B4 They Were Stars - Leonard Nimoy

I am hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew today. I have chosen to write about the early career of one of the most well known actors in Trekdom. Leonard Nimoy (b. 1931) was, at one time, a Bit Actor.

Nimoy started acting in children's theater in Boston. His first screen appearance, according to the all-knowing IMDb, was in Queen for a Day (1951). Queen was a movie based on a radio program called "Queen for Today" and would eventually become television's "Queen for a Day" that ran from 1956 to 1964, hosted by Jack Bailey (1907 - 1980). I know I was a weird kid, but I used to watch it. They would pick a woman (usually an older woman) out of the audience and honor her with wonderful gifts like a new washer and dryer. She got to sit on a throne with a cape, tiara and a bunch of roses...tears of happiness flowing! What fun!

Also in 1951, you can find Nimoy in Rhubarb, a movie about a cat that inherits a baseball team. I haven't seen Rhubarb, but with Ray Milland, Gene Lockhart and William Frawley in it, it can't be too bad. The next year we see Nimoy in the title role of Kid Monk Baroni, another movie I haven't seen. This one includes Bruce Cabot (1904 - 1972), veteran Bit Actor and star of King Kong (1933).

No one could argue that 1965 wasn't THE golden year for Leonard Nimoy (when he became Mr. Spock in the pilot for "Star Trek"), but 1952 was a good one as well. After he played Kid Monk, he was cast in the serial, Zombies of the Stratosphere. What a cool title. And it was 12 chapters, ample time to hone your career as a space traveler/actor.

Next look for Nimoy in the third installment with the famous talking mule called Francis Goes to West Point (1952) with Donald O'Connor. In Old Overland Trail (1953), Nimoy plays a Native American chief, and a bad guy. This was a Rex Allen (1920 - 1999) film and the first time we see Nimoy in the red man's makeup.

Let's stick with his movies before we talk about television. Nimoy plays a military man in Them! (1954). I don't remember what happens to him, but I hope the ants didn't kill him. From zombies to giant ants, and in his next film he gets to work with parasites from the center of the Earth. The Brain Eaters (1958) was not as good as Them! 


Leonard only made two more films before reaching the stars in 1966. The artsy Shelley Winters, Peter Falk film, The Balcony (1963), and the forgettable Deathwatch (1966). Both were adaptations from Jean Genet (1910 - 1986) plays, so I suspect it was Nimoy's intellect that caused him to take the parts. Or perhaps he was connected to the author in some way. I don't really know. These films are a far cry from zombies, ants and brain eaters.

In the early 1950s, Leonard started working on the small screen in a big way, first appearing in teleplays like "Four Star Playhouse" and "Fireside Theatre." You can find him in many of the early series' such as "Navy Log," "Broken Arrow," "West Point," " and "Highway Patrol." He worked in many westerns as well, "Cimarron City," "The Rough Riders," "Colt .45," and "Tombstone Territory," sometimes as a Native American.

I wonder if he knew Lloyd Bridges well. He appeared at least eight times on "Sea Hunt" but not in a regular role or as the same character. He also shows up multiple times on "Wagon Train" as Hispanic and Native American characters. Could it be the ears?

He has a single appearance on "The Twilight Zone" and shows up on "The Untouchables," "Perry Mason," "Dr. Kildare," and two episodes of "The Outer Limits." Multiple appearances on "Kraft Suspense Theatre," "The Virginian," "Combat," and "Gunsmoke" made him ready to take on the galaxy in "Star Trek."

I suspect that his television work did more than his movie experience to help prepare him for the variety of situations he had to portray as Mr. Spock. When you throw alien worlds into your everyday life, almost anything can happen.

Leonard is now 81 years old, and he is still working to some extent. He does some voice work, and I am sure he would still take the right part for TV or a movie if it came along. I was 16 years old when "Star Trek" debuted, and Mr. Spock affected me as he did so many others at that time. I have been a lifelong Trekker, mostly because of Leonard Nimoy rather than William Shatner. So Mr. Spock...live long and prosper.

B4 They Were Stars - Marion (The Duke) Morrison

Everyone knows that John Wayne's (1907 - 1979) breakthrough movie was Stagecoach (1939), but he did a lot of work before that. His real name was Marion Morrison. and he was once billed as Duke Morrison in Words and Music (1929). Duke, of course, was his dog when he was a child.

