Pat Flaherty (actor)
Encyclopedia
Pat Flaherty was an American
actor who primarily played uncredited roles as forces of the law.
; the son of Mary Rose Ella (née
Wilson) and Michael Joseph Flaherty. He was the older brother of writer Vincent X. Flaherty. Flaherty had Irish
ancestry. Pat attended the Eastern High School
, and the Dean College
in Franklin, Massachusetts
, after the baseball, he attended the Princeton University
and graduated on January 26, 1918.
baseball
and football
player who pitched for John McGraw
's New York Giants
, and punted for George Halas
' Chicago Bears
. After his professional athletic career ended, he went into the music publishing business with the legendary Da Silva, Brown and Henderson during the time of Mayor Jimmy Walker
in New York.
for the owner Joseph P. Kennedy when the Great Depression
began. Subsequently he found work as an actor and technical advisor in over 300 motion pictures. Flaherty can be seen in roles both large and small in films such as Death on the Diamond
(1934), Mutiny on the Bounty
(1935), " Sergeant York
" (1941), The Pride of the Yankees
(1942), It Happened in Flatbush (1942), The Stratton Story
(1949, as the Western All-Stars coach), The Jackie Robinson Story
(1950) and The Winning Team
(1952, as legendary umpire Bill Klem
). He was given the task of making William Bendix
look, move and act like Babe Ruth
in The Babe Ruth Story
, and Gary Cooper
to pitch, look, move and act like Lou Gehrig
in Pride of the Yankees. In order to make Cooper appear left-handed like Gehrig, the film was reversed. Outside the realm of baseball, Flaherty was usually cast in blunt, muscle-bound roles, notably Fredric March
's taciturn male nurse "Cuddles" in A Star is Born
(1937). One of Flaherty's most unusual roles was in Wheeler & Woolsey
's Off Again, On Again (1937), in which his character finds his wife (played by actress Patricia Wilder
) in a compromising position with Bert Wheeler; he does not pummel the hapless Wheeler as expected, but instead meekly apologizes for his wife's flirtatiousness.
. They had two children, Patrick Joseph Flaherty and Frances X. Flaherty Knox.
. He was a man of many talents who knew how to live life to the fullest by making many friends. The list of celebrities who considered him a friend is enormous. As just one example, when it came time for his daughter Frances to learn to play golf, it was his friend Smoky Joe Wood who taught her. His Washington Senators
teammates enjoyed having him around in spring training, and they missed him when he was shipped out. It was the Senators fans' loss that they were never able to see him pitch for the team during the regular season.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor who primarily played uncredited roles as forces of the law.
Early life
Flaherty was born Edmund Joseph Flaherty in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
; the son of Mary Rose Ella (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Wilson) and Michael Joseph Flaherty. He was the older brother of writer Vincent X. Flaherty. Flaherty had Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
ancestry. Pat attended the Eastern High School
Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.)
Eastern High School is a public high school located in Washington, D.C.. It educates about 350 students in grades 9 to 12. The school is part of District of Columbia Public Schools....
, and the Dean College
Dean College
Dean College is a private college granting both associate degrees in 15 majors, and baccalaureate degrees in 5 majors. The College is located in Franklin, Massachusetts. Students can earn a bachelor's degree from Dean in Business, Arts and Entertainment Management, Dance, Liberal Arts and Studies...
in Franklin, Massachusetts
Franklin, Massachusetts
The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,635 at the 2010 census.-History:Franklin was first settled by Europeans in 1660 and was officially incorporated during the American Revolution. The town was formed from the western part of the town...
, after the baseball, he attended the Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and graduated on January 26, 1918.
Early athletic career
Flaherty was a popular Washington D.C. athlete and coach, who went on to become a professionalProfessional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who pitched for John McGraw
John McGraw
John McGraw may refer to:* John McGraw , , New York lumber tycoon, and one of the founding trustees of Cornell University* John McGraw , , Governor of Washington state from 1893–1897...
's New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, and punted for George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
' Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. After his professional athletic career ended, he went into the music publishing business with the legendary Da Silva, Brown and Henderson during the time of Mayor Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
in New York.
