J. Pat O'Malley

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J. Pat O'Malley
J. Pat O'Malley and Susan Gordon in "The Fugitive", a 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone
Born
James Rudolph O'Malley

(1904-03-15)15 March 1904
Died27 February 1985(1985-02-27) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1925–1982
Spouse
Fay M. O'Malley
(m. 1936)
[1]
Children2[2]
Not to be confused with American actor Pat O'Malley.

James Rudolph O'Malley (15 March 1904 – 27 February 1985) was an English character actor and singer who appeared in many American films and television programmes from the 1940s to 1982, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. He also appeared on the Broadway stage in Ten Little Indians (1944) and Dial M for Murder (1954).[2]

The New York Times drama critic Theodore Goldsmith praised O'Malley's performance in Ten Little Indians, calling him "a rara avis, a comedian who does not gauge the success of his efforts by the number of laughs he induces at each performance".[3]

Career[edit]

Early years[edit]

Born into an Irish family in Burnley, Lancashire,[4] O’Malley began his career in entertainment in 1925 as a recording artist and then as principal singer with Jack Hylton and his orchestra in the United Kingdom from 1930 to 1933. Known at that time as Pat O'Malley, he recorded more than four hundred popular songs of the day. In 1930 he sang "Amy, Wonderful Amy", a song about aviator Amy Johnson, performed by Jack Hylton's band.[5]

At the end of 1935 Hylton and O'Malley came to the United States to record with a band composed of American musicians, thus emulating Ray Noble and Al Bowlly. The venture was short-lived.[citation needed] O'Malley remained in the US, known professionally as J. Pat O'Malley (to avoid confusion with another film actor named Pat O'Malley); he had a long and varied acting career, including the 1943 film Lassie Come Home as "Hynes".

Television career[edit]

O'Malley guest-starred in 1951 as a sheriff on the syndicated western series, The Adventures of Kit Carson. From 1950-55, he appeared in five episodes of The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse. From 1951-57 he was cast in eight episodes of another anthology series, Robert Montgomery Presents. Other television work from this period include roles in Spin and Marty film (1955) and serial (1955-57) as the always-faithful ranch steward, Perkins.

In 1956 he guest-starred in "The Guilty", one of the last episodes of the NBC legal drama Justice. In 1958 he was a guest star in Peter Gunn (Season 1, Episode 3, "The Vicious Dog") as Homer Tweed.

He also appeared in the syndicated City Detective in the episode "Found in a Pawnshop" (1955). In 1960 O'Malley was cast in another syndicated series, Coronado 9. In 1959 and 1960 O'Malley portrayed a judge and a newspaper editor in three episodes of the ABC western series The Rebel about a roaming former Confederate soldier.

On January 6, 1959, O'Malley played a priest in the episode "The Secret of the Mission" on the syndicated adventure series Rescue 8.

The same year, he guest starred on the TV Western Gunsmoke as the title character “Print Asper” (S4E36).

O'Malley was cast as Walter Morgan in the 1959 episode "The First Gold Brick" of the NBC western series The Californians. In 1959-1960 he made eight appearances as Judge Caleb Marsh in Black Saddle. In 1959 he was cast as Dr Hardy in an early episode of Hennesey. In season 3, Episode 10 of the television series Wanted: Dead or Alive , "The Medicine Man", O'Malley played Doc. He also appeared in the role of a bank president in an episode of The Real McCoys titled "The Bank Loan", which was released January 15, 1959.

In 1959 and 1960, O'Malley appeared in the Disney Series, The Swamp Fox. In episode 1 he played a British guard at the gates to the fortifications of Charlestown. In subsequent episodes, he was listed as a co-star, playing Sgt. O'Reilly, one of Francis Marion's closest men.

In 1960 O'Malley made guest appearances on The Tab Hunter Show, The Law and Mr. Jones, Johnny Midnight, Johnny Staccato, Harrigan and Son, Adventures in Paradise, The Islanders, Going My Way, The Tall Man, and as Jim Phelan on Lawman episode titled "The Swamper." He made numerous guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including as the defendant in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor" and as the murderer in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Roving River". O'Malley also appeared in The Twilight Zone episode "The Chaser".

