Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia
de Corsia in The Enforcer
Born Edward Gildea De Corsia
(1903-09-29)September 29, 1903
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died April 11, 1973(1973-04-11) (aged 69)
Encino, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Radio, film, television actor
Years active 1947–72
Spouse(s) Mary Robertson (1934–35; divorced)
Rachel Thurber (1939–19??; divorced); 2 children

Ted de Corsia (September 29, 1903 April 11, 1973) was an American radio, film, and television actor best remembered for his role as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).

Early years

Edward Gildea De Corsia was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Radio

De Corsia was a member of the cast of Blackstone Plantation.[1] He starred in the title role on Mike Hammer[2] and played Sergeant Velie on The Adventures of Ellery Queen.[3] He also voiced roles on Family Theater,[2] The March of Time, Cavalcade of America, Gang Busters,[4] and The Shadow.

Film

He made his movie debut in Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films including The Naked City (1948), The Enforcer (1951), Crime Wave (1954), The Big Combo (1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson, and Slightly Scarlet (1956), The Joker is Wild (1957).

In his last film, The Outside Man with Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.

Television

In the late 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, mostly westerns. He was featured on three episodes of the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason, including the episodes "The Case of the Drifting Dropout" (1964), in which he played murder victim Mort Lynch, and "The Case of the Positive Negative" (1966), in the role of murder victim George Emory. Other television appearances included The Californians, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, Tales of Wells Fargo, Sugarfoot, Jefferson Drum, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Frontier Doctor, Mackenzie's Raiders, Riverboat, Tate, The Twilight Zone, Sea Hunt, Lawman, Stoney Burke, Rawhide, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, The Dakotas, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Zane Grey Theater and The Outer Limits (episode "The Inheritors", 1964).

Death

He died at the age of 69 in Encino, California, from a heart attack. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1947The Lady from ShanghaiSidney Broome
1948The Naked CityWillie Garzah
1949The Life of RileyNorman
Neptune's DaughterLukie Luzette
It Happens Every SpringManager Jimmy Dolan
Mr. Soft TouchRainey
1950The OutridersBye
Cargo to CapetownRhys
Three SecretsDel Prince
1951The EnforcerJoe Rico
Vengeance ValleyHerb Backett
A Place In The SunJudge R.S. Oldendorff
Inside the Walls of Folsom PrisonWarden Ben Rickey
New MexicoAcoma - Indian Chief
Crazy Over HorsesDuke
1952Captain PirateCapt. Easterling
The SavageIron Breast
The Turning PointHarrigan
1953Man in the DarkLefty
Ride, Vaquero!Sheriff Parker
Hot NewsDino Rizzo
Crime Wave'Doc' Penny
195420,000 Leagues Under the SeaCapt. Farragut
1955The Big ComboRalph Bettini
Man with the Gun'Frenchy' Lescaux
KismetPolice Sub-altern
1956The ConquerorKumlek
Slightly ScarletSolly Caspar
The Steel JungleSteve Marlin
The Kettles in the OzarksProfessor
MohawkIndian Chief Kowanen
The KillingPatrolman Randy Kennan
Showdown at AbileneDan Claudius
Dance with Me, HenryBig Frank
1957Gunfight at the O.K. CorralShanghai Pierce
The Lawless EightiesGrat Bandas
The Midnight StoryLt. Kilrain
The Joker is WildGeorgie Parker
Gun Battle at MontereyMax Reno
Man on the ProwlDetective
Baby Face NelsonRocca
1958Handle with CareSam Lawrence
South Seas AdventureSupplemental NarrationVoice
Enchanted IslandCapt. Vangs
The BuccaneerCapt. Rumbo
1957-1958Official DetectiveEllis / Lt. Evans2 episodes
1959Inside the MafiaAugie Martello
1960Oklahoma TerritoryChief Buffalo Horn
Noose for a GunmanJack Cantrell
From the TerraceMr. Ralph W. Benziger
SpartacusLegionnaireUncredited
1962It's Only MoneyPatrolman
1964The Quick GunJud Spangler
Blood on the ArrowJud
1965The Money TrapPolice captainUncredited
1966Nevada SmithHudson (bartender)
1967The King's PirateCapt. McTigue
19685 Card StudEldon Bates
1970The Delta FactorAmes
1972The Outside ManVictor(final film role)

References

  1. Key, Pierre V.R. (ed.) (1933). Pierre Key's Radio Annual (PDF). Pierre Key Publishing Corporation. p. 218. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Harry Wismer Off On Sports Trek". Brownwood Bulletin. November 25, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved May 7, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Whistling Clown Sunday Mystery". Harrisburg Telegraph. March 2, 1940. p. 18. Retrieved May 7, 2015 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Grunwald, Edgar A. (1938). Variety Radio Directory. Variety, Inc. p. 1284.


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