Booth Colman (March 8, 1923 – December 15, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor. In his later years he played older authority figures, such as doctors and lawyers. Colman appeared in films since 1952, when he debuted (uncredited) in '' The Big Sky'' directed by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

Life and career

Colman was born to a Jewish parents Sol and Sona Cohn in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. As a child actor in local productions, he became active in local radio. He studied Oriental language at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. During World War II, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

on May 12, 1943, and attended language training at the University of Michigan from 1943 to 1944. After language training, he worked in New York City and was discharged from the army in 1944 at Fort Dix, New Jersey.''High Council - An Interview with Booth Colman''
by Jeff Krueger - 'Simian Scrolls' #12 While in New York, he began a long career in Broadway theater, first appearing in a production of Irwin Shaw's war drama ''The Assassin''. He was soon invited to join Maurice Evans' acting company, where he continued to act on stage, and later in films. His other Broadway credits include ''Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'' (1950), ''Tonight at 8:30'' (1948), and ''Hamlet'' (1945). He appeared dozens of times on prime-time television dramas and comedies. In 1964, he appeared in two full episodes of '' Perry Mason'', one as a doctor in police investigations and the other as a prosecuting attorney. Other televisions appearances include ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' (1962), ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', '' McCloud'' and ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

''. Films include '' Them!'' (1954), '' The Silver Chalice'' (1954), '' Moonfleet'' (1955), '' My Gun Is Quick'' (1957), '' Wild on the Beach'' (1965), '' Maryjane'' (1968), '' The Lawyer'' (1970), '' Scandalous John'' (1971), '' Time Travelers'' (1976), '' Norma Rae'' (1979) and '' Intolerable Cruelty'' (2003). In 1983, he portrayed the kindly scientist, Professor Hector Jerrold, in the ABC daytime melodrama ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

''. In 1974, Colman played the role of Dr. Zaius in the popular short-lived TV series, ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

''; the role made famous on the big screen by his former teacher, Maurice Evans. In the six episodes in which he appeared, he wore the original costume Evans used in ''

'' and '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes''. Colman played Scrooge over 600 times on stage in ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' at the Meadow Brook Theatre in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area.

Death

He died in his sleep in Los Angeles at the age of 91 on December 15, 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Obituary - Los Angeles Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Booth 1923 births 2014 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Portland, Oregon University of Washington alumni 21st-century American male actors United States Army soldiers American people of Jewish descent Jewish American actors 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews