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John Brown

Acting Born Apr 4, 1904 Hull, Yorkshire, England, UK 20 credits

Biography

Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley,[2] played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.

Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.

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Known for

I Love Lucy

as Mr. Murdoch

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

as Harry Morton
Film

Strangers on a Train

as Prof. Collins

Full filmography

  • I Love Lucy (1951) as Mr. Murdoch
  • The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950) as Harry Morton
  • Strangers on a Train (1951) as Prof. Collins
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) as George Barley, boarder
  • Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
  • The Life of Riley (1949) as Digger O'Dell
  • The Wild One (1953) as Bill Hannegan
  • The Stranger (1946) as Passport Photographer (uncredited)
  • Hans Christian Andersen (1952) as Schoolmaster
  • The Bigamist (1953)
  • Robot Monster (1953) as Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)
  • Jennifer (1953) as Service Station Attendant (uncredited)
  • The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) as Lou the waiter (uncredited)
  • The Life of Riley (1949) as Digger O'Dell
  • A Peach of a Pair (1934) as John
  • Crazylegs (1953) as Keller
  • Man Crazy (1953) as Mr. Duncan
  • Symphony in Slang (1951) as The Hipster / Noah Webster (voice) (uncredited)
  • Dixieland Droopy (1954) as Narrator / Pee Wee Runt (voice) (uncredited)
  • Heritage as Narrator