Fletcher Markle
Encyclopedia
Fletcher Markle was a Canadian
actor
, screenwriter
, television producer
and director
.
Born in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, Markle began his career in the early 1940s in Vancouver, British Columbia doing radio drama
s with a group whose members included John Drainie
, Lister Sinclair, Bernie Braden and Alan Young
on such local stations as CJOR
and the CBC
network. During World War II, the group moved to Toronto
, and Markle had a role as an actor in Journey Together (1946). Markle then moved to New York City
, and although not listed in the credits, wrote for Orson Welles
' The Lady from Shanghai
.
radio anthology, Studio One, which he later brought to television. He produced, wrote for and played a cameo role in the movie Jigsaw (1949). For Night into Morning (1951), he directed Nancy Davis
, Ray Milland
, and John Hodiak
.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was a director, producer and host for a number of television series such as Front Row Center and Boris Karloff
's Thriller
, Father of the Bride and Telescope
. He directed the movie The Incredible Journey (1963) for Walt Disney
. Markle is also credited for signing Lorne Greene
to play Ben Cartwright in Bonanza
.
. The couple divorced in 1962.
of heart failure.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Born in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Markle began his career in the early 1940s in Vancouver, British Columbia doing radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s with a group whose members included John Drainie
John Drainie
John Robert Roy Drainie was a Canadian actor and television presenter, who was called "the greatest radio actor in the world" by Orson Welles....
, Lister Sinclair, Bernie Braden and Alan Young
Alan Young
Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
on such local stations as CJOR
CKBD (AM)
CKPK-FM is a radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It broadcasts at 100.5 MHz on the FM dial. As of 2008, the station is owned by the Jim Pattison Group and airs an adult album alternative format promoted as "100.5 The Peak"...
and the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
network. During World War II, the group moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and Markle had a role as an actor in Journey Together (1946). Markle then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and although not listed in the credits, wrote for Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai is a 1947 film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, his estranged wife Rita Hayworth and Everett Sloane. It is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.-Plot:...
.
Films and television
During his time in New York, he contributed to the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio anthology, Studio One, which he later brought to television. He produced, wrote for and played a cameo role in the movie Jigsaw (1949). For Night into Morning (1951), he directed Nancy Davis
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
, Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
, and John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was a director, producer and host for a number of television series such as Front Row Center and Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
's Thriller
Thriller (US TV series)
Thriller is an anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons on NBC. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of macabre horror tales and suspense thrillers....
, Father of the Bride and Telescope
Telescope (TV series)
Telescope was a Canadian television series which aired on the CBC between 1963 and 1973.Telescope was a half-hour documentary television series, hosted by Fletcher Markle, which profiled notable Canadian people from celebrities to the unknown, who made a difference.Starting in September 1966,...
. He directed the movie The Incredible Journey (1963) for Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
. Markle is also credited for signing Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
to play Ben Cartwright in Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
.
Personal life
Markle's first marriage to Helen Blanche Willis ended in 1949. While working for Orson Welles, he met his future second wife, Mercedes McCambridgeMercedes McCambridge
Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
. The couple divorced in 1962.
Death
On May 23, 1991, Markle died at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
of heart failure.
Actor
- Journey Together (1949)
- Jigsaw (Uncredited, 1949)
- Grounds for Marriage (1951)
- Studio One (1 episode, 1953)
- Front Row CenterFront Row CenterFront Row Center is an American variety show that aired on the DuMont Television Network from March 25, 1949 to April 2, 1950. The show was originally 30 minutes then expanded to 60 minutes. It was one of several DuMont network programs to originally start as a local show on one of its affiliates...
(Unknown episodes, 1955-1956) - Panic! (1 episode, 1958)
Director
- Studio One (Unknown episodes)
- Front Row Center (Unknown episodes)
- Jigsaw (1949)
- Night Into Morning (1951)
- The Man with a CloakThe Man with a CloakThe Man with a Cloak is a 1951 drama film directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron. It was based on a short story by John Dickson Carr, "The Gentleman from Paris".-Plot:...
(1951) - The Ford Television Theatre (1 episode, 1952)
- Footlights Theater (1 episode, 1953)
- Front Row Center (4 episodes, 1955)
- Rendezvous (Unknown episodes)
- The George Sanders Mystery Theater (8 episodes, 1957)
- Panic! (1 episode, 1958)
- Colgate Theatre (1 episode, 1958)
- BuckskinBuckskin (TV series)Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1959) - Thriller (1 episode, 1960)
- Hong KongHong Kong (TV series)Hong Kong is a 26-episode adventure/drama series which aired on ABC television during the 1960–1961 season and helped to catapult Australian actor Rod Taylor into a major film star, primarily in the 1960s, beginning with his role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
(1 episode, 1961) - Father of the BrideFather of the Bride (TV series)Father of the Bride is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1961-62 season. Produced by MGM Television, the series was based on the 1950 film of the same title...
(Unknown episodes) - The Incredible Journey (1963)
- Vacation Playhouse (1 episode, 1965)
- TelescopeTelescope (TV series)Telescope was a Canadian television series which aired on the CBC between 1963 and 1973.Telescope was a half-hour documentary television series, hosted by Fletcher Markle, which profiled notable Canadian people from celebrities to the unknown, who made a difference.Starting in September 1966,...
(2 episodes, 1964-1966) - JuliaJulia (TV series)Julia is an American sitcom notable for being one of the first weekly series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants. The show starred actress and singer Diahann...
(2 episodes, 1969) - The Wonderful World of Disney (1 episode, 1977)
Producer
- Front Row Center (Unknown episodes, 1949)
- The Ford Television Theatre (Unknown episodes, 1952)
- Life with Father (Unknown episodes, 1953)
- Studio One (1 episode, 1953)
- Front Row Center (5 episodes, 1955)
- Colgate TheatreColgate TheatreColgate Theatre is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC in 1949 and 1958 for a total of 50 episodes. The first edition, a live anthology, was telecast on Sunday nights at 8:30pm through the summer of 1950...
(1 episode, 1958) - Frances Farmer PresentsFrances Farmer PresentsFrances Farmer Presents is an American anthology series that aired on Indianapolis station WFBM-TV . The series premiered on October 13, 1958 and ended in September 1964.-Synopsis:...
(Unknown episodes) - Thriller (8 episodes, 1960)
- Hong Kong (5 episodes, 1961)
- Vacation Playhouse (1 episode, 1965)
- Telescope (8 episodes, 1966-1971)
Writer
- The Lady from Shanghai (Uncredited, 1947)
- Jigsaw (1949)
- The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
(1 episode, 1964)
External links
- Fletcher Markle at the Canadian Communications Foundation
- The Tireless Inventor - a video clip with Markle hosting Telescope from the CBC Archives