Whitfield Connor (December 3, 1916 – July 16, 1988) was an American actor, director and producer.

Career

Connor started in radio in the 1930s. In 1945 he made his Broadway debut as Horatio in a production of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and by 1948 had won his first theatrical award, a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for his portrayal of Macduff in

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

starring

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

. In 1960 Connor appeared on Broadway playing the father of

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

's character in ''There Was a Little Girl''. He stepped into the play almost at the last minute when

Louis Jean Heydt Louis Jean Heydt (April 17, 1903 – January 29, 1960) was an American character actor in film, television and theatre, most frequently seen in hapless, ineffectual, or fall guy roles. Early life Heydt was born in 1903 (not 1905, as many sour ...

collapsed and died in the wings during the Boston run. The next morning he was asked to take over the role and he studied the part on the plane from New York to Boston. He appeared in the films ''

Tap Roots ''Tap Roots'' is a 1948 Technicolor Western war film set during the American Civil War. It is very loosely based on the true life story of Newton Knight, a farm owner who attempted to secede Jones County from Mississippi.Stephen Jacobs, ''Bor ...

'', ''

Scarlet Angel ''Scarlet Angel'' is a 1952 American Technicolor historical adventure film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Yvonne de Carlo, Rock Hudson and Richard Denning. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The two leads appeared toget ...

'', ''

Prince of Pirates ''Prince of Pirates'' is a 1953 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Sidney Salkow. Plot Cast *John Derek: Prince Roland *Barbara Rush: Countess Nita Orde * Carla Balenda: Princess Maria *Whitfield Connor: King Stephan *Edgar Barri ...

'', ''

The President's Lady ''The President's Lady'' is a 1951 novel of the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards, written by Irving Stone. A biographical film was made in 1953 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry Levin and ...

'', ''

City of Bad Men ''City of Bad Men'' is a 1953 American Western film directed by Harmon Jones and starring Jeanne Crain and Dale Robertson. Plot A heavyweight championship fight between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons is coming to Carson City, Nev ...

'', ''

The Saracen Blade ''The Saracen Blade'' is a 1954 American adventure film directed by William Castle and starring Ricardo Montalbán, Betta St. John and Rick Jason.

'' and ''

BUtterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same nam ...

''. He appeared in the television series ''

The Bigelow Theatre ''The Bigelow Theatre'' (also known as ''Bigelow-Sanford Theater'' and as ''Hollywood Half Hour'' and ''Marquee Theater'' in syndication) is an American anthology series originally broadcast on CBS Television and on the DuMont Television Network. ...

'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', '' Dragnet'', ''

The Loretta Young Show ''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hosted ...

'', '' Studio One'', ''

The Star and the Story ''The Star and the Story'' is an American television anthology series which aired 1955–1956 in first-run syndication. A filmed half-hour series, episodes were approximately 25 minutes long, excluding commercials. Produced by Four Star Product ...

'', '' The Millionaire'', ''

Willy Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

'', ''

Front Row Center ''Front Row Center'' is an American variety show that aired on the DuMont Television Network Sundays at 7pm ET from March 25, 1949, to April 2, 1950. The show was originally 30 minutes then expanded to 60 minutes. This was one of several DuMont n ...

'', '' The Big Story'', ''

Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

'', ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

'' and '' The Doctors'', among others. Connor was also the commercial spokesperson for the

Gulf Oil Corporation Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

, most notably during their sponsorship of

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

programs (including coverage of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

space missions) in the early 1960s.

Elitch Theatre

In 1948 Connor became a member of the resident theatre company at the

Elitch Theatre The Historic Elitch Theatre is located at the original Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1890, it was centerpiece of the park that was the first zoo west of Chicago. The theatre was Denver's first professional theatre ...

in Denver, Colorado. This was "an association with the theatre that was to last for the rest of his life." The following year Connor returned to the theatre as the leading man in the

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...

cast and would continue in that role through 1953. He would later return for select productions. In 1964 he became the general manager of the Theatre under producer

Helen Bonfils Helen Gilmer Bonfils (November 16, 1889 – June 6, 1972) was an American heiress, actress, theatrical producer, newspaper executive, and philanthropist. She acted in local theatre in Denver, Colorado, and on Broadway, and also co-produced plays in ...

. Together, they switched the theatre from a summer stock format where the cast was selected for the entire summer and would perform multiple plays, to a Star Package System where they would bring in touring shows, usually lead by a well-known star. Following Bonfils death, Connor took over as Producer with his wife,

Haila Stoddard Haila Stoddard (November 14, 1913 – February 21, 2011) was an American actress, producer, writer and director.Weber, Bruce (February 25, 2011)Haila Stoddard, Actress and Producer, Dies at 97.''New York Times''; accessed April 20, 2014. During ...

. Connor, Stoddard, and Stoddard's son, Christopher Kirkland, continued with the theatre until it closed in 1987. 1967, Connor was elected president of the Council of Stock Theaters.

Personal life

Connor and Stoddard met in 1953 when he was again the leading man for the

summer season and Stoddard was hired to be the leading lady. They married in New York City on January 26, 1956, and they remained together until his death in 1988. Connor died on July 16, 1988, at age 71, following stomach surgery in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Whitfield 1916 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors Irish emigrants to the United States