Acting career
Flaherty relocated to Hollywood to take a position as a producer at 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
for the owner Joseph P. Kennedy when the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
began. Subsequently he found work as an actor and technical advisor in over 300 motion pictures. Flaherty can be seen in roles both large and small in films such as Death on the Diamond
Death on the Diamond
Death on the Diamond is a 1934 mystery film starring Robert Young as a baseball player who has to figure out who is trying to murder the members of his team, the Saint Louis Cardinals...
(1934), Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
(1935), " Sergeant York
Sergeant York
Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
" (1941), The Pride of the Yankees
The Pride of the Yankees
The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 American film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. The film is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died only one year before the film's release, at age 37, from amyotrophic lateral...
(1942), It Happened in Flatbush (1942), The Stratton Story
The Stratton Story
The Stratton Story is a 1949 film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938...
(1949, as the Western All-Stars coach), The Jackie Robinson Story
The Jackie Robinson Story
The Jackie Robinson Story is a 1950 biographical film starring baseball legend Jackie Robinson as himself. The film focuses on Robinson's struggle with the abuse of racist bigots as he becomes the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era...
(1950) and The Winning Team
The Winning Team
The Winning Team is 1952 film directed by Lewis Seiler. It is fictionalized biography of the life of major league pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander starring Ronald Reagan as Alexander, Doris Day as his wife, Aimee and Frank Lovejoy as Rogers Hornsby...
(1952, as legendary umpire Bill Klem
Bill Klem
William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm , known as the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941...
). He was given the task of making William Bendix
William Bendix
William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
look, move and act like Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
in The Babe Ruth Story
The Babe Ruth Story
The Babe Ruth Story is a 1948 baseball film biography of Babe Ruth, the famed New York Yankees slugger. It stars William Bendix as the ballplayer and Claire Trevor as his wife. It was rush released while Ruth himself was still alive. It makes no mention whatsoever of Ruth's first wife,...
, and Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
to pitch, look, move and act like Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
in Pride of the Yankees. In order to make Cooper appear left-handed like Gehrig, the film was reversed. Outside the realm of baseball, Flaherty was usually cast in blunt, muscle-bound roles, notably Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
's taciturn male nurse "Cuddles" in A Star is Born
A Star Is Born (1937 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(1937). One of Flaherty's most unusual roles was in Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
's Off Again, On Again (1937), in which his character finds his wife (played by actress Patricia Wilder
Patricia Wilder
Patricia 'Honeychile' Wilder was an American film actress of the late 1930s.Born in Macon, Georgia, Wilder had made her way to Hollywood via New York City by the mid-1930s to pursue a career in acting. She had first worked as a showgirl for Bob Hope while in New York City, in the Palace Theater...
) in a compromising position with Bert Wheeler; he does not pummel the hapless Wheeler as expected, but instead meekly apologizes for his wife's flirtatiousness.
Personal life
Pat Flaherty was married twice. His first wife was the former Dorothy Fiske. The couple had one child, Edmund Flaherty, Jr. who was born in 1919 and died in 1995, by which time his name had been changed to Edmund Graham. On January 19, 1929 Flaherty married Dorothea Xaviera Fugazy, the daughter of boxing promoter Jack Fugazy aka Humbert FugazyHumbert Fugazy
Humbert J. Fugazy was a New York boxing promoter around the 1930s. The Fugazy Bowl is named after him in his honour. He was also the owner of the Brooklyn Horsemen of the first American Football League in 1926.-External links:*...
. They had two children, Patrick Joseph Flaherty and Frances X. Flaherty Knox.
Death
Flaherty died on December 4, 1970, in New York City of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. He was a man of many talents who knew how to live life to the fullest by making many friends. The list of celebrities who considered him a friend is enormous. As just one example, when it came time for his daughter Frances to learn to play golf, it was his friend Smoky Joe Wood who taught her. His Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
teammates enjoyed having him around in spring training, and they missed him when he was shipped out. It was the Senators fans' loss that they were never able to see him pitch for the team during the regular season.