Henry Jones: Famed Character Legend of THE BAD SEED, 3:10 TO YUMA, DEATHTRAP, VERTIGO & Many More

Jones, who stole scenes in films, TV shows and plays for over 50 years, was born August 1st, 1912 in Philadelphia. He died on May 17th, 1999 of complications from a fall. He was 86.

At a VERTIGO screening in 1995

Jones appeared in over 200 film & TV shows as well as almost 20 Broadway plays.
With his basset hound face and distinctive low-talker voice, he was a favorite of such directors as Burt Kennedy, Frank Tashlin and Alfred Hitchcock.

He made his debut on The Great White Way in the 1931 farce SHE LIVED NEXT TO THE FIREHOUSE. His last appearance on Broadway was 30 years later in the star-studded political drama ADVISE AND CONSENT.

Ed Begley, Richard Kiley, Chester Morris, Jones & Kevin McCarthy in A & C-

Charles Laughton played Jones juicy role in the 1962 film version

In 1958 Jones won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as FDR's friend and advisor Louis Howe in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO.

But the Broadway role he is probably best known for is, coincidentally, his most memorable screen role: the depraved handyman Leroy, who is burnt to death by THE BAD SEED (Patty McCormick)

Jones finds out too late he shouldn't taunt the kill-crazy McCormick

The play ran on Bwdy. for 334 performances and the film was

one of 1956's Top 20 Box-Office hits, also accumulating 4 Academy Award

Nominations, including one for 11 year-old McCormick.

Jones film career took off after THE BAD SEED.

He went on to play a slew of doctors, judges, lawyers, ministers, clerks, town leaders, bank tellers, postmen, salesmen, professors, henpecked hubby's and more. Some were kindly, some were crooked, some were sneaky, some were creepy, some were cowardly and a bunch were timid.

As a Desk Clerk in DICK TRACY

Some of my other favorite film roles of Jones include:

Town drunk Alex Potter in the original version of 3:10 TO YUMA

Jones, Ford Rainey, Robert Emhardt and Van Heflin in

3:10 TO YUMA

Porter Milgrim, Micheal Caine's lawyer in DEATHRAP

Henry Rufus, TV adman and Tony Randall's pal in

WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER?

The cold-blooded Coroner in VERTIGO

With VERTIGO star James Stewart

The bike salesman in

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

With Sheriff Kenneth Mars in

BC & The SDK

Mousie, mobster Edmond O'Brien's kind-hearted employee who wiretap's Tom Ewell & Jayne Mansfield's phone calls in

THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT

With Mansfield---she can't help it!

Gil Clark, the wary right-hand man of

rich, corporate takeover specialist CASH McCALL (James Garner)

2 different roles in 2 other James Garner films:

Town Council member Henry Jackson in SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF! &

Ez, the station master/telegrapher in SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER

Garner, Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, Walter Burke and Willis Bouchey in

SHERIFF!

Ben Hays, along with wife Joan Blondell, true believers of faith healer

ANGEL BABY (Salome Jens)

Sleazy reporter-blackmailer Parker Welk in

THE BRAMBLE BUSH

Dr. Crowther. the lead scientist in the wacky 1968 sci-fi flick

PROJECT X

Yet another Doctor, elderly Sam Metcalf, rival to new town doc Jeff Daniels in ARACHNOPHOBIA

Daniels, Roy Brocksmith, Jones and Stuart Pankin

ARACHNOPHOBIA

Mr. Hinkle, President of Consolidated Companies in

9 TO 5

Sam Cutler, the crafty (non) slave buyer in

SKIN GAME

The shady doctor in the 1974 crime classic

THE OUTFIT

With Robert Duvall in THE OUTFIT

His other big screen credits include:

THE GIRL HE LEFT BEHIND, NEVER TOO LATE, NAPOLEON AND SAMANTHA, PETE 'N' TILLIE, THE GRIFTERS, STAY AWAY, JOE with Elvis Presley, TOM SAWYER (as Mr. Dobbins, the mean teacher), BALBOA, NOWHERE TO RUN, ENID IS SLEEPING, DICK TRACY, DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE, ANGEL IN MY POCKET, RASCAL, THE COCKEYED COWBOYS OF CALICO COUNTY, RABBIT, RUN (as James Caan's pop), THE CHAMPAGNE MURDERS, TAXI, THE LADT SAYS NO and more.

Douglas Henderson, Jones, Katy Jurado, Burgess Meredith and The King of Rock 'n' Roll in STAY AWAY, JOE

Beating Johnnie Whittaker in TOM SAWYER

As for TV, Jones was an ubiqitous figure on the boob tube for 5 decades.

