J. Carrol Naish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American character actor born in New York City, New York. Naish did many film roles, but they were eclipsed when he found fame in the title role of radio's Life with Luigi (1948–1953), which surpassed Bob Hope in the 1950 ratings.

Naish appeared on stage for several years before he began his film career. He began as a member of Gus Edwards's vaudeville troupe of child performers. In Paris after World War I, Naish formed his own song and dance act. He was traveling the globe from Europe to Egypt to Asia, when his China-bound ship developed engine problems, leaving him in California in 1926.

His uncredited bit role in What Price Glory (1926) launched his career in more than two hundred films. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the first for his role in the 1943 film Sahara, then for his performance in the 1945 film A Medal for Benny, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture. He notably played Boris Karloff's hunchback assistant in The House of Frankenstein in 1944.

He was of Irish descent, but never used his dialect skills to play Irishmen, explaining, "When the part of an Irishman comes along, nobody ever thinks of me." Instead, he portrayed myriad other ethnic groups on screen: Latino, Native American, East Asian, Polynesian, Middle Eastern/North African, South Asian, Eastern European, and Mediterranean. Besides his film roles, he often appeared on television later in his career. He spent many of his later years in San Diego studying philosophy and theology.

Naish was married (1929–1973) to actress Gladys Heaney (1907–1987). They had one daughter.

For his contributions to television and film, J. Carrol Naish has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6145 Hollywood Boulevard.

I Dream of Jeannie

7.8

Get Smart

7.9

Rio Grande

6.8

Captain Blood

7.2

House of Frankenstein

6.0

Sahara

7.2

The Untouchables

7.9

Clash by Night

6.6

Batman

6.4

Beau Geste

7.0

Joan of Arc

6.1

Annie Get Your Gun

6.8

The Charge of the Light Brigade

6.5

Violent Saturday

6.7

Green Acres

7.3

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.2

That's Entertainment!

7.3

Humoresque

7.1

The Southerner

6.6

Blood and Sand

6.4

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

4.6

The Beast with Five Fingers

6.3

The Fugitive

5.9

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

6.6

That's Entertainment! III

7.0

Calling Dr. Death

6.5

Tales of Manhattan

6.3

Across the Wide Missouri

5.9

Wanted: Dead or Alive

6.9

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef

5.8

Anthony Adverse

5.7

Canadian Pacific

5.3

The Monster Maker

5.1

Rage at Dawn

6.1

The Whistler

5.9

Think Fast, Mr. Moto

5.9

Charlie Chan at the Circus

6.2

Down Argentine Way

6.0

Black Hand

6.1

The Beast of the City

5.9

Strange Confession

6.8

Sitting Bull

5.0

Gung Ho!

5.3

Black Fury

6.4

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.6

Two Seconds

6.1

Saskatchewan

5.9

Star in the Night

7.2

Jungle Woman

4.9

Frisco Jenny

6.3

British Agent

5.5

That Night in Rio

6.2

Front Page Woman

5.8

Route 66

6.3

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police

6.1

Bulldog Drummond Comes Back

6.1

Dr. Renault's Secret

5.2

Dragon Seed

6.4

New York Confidential

5.8

Daughter of Shanghai

5.4

Tiger Shark

6.8

Hit the Deck

4.8

Denver and Rio Grande

5.5

Bulldog Drummond in Africa

5.5

Voice in the Wind

5.2

The Pied Piper

6.8

This Could Be the Night

5.6

Big City Blues

5.3

Central Airport

6.1

Burke's Law

6.0

The Toast of New Orleans

5.2

Special Agent

6.3

Know For Sure

3.8

Climax!

3.0

Ann Vickers

5.9

The World Gone Mad

4.3

The Mouthpiece

5.9

The Kid from Spain

6.6

The Hatchet Man

4.9

Absolute Quiet

5.5

Crack-Up

5.7

The Mark of the Renegade

5.2

What Price Glory

6.0

The Last Command

6.4

Marie Galante

4.8

Elmer, the Great

4.9

The Royal Bed

4.4

Tonight or Never

5.9

Waterfront

5.1

Please Believe Me

5.0

Birth of the Blues

5.3

Two in the Dark

5.9

Island of Lost Men

5.7

Captured!

5.6

Upperworld

6.3

The Defense Rests

7.0

The Corsican Brothers

6.6

Rebel in Town

7.0

Behind the Rising Sun

5.7

No Other Woman

5.2

King of Chinatown

5.8

Special Investigator

5.8

Confidential

5.6

Ramona

5.1

Under the Pampas Moon

5.0

Desert Sands

4.4

Bad Bascomb

6.2

The Finger Points

6.6

Lux Video Theatre

6.0

A Medal for Benny

4.5

The Young Don't Cry

6.2

Exclusive Story

6.5

Enter Arsène Lupin

6.0

Moonlight Murder

5.0

Illegal Traffic

6.5

We Who Are About to Die

6.8

The Grand Bounce

6.5

Havana Widows

5.8

The Famous Ferguson Case

6.0

Batmania: From Comics to Screen

7.5

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

5.3

Shirley Temple's Storybook

5.8

Robin Hood of El Dorado

4.7

The Hanged Man

4.6

King of Alcatraz

5.7

Dr. Broadway

5.0

It May Happen to You

5.0

Border Cafe

6.3

Bannerline

6.0

The Devil's in Love

6.0

Prison Farm

5.7

The President Vanishes

7.0

Night Club Scandal

4.0

The Conquerors

5.7

Sunday Punch

5.0

Surrender

5.0

Hell in the Heavens

4.7

General Electric Theater

6.0

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

7.0

The Texan

5.0

One Is Guilty

3.5

That Midnight Kiss

5.0

Little Big Shot

6.0

Golden Gloves

5.0

The Kissing Bandit

3.0

Queen of the Mob

4.5

The Many Faces of Dracula

3.5

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

6.5

Carnival in Costa Rica

6.0

Fighter Attack

4.5

Her Jungle Love

6.2

Hotel Imperial

6.0

Notorious But Nice

5.5

Undercover Doctor

5.5

Forced Landing

4.0

Ride the Man Down

6.5

Persons in Hiding

3.5

Woman of the North Country

4.5

Gun Smoke

5.5

Force of Impulse

2.5

It's Your America

6.5

Disneyland '59

6.5

Cutter's Trail

7.5

The New Adventures of Charlie Chan

5.5

Cimarron City

5.0

Return of the Terror

6.0

Jackass Mail

7.0

Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook

10.0

The Mystery Squadron

6.0

Crooner

5.0

Typhoon

5.0

Accent on Love

6.0

Tip-Off Girls

6.0

Two-Man Submarine

6.0

The Hell Cat

6.0

Hideaway

4.0

Hunted Men

6.0

Song of the City

6.0

Arizona to Broadway

7.0

Getting Gertie's Garter

3.0

Thunder Trail

6.0

A Gentleman at Heart

6.0

The Leathernecks Have Landed

5.0

Ladies of the Big House

6.0

We're in the Movies, Now!

4.0

The Avenger

6.0

Man on a Bus

4.0

Guestward, Ho!

4.0

The Whirlwind

0.0

Good Intentions

0.0

Mr. Dynamite

0.0

Homicide Squad

0.0

Behind the Green Lights

0.0

Harrigan's Kid

0.0

Sea Racketeers

0.0

Cheer Up and Smile

0.0

The Mad Game

0.0

Scotland Yard

0.0

Yaqui Drums

0.0

Silent Men

0.0

The Man in the Trunk

0.0

Good Morning, Judge

0.0

Girl in Danger

0.0

Infernal Machine

0.0

The Last Trail

0.0

Murder in Trinidad

0.0

Sleepers East

0.0

The Past of Mary Holmes

0.0

No Living Witness

0.0

Doom of Dracula

0.0

The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen

0.0