Anthony George
Encyclopedia
Anthony George was an American
actor
mostly seen on television
. He is best known for roles of Don Corley in Checkmate
, Burke Devlin and Jeremiah Collins on Dark Shadows
, and Dr. Will Vernon on One Life to Live
.
He was born Ottavio Gabriel George in Endicott, New York
, the second son of Italian immigrant parents. From the age of six, George dreamt of being in films. After serving in World War II
, George moved to Hollywood to achieve his goal of stardom. The first few years were lean, but by 1950 he had received his first credit and the work began to accumulate. He appeared as an Indian
guide in the 1956 episode "Death in the Snow" of NBC
's anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show
, Cotton later returned the favor, guest starring in the episode Face in the Window of Checkmate. George guest starred in an episode of two syndicated
television series, the Barbara Eden
sitcom, How to Marry a Millionaire
and the John Bromfield
crime drama Sheriff of Cochise
. He appeared in the first Brian Keith
CBS series, Crusader
, a 1955–1956 Cold War
drama.
By 1959, he was cast as federal agent Cam Allison in the first season of The Untouchables
. He left the series after the first season, when he was cast in a CBS series of his own, Checkmate
.
Checkmate was George's most successful series. He was given top billing over Sebastian Cabot
(1918–1977) and Doug McClure
(1935–1995) for two memorable seasons. Created by Eric Ambler
, the series featured top-flight writing and casting, and George's character was definitely the lead.
His longest-running success came from his decades-long career in daytime television soap-operas
. In 1967, George replaced Mitchell Ryan
as the brooding Burke Devlin on Dark Shadows
. Some months later, the character was "killed" in a plane crash, and George created the role of Jeremiah Collins in a flashback to the year 1795. The story ran for most of 1967, until Jeremiah was killed off. George obtained further roles on Search for Tomorrow
(as Dr. Tony Vincente, 1970–1975) and One Life to Live
, the latter in which he replaced former film star Farley Granger
as Dr. Will Vernon. In the late '70s and early '80s, One Life to Live was written and produced by many Dark Shadows alumni, which led to an amusing scene where former Dark Shadows stars George, Nancy Barrett
and Grayson Hall
, as their Llanview counterparts, wondered where they had previously met.
After being written out of One Life to Live in 1984, George continued to make sporadic film and television appearances. In 1991 he was awarded a Bronze Star on the Binghamton
, New York
, Sidewalk of Stars. George died in a California hospital of pulmonary disease at the age of eighty-four.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
mostly seen on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He is best known for roles of Don Corley in Checkmate
Checkmate (TV series)
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...
, Burke Devlin and Jeremiah Collins on Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
, and Dr. Will Vernon on One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
.
He was born Ottavio Gabriel George in Endicott, New York
Endicott, New York
Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,038 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B...
, the second son of Italian immigrant parents. From the age of six, George dreamt of being in films. After serving in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, George moved to Hollywood to achieve his goal of stardom. The first few years were lean, but by 1950 he had received his first credit and the work began to accumulate. He appeared as an Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
guide in the 1956 episode "Death in the Snow" of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show is an American anthology series series hosted by and occasionally starring Joseph Cotten. The series, which first aired on NBC, aired 31 episodes from September 14, 1956, to September 13, 1957...
, Cotton later returned the favor, guest starring in the episode Face in the Window of Checkmate. George guest starred in an episode of two syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series, the Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
sitcom, How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series)
How to Marry a Millionaire is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1959. The series was based on the 1953 film of the same name which starred Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall.-Synopsis:...
and the John Bromfield
John Bromfield
John Bromfield was an American film and television actor.Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion in college. He served in the United States Navy. In 1948, he twice harpooned a whale in the documentary film Harpoon...
crime drama Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the first two seasons, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
. He appeared in the first Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
CBS series, Crusader
Crusader (TV series)
Crusader is a half-hour black-and-white American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS for two seasons from October 7, 1955 to December 28, 1956.-Synopsis:...
, a 1955–1956 Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
drama.
By 1959, he was cast as federal agent Cam Allison in the first season of The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
. He left the series after the first season, when he was cast in a CBS series of his own, Checkmate
Checkmate (TV series)
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...
.
Checkmate was George's most successful series. He was given top billing over Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
(1918–1977) and Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
(1935–1995) for two memorable seasons. Created by Eric Ambler
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.-Life:...
, the series featured top-flight writing and casting, and George's character was definitely the lead.
His longest-running success came from his decades-long career in daytime television soap-operas
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. In 1967, George replaced Mitchell Ryan
Mitchell Ryan
Mitchell Ryan is an American actor most recently known for playing Edward Montgomery on the sitcom Dharma & Greg. He also worked with his on-screen wife from Dharma & Greg, Susan Sullivan, in the short-lived series Julie Farr, M.D..Ryan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Louisville,...
as the brooding Burke Devlin on Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. Some months later, the character was "killed" in a plane crash, and George created the role of Jeremiah Collins in a flashback to the year 1795. The story ran for most of 1967, until Jeremiah was killed off. George obtained further roles on Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
(as Dr. Tony Vincente, 1970–1975) and One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, the latter in which he replaced former film star Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...
as Dr. Will Vernon. In the late '70s and early '80s, One Life to Live was written and produced by many Dark Shadows alumni, which led to an amusing scene where former Dark Shadows stars George, Nancy Barrett
Nancy Barrett
Nancy Barrett, born , is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of "Carolyn Stoddard" in the popular 1960s Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows....
and Grayson Hall
Grayson Hall
Grayson Hall was an American television, film and stage actress. She was widely regarded for her avant garde theatrical performances in the 1960s-80s. Hall was nominated in 1964 for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the John Huston film The Night of the Iguana...
, as their Llanview counterparts, wondered where they had previously met.
After being written out of One Life to Live in 1984, George continued to make sporadic film and television appearances. In 1991 he was awarded a Bronze Star on the Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Sidewalk of Stars. George died in a California hospital of pulmonary disease at the age of eighty-four.