In 1961 O'Malley appeared in 3 episodes of Tales of Wells Fargo, in different roles. In the episode "The Has-Been" he had the title role, playing a fading entertainer grieving over the loss of his wife. In one scene, O'Malley sang and danced as he performed for an imaginary audience in an abandoned dance hall. Later that year he guest-starred in the television version of Bus Stop and the following year appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone, "The Fugitive" and "Mr. Garrity and the Graves". He also guest-starred twice on The Lloyd Bridges Show in that series' 1962-1963 season. He then co-starred in the 1964 episode "This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There" of The Greatest Show on Earth.

During the 1963-1964 season O'Malley appeared in eight episodes of My Favorite Martian and returned to The Twilight Zone, playing a bit part in the episode "The Self-Improvement of Salvatore Ross". In the 1964-1965 season, he was cast in Wendy and Me. O'Malley appeared in the Hogan's Heroes episode "How to Cook a German Goose by Radar" in 1966, and the 1967 episode "D-Day at Stalag 13". In 1966 he also appeared as Ed Breck in the episode "Win Place and Die" of the sitcom Run, Buddy, Run. He appeared occasionally as Vince in The Rounders. In the 1966 episode "The Four Dollar Law Suit" of the syndicated western series Death Valley Days, O'Malley played a lawyer. In the January 19 and January 25, 1967 episodes of Batman, he played an eccentric inventor, Pat Pending, who is robbed by Catwoman.

In 1969 O'Malley portrayed Carol Brady's father in the first episode of ABC's The Brady Bunch. The name Fleming was used in O'Malley's first two appearances on The Fugitive (Season 1, "See Hollywood And Die"; Season 3, "Crack in a Crystal Ball"). In 1973 O'Malley co-starred in the comedy A Touch of Grace. He made several appearances on Maude between 1973 and 1975; and he performed on other series such as It Takes a Thief, One Day at a Time, Emergency!, Adam-12, The Practice, Three's Company, and Taxi. O'Malley also appeared on the ABC television series Family in 1979.

O'Malley appeared three times on the ABC television series Barney Miller. In the 1975 episode "You Dirty Rat" O'Malley played Mr. Holliman, the likeable homeless man who fell asleep and spent the weekend in Siegel’s department store. In the 1981 "Rainmaker" episode, O'Malley played Walter Dooley, a traveling rainmaker hired by the NYC water department to end a drought but was arrested for setting a ritual fire in the park.

Voice work[edit]

Walt Disney engaged O'Malley to provide voices for animated films such as the Cockney coster in the "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" sequence in Mary Poppins (1964); Cyril Proudbottom in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949); and the role of Colonel Hathi and the vulture Buzzie in The Jungle Book (1967). His voice can be heard in Alice in Wonderland (1951), in which he performs all the character voices in "The Walrus and the Carpenter" segment (excepting Alice), including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Walrus, the Carpenter, and Mother Oyster. Actor Dick Van Dyke has said that O'Malley was his dialect coach on Mary Poppins, attributing his infamous Cockney accent in that film to O'Malley.[6]

Personal life[edit]

O'Malley and his wife Fay, married in 1936, they remained married until his death in 1985.[1][2] Together, they had two children.[1][2]

Death[edit]

O'Malley died of cardiovascular disease at his home in San Juan Capistrano on 27 February 1985, aged 80.[7]