His regular roles: Fred Baker--the Dean of Channing College on CHANNING (ABC 1963-64), Owen Metcalf on the Sally Field sitcom THE GIRL WITH SOMETHING EXTRA (NBC 1973-74), Judge Jonathan Dexter, Cloris Leachman's father-in-law on PHYLISS (CBS 1975-77), Josh Alden on MRS. COLUMBO aka KATE LOVES A MYSTERY (NBC 1979-80) opposite Kate Mulgrew, Homer McCoy on the very short-lived western sitcom GUN SHY (CBS 1983), and Hughes Whitney Lennox on another short-liver, I MARRIED DORA (ABC 1987-88).

Jason Evers was the star of CHANNING

With Leachman on PHYLISS

With Mulgrew on MRS.C/KATE

Jones played a bunch of recurring roles on TV:

Jed McCoy, of the West Virginia McCoys, on THE REAL McCOYS,

the time traveller Mr. Pem on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, brilliant but evil humanoid robot designer Dr. Dolenz on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Harold on FLO, Fiesty Fred Tipton on B.J. AND THE BEAR, Phillips on CODE NAME: FOXFIRE, and B. Riley Wicker on FALCON CREST.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN

Frank Cady, Kathy Nolan, Jane Darwell, Lydia Reed, Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, Jones, and Pat Buttram on THE REAL McCOYS

Other notable TV roles for Jones include: Orson Bean's guardian angel, J. Hardy Hempstead, on THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode Mr. Bevis, several juicy roles on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, including taxidermist George Tiffany in the episode The West Warlock Time Capsule & greedy, philandering retiree Miles Cheever in Profit Sharing Plan, the cousin of Jonathan Dr. Smith Harris on LOST IN SPACE, Capt. Kidd on YOU ARE THERE, 2 great parts on THRILLER: murderous undertaker Carl Somers in the episode 'Til Death Do Us Part & the poor clothier Erich Borg in The Weird Tailor, Brian O'Brian, the title role in The Leprechaun episode of BEWITCHED, Rev. Parris in 1967's THE CRUCIBLE with George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst & Tuesday Weld, insurance man H.J. Hoferkamp in the excellent Dan Blocker tele-film SOMETHING FOR A LONELY MAN, Lesley Anne Warren's father in LOVE HATE LOVE with Ryan O'Neal, the Judge in the ALIAS SMITH & JONES episode The Day They Hanged Kid Curry, King Arthur/Uncle Leo in the BONANZA episode A Knight to Remember, the Postman in LETTERS FROM THREE LOVERS, the cruise ship Captain Wells in The Werewolf episode of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER and Oral Proctor in MASTERGATE.

With Pernell Roberts on BONANZA

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

With friends like Wally and Bud....

Jones and Philip Coolidge in another great ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS

episode, DE MORTUIS

Harris and Jones on LOST IN SPACE

2 Smith's! God help the Robinson's

Taking care of second wife Reta Shaw on THRILLER

A sample of his many other TV credits include:

DANGER, SCHLITZ PLAYHOUSE, PLAYHOUSE 90, STUDIO ONE IN HOLLYWOOD,

LUX VIDEO THEATRE, THE WEB, THE PHILCO-GOODYEAR TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE, DANIEL BOONE, CLIMAX!, ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS, KRAFT THEATER, THE UNTOUCHABLES, THE LORETTA YOUNG SHOW, THAT GIRL, FOLLOW THE SUN, FRONTIER CIRCUS, WAGON TRAIN, HONEY WEST, THE TAMMY GRIMES SHOW, GUNSMOKE, THE BIG VALLEY, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., THE GUNS OF WILL SONNETT (as Preacher Soul), HERE COME THE BRIDES, THE NAME OF THE GAME, THE MOVIE MURDERER, GRASS ROOTS, NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR, HITCHED, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, THE MOD SQUAD, NIGHT GALLERY, EMERGENCY!, THE DAUGHTERS OF JOSHUA CABE, THE DORIS DAY SHOW, McMILLAN & WIFE, HAWKINS, PETROCELLI, TAIL GUNNER JOE, VEGA$, BARNEY MILLER, PROJECT UFO, LUCAN, SALVAGE 1, HERE'S BOOMER, SUPERTRAIN, FANTASY ISLAND, CHIPs, THE LOVE BOAT, SCENE OF THE CRIME, COMEDY FACTORY, CHEERS, EMPTY NEST, COACH, MATHNET, SILVER SPOONS, MR. BELVEDERE, PICTURE WINDOWS and many, many more.

DANIEL BOONE

With Mary Jackson on

THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW

His many other Broadway credits include:

HAMLET with Maurice Evans, THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC, THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED, THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE, MY SISTER EILEEN, ALICE IN WONDERLAND (as Humpty Dumpty & Mouse), KING HENRY IV, PART 1, and more.

Did you know...?

Jones graduated from St. Joseph's College.

He served in the U.S. Army during WWII.

His daughter is actress-acting teacher Jocelyn Jones (THE ENFORCER, THE GREAT TEXAS DYNAMITE CHASE, TOURIST TRAP, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN).