| Jeff Corey | |
|---|---|
 eff Corey made a guest appearance as a man claiming to be Santa Claus in Season 1. | |
| General Actor Information | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth name: | Arthur Zwerling |
| Born: | August 10, 1914 |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 16, 2002 (aged 88) |
| Occupation/ Career: |
Actor, Voice Artist |
| Years active: | 1938-2002, his death |
| Appearances/Series information | |
| Appeared on: | Night Court |
| Episode(s) appeared in: |
"Santa Goes Downtown" (Season 1) |
| Appears as: | Santa Claus |
Jeff Corey (August 10, 1914 - August 16, 2002) appeared as Santa Claus, a man who was brought into court claming to be, in the Season 1 episode of Night Court titled "Santa Goes Downtown", the show's second episode. Among his more notable roles, he played the role of Caspay in the 1970 Planet of the Apes film sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Corey received a citation for outstanding achievement in combat photography for shooting a photo sequence of a kamikaze attack on the U.S.S. Yorktown while in the Navy during World War II. However, as a result of the investigations of the 'House of Un-American Activities Committee' in the early 1950s, he was blacklisted and could not appear in Hollywood movies or on television. Among others blacklisted and denied work for many years were future fellow Apes film series actors Kim Hunter, John Ireland, John Randolph and Victor Kilian, and screenwriters Michael Wilson an Howard Dimsdale.
Corey, who had attended Communist Party meetings in the 1930s but had not joined the party, turned his garage into a stage and started giving acting classes until the blacklist was lifted. His students included James Dean, Rita Moreno, Richard Chamberlain, Dean Stockwell, Robert Blake, Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda, James Coburn, Barbara Striesand, Robin Williams and Jack Nicholson. [1]
n 1962, Corey began working in films again, and remained active into the 1990s. He played Hoban in The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and Tom Chaney the principal villain in True Grit (1969) and was sheriff Bledsoe in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (also 1969).
He also played a police detective in the psychological thriller The Premonition (1976) and he reprised the role of sheriff Bledsoe in the prequel Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. (1979). He also played Wild Bill Hickok in Little Big Man (1970).
Jeff made many guest TV show appearances, particularly from the 1960's into the late 1980's which included Star Trek:TOS, Night Gallery (for which he received an Emmy Award nomination), Barney Miller, Knots Landing, Little House on the Prairie, The A-Team, Newhart and Roseanne, to name a few.
Corey died on August 16, 2002 from complications from a fall at the age of 88.
External Links[]
- Jeff Corey article at Wikipedia
- Jeff Corey at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB
- Jeff Corey obituary in 'Simian Scrolls #6' at Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive
