Jack Weston (born Morris Weinstein; August 21, 1924 – May 3, 1996) was an American actor. He was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

in 1976 and a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

in 1981.

Career

Weston, a native of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, usually played comic roles in films such as '' Cactus Flower'' (1969) and ''

Please Don't Eat the Daisies ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' (New York: Doubleday, 1957) is a best-selling collection of humorous essays by American humorist and playwright Jean Kerr about suburban living and raising four boys. The essays do not have a plot or through-sto ...

'' (1960). He occasionally took on heavier parts, such as the scheming crook and stalker, who along with Alan Arkin and

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as '' The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', '' Body Heat'', the first three ...

attempts to terrorize and rob a blind

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

in the 1967 film '' Wait Until Dark''. Weston had numerous other character roles over 25 years, including in major films such as '' The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965), '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968), ''

Gator Gator is a slang word for alligator. Gator may also refer to: People nicknamed Gator *Mike Greenwell (born 1963), American Major League Baseball player nicknamed "The Gator" *Ron Guidry (born 1950), former Major League Baseball pitcher * Gator ...

'' (1976), ''

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

'' (1979), '' High Road to China'' (1983), '' Dirty Dancing'' (1987), ''

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...

'' (1987), and '' Short Circuit 2'' (1988). On television, he made numerous appearances, such as murderer Fred Calvert in the 1958 '' Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Daring Decoy". In 1961, he was a guest star in the TV drama '' Route 66'', playing the manager of a traveling group of young women nightclub dancers who mistreats his employees. In 1963, he was a guest star in an episode called " Fatso" in the TV drama '' The Fugitive''. In 1976, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in the film '' The Ritz''. In 1981, Weston appeared on Broadway in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's comedy ''

The Floating Light Bulb ''The Floating Light Bulb'' is a 1981 Broadway play by Woody Allen. Semi-autobiographical, it focuses on a lower middle class family living in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York City, in 1945. Plot Matriarch Enid Pollack, who once aspired to be a dance ...

'', for which he was nominated for a

as Best Actor. His other stage appearances include '' Bells are Ringing'' in 1956 (with Judy Holliday), '' The Ritz'' in 1975,

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's '' California Suite'' (1976) and ''

One Night Stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

'' in 1980. Weston co-starred in

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...

's 1981 film '' The Four Seasons'', and then reprised his role to star in a television series spinoff on CBS.

Personal life

By age 12, Weston was performing at the

Cleveland Playhouse Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square wher ...

as a member of its "Curtain Pullers" youth program. He also appeared in school productions at Parkwood Elementary, Patrick Henry Jr. High, and Glenville High School. Joining the Army in 1943, he served for 28 months, mostly in Italy with the 34th Infantry Division. After the war, he again appeared at the Playhouse in 1945 as Jack Weinstein and then moved to New York, where former Playhouse director K. Elmo Lowe helped him obtain work managing a USO troupe touring Japan, China, Okinawa, and Korea. Afterward, in New York, he joined the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

with Lee Strasberg. He did not advance far professionally and returned to Cleveland, where he met

Marge Redmond Marjorie Redmond (December 14, 1924 – February 10, 2020), known as Marge Redmond, was an American actress and singer. Early years Marjorie Redmond was born in Cleveland, Ohio in December 1924 and was raised in Lakewood by J.V. Redmond, a fir ...

, another local actress, and the pair relocated to New York and were married there in 1950. Redmond was later noted for her role in the ABC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' The Flying Nun''. They occasionally appeared together, an example being a 1963 episode of ''

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, sup ...

'' titled "

The Bard A bard is a minstrel in medieval Scottish, Irish, and Welsh societies; and later re-used by romantic writers. Bard, BARD, The Bard or Bård may also refer to: People * Bard (surname) * Bård, Norwegian given name and surname *William Shakespea ...

". Redmond and Weston divorced in the 1980s. The couple had no children. Weston's second marriage was to Laurie Gilkes, and they had one child together. They were married until his death from

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...

on May 3, 1996, after a six-year struggle. He was 71 years old. Jack was the older brother of

Anthony Spinelli Anthony Spinelli (February 21, 1927 – May 29, 2000) was an American one-time mainstream actor and producer, who later became a pornographic film director. Under his original stage name, Sam Weston, he produced the mainstream films '' Gun Feve ...

