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Wally Brown

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For the English educator, see Wally Brown (educator). For the college football player, see Wally Brown (American football).
Wally Brown
Wally Brown in 1948
Born
Wallace Edgar Brown

(1904-10-09)October 9, 1904
Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 13, 1961(1961-11-13) (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
OccupationActor/Comedian
Years active1930s–61
SpouseMildred Lane (his death)
Children2

Wallace Edgar Brown (October 8, 1904[1] – November 13, 1961) was an American actor and comedian. In the 1940s, he performed as the comic partner of Alan Carney.

Early years

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Wallace Edgar Brown was born in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Herbert[1] and Lillian (Garnier) Brown.[citation needed] His father was a compositor for the Malden Evening News. Brown left Malden High School during his junior year, but he later graduated from Malden Commercial Business School and took courses at Chicago University. Before his career in entertainment began, he worked at a drug-store soda fountain in Malden, was a second chef at a hotel in York Beach, Maine, and was a printer's devil at a print shop in Boston, among other jobs. He also performed locally with his father as an amateur.[1]

Early career

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Brown debuted professionally in Beacon Falls, Pennsylvania, with the Jimmy Evans Song Box Revue. In addition to entertaining, he handled baggage for the troupe. After that, he began performing with the Carson Sisters.[1] He performed in vaudeville for 15 years before his first appearance in film.[2]

Film

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Brown began his film career in 1942 in Hollywood at RKO Radio Pictures with the film Petticoat Larceny. When RKO decided to emulate the comedy team Abbott and Costello, he was paired with Alan Carney, creating "Brown & Carney."

The duo premiered with the military comedies Adventures of a Rookie and its sequel, Rookies in Burma. Of their eight films together, one of the most notable was Zombies on Broadway co-starring Bela Lugosi, a semisequel to Val Lewton's I Walked With a Zombie. Brown and Carney's contracts were terminated in 1946, after which they pursued solo careers. In the 1940s and 1950s, both appeared in various roles for Leslie Goodwins films. They reunited in Who Was That Lady? (1960) and in Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor (1960), but did not interact with each other.

Brown was later teamed with Tim Ryan in the Columbia Pictures short film French Fried Frolic in 1949. He was also teamed with Jack Kirkwood in four RKO Pictures short films in 1950 and 1951.

Along with Alan Carney, Brown was to be given a role in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), but died not long before filming began.[citation needed]

Television and radio

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On television, Brown portrayed Jed Fame on Cimarron City[3] and Chauncey Kowalski on The Roaring 20's.[3]: 899 

In 1953, Brown had billing over an unknown Paul Newman in the fourth-season premiere episode of The Web, titled "One for the Road".[citation needed]

He made several guest appearances on Perry Mason, including in the role of murderer Harry Mitchell in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Gilded Lily". Brown had also been a regular cast member in television shows such as I Married Joan and Daniel Boone. Brown's last years were filled with guest appearances in television, his last one in My Three Sons.

On radio, Brown was a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show.[4]

Personal life and death

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Brown was married to dancer Mildred Lane, and they had a son and a daughter.[1] On November 13, 1961, he died of a throat hemorrhage in Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, aged 57.[2]

Filmography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Adams, Marjory (June 9, 1944). "Malden Film Actor Member of Newest Comedy Team". The Boston Globe. p. 9. Retrieved January 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Wally Brown, 57, Screen Comedian". The New York Times. November 15, 1961. p. 43wpp. ProQuest 115268477. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  4. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.

Further reading

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  • Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
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