Tom D'Andrea
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas J. D'Andrea (May 15, 1909 – May 14, 1998) was an American actor in films and on television.


Early years

D'Andrea was born May 15, 1909, in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from high school with honors and excelled in basketball.


Career

D'Andrea's first job was at the Chicago Public Library, after which he worked in publicity at the Sherman Hotel in Chicago. Contacts with entertainers at the hotel led to an opportunity to work in Hollywood. After moving there in 1934, he became a publicist for Betty Grable, Gene Autry, Mae Clarke and Jackie Coogan. He began writing scripts in 1937, creating lines for
Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 20, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P ...
,
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
,
Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...
and
Olsen and Johnson John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen (November 6, 1892 – January 26, 1963) and Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 5, 1891 – February 26, 1962) were American comedians of vaudeville, radio, the Broadway theatre, Broadway stage, motion pictures and televis ...
and later continued in television, writing for Cantor and
Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...
on their shows. In 1941, D'Andrea was drafted into the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to write a
Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
program after being stationed at
Camp Roberts, California Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named afte ...
. Reading lines at a rehearsal, Fields decided to have him read the lines in the show. He was assigned to the Overseas Radio Unit in 1943, and he began performing comedy in addition to writing. While at Ciro's Restaurant on Sunset Strip D’Andrea attracted a
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
' executive's attention, resulting in a role in ''
This is the Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical film, musical comedy film produced by Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from This Is the Army (musical), the wartime stage musical of the same name, d ...
'', with Ronald Reagan. In 1946, the studio signed him to a long-term contract. He went on to roles in '' Pride of the Marines'' with
John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...
, '' Night and Day'' with
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
, '' Never Say Goodbye'', '' Silver River'' with
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
, and '' Dark Passage'' with
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
. His last film was '' A House Is Not a Home'' with
Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...
in 1964. After working in the film '' Kill the Umpire'', with William Bendix in 1950, D'Andrea was chosen to play the part of Gillis, Riley's talkative neighbor in the long running television series, ''
The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book. Radio series The radio program initially aired on the B ...
'' starring Bendix. Other TV shows he appeared in were ''
Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western 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 was ...
'' with
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, ''
Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
'', the ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
'', and '' Summer Playhouse''. On television, D'Andrea also portrayed Biff the bartender in ''
Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
'' and acted as himself in ''
The Soldiers The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, ...
''. He appeared in the films ''
This Is the Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical film, musical comedy film produced by Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from This Is the Army (musical), the wartime stage musical of the same name, d ...
'', '' Pride of the Marines'', '' Night and Day'', '' Two Guys from Milwaukee'', '' Never Say Goodbye'', '' Humoresque'', '' Love and Learn'', '' Dark Passage'', '' To the Victor'', '' Silver River'', '' Smart Girls Don't Talk'', ''
Fighter Squadron A squadron in an air force, or naval or army aviation service, is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, ...
'', '' Flaxy Martin'', '' Tension'', '' Kill the Umpire'', '' The Next Voice You Hear...'', '' Little Egypt'' and '' A House Is Not a Home''. He appeared in the television series ''
The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book. Radio series The radio program initially aired on the B ...
'', '' The Bill Dana Show'', ''
My Living Doll ''My Living Doll'' is an American science-fiction sitcom starring Bob Cummings and Julie Newmar. The series was aired on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Cherto ...
'', '' The Farmer's Daughter'', ''
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe ''The Double Life of Henry Phyfe'' is a 17-episode American sitcom broadcast on ABC from January 13 to September 1, 1966, and starring Red Buttons. Plot Henry Phyfe (Buttons) was a mild-mannered accountant, until circumstances forced the Americ ...
'', ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
'', ''
The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...
'', ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions"Calv ...
'', ''
Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first br ...
'' and ''
That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966, to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress who moves from her hometo ...
'', among others.


Personal life

D'Andrea's first marriage ended in divorce. They had a son, Tommy. He next married model Helen Pender. He was raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and was a member of the Masquers Club in Hollywood, The Screen Actors Guild, and
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...
.


Death

D'Andrea died the day before his 89th birthday on May 14, 1998, in
Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 60,625 at the 2020 census, up from 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan ...
, at South Port Square.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Andrea, Tom 1909 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago Male Western (genre) film actors Military personnel from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II