Morrison was working as a prop man, part time, and he became friends with John Ford (1894 - 1973). His first few films were as an extra. Since he played football in high school and college, he made quite a few movies as a football player, including his very first screen appearance in Brown of Harvard (1926).

His next small job was in a King Vidor film, Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) starring John Gilbert (1897 - 1936). Of course these were not speaking parts, the films were silent, so no one knew John Wayne's voice yet.

It was Tom Mix (1880 - 1940) who got Wayne his studio job, in return for some football tickets. Wayne's only film with Mix was The Great K&A Train Robbery in 1926. By this time, Tony the Horse had made 17 films, and Duke only three.

Those early days would see Wayne in many films starring the big names of the silent era and early talkies. Lillian Gish, Victor McLaglen, Noah Beery, Myrna Loy, and even Stepin Fetchit. In 1928 Wayne made his first of 23 films with director John Ford, but still as an extra. It was around 1931, in Girls Demand Excitement that he started getting meatier roles with real billing.

The 1931 film, The Range Feud, starring Buck Jones (1881 - 1942) would be the first western in which John Wayne was a leading man. I wonder if he knew that would be his real claim to fame for the rest of his life. Do you think it was better to be a star in B westerns, or a Bit Actor in the A movies?

The first western I can find with John Wayne in top billing was Ride Him Cowboy (1932). In that film, Duke was the horse. Duke would go on to make six films with The Duke in 1932 and 1933.

Also in 1933 Wayne starred in Riders of Destiny as Singin' Sandy Saunders. Yes, the Duke was a signing cowboy, and one of the first. Only his singing was dubbed! Riders was also the first of 15 films that Wayne made with George 'Gabby' Hayes (1885 - 1969).

Mixed in with the westerns, sports films and action movies were still some dramas and comedies...where Wayne had to wear a suit. Look for him in Baby Face (1933) starring Barbara Stanwyck. But his real early success was just starting as he moved into making one B western after another. He made 46 films between 1933 and Stagecoach.

Stagecoach is #79 in Wayne's list of 172 titles on IMDb. Almost half of his screen career was over by the time he was really recognized as a star worthy of the best films. The Bit Actor was gone.

For all his fame, John Wayne only won a single Oscar, for True Grit (1969), plus two more nominations. His earliest nominations for any award came in 1950 for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). But he had the lead in more films than any other actor and was one of the biggest money makers in film history. Seek out some of Wayne's early (Bit Actor) roles to see how he made his career a success.

B4 They Were Stars - Lucille Ball

It has been two years since I first posted about Bit Actors. What have we learned? I know that I have a long way to go before I use up subjects for my posts. There are a lot of great Bit Actors out there, and new ones come along all the time. Also, many big stars began in Bit Parts, so they can be included in my blog.

Take, for example, Lucille Ball (1911 - 1989). She was one of the most talented and influential people in television. But she was once known as the Queen of the B Movie. She had a very small part in Stage Door (1937), a great movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, but that movie was well into her acting career.

Lucy started out as a Ziegfeld Girl on the stage and then progressed to being one of the Goldwyn Girls in film. You can usually find her in the chorus or as an extra in her first coupla dozen films. She was a fashion model in Roberta (1935) and a flower clerk in Top Hat (1935), both with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. By 1936 she had a character name in the Fred and Ginger movie Follow the Fleet. Long after Stage Door, she would have Ginger Rogers to tea on "The Lucy Show" in an episode appropriately called "Ginger Rogers Comes to Tea" (1971).

Her very first big screen appearance was as an extra in The Bowery (1933) starring Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper and Fay Wray. Lucy, more recently known for her red hair, played 'The Blonde.'

It is interesting to note how things were done in the early 1930s, with contract players working for the major studios. You will see Lucille Ball working with the same bigger names over and over. She made several movies with Constance Bennett, Eddie Cantor, and Fay Wray, etc.

I doubt that it was her big break, but in 1934 we see Lucy in Three Little Pigskins with The Three Stooges. During the 1930s she also made quite a few two-reelers with Edgar Kennedy, Leon Errol, Billy Gilbert, Betty Grable, and others. It was a great introduction to comedy.

