JB
Photo of John Brown

John Brown

Actor
Born April 4, 1904Died May 16, 1957 (53 years)
Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley,[2] played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.

Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • The Stranger
  • The Bigamist
  • Hans Christian Andersen

Known For

  • Strangers on a Train
  • The Wild One
  • Symphony in Slang
  • Robot Monster
  • A Knight for a Day
  • T.V. of Tomorrow
  • Hans Christian Andersen
  • The Bigamist
  • Make Mine Freedom
  • Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers
  • Crazylegs
  • The Life of Riley (1949)
  • Three Desperate Men
  • A Peach of a Pair

Filmography

1956
1954
Dixieland Droopy · as Narrator / Pee Wee Runt (voice) (uncredited)
1954
Casey at the Bat · as Umpire
1953
The Wild One · as Bill Hannegan
1953
1953
Crazylegs · as Keller
1953
Jennifer · as Service Station Attendant (uncredited)
1953
1953
Robot Monster · as Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)
1953
T.V. of Tomorrow · as Narrator - Las Vegas Special
1953
That's My Pup! · as Spike
1952
1952
Biff Baker USA (TV Series) · as Mueller
1952
1952
Somebody Loves Me · as Auto Salesman
1952
The Sniper · as Wise
1951
I Love Lucy (TV Series) · as Mr. Murdoch
1951
1951
The Day the Earth Stood Still · as George Barley, Boarder
1951
Strangers on a Train · as Prof. Collins
1951
The Amos 'n Andy Show (TV Series) · as The Loan Shark
1951
Symphony in Slang · as The Hipster / Noah Webster (voice) (uncredited)
1951
The Lemon Drop Kid · as Minor Role
1951
Three Desperate Men · as Fairwether
1950
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (TV Series) · as Harry Morton
1949
The Life of Riley · as Digger O'dell
1948
The Life of Riley (1949) (TV Series) · as Digger O'dell
1948
Make Mine Freedom · as People
1946
Make Mine Music · as Umpire
1946
The Stranger · as Passport Photographer (uncredited)
1946
A Knight for a Day · as Narrator
1945
The Horn Blows at Midnight · as Lou The Waiter (uncredited)
1945
It's in the Bag! · as Joe - Nightclub Doorman
1944
Casanova Brown · as Fire Chief
1934

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