Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia

de Corsia in The Enforcer
Born Edward Gildea De Corsia
(1903-09-29)September 29, 1903
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died April 11, 1973(1973-04-11) (aged 69)
Encino, California, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Resting place Donated to medical science
Occupation Radio, film, television actor
Years active 1947–72
Spouse(s) Mary Robertson (1934–35; divorced)
Rachel Thurber (1939–19??; divorced); 2 children

Ted de Corsia (September 29, 1903 April 11, 1973) was an American radio, film, and television actor best remembered for his role as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).

Early years

Edward Gildea De Corsia was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Radio

He starred in the title role on Mike Hammer[1] and played Sergeant Velie on The Adventures of Ellery Queen.[2] He also voiced roles on Family Theater,[1] The March of Time, Cavalcade of America, Gang Busters,[3] and The Shadow.

Film

He made his movie debut in Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films including The Naked City (1948), The Big Combo (1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson, and Slightly Scarlet (1956), The Joker is Wild (1957).

In his last film, The Outside Man with Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.

Television

In the late 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, mostly westerns. He was featured on three episodes of the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason, including the episodes "The Case of the Drifting Dropout" (1964), in which he played murder victim Mort Lynch, and "The Case of the Positive Negative" (1966), in the role of murder victim George Emory. Other television appearances included The Californians, Sugarfoot, Jefferson Drum, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Frontier Doctor, Mackenzie's Raiders, Riverboat, Tate, The Twilight Zone, Lawman, Stoney Burke, Rawhide, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, The Dakotas, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Zane Grey Theater and The Outer Limits ("The Inheritors", 1964).

Death

He died at the age of 69 in Encino, California, from a heart attack. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

Selected filmography

YearTitleRole
1948The Naked City Willie Garzah
1949The Life of Riley Norman
It Happens Every Spring Jimmy Dolan
1951Crazy Over Horses Duke
A Place In The Sun Judge R.S. Oldendorff
195420,000 Leagues Under the Sea Capt. Farragut
Crime Wave'Doc' Penny
1955The Big ComboBettini
1956Slightly Scarlet Solly Caspar
The Conqueror Kumlek
The Killing Randy Kennan
Mohawk Indian Chief Kowanen
1957Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Shanghai Pierce
1957The Joker is Wild Georgie Parker,(Danny Cohen)
1964The Quick Gun Jud Spangler
1966Nevada Smith Hudson (bartender)

References

  1. 1 2 "Harry Wismer Off On Sports Trek". Brownwood Bulletin. November 25, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved May 7, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Whistling Clown Sunday Mystery". Harrisburg Telegraph. March 2, 1940. p. 18. Retrieved May 7, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Grunwald, Edgar A. (1938). Variety Radio Directory. Variety, Inc. p. 1284.

External links

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