In 1935 she appeared in Henry Fonda's third film, I Dream Too Much, starring Fonda and Lily Pons, and featuring another wonderful Bit Actor Eric Blore. By 1936 Lucy is starting to receive major roles in some two-reelers, such as One Live Ghost and So and Sew.

In her only movie with The Marx Brothers, Lucy can be found in Room Service (1938). By that time, Lucy is starring in movies, but they are B movies. B movies were shown as an extra attraction along with a bigger budget feature film, plus a cartoon or two, and maybe a two-reeler or a newsreel. The feature always came last. Generally speaking, feature films were about 90 minutes, B movies were 60 minutes, and two-reelers were 20 minutes.

Some of her films during this time were Panama Lady (1939) with Allan Lane. Five Came Back (1939) starring Chester Morris and Wendy Barrie.  Barrie's godfather was Sir J.M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan that included a character named Wendy. Wendy Barrie went on to become engaged to Bugsy Siegel which created problems for her career.

More Lucy films - Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) with Maureen O'Hara. Look Who's Laughing (1941) with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. The Big Street (1942) with Henry Fonda. Du Barry was a Lady (1943) with Red Skelton and Gene Kelly.

There was even some film-noir mixed in. Look for Lucy in The Dark Corner (1946) with Clifton Webb, and Lured (1947) with George Sanders and Boris Karloff.

She did make some features, such as Without Love (1945) starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and Sorrowful Jones (1949) and Fancy Pants (1950) both with Bob Hope.

All of this was before "I Love Lucy" which would rocket her to full stardom. starting around 1950, she would create and co-own the new Desilu Studio with her husband Desi Arnaz. She was instrumental in creating many of the television innovations needed to efficiently produce a series filmed in front of a live audience. And she always remained loyal to her friends in show business. But that's were my post must end.

We all love Lucy, but try to catch her B4 she became a star, as a great Bit Actress.

B4 They Were Stars - William Shatner

Yes, he was once not a star. William Shatner (b. 1931) made some good stuff before leaving the Earth to take command of the Star Ship Enterprise on the original "Star Trek" series in 1966.

Everyone knows he was born in Canada and started acting on the stage and in early television. His first appearance on screen was in a movie called The Butler's Night Off (1951). It has been described as forgettable with "...no entertainment value..." But it was work.

The Shat (I didn't make that up) worked in Canadian television, and in 1953 appeared in "Space Command" along with his future Chief Engineer James Doohan (1920 - 2005), the first time they worked together. The next year Shatner is on "Howdy Doody," and he appears in some episodes of "Encounter" with Patrick Macnee (b. 1922) of "The Avengers" fame.

His next film was Oedipus Rex (1957) a Canadian production starring Douglas Campbell (1922 - 2009) where Shatner was in the chorus. In 1958 he has a much bigger break and co-stars in The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner (1920 - 1985). That film was made by MGM and is all American...except for it being a Russian theme with Brynner who was also Russian.

Back to television, where Shatner is starting to find a home.  We are still in the late 1950s and he has guest spots on "Suspicion," "Climax!," "Playhouse 90," "Kraft Theater," and "The United States Steel Hour." He also appeared a few times on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "One Step Beyond," and also in "Thriller" hosted by Boris Karloff.

I would say that 1961 was Shatner's best pre-Trek film year. He stars in The Explosive Generation as a teacher, with Patty McCormack (b. 1945) and Beau Bridges (b. 1941), and then appears in Judgement at Nuremberg with Spencer Tracy, which I believe is his first role as a captain (but not of a star ship).

His next film was The Intruder (1962) a Roger Corman production about integration in the South. Probably not a great film, but it was work and star billing. Also in the early 1960s you will find Shatner in his most famous "Twilight Zone" episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" plus one previous appearance on that series. Shatner was on all of the popular television suspense shows, including "The Outer Limits."

Do you remember the 1963 hit movie of Tab Hunter and Frankie Avalon called Operation Bikini? Bill Shatner was the narrator.

Next there were a few regular roles on several TV shows.  Look for Shatner in "77 Sunset Strip," "The Defenders," and "Dr. Kildare." He even starred in a one season series called "For the People."  He has some addition guest spots on "Route 66," "Burke's Law," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Gunsmoke," "The Fugitive," and "Twelve O'Clock High." That's not a bad way to make a living.

