Men Of Character Character Actors
Harry Townes
Heaven With A Gun/ Gus Sampson
The Hawaiians/ Houghton
Strategy Of Terror/ Richard
Boris Karloff's Thriller (TV) Episode - Dark Legacy/ Mario
Harry Townes was a prolific American character in both films and television, but his main work was done in the television genre.
He was born Harry Rhett Townes at Huntsville, AL in 1914.
Townes was a graduate of the University Of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He developed his acting skills by participation with the university drama club.
Prior to World War Two, Mr. Townes performed in several New York and Broadway stage productions as well as in summer stock.
He left the stage to enlist in the U. S. Army Air Corps during the war. After being discharged in 1946 he returned to the stage and then left to perform in Hollywood.
Though he made several films, he was basically a television actor and was a very familiar face on in that medium during the 1950's and 1960's.
The film roles of Harry Townes were:
Operation Manhunt (1954) as Igor Gouzenko
The Mountain (1956) as Joseph
The Brothers Karamazov (1958) as Ippoli Kirilov
Screaming Mimi (1958) as Dr. Greenwood/ Bill Green
Cry Tough (1959) as Carlos Mendoza
The Great Impostor (1961) as Ben Stone
Sanctuary (1961) as Iva Bobbitt
The Fugitive (1963-TV) as Sgt. Burden
Fitzwily (1967) as Mr. Nowell
Elizabeth The Queen (1968-TV) as Sir. Robert Cecil
In Enemy Country (1968) as General Marchois
Strategy Of Terror (1969) as Richard
Heaven With A Gun (1969) as Gus Sampson
The Andersonville Trial (1970-TV) as Colonel Chandler
The Hawaiians (1970) as Houghton
They Call It Murder (1971-TV) as Dr. Garrett
Santee (1973) as Sheriff Carter
The First Woman President (1974-TV) as Albert Fall
Planet Of The Apes (1974-TV Miniseries) as Dr. Malthus
The Specialists (1975-TV) as Dr. Burkhart
The Immigrants (1978-TV) as Clancy
Backstairs At The White House (1979-TV Miniseries) as Judge Jesse Smith
The Last Ride Of The Dalton Gang (1979-TV) as Reverend Johnson
Condominium (1980-TV) as David Dow
Angel Of H.E.A.T. (1983) as Pete Shockley
The Warrior And The Sorceress !984) as Bludge The Prelate
The Check Is In The Mail......(1986) as Fred Steinkraus
As stated before Mr. Townes was very active on television appearing in such programs as Martin Kane, Robert Montgomery Presents, Tales Of Tomorrow, Lux Video Theater, Mr. Peepers, Colonel Humphrey Flack, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Suspense, The Man Behind The Badge, Inner Sanctum, Ponds Theater, Navy Log, Matinee Theater, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Father Knows Best, Have Gun Will Travel, Kraft Theater, Climax!, Steve Canyon, Studio One In Hollywood, Whirlybirds, Zane Grey Theater, The Millionaire, Playhouse 90, Troubleshooters, The Rebel, Death Valley Days, Laramie, The Detectives, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond, Stagecoach West, Ripcord, The Islanders, The Law And Mr. Jones, Make Room For Daddy, The Twilight Zone, The Loretta Young Show, Boris Karloff's Thriller, The Defenders, Alcoa Premiere, Target The Corruptors, Outlaws, Route 66, The Tall Man, Armstrong Circle Theater, The Fugitive, The Dupont Show Of The Week, The Dakotas, The Farmer's Daughter, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, Rawhide, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Mr. Novak, The Virginian, 12 O'Clock High, The FBI, Branded, Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, The Wild Wild West, Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color, Star Trek, The Invaders, Tarzan, The Big Valley, Mod Squad, Judd For The Defense, Bonanza, Insight, Marcus Welby MD, That Girl, Gunsmoke, O'Hara U S Treasury, Night Gallery, Mannix, Kung Fu, Emergency, Ironside, Cannon, Phyllis, Lou Grant, Charlie's Angels, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, Falcon Crest, Quincy ME, Voyagers, Magnum PI, Scarecrow And Mrs. King and Simon & Simon among many others.
Townes appeared as a guest five times on the Perry Mason series, three times on Bonanza, five times on The Fugitive and seven times on Gunsmoke.
He gained a cult following for a guest shot on a two part episode of The Incredible Hulk entitled The First whereby he played the part of Dell Fry, a man who has the ability to transform into a Hulk-like creature. This episode is one of the most popular episodes from this series due to Townes performance.
In 1974 towards the end of his career, Mr. Townes was ordained as an Episcopal priest in St. Paul's Cathedral in March, 1974. He served at St Mary Of The Angels Church in Hollywood.
He retired completely from acting in 1989 and returned to his hometown of Huntsville, AL where he remained the rest of his life.
Harry Townes passed away in 2001 at age 86.
I always liked a performance by Mr. Townes. I enjoyed him in the films Heaven With A Gun, The Brothers Karamazov, The Andersonville Trial, Operation Manhunt, Planet Of The Apes TV Miniseries and the Hawaiians.
I also enjoyed him in two episodes from the Boris Karloff Thriller series namely: The Cheaters as Sebastian Grimm and Dark Legacy as Mario Asperos.
Louie The Movie Buff