George Mathews (October 10, 1911 – November 7, 1984) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

whose film career stretched from an uncredited appearance in ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

'' in 1943 to '' Going Home'' in 1971.

Biography

Mathews was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. His stage career began in the early 1930s, when he failed to get a job with the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

. He joined the Federal Theatre Project and landed the role of Dynamite Jim in the 1937 Broadway revival of the play '' Processional''. Mathews was often cast as heavies or hardened military types. He appeared in both the stage (1942–43) and film version (1944) of '' The Eve of St. Mark'', as Sergeant Ruby. He also portrayed a comedic thug in ''

Pat and Mike ''Pat and Mike'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, and directed by George Cukor. Cukor directed '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) with H ...

'' (1952). He appeared on Broadway in the

Garson Kanin Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films. Early life Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He attended ...

-directed musical comedy '' Do Re Mi'' (1960–62), as "Fatso O'Rear". He later appeared on Broadway play, ''Catch Me If You Can'' in 1965. In 1962, he appeared in ''Have Gun – Will Travel'', Season 6, Episode 6. That same year, he played ex-fighter, “Champ”, in the Season 7 Episode 28 of Gunsmoke, “The Dealer”. He demonstrated his comedic talent in the short-lived television comedy series '' Glynis'' (1963), playing ex-cop Chick Rogers, who assists a mystery writer and amateur sleuth, played by

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (born 5 October 1923) is a South African-born British former actress, dancer, musician and singer. Recognised as a film and Broadway icon, Johns has a career spanning eight decades, in which she appeared in more than ...

, in solving "whodunnits". Perhaps his most memorable role was as the bully "Harvey" in 'The Bensonhurst Bomber' episode of ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

''. He retired from the screen in 1972.

Personal life and death

Mathews died from heart disease in

Caesars Head, South Carolina Caesars Head is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on top of Caesars Head, a mountain in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 84. The CD ...

, aged 73, in 1984. He was married to stage actress Mary (Haynsworth) Mathews from 1951 until his death in 1984.Obituary of Mary H. Matthews
''

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After '' The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. History ''The Greenville ...

'', May 7, 2011 (reprinted at legacy.com).

Filmography

Selected Television

References

External links

* * 1984 deaths 1911 births 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub