Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host.

Biography

Austin was born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Frank Willis, was a radio broadcaster with the

Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), also referred to as the Canadian Radio Commission (CRC), was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Origins The CRBC was establis ...

(later the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

). In 2002, Austin was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. He is best known internationally for his appearance as Simmons, the man whom

Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjectiv ...

beats at cards in the opening scenes of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film, '' Goldfinger''. Originally he was to have played

Felix Leiter Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the P ...

but, at the last minute, fellow Canadian

Cec Linder Cecil Yekuthial Linder (March 10, 1921 – April 10, 1992) was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. He was Jewish and managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, ...

switched roles with him. In Canada, he had a varied film and TV career, ranging from the early science-fiction series ''

Space Command A space command is a military organization with responsibility for space operations and warfare. A space command is typically a joint organization or organized within a larger military branch and is distinct from a fully independent space force ...

'', to hosting ''

Cross-Canada Hit Parade ''Cross-Canada Hit Parade'' is a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television from 1955 to 1960. Episodes featured performances of current popular songs in a concept derived from the American series ''Your Hit Parade''. Premis ...

'' for several years in the 1950s. In the 1970s he found new fans as the host of the humorous game show ''

This Is the Law ''This Is the Law'' was a Canadian panel game show which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1976. It presented short, humorous vignettes supposedly set in various towns and cities across Canada which ran with musical accompaniment rather th ...

''. Willis was married twice. His first marriage was in 1953, to Canadian actress

Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in '' Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film ''Atlantic C ...

, and they had two children together before divorcing in 1962. He married Gwen LaForgy in 1984, and was with her until his death, at 86, in 2004.

Filmography

* 1945 ''Guests of Honour'' * 1947 ''

Bush Pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

'' as "Red" North * 1948 '' Sins of the Fathers'' as Dr. Ben Edwards * 1953 ''

'' as Dr. Fleming * 1955-1958 ''

'' as Host * 1956 ''The Cage'' * 1958 ''

A Dangerous Age ''A Dangerous Age'' is a 1958 film directed by Sidney J. Furie. Plot summary Sidney J. Furie's low-budget tale about young lovers (Ben Piazza and Anne Pearson) on the run from an uncaring adult world – they just want to get married but are ...

'' as Police Officer * 1958 ''

Wolf Dog ''Wolf Dog'', also known as ''A Boy and His Dog'', is a 1958 Western film directed and produced by Sam Newfield and produced by Regal Films. The film stars Jim Davis and Allison Hayes. Cast *Jim Davis Production In August 1957, Newfield and a ...

'' as Clem Krivak * 1959 ''

The Mouse That Roared ''The Mouse That Roared'' is a 1955 satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Wibberley used the premise to m ...

'' as

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...

* 1959 ''

Upstairs and Downstairs ''Upstairs and Downstairs'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James. It feature ...

'' as McGuffey * 1959 ''

Too Young to Love "Too Young to Love" is the debut single by The Big Pink. "Too Young to Love" was released with the double A-side track "Crystal Visions" on 7" vinyl on October 7, 2008, and both tracks were later re-recorded and included on their debut album '' A ...

'' as Mr. Collins * 1960 ''Q.E.D.'' as Host * 1960 ''

Crack in the Mirror ''Crack in the Mirror'' is a 1960 drama film directed by Richard Fleischer. The three principal actors, Orson Welles, Juliette Gréco, and Bradford Dillman, play dual roles in two interconnected stories as the participants in two love triangles. ...

'' as Hurtelaut * 1960 ''

I Aim at the Stars I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' as John B. Medaris * 1960 '' The Barbarians'' as Varro * 1960 ''The Night They Killed Joe Howe'' * 1961 ''Arch Oboler's 1+1: Exploring the Kinsey Reports'' as Sam Tooray, The Divorcee * 1964 '' Goldfinger'' as Mr. Simmons * 1964 '' Seaway'' (TV) as Admiral Henry Fox * 1966 ''Don't Forget to Wipe the Blood Off'' * 1967 ''One Hundred Years Young'' (TV) as Host * 1967 ''

Eight on the Lam ''Eight on the Lam'' is a 1967 American comedy film directed by George Marshall. It stars Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller. Plot Bank teller Henry Dimsdale (Bob Hope) finds ten $1,000 bills. He is a widower with seven kids and could use the money, and ...

'' as Mr. Pomeroy * 1967 ''

Hour of the Gun ''Hour of the Gun'' is a 1967 Western film depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona, ...

'' as Anson Safford * 1967 ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert ...

– Season 1, Episode 26'' as Dr. Anderson * 1968 ''

The Boston Strangler The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, ...

'' as Dr. Nagy * 1970 ''Frankenstein on Campus'' as Cantwell * 1970 ''

The Silent Force ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' episode "The Octopus" * 1971 ''

Face-Off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

'' as Graydon Hunter * 1972-1976 ''

'' as Host * 1979 ''

C.H.O.M.P.S. ''C.H.O.M.P.S.'' is a 1979 American comic science fiction family film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and directed by Don Chaffey. Plot Brian Foster (Wesley Eure), a young inventor, creates a robotic dog for use as part of a home protecti ...

'' as Head Engineer * 1980 ''

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark ''The Last Flight of Noah's Ark'' is a 1980 American Children's film, family adventure film produced by The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions starring Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold and Ricky Schroder. The film was released by Walt Di ...

'' as Slabotsky * 1982 ''

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current ...

'' as Walters * 1985 '' Kane & Abel'' as Senator Willis * 1986 '' The Boy in Blue'' as Bainbridge

References

External links

* *
Order of Canada citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Austin 1917 births 2004 deaths Canadian male stage actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian television hosts Canadian people of English descent Members of the Order of Canada Male actors from Halifax, Nova Scotia