Biography
Segueing to features, he appeared in over 15 British films in the mid- to late 1930s, including "Convict 99" (1937) and "Murder in the Family" (1938). With his mother and older sister, McDowall was evacuated to the USA. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Hollywood, he was signed to a contract by 20th-Century Fox. McDowall first came to the attention of American audiences as the cabin boy who helps Walter Pidgeon escape from the Nazis in …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
1998 | Final film role, providing a character voice for the animated "A Bug's Life" | |
| Appeared as an interviewee in several episodes of the A&E series "Biography" | ||
1996 | Narrated the Showtime series "Sex and the Silver Scene" | |
1995 | Provided the voice of Snowball, the hamster nemesis of Brain, on the animated "Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain" | |
1992 | Voiced The Mad Hatter on the animated "The Adventures of Batman and Robin" | |
1991 | Entered into an exclusive production agreement with Foxboro Entertainment to serve as producer and production consultant to the company | |
1988 | Played himself in "Going Hollywood: The War Years" | |
1987 | Executive produced feature "Overboard"; also played the role of the butler Andrew | |
1986 | Was executive secretary to Suzanne Pleshette in the CBS drama "Bridges to Cross" | |
1985 | Had one of his best roles as the TV horror host called upon to battle vampires in the superior horror film "Fright Night" | |
| Was French magistrate and bar owner Bon Chance Louis in the ABC adventure series "Tales of the Gold Monkey" | ||
1977 | TV miniseries debut in supporting role in "The Rhinemann Exchange" (NBC) | |
1977 | Co-starred as the scientist Dr. Willaway on the sci-fi series "Fantastic Journey" (NBC) | |
1974 | TV series debut as regular, the short-lived CBS version of "Planet of the Apes" | |
1973 | Appeared in fourth sequel "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" | |
1972 | Directed first feature, "The Devil's Widow/Tamlin" | |
1972 | Played new role of Caesar in second sequel "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" | |
1971 | Reprised role in the sequel "Escape From the Planet of the Apes" | |
1968 | Starred as Cornelius in "Planet of the Apes" | |
1966 | Appeared on the camp TV adventure series, "Batman" as the criminal 'The Bookworm' | |
1966 | Published first book of photographs, "Double Exposure" | |
| Worked as a portrait photographer for LOOK, LIFE and VOGUE magazines, among others | ||
1964 | Formed Silver Lion Inc., a production company | |
1963 | Co-starred in the overblown "Cleopatra", starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton | |
1960 | Made stage musical debut as Mordred in "Camelot", starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews | |
1959 | Had featured role in the Broadway play "The Fighting Cock"; won Tony Award | |
1957 | Starred in the Broadway production of "Compulsion", based on the Leopold and Loeb case | |
1955 | Appeared in the inaugural season of the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT | |
1954 | Off-Broadway debut, "The Homeward Look" | |
| Appeared as guest actor on such series as "Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater", "Faith Baldwin's Theater of Romance" and "Chrysler Medallion Theater" | ||
1948 | Associate produced first film, "Kidnapped"; also acted | |
| Toured in vaudeville in the late 1940s | ||
1946 | Stage acting debut, "Young Woodley" in Westport, CT | |
1943 | Loaned to MGM for "Lassie Come Home"; first screen work with Elizabeth Taylor | |
1941 | Had featured role in John Ford's Oscar-winning "How Green Was My Valley" | |
1940 | Settled in Hollywood; put under contract at 20th Century-Fox | |
1940 | With mother and sister, moved to the USA to escape bombing of London during WWII | |
1937 | Film debut, "Convict 99" | |
| Began career as a child model | ||
Awards
1964 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By an Actor In in Arrest and Trial |
1963 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Cleopatra |
1960 | Tony Award for Actor, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic) |