Stafford Repp
| Stafford Repp | |
|---|---|
 Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara from Batman |
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| Born | Stafford Alois Repp April 26, 1918 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 1974 (aged 56) Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1956-1972 |
| Spouse | Patricia Breslin (1935-1974) (his death) |
Stafford Alois Repp (April 26, 1918 – November 5, 1974) was an American actor best known for his role as Chief O'Hara on the Batman television series.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born and raised in California, he was educated at Lowell High School, in San Francisco, California. Soon after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Repp served a stint in the United States Army Air Corps. After this service he began his acting career in mid-life. He was first hired to create sound effects during the "Golden Age of Television".
[edit] Acting career
At the beginning of his acting career, Repp appeared in numerous film and TV productions including the films I Want to Live! with Susan Hayward, and The Brothers Karamazov, both made in 1958. Also at this same time he began to appear in a string of early television programs from the middle 1950s to the early 1960s, including NBC's western anthology series Frontier. He appeared on Rod Cameron's State Trooper, Barbara Eden's How to Marry a Millionaire, Peter Lawford's The Thin Man (1957), Tom Tryon's Texas John Slaughter (1958), Howard Duff's Dante, and as Brink, the factory supervisor on Phil Silvers' The New Phil Silvers Show (1963–1964). His New Phil Silvers Show co-stars included Buddy Lester, Herbie Faye, Elena Verdugo, Ronnie Dapo, and Sandy Descher. He also had a brief appearance in the The Twilight Zone episode "Nick of Time" which starred William Shatner.
[edit] Batman
However, it was his role as Chief O'Hara that he will be mainly recognised for with the thick Irish brogue that he had developed for the part. According to Adam West, Neil Hamilton, who played Commissioner Gordon on the show, did not like Repp's fake Irish accent, and their on-screen partnership was decidedly friendlier than in real life. While on Batman he appeared as a guest in numerous other TV shows of the time including I Dream of Jeannie and The Mothers-in-Law (in the latter, once again playing a policeman).
[edit] Later career
After Batman was cancelled in 1968, he wisely invested his money with a partnership in a chain of car washes, which brought him considerable financial success.
His last film was Cycle Psycho in 1972 and his last television appearance was on the popular TV show M*A*S*H (as a Military Police Officer) which was broadcast after his death.
[edit] Death and legacy
Repp suffered a fatal heart attack at age 56 on November 5, 1974 while at the Hollywood Park Racetrack. He is buried at the Westminster Memorial Park in Westminster, California. After his death, his sister, a TV writer, established the Stafford Repp Memorial Scholarship for alumni of his alma mater, Lowell High School.
[edit] Selected filmography
- The Price of Fear (1956)
- I Want to Live! (1958)
- The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
- The Twilight Zone (1960)
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson - (1960) - Jesse in "The Way Home"
- The New Phil Silvers Show (1963) - Brink
- Batman (1966–1968) - Chief O'Hara
- Batman (1966) - Chief O'Hara
- Cycle Psycho (1972)
