Royal Dano

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Royal Dano

in The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Born Royal Edward Dano Sr.
November 16, 1922(1922-11-16)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died May 15, 1994(1994-05-15) (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1950–93
Spouse ? (?-1994) (his death) 2 children
Children Rick Dano and Royal Edward Dano Jr. (1946-1994)

Royal Edward Dano (November 16, 1922 – May 15, 1994) was an American film and television character actor.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine (née O'Connor), an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers.[1] He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas and California. After reaching an agreement with his father, he agreed to continue his education, on the condition that he be allowed to travel.[citation needed]He was a Mason and a member of Al Malaikah Shrine in Los Angeles, Ca.

[edit] Career

Dano is remembered for his supporting roles in a number of 1950s western and mystery films. In "Mr. Lincoln", a five-part TV episode appearing in 1952-53 on Omnibus, Royal Dano very convincingly portrayed Lincoln.

He often worked with Anthony Mann and James Stewart. He played Elijah in John Huston's film version of Moby Dick, memorably intoning to Richard Basehart as Ishmael, "A day will come when you'll smell land and there'll be no land, and on that day, Ahab will go to his grave, but he'll rise again within the hour. He will rise and beckon! Then all - all save one - shall follow!"[2] In The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), he portrayed Carey.

In the black comedy The Trouble With Harry, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, he had a small but pivotal role as the officious Deputy Sheriff.

Over the years, Dano made many television appearances, often in bizarre, macabre roles such as Richard Boone's Have Gun Will Travel and the NBC legal drama Justice starring Dane Clark and Gary Merrill.[3]

On December 2, 1957, Dano appeared as Wilbur English, a fearful man who kills a fellow gang member to collect the reward in the episode "Cheyenne Express" of John Payne's The Restless Gun. Ultimately, his cowardice causes Wilbur's own accidental death.[4]

In the MGM Technicolor widescreen religious epic King of Kings (1961), Dano played the role of Simon Peter.

In 1962, he guest starred on the CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show. In the 1965-1966 season, he guest starred on ABC's western series The Legend of Jesse James. Dano also played a ex-con who became Northfork's pastor in a 1961 episode of The Rifleman, an ABC Western series. He appeared on the series five times. Dano was also a frequent guest star on Gunsmoke, with a total of 13 appearances.

Dano was the voice of Abraham Lincoln for Walt Disney's "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" program, first presented at the 1964 World's Fair. Disney personally selected Dano, because he felt the actor came closest to the historical descriptions of Lincoln's voice. The "Great Moments" program was moved to Disneyland in 1965, and Dano's vocals continued to be a part of the program until 2001. In 1971, Dano's voice was also used for a revised Lincoln speech in the new "Hall Of Presidents" program at Walt Disney World in Florida, which ran to 1993. In 2009, Dano's vocals were returned to "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" at Disneyland in a revised version of the show.

He had a memorable (if short) role as the coroner in Electra Glide in Blue (1973), who gets into a loud shouting match with Robert Blake's character. With no spoken dialogue (only one solo song), Dano was memorable as the saddened, unnamed preacher in The Right Stuff (1983). Dano is remembered for his comedic performance as the undead gold prospector, Gramps, in the horror/suspense/comedy/Aztec adventure House II: The Second Story. His final roles include Wrenchmuller in 1993's Spaced Invaders and Judge Clinton Sternwood in the TV series Twin Peaks.

At age 71, Dano died of a heart attack following a car accident. He was buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery. He is the father of actor Rick Dano and grandfather of Disney Channel star Hutch Dano.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Further reading

  • Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget, by Justin Humphreys. BearManor Media, Albany, 2006. ISBN # 1-59393-041-0.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Humphreys, Justin (2006). Names you never remember, with faces you never forget: interviews with the movies' character actors. BearManor Media. p. 93. ISBN 1593930410. 
  2. ^ Moby Dick (1956) - IMDb memorable quotes
  3. ^ "Justice". The Classic TV Archive. http://ctva.biz/US/Legal/Justice.htm. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Cheyenne Express", The Restless Gun, DVD, Timeless Media Group

[edit] External links

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