Kenneth MacDonald (American actor)

For the English actor, see Kenneth MacDonald (English actor).

Kenneth MacDonald (born Kenneth Dollins; September 8, 1901 – May 5, 1972)^[2] was an American film actor. Born in Portland, Indiana, MacDonald made more than 220 film and television appearances between 1931 and 1972. His name is sometimes seen as Kenneth McDonald;^[3] his later roles sometimes credited him as Kenneth R. MacDonald.

Kenneth MacDonald
MacDonald in The Phantom (1943)
Born	Kenneth Dollins (1901-09-08)September 8, 1901 Portland, Indiana, U.S.
Died	May 5, 1972(1972-05-05) (aged 70) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Years active	1931–1972
Spouse	LaMee Nave MacDonald (1930–1972) (his death) (3 children)[1]

Career

MacDonald began his career as a stage actor. In 1923 he appeared in his first feature film, Slow as Lightning.^[3] He came to Hollywood in the early 1930s, where he played small roles in low-budget, independent productions.

In 1939 Kenneth MacDonald was signed by Columbia Pictures for the studio's Charles Starrett westerns. MacDonald perfected a cool, debonair demeanor, which usually masked an evil side as a con man, outlaw, or thief. His speaking voice was rich and well modulated, often being gentle and ominous at the same time, in the Boris Karloff manner. Also, like Karloff, he seldom raised his voice, making his characters both dominant and dangerous. This quality made MacDonald an effective villain in Columbia's adventure serials like Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom, and Black Arrow. He was also adept at playing sympathetic roles, usually as calm authority figures (police official, prison psychiatrist, judge, etc.).

Actors in Columbia's stock company almost always worked in the studio's two-reel comedy shorts as well as features and serials, but Kenneth MacDonald did not join the short-subject fraternity until 1945, when he appeared opposite comedy stars Gus Schilling and Richard Lane. He is probably best known today for his work with The Three Stooges.

MacDonald developed a flair for comedy, and he made memorable appearances in comedy shorts starring The Three Stooges including Monkey Businessmen, Hold That Lion!, Crime on Their Hands, Punchy Cowpunchers, and Loose Loot. Beginning in 1953, the comedy in the Columbia shorts became even more physical under producer-director Jules White, and MacDonald obligingly got plastered with pies, fruit, and other missiles. He also returned to Columbia's serial unit, which was then filming low-budget remakes of his older serials using much of the original footage; MacDonald appeared in new scenes to match his old ones. He left the Columbia shorts department in 1955, but still appeared occasionally in feature films; he played a member of the court martial board in The Caine Mutiny (1954), and had a bit role as Jerry Lewis's father in The Ladies' Man (1961).

Television

MacDonald began working in television in 1949, in The Lone Ranger (episode eight; he would return to the series in episode 173, 1955). From 1951 to 1953 MacDonald was a frequent guest star, mostly as a sheriff, in the syndicated television series, The Range Rider, with Jock Mahoney and Dick Jones. He appeared six times as Colonel Parker in the ABC western series Colt .45. In 1960 MacDonald appeared as Duggan on the TV western Laramie in the episode titled "Duel at Parkinson Town.".^[4] He also appeared in a number of episodes of the TV western Bat Masterson with Gene Barry (MacDonald appeared with Dyan Cannon in "The Price of Paradise" in 1961.)

MacDonald's most prolific work in television was in 32 episodes of CBS's Perry Mason. He played the recurring role of a judge (sometimes named Carter, sometimes named Hartley, other times unnamed) between 1957 and 1966.

Death

MacDonald died of brain and lung cancer at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California^[5] at the age of 70.^[6] He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.^[2]

Partial filmography

• The Last Mile (1932)
• Cocktail Hour (1933)
• Two-Fisted Rangers (1939)
• The Taming of the West (1939)
• The Durango Kid (1940)
• The Wildcat of Tucson (1940)^[7]
• Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)
• Stand By All Networks (1942)
• The Phantom (1943)
• West of the Rio Grande (1944)
• Cornered (1945) as Incza's henchman (uncredited)
• Back to Bataan (1945) Maj. McKinley (uncredited)
• Crossfire (1947) as Major (uncredited)
• Dark Passage (1947) as Humphrey Bogart character before facial surgery (uncredited)
• Frontier Agent (1948)
• Return of the Bad Men (1948)
• Train to Alcatraz (1948)
• The Caine Mutiny (1954) as a Court-Martial Board Member (uncredited)
• The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) uncredited
• 40 Guns to Apache Pass (1966) Harry Malone
• Fantastic Voyage (1966) Henry - heart monitoring