There was one more film before Gene Roddenberry cast him in his defining role. Incubus (1966) was a horror film made entirely in the forgotten language of Esperanto (for some reason). I think I'll pass on that one.

That brings us to 1966 and Star Trek's five year mission to explore strange new worlds. The mission only lasted three years, but look at what it started.

B4 They Were Stars - Tony Curtis

I would like to fill in some bigger stars with details about their career before they gained stardom.  That's why I have added the label B4 They Were Stars to my list at the right.  I thought I would write about someone today, but I am struggling to find the right star.

Cary Grant first came to mind.  He was a stage actor before coming to the movies, and when he first appeared on screen, he was an instant hit.  He made some early films with Mae West, and he did have a short spell of work that wasn't the best.  But his popularity, particularly with West, helped to save Paramount, so I don't think he could ever be considered a Bit Actor.  I wonder what would have happened to him if he retained his real name, Archie Leach?

My next thought was Katherine Hepburn.  Same basic story.  Her first film, A Bill of Divorcement (1932) with John Barrymore made her a star.

You can't think of Hepburn without thinking of Spencer Tracy.  Another star from the start!  He made a few early short films in 1930 and was seen by John Ford who gave him the lead in Up The River (1930).

Maybe in those early days of talking films, if you had so much talent and stage acting experience, it was easy to make it big on screen.  The depression was just starting and it was much easier for the cash-strapped public to go to the movies than the theater, so the studios needed great talent to promote in all the films they were pushing out.

Let's try a few more recent titles and see where those stars came from.  Jack Lemmon started his screen acting on television in 1949.  It wasn't until 1954 that he made his first movie.  That was It Should Happen to You, starring Judy Holliday and, you guessed it, Jack Lemmon.

Intense, and Handsome

I can't think of Jack Lemmon without thinking of Tony Curtis (1925 - 2010) and that actress, Marilyn something-or-other.  Maybe Curtis will fill my need.  Curtis' first film was a 16mm documentary short called How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border (1949)  Anyone who would be in a movie with that title must either be a Bit Actor, or a friend of Jerry Lewis.  It was, in fact, the first film directed by Lewis, and it was shot at his house.  No Oscars were awarded.

Tony's early films were either uncredited or he was billed at Anthony Curtis.  He did make quite a few films before catching on, or rather, before the public caught on to his considerable talent and good looks.  In 1950 he was in Francis, a story about a talking mule, but it was a Donald O'Connor film.

Winchester '73 (1950) is one of my favorite Jimmy Stewart westerns, and Anthony had a small part in it, along with a Native American named Rock Hudson.  Curtis made two films in 1950 with Audie Murphy.  He then stars in The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Flesh and Fury and No Room for the Groom both in 1952, but they were not big hits and those films didn't really include any other big stars.

These early starring roles may not have been blockbusters, but they are a proving ground for a young actor who is working out his character.  After Son of Ali Baba (1952), he has the title role in Houdini (1953) and I believe that may have been a turning point for him.  As with most actors, not every film is a success, but he went on to complete about 130 titles over a 59 year span of work.  And let's not forget Jamie Lee.  Another one of his successes!

Paul Newman

I know, Paul Newman is NOT a Bit Actor.  Well, he was at one time.  Let's take a look.

Paul Newman was born in 1925.  After the war and his stint in the navy, he graduated from college and went to The Actor's Studio in New York.  His Broadway acting was successful, and led to some television and then movie opportunities.  I would say that he did everything right to start an acting career.

Oh, those early television days!  Paul started out in "Tales of Tomorrow" which is a show dim in my memory.  The series only aired for two years, but presented quite a variety of suspense stories, and an equal number of great actors.  Look for Boris Karloff, Gene Lockhart, Leslie Nielsen, Thomas Mitchell, Brian Keith and many others...if you can find the episodes to watch.  The Internet is your best choice here.  It is such a shame that the primitive production value of these early shows keeps them from becoming true collector classics.  Kinescope was the best they could do to preserve the moment.

Next up was a spot on "Suspense," another anthology series of suspenseful stories.  Most of the stars are the same as on Tales, but "Suspense" went on for a few more years, so add a few more stars. 

Newman appeared on "The Aldrich Family" next.  He is listed on IMDb as an 'occasional cast member.'  All of these early roles were short term deals.  He wasn't much more than an extra, I am sure, but I haven't seen any of them. 

