Whit Bissell
(1909 - 1996)No actor ever had a more impressive list of film credits than the prolific actor Whit Bissell. Born Whitner Nutting Bissell in New York City on October 25, 1909, the second of five children, to Dr. James Dougal Bissell, a very prominent surgeon, and his wife Helen Nutting Bissell. He grew up in New York city and attended private all-boys schools there. At 14 he was sent to a boarding school in Connecticut and later attended the University of North Carolina where he majored in English and Drama. Just before graduating he applied for Eva Le Gallienne's apprentice student group in New York at the Civic Repertoire Company and was enrolled. He also attended The National Theatre Company. This training led to his Broadway debut and by the time he entered films, in the 1940s, he had racked up quite a list of Broadway credentials. His most recognizable long, stone face, silver hair and very mellow voice were perfect for film and he made a career of playing businessmen, military types, historical figures and other professional types. He could play either hero or villain and did so with gusto. Note the number of film classics in his filmography: "Destination Tokyo" (1943) in an uncredited role as Yo-Yo, his film debut; "Cluny Brown" (1946) uncredited, as Archie; "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog" (1946) as Chester Frye; "Brute Force" (1947) with Burt Lancaster; as Tom Lister, a very affective role; "The Senator Was Indiscreet" (1947) as Robert Oakes; "A Double Life" (1947) as Dr. Roland F. Stauffer; "Another Part of the Forest" (1948) as Jugger; "Raw Deal" (1948) as Murderer; "Canon City" (1948) as Richard Heilman; "That Lady in Ermine" (1948) as Giulio; "He Walked by Night" (1948) as Paul Reeves; "Chicken Every Sunday" (1948) as Mr. Robinson; "The Crime Doctor's Diary" (1949) as Pete Bellem; "Anna Lucasta" (1949) as Stanley; "Side Street" (1950) as Harold Simpson; "Wyoming Mail" (1950) as Sam Wallace; "The Killer That Stalked New York" (1950) as Sid Bennett; "Convicted" (1950) as Owens; "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951) uncredited, as Wounded Officer; "Tales of Robin Hood" (1951) as Will Stutely; "The Great Missouri Raid" (1951) as Bob Ford; "Lost Continent" (1951) as Stanley Briggs; "Red Mountain" (1951) as Miles; "Boots Malone" (1951) as Lou Dyer; The Family Secret" (1951) as Joe Elsnore; "The Turning Point" (1952) as Buck; "The Sellout" (1952) as Wilfred Jackson; "Devil's Canyon" (1953) as Virgil Gates; "It Should Happen to You" (1954) as Robert Grau; "Riot in Cell Block 11" (1954) as Snader; "The Caine Mutiny" (1954) uncredited, as Lt. Commander Dickinson; "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954) as Edward Thompson; "The Shanghai Story" (1954) as Paul Grant; "Target Earth" (1954) as Chief Research Scientist; "The Atomic Kid" (1954) as Dr. Edgar Pangborn; "Three Hours to Kill" (1954) as Deke; "The Naked Street" (1955) as D.A. Blaker; "Not as a Stranger" (1955) as Dr. Dietrich; "The Desperate Hours" (1955) as Carson; "Trial" (1955) as Sam Wiltse; At Gunpoint" (1955) as Clem Clark; "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) as Dr. Hill; "The Proud Ones" (1956) as Mr. Sam Bolton; "Dakota Incident" (1956) as Mark Chester; "The Man from Del Rio" (1956) as Breezy Morgan; "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957) as John P. Clum; Disney's "Johnny Tremain" (1957) as Josiah Quincy; "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957) with Michael Landon, as Dr. Alfred Brandon, a mad scientist in a villainous turn; "The Wayward Girl" (1957) as Ira Molson; "The Tall Stranger" (1957) as Judson; "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" (1957) as Prof. Frankenstein; "The Defiant Ones" (1958) as Lou Gans; "The Black Orchid" (1958) as Mr. Harmon; "Monster on Campus" (1958) as Dr. Oliver Cole; "Gang War" (1958) as Mark; "Warlock" (1959) as Petrix; Never So Few" (1959) as Capt. Alofson; "The Time Machine" (1960) as Walter Kemp; "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) as Chamlee; "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) as Medical Officer; "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962) as Dr. Ellis; "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" (1962) as Ludstrum; "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) uncredited, as Medical Officer; "Third of a Man" (1962) as Maxwell; "Spencer's Mountain" (1963) as Dr. Campbell; "Hud" (1963) as Burris; "Seven Days in May" (1964) as Sen. Frederick Prentice; "Advance to the Rear" (1964) as Capt. Queeg; "Where Love Has Gone" (1964) as Prof. Bell; "The Hallelujah Trail" (1965) as Hobbs; "Five Card Stud" (1968) as Dr. Cooper; "Once You Kiss a Stranger" (1969) as Dr. Haggis; "Airport" (1970) as Mr. Davidson; "The Salzburg Connection" (1972) as Newhart; "Pete 'n' Tillie" (1972) as Minister; "Soylent Green" (1973) as Santini; "Psychic Killer" (1975) as Dr. Taylor; "The Lincoln Conspiracy" (1977) as Sen. John Conness and "Casey's Shadow" (1978) as Dr. Williamson, his final film. He was just as prolific on TV appearing as a regular on "Bachelor Father" as Bert Loomis (1959-61) and "Time Tunnel" (1966) as Gen. Heywood Kirk; "Ike" (1979) a mini-series, as an Admiral and guest starring on scores of shows including: "Star Trek"; "Cannon"; "Hogan's Heroes" and "It Takes a Thief." He was a member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild for 18 years and represented the actor's branch in AMPAS, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He and his wife Adrienne Marden, also an actor, had two daughters: Kathy, Victoria. His marriage to pre-school teacher, Shan Jukes, produced another daughter, Amanda. His last marriage was to British actress Jennifer Raines, 23 years his junior and the step-daughter of actor Alan Napier (Alfred the butler on the "Batman" TV series). He remained married to her until her death at age 60 in 1993. Her son and his stepson was actor Brian Forster who played Chris Partridge on "The Partridge Family" from 1971-74. Whit Bissell died on March 5, 1996 in Woodland Hills, California, at the Motion Picture County Home, of Parkinson's disease at age 86.
From Great Character Actors, Page 2.
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