Sidney Murray Matheson (1 July 1912 – 25 April 1985) was a U.S.-based Australian actor. He appeared on stage and in films and television programs until 1983.

Biography

Matheson was born in Casterton, Australia in 1912 where he grew up on a 3,000-acre sheep station. When he was 12, he saw a production of ''

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...

'' by a touring company, and that experience sparked his desire to be an actor. His first principal stage performance was in the musical ''

Roberta ''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It features the songs " Yesterdays", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Let ...

'' at

Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne Her Majesty's Theatre is a 1,700-seat theatre in Melbourne's East End Theatre District, Australia. Built in 1886, it is located at 219 Exhibition Street, Melbourne. It is classified by the National Trust of Australia and is listed on the Victor ...

, Australia in 1934. His London debut was at the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

in ''

Band Waggon ''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series added ...

'' (1939). He made his New York debut as Captain Worthy in ''

The Relapse ''The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger'' is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. The play is a sequel to Colley Cibber's '' Love's Last Shift, or, The Fool in Fashion''. In Cibber's ''Love's Last Shift'', a free-living Rest ...

'', as part of the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...

(1950). Matheson performed in dozens of plays, including some major tours, until 1982. Matheson's first film appearance was as Joe Lawson in ''

The Way to the Stars ''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 ...

'', a.k.a. ''Johnny in the Clouds'' (1945). He played the clown in the classic ''

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 "

Five Characters in Search of an Exit "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" is episode 79 of the television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on December 22, 1961. Opening narration Plot A uniformed U.S. Army major wakes up to find himself trapped inside a ...

". He made guest appearances in two 1964 episodes of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

'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 c ...

'': once as B.K. Doran in "The Case of the Accosted Accountant", and once as Howard Hopkins in "The Case of the Wooden Nickels". Some of his best-known film and television roles include: * Felix Mulholland in 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 ...

'' Banacek'' series * Benjamin Ovington in the movie ''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'' (1967) * The Clown in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode "

" * Mr. Agee in the "Kick the Can" segment of '' The Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983) * Dr. John Keith in the film '' Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955) * Talbot in the " Why Wait Until Uncle Kevin Dies" episode of ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' (1973) Season 6, episode 8. In 1960 Matheson appeared as Alexander on the TV western '' Laramie'' on the episode titled "Duel at Parkinson Town." In 1960–61, he was cast as Geoffrey Carey in "The Archer's Ring" and as the High Priest in "The Perils of Penrose", respectively, on 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 ...

series, '' Adventures in Paradise'', starring

Gardner McKay George Cadogan Gardner McKay (June 10, 1932 – November 21, 2001) was an American actor, artist, and author. He is best known for the lead role in the TV series '' Adventures in Paradise'', based loosely on the writings of James Michener. His ...

. In 1961, he played the lead guest-starring role in the episode "A Rope for Charlie Munday" on another ABC adventure series, '' The Islanders'', co-starring William Reynolds. In 1969, he guest starred in ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' season 5 episode 28, " Samantha's Good News". In 1970, he appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama ''

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 ...

'', and in 1978 he appeared in the "Murder! Murder!" episode of the

crime drama ''

The Eddie Capra Mysteries ''The Eddie Capra Mysteries'' is an American mystery television series starring Vincent Baggetta as a lawyer who investigates murders and has a knack for solving them. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 8, 1978, to January 12, 1979.McN ...

''. In 1982 he made an appearance on '' The Facts of Life'' S4 E11. Matheson's ashes were scattered into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Filmography

Notes

Sources

Biography
at FilmReference.com

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Murray 1912 births 1985 deaths Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors 20th-century Australian male actors Australian emigrants to the United States