Selected TV and filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1940 Captain Caution Fish Peddler
1941 Private Nurse Henry's Friend Uncredited
1941 Paris Calling Sgt. Bruce McAvoy
1942 Over My Dead Body Petie Stuyvesant
1943 Thumbs Up Sam Keats
1943 Lassie Come Home Hynes
1944 The White Cliffs of Dover Martin Uncredited
1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Cyril Proudbottom Voice
1951 Alice in Wonderland Tweedledum and Tweedledee / Walrus and Carpenter / Mother Oyster Voice
1955 Spin and Marty Perkins TV series
1956 The Fastest Gun Alive Cross Creek Townsman Uncredited
1957 Four Boys and a Gun Fight manager
1957 Courage of Black Beauty Mike Green
1957 Witness for the Prosecution The shorts salesman Uncredited
1958 The Long, Hot Summer Ratliff
1958 Playhouse 90 Pubkeeper Episode: "Bomber's Moon"
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Colonel Binns Season 4 Episode 33: "The Dusty Drawer"
1959 Gunsmoke Print Asper Episode: "Print Asper" (S4E36)
1960 Perry Mason Jefferson Pike Episode: "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor"
1960 Lawman Jim Phelan Episode "The Swamper"
1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Doc Farnsworth Season 3, Episode 10 "The Medicine Man"
1960–1964 The Twilight Zone Gooberman - Town Drunk / Old Man / Old Ben / Homburg 4 episodes
1961 Tales of Wells Fargo Dr. Cobb / Cedric Manning 2 episodes
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Jasper Baddun / Colonel Voice
1961 Blueprint for Robbery Pop Kane
1961 The Real McCoys Chris McClean Episode: "A Man of Influence"
1961 The Saga of Windwagon Smith Mayor Crum Short, Voice, Uncredited
1961 Perry Mason Seth Tyson Episode: "The Case of the Roving River"
1961-1971 Bonanza Harry Simpson / Clancy / Big Mac 3 episodes
1962 The Cabinet of Caligari Martin
1962 Gunsmoke Gabe Episode: "Old Comrade"
1963 Son of Flubber Sign-Painter Uncredited
1963 The Andy Griffith Show Mr. Fields Episode: "Up in Barney's Room"
1963 Shotgun Wedding Buford Anchors
1964 Hey There, It's Yogi Bear Snively Voice
1964 A House Is Not a Home Muldoon
1964 Mary Poppins Pearly Drummer / Master of Hounds / Huntsman / various other roles Voice, Uncredited
1964 Apache Rifles Captain Thatcher
1964 The Lucy Show Major MacFarland Episode: "Lucy Goes into Politics"
1964 The Dick Van Dyke Show Sam Petrie Episode: "The Plots Thicken"
1965 Jonny Quest Chopper Voice, Episode: "Attack of the Tree People"
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Francis X. O'Reilly / The Old Prospector 2 episodes
1967 The Guns of Will Sonnett The Drummer Episode "Ride the Long Trail"
1967 Batman Pat Pending 2 episodes
1967 Gunn Tinker
1966-1967 Hogan's Heroes British General / Corporal Walter Tillman 2 episodes
1966-1968 Green Acres Ben Hanks / Windy Hinkle / Dooly Watkins / Diller Fangworth 4 episodes
1967 The Jungle Book Colonel Hathi, the Elephant / Buzzie, the Vulture Voices
1968 It Takes a Thief Thoreau Episode: "A Matter of Royal Larceny"
1968 The Flying Nun Captain Barnaby Episode: "The Sister and the Old Salt"
1968 Star! Dan
1969 Daniel Boone Uncle Brian Episode: "Copperhead Izzy"
1969 Hello, Dolly! Park policeman
1970 The Cheyenne Social Club Dr. Foy
1971 Willard Jonathan Farley
1971 Skin Game William
1973 Robin Hood Otto the Blacksmith - a dog Voice, Uncredited
1973 A Touch of Grace Herbert Morrison Regular cast member; 13 episodes
1973 Gunsmoke Drummer Episode: "A Quiet Day in Dodge"
1973 Emergency! Old Bill Episode: "Messin' Around"
1975-1977 Maude Bert Beasley 10 episodes
1975–1981 Barney Miller Walter Dooley / Walt Hathaway / Mr. Holliman 3 episodes
1976 The Gumball Rally Barney Donahue
1977 The Rockford Files Billy Baines Episode: "A Deadly Maze"
1978 Quincy, M.E. Mr. Barrington Episode: "Accomplice to Murder"
1978 One Day at a Time Mr. Peabody Episode: "Peabody's War"
1979 Three's Company Leo Moran Episode: "Old Folks at Home"
1979 Family Harry Duffy Episode: "‘Tis the Season"
1980 The Dukes of Hazzard Henstep Episode: "Return of the Ridge Raiders"
1981 Cheaper to Keep Her Landlord
1981 Freedom Papa J.
1981–1982 Fantasy Island Barkeep / Reverend 2 episodes
1982 Taxi Tom Episode: "The Road Not Taken (Part 1)"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Social Security Death Index: Fay M. O'Malley". Rootsweb Ancestry. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "J. Pat O'Malley". The New York Times. 2 March 1985. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  3. ^ Theodore Goldsmith (30 July 1944). "One of the 'Ten Little Indians'". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  4. ^ "J. Pat O'Malley". www.originalmmc.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  5. ^ "AMY - Lyrics - International Lyrics Playground". lyricsplayground.com.
  6. ^ "Dick Van Dyke apologizes to Brits for his 'atrocious' Cockney accent in 'Mary Poppins'". New York Daily News. 21 July 2017.
  7. ^ no byline (1 March 1985). "Veteran Film-TV Actor J. Pat O'Malley Dies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

External links[edit]