He was on "You Are There" three times.  That was an interesting series hosted by Walter Cronkite (1916 - 2009) that attempted bring some history to TV land by taking the audiuence back to the time of certain events and interviewing the people who made it happen.  In one episode, Paul Newman was Plato!  OK.

Paul appeared a few times on "The Web," which had nothing to do with the Internet.  It was live presentations of mysteries.  All this time, he is making friends and watching the performances of some great stars. 

There were a few more television dramas before his big screen debut in The Silver Chalice (1954).  I think he was less than thrilled with the result of his first movie.  It was a box office disaster.  The film starred Virginia Mayo (1920 - 2005) and Jack Palance (1919 - 2006) in a drama about creating the cup of Christ.  It was so bad, that Newman took out a full page ad to apologize for his performance.

So Newman went back to TV for a couple of years.  He got to play Billy the Kid for the first time on "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse."  We'll come back to Billy the Kid later.

His next film was a starring role, but I don't think Newman was a full fledged star yet.  He played Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and got good reviews. 

As he continued to climb the ladder to stardom, he gets top billing in The Rack (1956) and The Helen Morgan Story (1957) starring Ann Blyth (b. 1928), and then Until They Sail (1957) with Jean Simmons (1929 - 2010) and Joan Fontaine (b. 1917).

1958 was Paul Newman's golden year.  Four films that year.  The Long, Hot Summer; The Left-Handed Gun (yes, Billy the Kid again); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; and Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!  All hits, and two of them with Joanne Woodward (b. 1930) who would become his long time wife. 

Paul Newman was no longer a Bit Actor.  The rest, as they say, is history.

B4 They Were Stars - Ginger Rogers

I thought it would be fun to look at famous stars, before they got that way.  Of course, most started out as extras or Bit Actors.  Ginger Rogers (1911 - 1995) was no exception. 

Ginger has 90 titles listed on IMDb.  Of that, 25 appear before her first pairing with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio (1933).  It was that pairing that made her a real star, and since over 1/4 of her movies were released before that, it could be said she was a Bit Actress.  (Or am I stretching the point?!?)

In 1925 Ginger won a Charleston contest at the age of 14, and that was really her start in show business.  She toured for a short time with the dance show, and then went to Broadway.  Ginger started making movies in 1929.  Her first time on screen was in A Day of a Man of Affairs a short that no one remembers.

Two more shorts in 1930.  A Night in a Dormitory with Thelma White (1910 - 2005) who later appeared in Tell Your Children (1936) also known as Reefer Madness.  Then, Campus Sweethearts starring Rudy Vallee (1901 - 1986). 

In Young Man of Manhattan (1930) she co-stars as a flapper with Claudette Colbert (1903 - 1996).  Also in 1930 she was in The Sap from Syracuse with Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978).  These were already pretty big parts for Ginger...the problem was they were in pretty small movies.  Ginger made seven films in 1930.  That year she also worked with Charlie Ruggles, Frank Morgan, Ed Wynn and Ethel Merman. 

In 1931 she works with William Boyd (1895 - 1972) in Suicide Fleet, just two films before he became Hopalong Cassidy in 1935.  In the next few years she works with Joe E. Brown in two films, and with Joan Blondell, before their first Busby Berkeley film together.

Two great musicals are up next, 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933, both released in 1933.  Gold Diggers of 1933 started Ginger on her real climb to stardom.  The opening number is "We're in the Money" with Ginger taking the lead.  There is a closeup of her singing the song in pig-latin, and even though it is a distorted shot due to being too close for the lens, it endears Ginger to the audience.  She really didn't have a lead part in the film, but she was on her way none-the-less.

Ginger made six more films before Flying Down to Rio with Fred.  She had the lead in all of them, and got to work with more stars like Zasu Pitts, Lew Ayres (her husband from 1934 to 1940), Charley Grapewin, Joel McCrea and Jack Haley. 

After Flying, she was in ten films with Fred Astaire and could now be considered one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.  She won just a single Oscar for her work, and it wasn't with Fred.  It was for Best Actress in Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940). 

Ginger's last film was Harlow in 1965 starring Carol Lynley (b. 1942) in the title role, and she continued acting on TV until 1987.  But she'll always be remembered as the girl who did everything Fred did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.