Elliott Pershing Stitzel (November 27, 1918 – May 21, 2005), better known by his stage name Stephen Elliott, was an American actor. His best known roles were that of the prospective father-in-law, Burt Johnson, in the hit 1981 film ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

'' and as Chief Hubbard in the 1984 blockbuster '' Beverly Hills Cop''.

Career

Theatre

From 1940 to 1942, Elliott studied acting with

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Grou ...

at New York's

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

."Stephen Elliott, 86; Veteran Stage, Film and TV Actor Known for Role in 'Arthur'"
''The Los Angeles Times''. May 24, 2005. After serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

with the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

, he started a successful career on Broadway with his debut in

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

'' The Tempest''; two years later, Elliott was selected by Robert Lewis to be one of The Actors Studio's founding members. In 1967, Elliott was nominated for the

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 ce ...

for Best Featured Actor in a Play for '' Marat/Sade''. Two years later, he won the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for ''A Whistle in the Dark''. Additional Broadway credits include ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'', '' The Miser'', '' Georgy'', ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as an ...

'', and '' The Creation of the World and Other Business''.

Television

Elliott's television credits include the role of

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

's first husband in ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...

'', General Padget in ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'', Harold W. Smith in the 1988 television adaptation of ''

Remo Williams Remo Williams is the main character in '' The Destroyer'', a series of novels about a United States government operative and Chiun, a martial arts master who is Williams' 'sunseng', analogous to a sensei. The series was created by Warren Murphy a ...

'', Texan

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short s ...

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

Scotty Demarest in ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', and Judge Harold Aldrich in ''

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinoi ...

''. He also appeared in the "Murder! Murder!" episode of ''

The Eddie Capra Mysteries ''The Eddie Capra Mysteries'' is an American mystery television series starring Vincent Baggetta as a lawyer who investigates murders and has a knack for solving them. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 8, 1978, to January 12, 1979.M ...

''. In 1981 he had a small role as the newspaper magnate

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

in the TV serial ''Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years''. Highway To Heaven "Thoroughbreds" Episodes 1 and 2 with Helen Hunt and Micheal Landon 1985. He was a member of the regular cast of the short-lived 1988

situation comedy 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 ne ...

Trial and Error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...

''.

Radio

In 1981, Elliott played the role of Bail Organa, father of Princess Leia, in the radio drama adaptation of ''Star Wars''.

Personal life

Elliott was born Elliott Pershing Stitzel in New York City. His marriage to Barbara Blaise was terminated by divorce in February 1947, according to The Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY), 4 October 1947, page 3. He married stage actress Nancy Chase on 9 October 1947 (Billboard, 18 October 1947, p. 47) and divorced in 1960. They had two children, Jency and Jon. He married his third wife, actress

Alice Hirson Alice Hirson (born March 10, 1929) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap ope ...

, whom he met on Broadway in 1964; they were not married until 1980. He died in 2005 in Woodland Hills,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

as result of congestive heart failure. Both Elliott and Hirson appeared in recurring roles on the television series ''

''.

Partial filmography

* ''

Monodrama Theater ''Monodrama Theater'', also known as ''Mono-Drama Theatre'', was a late night television series which aired on the DuMont Television Network weekdays at 11pm ET from May 1952 to December 1953. Production background The series consisted of a singl ...

'' ( DuMont TV series, 1953) * '' Three Hours to Kill'' (1954) - Sheriff Ben East * ''

Canyon Crossroads ''Canyon Crossroads'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Alfred L. Werker and stars Richard Basehart, Phyllis Kirk and Stephen Elliott.D'Arc 2010, p. 238. Plot Near Moab, Utah, mining engineer Larry Kendall (Richard Basehart) is searc ...

'' (1955) - Larson * ''

The Proud and Profane ''The Proud and Profane'' is a dramatic war romance made by William Perlberg-George Seaton Productions for Paramount Pictures released in theaters on June 13, 1956. It was directed by George Seaton and produced by William Perlberg, from a screenp ...

'' (1956) * '' Street of Sinners'' (1957) - Bit part * '' The Hospital'' (1971) - Dr. Sundstrom * '' Death Wish'' (1974) - Police Commissioner * ''The Gun'' (1974) - Art Hilliard * '' Report to the Commissioner'' (1975) - Police Commissioner * ''

The Hindenburg LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' (; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the ''Hindenburg'' class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was de ...

'' (1975) - Captain Fellows * '' Columbo: A Deadly State of Mind'' (1975, TV Series) - Carl Donner * ''

Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy ''Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy'' is a 1977 American made-for-television biographical film that originally aired on ABC. Based upon the biography by Hank Searls called ''The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy'', the film chronicles ...

'' (1977) - Joseph Kennedy Sr. * '' Hawaii Five-O'' (1978, Episode: "Deadly Courier") - Enslow * ''

'' (1980-1987, TV Series) - Attorney Scotty Demarest * '' Cutter's Way'' (1981) - J. J. Cord * ''

'' (1981) - Burt Johnson * '' My Body, My Child'' (1982) - Edgar * '' Prototype'' (1983, TV Movie) - Dr. Arthur Jarrett * '' Benson (1984) - Whitey Endicott * '' Beverly Hills Cop'' (1984) - Chief Hubbard * '' Roadhouse 66'' (1985) - Sam * '' Murder, She Wrote: Armed Response'' (1985) - Dr. Sam * ''

Assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

'' (1987) - Fitzroy * '' Perry Mason Movie: The Case of the Lost Love'' (1987, TV Series) - Elliot Moore * '' Walk Like a Man'' (1987) - Walter Welmont * ''Vultures'' (1987) - Theater Attendant * ''

'' (1988, TV series) - Edmund Kittie * '' Arthur 2: On the Rocks'' (1988) - Burt Johnson * '' Remo Williams: The Prophecy'' (1988) - Dr. Harold W. Smith * '' When He's Not a Stranger'' (1989, TV Movie) - Attorney Foster * '' Columbo: Grand Deceptions'' (1989, TV Series) - General Padget * '' Taking Care of Business'' (1990) - Walter * '' The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake'' (1990, TV Movie) - Owen

References

External links

* *
Stephen Elliott
at

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Stephen 1918 births 2005 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors United States Merchant Mariners of World War II