James Rudolph O'Malley (15 March 1904 – 27 February 1985) was an English
character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
and singer who appeared in many American films and television programmes from the 1940s to 1982, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. He also appeared on the
Broadway stage in ''
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a traditional American children's counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. The term "Indians" in this sense refers to Indigenous North American peoples.
In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapt ...
'' (1944) and ''
Dial M for Murder
''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...
'' (1954).
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' drama critic Theodore Goldsmith praised O'Malley's performance in ''Ten Little Indians'', calling him "a rara avis, a comedian who does not gauge the success of his efforts by the number of laughs he induces at each performance".
Early years
Born into an Irish family in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, O’Malley began his career in entertainment in 1925 as a recording artist and then as principal singer with
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario.
Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" a ...
and his orchestra in the United Kingdom from 1930 to 1933. Known at that time as Pat O'Malley, he recorded more than four hundred popular songs of the day. In 1930 he sang "
Amy, Wonderful Amy
"Amy, Wonderful Amy" is a 1930 popular song, written by Joseph G. Gilbert and composed by Lawrence Wright (composer), Lawrence Wright (some sources credit him under his pseudonym Horatio Nicholls) about British aviator Amy Johnson. It was recorded ...
", a song about aviator
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records duri ...
, performed by Jack Hylton's band. He began a solo recording career in 1935 in parallel with his work with Hylton.
At the end of 1935 Hylton and O'Malley came to the United States to record with a band composed of American musicians, thus emulating
Ray Noble
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...
and
Al Bowlly
Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African–British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs.
His most popular songs include ...
. The venture was short-lived. O'Malley remained in the US, known professionally as J. Pat O'Malley (to avoid confusion with another film actor named Pat O'Malley); he had a long and varied acting career, including the 1943 film ''
Lassie Come Home
''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was direct ...
'' as "Hynes".
Television career
O'Malley guest-starred in 1951 as a sheriff on the
syndicated western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
series, ''
The Adventures of Kit Carson
''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western that aired from 1951 to 1955. The show ran for four seasons and consisted of 104 episodes over four years. The original air date was Saturday, August 11, 1951. It concluded on January 22, 19 ...
''. From 1950-55, he appeared in five episodes of ''The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse''. From 1951-57 he was cast in eight episodes of another anthology series, ''
Robert Montgomery Presents
''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...
''. Other television work from this period include roles in ''
Spin and Marty
''Spin and Marty'' is a series of television shorts that aired as part of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' show of the mid-1950s, produced by Walt Disney and broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. There were three serials in all, set at the ...
'' film (1955) and
serial (1955-57) as the always-faithful ranch steward, Perkins.
In 1956 he guest-starred in "The Guilty", one of the last episodes of the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
legal drama
A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...
''
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
.'' In 1958 he was a guest star in ''
Peter Gunn
''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'' (Season 1, Episode 3, "The Vicious Dog") as Homer Tweed.
He also appeared in the syndicated ''
City Detective
''City Detective'' is a half-hour syndicated crime drama starring Rod Cameron as Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant.
The show's title was a bit of a misnomer, as Grant fought crime "from Mexico to the Mojave Desert to New ...
'' in the episode "Found in a Pawnshop" (1955). In 1960 O'Malley was cast in another syndicated series, ''
Coronado 9
''Coronado 9'' is an American crime drama series starring Rod Cameron that aired in syndication in 1960.
Synopsis
Set in San Diego, California, the series follows Dan Adams (Cameron), a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned pri ...
''. In 1959 and 1960 O'Malley portrayed a judge and a newspaper editor in three episodes of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
western series ''
The Rebel'' as a roaming former
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
soldier.
On January 6, 1959, O'Malley played a priest in the episode "The Secret of the Mission" on the syndicated adventure series ''
Rescue 8
''Rescue 8'' is a syndicated American action adventure crime drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue Squad 8. It premiered in 1958 and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade ther ...
''.
The same year, he guest starred on the TV Western ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'' as the title character “Print Asper” (S4E36).
O'Malley was cast as Walter Morgan in the 1959 episode "The First Gold Brick" of the NBC western series ''
The Californians''. In 1959-1960 he made eight appearances as Judge Caleb Marsh in ''
Black Saddle
''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoo ...
''. In 1959 he was cast as Dr Hardy in an early episode of ''
Hennesey
''Hennesey'' is an American military comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962, starring Jackie Cooper and Abby Dalton.
Cooper played a United States Navy physician, Lt. Charles W. "Chick" Hennesey, with Abby Dalton ...
''. In season 3, Episode 10 of the television series ''
Wanted: Dead or Alive'' , "The Medicine Man", O'Malley played Doc. He also appeared in the role of a bank president in an episode of ''
The Real McCoys
''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, it ...
'' titled "The Bank Loan", which was released January 15, 1959.
In 1960 O'Malley made guest appearances on ''The Tab Hunter Show'', ''
The Law and Mr. Jones
''The Law and Mr. Jones'' is an American legal drama series starring James Whitmore. The series aired on ABC in two nonconsecutive seasons from October 7, 1960 to June 2, 1961, and again from April 19 to July 12, 1962. The program was created and ...
'', ''
Johnny Midnight'', ''
Johnny Staccato
''Johnny Staccato'' is an American private detective television series starring John Cassavetes which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.
Synopsis
Titular character Johnny Staccato, played by John Cassavetes ...
'', ''
Harrigan and Son
''Harrigan and Son'' is an ABC sitcom about a father-and-son team of lawyers, played by Pat O'Brien as Jim Harrigan Sr. and Roger Perry as Jim Jr.. In supporting roles, as secretaries, are Georgine Darcy as Gypsy and Helen Kleeb as Miss Claridge. ...
'', ''
Adventures in Paradise'', ''
The Islanders'', ''
Going My Way
''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ta ...
'', ''
The Tall Man,'' and as Jim Phelan on ''
Lawman'' episode titled "The Swamper." He made numerous guest appearances on CBS's ''
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
'', including as the defendant in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor" and as the murderer in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Roving River". O'Malley also appeared in ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' episode "
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The ...
".
In 1961 O'Malley appeared in 3 episodes of ''
Tales of Wells Fargo
''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to ...
'', in different roles. In the episode "The Has-Been" he had the title role, playing a fading entertainer grieving over the loss of his wife. In one scene, O'Malley sang and danced as he performed for an imaginary audience in an abandoned dance hall. Later that year he guest-starred in the television version of ''
Bus Stop
A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
'' and the following year appeared in two episodes of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'', "The Fugitive" and "Mr. Garrity and the Graves". He also guest-starred twice on ''
The Lloyd Bridges Show
''The Lloyd Bridges Show'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Dramatic programming, drama series produced by Aaron Spelling, which aired on CBS from September 11, 1962, to May 28, 1963, starring and hosted by Lloyd Bridges.
Broadcast hist ...
'' in that series' 1962-1963 season. He then co-starred in the 1964 episode "This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There" of ''
The Greatest Show on Earth''.
During the 1963-1964 season O'Malley appeared in eight episodes of ''
My Favorite Martian
''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totaling ...
'' and returned to ''The Twilight Zone'', playing a bit part in the episode "The Self-Improvement of Salvatore Ross". In the 1964-1965 season, he was cast in ''
Wendy and Me
''Wendy and Me'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1964–1965 television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto". Principally starring George Burns and Connie Stevens, the series was Burns' first maj ...
''. O'Malley appeared in the ''
Hogan's Heroes
''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...
'' episode "How to Cook a German Goose by Radar" in 1966, and the 1967 episode "D-Day at Stalag 13". In 1966 he also appeared as Ed Breck in the episode "Win Place and Die" of the sitcom ''Run, Buddy, Run''. He appeared occasionally as Vince in ''
The Rounders''. In the 1966 episode "The Four Dollar Law Suit" of the syndicated western series ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'', O'Malley played a lawyer. In the January 19 and January 25, 1967 episodes of ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'', he played an eccentric inventor, Pat Pending, who is robbed by
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
.
In 1969 O'Malley portrayed Carol Brady's father in the first episode of ABC's ''
The Brady Bunch
''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...
''. The name Fleming was used in O'Malley's first two appearances on ''
The Fugitive'' (Season 1, "See Hollywood And Die"; Season 3, "Crack in a Crystal Ball"). In 1973 O'Malley co-starred in the comedy ''
A Touch of Grace
''A Touch of Grace'' is an American sitcom that was based on the British series ''For the Love of Ada'' starring Shirley Booth and J. Patrick O'Malley centering on a widow who moves in with her daughter and son-in-law and her romantic relationshi ...
''. He made several appearances on ''
Maude'' between 1973 and 1975; and he performed on other series such as ''
It Takes a Thief'', ''
One Day at a Time'', ''
Emergency!
''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situatio ...
'', ''
Adam-12
''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the stre ...
'', ''
The Practice
''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...
'', ''
Three's Company
''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom ''Man About the House''.
The story revolves around three single roomma ...
'', and ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
''. O'Malley also appeared on the ABC television series ''
Family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
'' in 1979.
O'Malley appeared three times on the ABC television series ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
''. In the 1975 episode "You Dirty Rat" O'Malley played Mr. Holliman, the likeable homeless man who fell asleep and spent the weekend in Siegel’s department store. In the 1981 "Rainmaker" episode, O'Malley played Walter Dooley, a traveling rainmaker hired by the NYC water department to end a drought but was arrested for setting a ritual fire in the park.
Voice work
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
engaged O'Malley to provide voices for animated films such as the
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
coster in the "
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ( ) is a song and single from the 1964 Disney musical film ''Mary Poppins''. It was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It also appears in the 2004 stage show version ...
" sequence in ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'' (1964); Cyril Proudbottom in ''
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
''The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions, released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney and James Algar with Ben Sharpsteen as production ...
'' (1949); and the role of Colonel Hathi and the vulture Buzzie in ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' (1967). His voice can be heard in ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (1951), in which he performs all the character voices in "The Walrus and the Carpenter" segment (excepting Alice), including
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The ...
, the Walrus, the Carpenter, and Mother Oyster. Actor
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage.
Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...
has said that O'Malley was his dialect coach on ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'', attributing his infamous Cockney accent in that film to O'Malley.
Death
O'Malley died of
cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...
at his home in
San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census.
San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...
on 27 February 1985.
Selected TV and filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
J. Pat O'Malleyat The Original Mickey Mouse Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, J. Pat
1904 births
1985 deaths
20th-century English male actors
20th-century English singers
20th-century British male singers
Audiobook narrators
British expatriate male actors in the United States
Disney people
English male film actors
English male radio actors
English male singers
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Irish descent
Male actors from Lancashire
People from Burnley
Western (genre) television actors