Philip Bourneuf (January 7, 1908 - March 23, 1979) was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films.

Early years

The son of engineer Ambrose Bourneuf and his wife, the former Josephine Comeau, Bourneuf was born in Somerville, Massachusetts. He grew up in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. I ...

. As a high school student, he performed in vaudeville and with local stock theater companies.

Career

Bourneuf's obituary in '' The New York Times'' noted, "Mr. Bourneuf was included in the small circle of distinguished actors who appeared in the original casts of the American Repertory Theater, a group founded by Eva Le Gallienne, Margaret Webster, and

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...

." In the 1930s, Boruneuf acted as part of the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...

. A founding member of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

, one of Bourneuf's more memorable roles was as the district attorney who maneuvers the apparently innocent Dana Andrews into the electric chair in '' Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' (1956). His last screen role was in the 1976 television mini-series ''

Captains and the Kings ''Captains and the Kings'' is a 1972 historical novel by Taylor Caldwell chronicling the rise to wealth and power of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, who emigrates as a penniless teenager to the United States, along with his you ...

''. Bourneuf made three guest appearances on '' Perry Mason''. In 1960, he played Asa Culver in "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor." In 1963 he played murder victim Edgar Thorne in "The Case of the Lawful Lazarus," and in 1965 he played defendant Victor Montalvo in "The Case of the Golden Girls." He also appeared in other television series like ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'', '' Dr. Kildare'' and ''

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 ...

'' (in the 1956 S3E1's "Legal Revenge", playing injured and bedridden murderer George Basset).

Personal life

Bourneuf was married to actress Frances Reid from 1940 until their divorce in 1973. They had no children.

Death

On March 23, 1979, Bourneuf was found dead in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, at age 71.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * 1908 births 1979 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Massachusetts Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery People from Somerville, Massachusetts Male actors from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Federal Theatre Project people {{US-screen-actor-1900s-stub