Three Stooges Short subjects

• Monkey Businessmen (1946)
• Hold That Lion! (1947)
• Shivering Sherlocks (1948)
• Crime on Their Hands (1948)
• Vagabond Loafers (1949)
• Punchy Cowpunchers (1950)
• Studio Stoops (1950)
• Hula-La-La (1951)
• Three Dark Horses (1952)
• Booty and the Beast (1953)
• Loose Loot (1953)
• Of Cash and Hash (1955)
• Hot Ice (1955)
• Blunder Boys (1955)
• Scheming Schemers (1956)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949-1955	The Lone Ranger	Deputy Zack/Sheriff Mason	4 episodes
1954-1955	The Cisco Kid	Marshal/Frank Guthrie	5 episodes
1954	Captain Midnight	John Sawyer	S1.E5, "Death Below Zero"
1955	Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe	Dispersal Station Superintendent	3 episodes
1955	The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin	Agent	S1.E24, "The Guilty One"
1956	Crossroads	Doctor Edwards	S2.E2, "Circus Priest"
1956	My Friend Flicka	Brady	S1.E36, "The Foundlings"
1956	Steve Donovan, Western Marshal	Chief Marshal	S1.E23, "Stone River"
1956	Broken Arrow	Lowrie	3 episodes
1956-1958	Navy Log	Admiral/Captain	3 episodes
1956-1960	Cheyenne	Indian Agent Clum/Sheriff Gaffey	3 episodes
1957	The Gray Ghost	Judge Advocate	S1.E7, "The Brothers"
1957	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Jury Foreman	S1.E23, "There Were Four"
1957-1958	Colt .45	Col. Parker	5 episodes
1957-1966	Perry Mason	Judge Carter/Hartley	32 episodes
1958	Wanted Dead or Alive	Sheriff	S1.E17, "Drop to Drink"
1958-1961	Sugarfoot	Sheriff/Mayor/Mr. Smith	4 episodes
1958-1961	Bronco	Sheriff/Sheriff Elliot	3 episodes
1959	The Restless Gun	Russ Cantrell	S2.E29, "One on the House"
1959	Maverick	Sheriff	S3.E15, "A Cure for Johnny Rain"
1959	The Rough Riders	Oliver Wentworth	S1.E17, "Wilderness Trace"
1959	Frontier Doctor	Sheriff Quinn	S1.E29, "Danger Valley"
1959	The Texan	Ed Grover	S1.E23, "The Marshal of Yellow Jacket"
1959-1961	Bat Masterson	Sam Jansen/Tack Colby	2 episodes
1959-1961	The Deputy	Sheriff/Charlie	2 episodes
1959-1961	Rawhide	Townsman/Morgan Shaw/Bartender	3 episodes
1959-1960	Laramie	Captain Reeves/Zeke/Duggan	4 episodes
1960	Checkmate	Elmer	S1.E1, "Death Runs Wild"
1960	Bonanza	Sheriff	S1.E18, "A House Divided"
1960	The Man from Blackhawk	Jess	S1.E27, "The Search for Cope Borden"
1960-1962	Wagon Train	General Collins/Wagon Train Member	2 episodes
1961	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Howard Stacey	S6.E20, "Casey and the Clowns"
1961	Gunslinger	Sheriff Ed Harkness	S1.E12, "New Savannah"
1961	Angel	Mr. Nicks	S1.E15, "Happy Marriage"
1962	Going My Way	Captain	S1.E12, "A Dog for Father Fitz"
1962	Surfside 6	Major Croton	S2.E24, "The Green Beret"
1962	Ripcord	Dr. Page	S1.E19, "Double Drop"
1962	Frontier Circus	Canfield	S1.E22, "The Good Fight"
1963	Wide Country	Doctor (uncredited)	S1.E18, "Speckle Bird"
1963-1964	The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters	Army Captain/Miner	2 episodes
1963-1964	Temple Houston	Jury Foreman/Election Officer	2 episodes
1964	Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	Surgeon	S1.E13, "The Blizzard Makers"
1964	77 Sunset Strip	Police Chief (uncredited)	S6.E15, "Lovers' Lane"
1964	Valentine's Day	Principal Melvin R. Roberts	S1.E8, "The Old School Tie"
1965	Daniel Boone	Hamer	2 episodes
1966	This Is the Life	unknown	S6.E33, "Man Adrift"
1969	Then Came Bronson	The Banker	S1.E7, "The 3:13 Arrives at Noon"
1969	Judd, for the Defense	Judge Waylan	S2.E24, "Visitation"
1972	The F.B.I.	Davis	S7.E22, "The Test"