) - Lew Ludlow
- The Glass Wall (1953) - Inspector Bailey
- Trouble Along the Way (1953) - Father Procurator aka George
- Shane (1953) - Axel 'Swede' Shipstead
- Houdini (1953) - Simms - Reporter
- River of No Return (1954) - Sam Benson
- The Raid (1954) - Rev. Lucas
- Smoke Signal (1955) - Garode
- This Island Earth (1955) - The Monitor
- The Kentuckian (1955) - Frome Brother (uncredited)
- A Man Alone (1955) - Henry Slocum
- The Bold and the Brave (1956) - Sailor in Bar (uncredited)
- Pardners (1956) - Smith
- Man from Del Rio (1956) - Sheriff Jack Tillman
- Omar Khayyam (1957) - Pigeon Keeper (uncredited)
- The Three Faces of Eve (1957) - Mr. Black
- Short Cut to Hell (1957) - Conductor (uncredited)
- The Unholy Wife (1957) - Judge
- Saddle the Wind (1958) - Hemp Scribner
- Cole Younger, Gunfighter (1958) - Marshal Fred Woodruff−
- The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) - Kraler
- The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961) - Doctor Bikel
Television[edit]
- Bonanza (1 episode, 1960) - Alonzo McFadden
External links[edit]
- Douglas Spencer on IMDb
- Douglas Spencer at Find a GraveLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 23: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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