Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897 – November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television.
Early life
Born in 1897 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Russell Collins was the middle child of Emma (née Hughes) and Martin F. Collins’ five children. He had a younger brother and sister, Raymond and Maxina, as well as an older brother and sister, Oren and Irene. By 1910, Russell’s father had become disabled and jobless, so his mother supported him and the rest of the family by working as a seamstress from their home. Emma’s responsibilities for the family were so predominant, in fact, that she is identified in the 1910 United States Census as “Head” of the Collins’ household.
As a student in the Drama School at Carnegie Tech, Collins “first learned his trade in the days immediately following World War I.” He also attended Indiana University and Northwestern University.
Career
Collins had roles in a few early Group Theatre productions with Success Story being his Broadway debut. Probably his most noted Broadway role was as the star of the 1935 musical play Johnny Johnson. He enjoyed a long career on Broadway, although by the late 1940s, he began to perform increasingly in Hollywood films and on television, where he appeared in teleplay dramas, as well as on Westerns, sitcoms, and on an array of other weekly series. He remained in high demand as a character actor and worked on television to shortly before his death. His 1957 appearance in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode “The Night the World Ended” was a typical TV role.
He played Doc in the 1950 London production of Mr. Roberts at the Coliseum Theatre with Tyrone Power as Mr. Roberts and Jackie Cooper as Ensign Pulver.
Death
He died of a heart attack on November 14, 1965, in West Hollywood, California. His gravesite is located in the Elsinore Valley Cemetery at Lake Elsinore, California.
Selected Broadway roles
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Seeds of Freedom | ||
| 1948 | Close-Up | Beck | |
| 1949 | Shockproof | Frederick Bauer | |
| 1949 | The Walking Hills | Bibbs | |
| 1950 | The Sleeping City | Medical Examiner | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Niagara | Mr. Qua | |
| 1953 | Destination Gobi | Lt. Cmdr. Hobart Wyatt | |
| 1953 | Monte Carlo Baby | Max | |
| 1953 | Miss Sadie Thompson | Dr. Robert MacPhail | |
| 1955 | Bad Day at Black Rock | Mr. Hastings | |
| 1955 | Canyon Crossroads | Dr. Andrew Rand | |
| 1955 | Soldier of Fortune | Icky | |
| 1955 | The Last Frontier | Captain Phil Clarke | |
| 1957 | Raintree County | Niles Foster | |
| 1957 | The Enemy Below | Doctor | |
| 1958 | The Matchmaker | Joe Scanlon | |
| 1958 | God’s Little Acre | watchman | |
| 1959 | The Rabbit Trap | Hughie Colt | |
| 1964 | Fail-Safe | Gordon Knapp | |
| 1965 | Those Calloways | Nat Perkins | |
| 1965 | When the Boys Meet the Girls | Mr. Stokes |