, whose birth name was Sam Weinstein and whose first stage name was Sam Weston. The Westons were Jewish.

Selected filmography

* '' Stage Struck'' (1958) as Frank * ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' (1958), "The Kill" (S1E01) as Dave Green * '' I Want to Live!'' (1958) as NCO at Party (uncredited) * '' Imitation of Life'' (1959) as Tom * ''

'' (1960) as Joe Positano * ''

All in a Night's Work ''All in a Night's Work'' is the ninth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in August 1982 on the Epic label. History ''All in a Night' ...

'' (1961) as Lasker * '' The Honeymoon Machine'' (1961) as Signalman Burford Taylor * '' It's Only Money'' (1962) as Leopold * ''

Palm Springs Weekend ''Palm Springs Weekend'' is a 1963 Warner Bros. bedroom comedy film directed by Norman Taurog. It has elements of the beach party genre ( AIP's '' Beach Party'' became a smash hit in July, while Warner Bros. was still putting this film together ...

'' (1963) as Coach Fred Campbell * '' The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' (1964) as George Stickle * '' The Cincinnati Kid'' (1965) as Pig * ''

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

'' (1965) as Lester * '' Wait Until Dark'' (1967) as Carlino * '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968) as Erwin Weaver * '' The April Fools'' (1969) as Potter Shrader * '' Cactus Flower'' (1969) as Harvey Greenfield * '' A New Leaf'' (1971) as Andy McPherson * '' Fuzz'' (1972) as Det. Meyer Meyer * ''

Marco Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

'' (1973) as Maffio Polo * '' The Ritz'' (1976) as Gaetano Proclo * ''

'' (1976) as Irving Greenfield * ''

'' (1979) as Larry Gutman * '' Can't Stop the Music'' (1980) as Benny Murray * '' The Four Seasons'' (1981) as Danny Zimmer * '' High Road to China'' (1983) as Struts * ''

The Longshot ''The Longshot'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring Tim Conway. Plot Four friends enjoy betting on horses at the race track. Someone tells them that he's got something to give his horse to make it run faster, an ...

'' (1986) as Elton * '' Rad'' (1986) as Duke Best * '' Dirty Dancing'' (1987) as Max Kellerman * ''

'' (1987) as Marty Freed * '' Short Circuit 2'' (1988) as Oscar Baldwin

Television appearances

In 1949, Weston appeared as Mr. Storm in episode five of '' Captain Video and His Video Rangers''. In 1953-54, he appeared as Wilbur Wormser on CBS-TV's '' Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers'', a Saturday-morning kiddie show, and he was often recognized on the street or subway by children in and around New York City. In 1960, Weston appeared as Otto in ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', episode 28, season five, called "Forty Detectives", on April 24, 1960. In the 1960–1961 television season, Weston appeared as Chick Adams, a reporter, on the CBS

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a play, a musical, a radio play (an ...

''. The next season, he starred in the short-lived sitcom '' The Hathaways'' (ABC), in which Peggy Cass and he adopted three

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...

s (the

Marquis Chimps The Marquis Chimps were a group of trained chimpanzees that were used in variety shows and television programmes and commercials, initially in Britain and then in the United States, from the late 1940s to the 1980s. They were owned and trained by ...

). He also made guest appearances on such television series as ''

'', '' Perry Mason'', '' Rescue 8'', ''

'' (episodes " The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", and "

"), '' The Untouchables'', '' Have Gun – Will Travel'', ''

Johnny Staccato ''Johnny Staccato'' is an American private detective television series starring John Cassavetes which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960. Synopsis Titular character Johnny Staccato, played by John Cassav ...

'', ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', '' The Lawless Years'' (two episodes), '' Route 66'', '' Harrigan and Son'', '' Stoney Burke'', '' Breaking Point'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

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 typ ...

'', ''

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 chara ...

'', '' Twelve O'Clock High'', '' Laredo'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', and ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts i ...

''.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Jack 1924 births 1996 deaths American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors Deaths from lymphoma Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Cleveland Military personnel from Cleveland Jewish American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews