Royal Dano
(1922 - 1994)He often was cast as Abraham Lincoln in films and on television and many came to believe that Lincoln must have sounded exactly like Dano. Tall, dark, lanky and gaunt-looking with squinty, but piercing, eyes, high cheekbones and a smoky, mellow sounding voice, he was sometimes cast in sinister roles and often in Westerns. He was born on November 16, 1922 in New York City and raised there. He ran away from home at age 12 to Florida, Texas and California. After a pact he made with his father to continue his education he was allowed to travel. He was later educated at New York University and began his acting career on the stage and eventually on Broadway in productions such as "Finian's Rainbow" in the 1940s. He made his film debut in 1950 in "Undercover Girl". Among his other film roles were: John Huston's "Red Badge of Courage" (1951) probably his best known role, as the Tattered Soldier; "Flame of Araby" (1951) as Basra; "Bend of the River" (1952) as Long Tom; "Johnny Guitar" (1954) as Corey; "The Far Country" (1954) as Luke; Hitchcock's "The Trouble with Harry" (1955) as Calvin Wiggs; "Tribute to a Badman" (1956) as Abe; "Moby Dick" (1956) with Gregory Peck, as Elijah; "All Mine to Give" (1957) as Howard Tyler; "King of Kings" (1961) as Peter; "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao" (1964) as Carey; "Welcome to Hard Times" (1967) as John Bear; "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid" (1972) as Gustavson, my favorite of his film roles; "The Culpepper Cattle Company" (1972) as a Cattle Rustler; "Cahill: United States Marshal" (1973) with John Wayne, as MacDonald; "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976) with Clint Eastwood, as Ten Spot; "The Right Stuff" (1983) as Minister; "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1983) as Tom Fury, one of his better known roles; "Hammett" (1983) as Pops; "Teachers" (1984) as Ditto; "Ghoulies II" (1987) as Uncle Ned; "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" (1988) a strange but engrossing film, as Farmer Gene Green and "The Dark Half" (1993) as Digger Holt, his last film. He was quite prolific on TV in the mini-series "How the West Was Won" (1977) as Elam Hanks and his voice was used as Marley's Ghost in "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" (1962). He appeared in many TV movies including: "Huckleberry Finn" (1974) as Mark Twain; "The Crash of Flight 401" (1978); "L.B.J.: The Early Years" (1987) with Randy Quaid and "Once Upon a Texas Train" (1988). He also guest starred on numerous TV series including: "Rawhide"; "Gunsmoke"; Twilight Zone"; "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"; "The Rifleman"; "Wagon Train"; "The Big Valley"; "Little House on the Prairie" and "CHiPs." Besides portraying Lincoln on stage, films and TV he also did the voice of Lincoln for the audio-animatronic figures at Disneyland and Disneyworld. He died in Los Angeles, California on May 15, 1994 of a heart attack at age 71.
From Great Character Actors, Page 4.
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