Myron McCormick (February 8, 1908 – July 30, 1962) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

of stage, radio and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

Early life and education

Born in

Albany, Indiana Albany is a town in Delaware and Randolph counties in the U.S. state of Indiana, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 2,295 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muncie, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Albany was founded in ...

, in 1908, Walter Myron McCormick was the middle child of Walter P. and Bessie M. McCormick's three children.Digital copy of original enumeration page fro
"The Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920
Albany Town, Delaware County, Indiana, January 2, 1920. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. FamilySearch, a genealogical on-line database and public service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved May 30, 2017. His father, according to the federal census of 1920, was a native of Illinois and a manufacturer of tinware. He attended New Mexico Military Institute and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. At the latter he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, gained experience in musical theater, and graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''.

Stage

McCormick was the only cast member of the Broadway smash ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' to remain with the show for all 1,925 performances. He won a Best Supporting Performance (Actor) Donaldson Award for 1948-1949 and a 1950

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 ...

for Actor, Supporting or Featured (Musical) for his portrayal of sailor Luther Billis. He later was featured on Broadway from 1955-1957 in the military comedy '' No Time for Sergeants'' and repeated his role as Sergeant King for the 1958 film version starring Andy Griffith. His other Broadway credits include ''27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' (1954), ''Joy to the World'' (1947), ''Soldier's Wife'' (1944), ''Storm Operation'' (1943), ''The Damask Cheek'' (1942), ''Lily of the Valley'' (1941), ''Thunder Rock'' (1939), ''In Clover'' (1937), ''The Wingless Victory'' (1936), ''Hell Freezes Over'' (1935), ''How Beautiful with Shoes'' (1935), ''Substitute for Murder'' (1935), ''Paths of Glory'' (1935), and ''Carry Nation'' (1932).

Film

McCormick portrayed Charlie, the partner of pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson (

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

) in ''

The Hustler ''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports romantic drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson a ...

'' (1961). He also appeared in ''The Man Who Understood Women'', ''Jigsaw'', ''Jolson Sings Again'' and ''

The Fight for Life ''The Fight for Life'' is a 1940 American medical drama film nominated for the Best Original Score of a Picture composed by Louis Gruenberg and released by Columbia Pictures. Plot At the City Hospital a young intern witnesses the death of a you ...

''. His screen debut came in ''Winterset''.

Radio and television

McCormick became a featured performer in the soap opera ''Buck Private and His Girl'' and in many popular radio dramas of the 1940s. He also made guest appearances on numerous television programs of the 1950s/early 1960s, including '' The Untouchables'', '' Naked City'', ''

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 r ...

'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...

'', '' Way Out'' and '' The Iceman Cometh (1960 TV production)''. McCormick was also known for his portrayal of "Colonel Ralph Bryant" in the 1949 movie '' Jolson Sings Again''. In 1959 for The Play of the Week television series, he played Joe Saul in Steinbeck's

Burning Bright ''Burning Bright'' is a 1950 novella by John Steinbeck written as an experiment with producing a play in novel format. Rather than providing only the dialogue and brief stage directions as would be expected in a play, Steinbeck fleshes out the s ...

Personal life

McCormick was married to actress Martha Hodge and to Barbara MacKenzie.

Death

McCormick died at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on July 30, 1962, from cancer, aged 54. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.

Filmography

References

External links

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Myron McCormick
in the 1942 play ''Lily of the Valley'' with Katharine Bard {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Myron 1908 births 1962 deaths Male actors from Indiana American male stage actors American male television actors American male radio actors American male film actors Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Donaldson Award winners Tony Award winners 20th-century American male actors People from Albany, Indiana Princeton University alumni Male actors from New York City