Jack Weston

Jack Weston
Weston in 1971
Born	Jack Weinstein August 21, 1924 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	May 3, 1996 (aged 71) New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active	1949–1988
Religion	Judaism
Spouse(s)	Marge Redmond (1950–19??; divorced) Laurie Gilkes (19??–1996; his death)

Jack Weston (born Jack Weinstein; August 21, 1924 – May 3, 1996) was an American film, stage, and television actor.

Life and career

Weston, a Cleveland, Ohio native, usually played comic roles in films such as Cactus Flower (1969) ^[1] and Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).^[2] He occasionally essayed heavier parts, such as the scheming crook and stalker who, along with Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna, attempts to terrorize and rob a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 film Wait Until Dark. ^[3]

Weston had countless character roles in major films such as The Cincinnati Kid and The Thomas Crown Affair.^[4] On television he made numerous appearances such as murderer Fred Calvert in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Daring Decoy."

In 1981, Weston appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy The Floating Light Bulb, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor. ^[5] Other stage appearances included Bells are Ringing in 1956 (with Judy Holliday), ^[6] The Ritz in 1975,^[7] Neil Simon's California Suite (1976)^[8] and One Night Stand in 1980.^[9]

Weston co-starred in Alan Alda's 1981 film The Four Seasons,^[10] and then reprised his role to star in a television series spinoff on CBS.^[11]

Personal life

Weston served in the United States Army during World War II. Weston married twice, first to actress Marge Redmond. They occasionally appeared together, an example being a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "The Bard". Redmond and Weston divorced. The union was childless.

His second marriage was to Laurie Gilkes and lasted until his death from lymphoma on April 3, 1996, after a six year struggle. He was 71 years old and also survived by his stepdaughter, Amy, as well as his brother Anthony Spinelli ^[12] (whose birth name is Samuel Weinstein) and a nephew, Mitch Spinelli.

Selected filmography

Stage Struck (1958) as Frank I Want to Live! (1958) as NCO at Party (uncredited) Imitation of Life (1959) as Tom Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) as Joe Positano All in a Night's Work (1961) as Lasker The Honeymoon Machine (1961) as Signalman Buford Taylor It's Only Money (1962) as Leopold Palm Springs Weekend (1963) as Coach Fred Campbell The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) as George Stickel The Cincinnati Kid (1965) as Pig Mirage (1965) as Lester Wait Until Dark (1967) as Carlino The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) as Erwin The April Fools (1969) as Potter Shrader

Cactus Flower (1969) as Harvey Greenfield A New Leaf (1971) as Andy McPherson Fuzz (1972) as Det. Meyer Meyer The Ritz (1976) as Gaetano Proclo Gator (1976) as Irving Greenfield Cuba (1979) as Larry Gutman Can't Stop the Music (1980) as Benny Murray The Four Seasons (1981) as Danny Zimmer High Road to China (1983) as Struts The Longshot (1986) as Elton Rad (1986) as Duke Best Dirty Dancing (1987) as Max Kellerman Ishtar (1987) as Marty Freed Short Circuit 2 (1988) as Oscar Baldwin

Television appearances

In the 1960–1961 television season, Weston appeared as Chick Adams, a reporter, on the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen starring Shirley Bonne and Elaine Stritch as two sisters who share a New York City brownstone apartment. The other co-stars were Stubby Kaye, Rose Marie, and Raymond Bailey.^[13]

The next season, 1961–1962, he starred in the short-lived sitcom The Hathaways (ABC, produced by Screen Gems), in which he and Peggy Cass adopted a trio of chimpanzees (the Marquis Chimps).^[14]

He also made guest appearances on such television series as Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Rescue 8, The Twilight Zone (episodes "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", and "The Bard"), The Untouchables, Have Gun Will Travel, Johnny Staccato, Thriller, The Lawless Years (2 episodes), Harrigan and Son, Stoney Burke, Breaking Point, The Fugitive, Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Twelve O'Clock High, Laredo, Tales of the Unexpected, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Carol Burnett Show, All in the Family and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.^[13]

References

1. Thompson, Howard. "Review. 'Cactus Flower' Blooms" The New York Times, December 17, 1969
2. "Review: ‘Please Don’t Eat the Daisies’" Variety, December 31, 1959
3. Wait Until Dark tcm.com, accessed March 6, 2016
4. "Jack Weston Overview, Filmography" tcm.com, accessed March 5, 2016
5. "'The Floating Light Bulb' Broadway" playbill.com (vault), accessed March 5, 2016
6. "'Bells Are Ringing' Broadway" playbill.com (vault), accessed March 5, 2016
7. "'The Ritz' Broadway" playbill.com (vault), accessed March 5, 2016
8. "'California Suite' Broadway" playbill.com (vault), accessed March 5, 2016
9. "'One Night Stand' Broadway" playbill.com (vault), accessed March 5, 2016
10. The Four Seasons tcm.com, accessed March 5, 2016
11. Farber, Stephen. "'Four Seasons' Series Returns to CBS Sunday" The New York Times, April 26, 1984
12. Thomas, Robert McG., Jr. "Jack Weston Is Dead at 71; Made Anguish Into Comic Art" The New York Times, May 5, 1996
13. Jack Weston at the Internet Movie Database
14. Terrace, Vincent. "The Hathaways", Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed., McFarland, 2008, ISBN 0786486414, p. 439

External links

• Jack Weston at the TCM Movie Database
• Jack Weston at the Internet Broadway Database