Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 26, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

; he was also known as the original voice of

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

's cartoon character

Screwy Squirrel Screwy Squirrel (also known as Screwball Squirrel) is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic squirrel created by Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is generally considered the wackiest and outright most antagonistic of the screwball c ...

Early years

Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4, 1908. He was the son of Daniel and Mary Maher, and he had three brothers and two sisters. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in acting.

Career

Theater

Maher gained early acting experience with a stock theater company in Cincinnati. His radio debut came when he portrayed Paul Baumer in a production of ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. However, a lack of future acting opportunities led him to pray for divine guidance, and soon after he had another acting opportunity. On Broadway, Maher portrayed Rittenhoff in ''Every Man for Himself'' (1940).

Radio

In 1936, he began working on several radio dramas from the West Coast. That same year he had one of his most prominent film performances as the reporter who films the mob attempting to lynch

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

's character in

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

's '' Fury'', directed by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

. Other radio programs on which he appeared included ''

The Whistler ''The Whistler'' is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it w ...

'', '' NBC Presents: Short Story'', ''

The Eddie Bracken Show ''The Eddie Bracken Show'' is an American old-time radio situation comedy . It was broadcast on NBC from January 28, 1945, to May 27, 1945, and on CBS from September 29, 1946, to March 23, 1947. Format Eddie Bracken played himself in this situati ...

'', ''

Camel Caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

Mr. District Attorney ''Mr. District Attorney'' is a radio crime drama produced by Samuel Bischoff that aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading district attorney initia ...

,'' '' Hollywood Showcase'', '' I Love a Mystery'', and ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

''. Maher held offices in the Los Angeles chapter of the American Federation of Radio Artists, including being third vice-president in 1943 and a member of the board in 1945.

Films

The motion pictures in which he appeared include ''Nick Carter, Master Detective'' (1950), ''Pound Foolish'' (1940), ''

The Story of Molly X ''The Story of Molly X'' is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Crane Wilbur and starring June Havoc, John Russell and Dorothy Hart. The screenplay concerns a woman who tries to reform after being sent to prison, but faces obstacles ...

'' (1949), ''

Right Cross ''Right Cross'' is a 1950 sports drama film released by MGM, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalban, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and (in a small uncredited role) Marilyn Monroe. Plot ...

'' (1950, and ''

Mystery Street ''Mystery Street'' is a 1950 black-and-white film noir featuring Ricardo Montalbán, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett, Elsa Lanchester, and Marshall Thompson. Produced by MGM, it was directed by John Sturges with cinematography by John Alton. The f ...

'' (1950).

Recording career

In 1951, Maher and

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

recorded ''The Story of Little Champ'', a two-record album about a young colt.

Animated shorts

Maher provided the voice of

's cartoon character

for five shorts produced at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, ''Screwball Squirrel'', ''Happy-Go-Nutty'', ''Big Heel-Watha'' (all 1944), '' The Screwy Truant'' (1945), and '' Lonesome Lenny'' (1946). He also voiced the

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

-sounding turkey in ''

Jerky Turkey ''Jerky Turkey'' is a 1945 in film, 1945 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon directed by Tex Avery. Plot In 1620, Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Pilgrims, riding a caricatured ''Mayflower'' with a number of World War II-era anachronisms (such as a navy gu ...

'' (1945).

Personal life and death

Maher married Carmella Bruno, and they had a son and two daughters. Maher died on December 26, 1951, in St. Vincent's Hospital, aged 43.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Wally 1908 births 1951 deaths Male actors from Cincinnati American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors Broadway theatre people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people