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Alex Nicol is a Actor and Director American born on 20 january 1916 at Ossining (village) (USA)

Alex Nicol

Alex Nicol
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Birth name Alexander L. Nicol Jr.
Nationality USA
Birth 20 january 1916 at Ossining (village) (USA)
Death 29 july 2001 (at 85 years) at Montecito (USA)

Alex Nicol (January 20, 1916 — July 29, 2001) was an American actor and film director. Nicol appeared in many Westerns including The Man from Laramie (1955). He appeared in over forty feature films as well as directing many television shows including The Wild Wild West (1967), Tarzan (1966), and Daniel Boone (1966). He also played many roles on Broadway.

Biography

He was born Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr., in Ossining, New York, in 1916. When his movie career started thirty-four years later he adjusted the year to 1919. "I was a little older than some of the other people under contract so I thought, 'Well, I'll cure that right now'," he later confessed. His father was the arms keeper at Sing Sing. He studied at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art before joining Maurice Evans' theatrical company, with whom he made his Broadway debut with a walk-on in Henry IV, Part 1 (1939). Later a member of The Actors Studio, Nicol would play Brick in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, under the direction of Studio co-founder Elia Kazan.

However, it was as a character actor that Nicol spent most of his career. He also directed films, and appeared frequently on television. His acting career was interrupted by a five-year stint in the army. He served with the 101st Cavalry and attained the rank of Technical Sergeant.

Upon discharge, Nicol returned to Broadway in a revival of Clifford Odets' pro-union drama Waiting for Lefty (1946). Shortly thereafter, he was admitted to The Actors Studio, where he worked with Elia Kazan; this led to a role in the Studio's 1948 production of Sundown Beach, staged by Kazan. Nicol next appeared in Forward the Heart, and then as part of the original cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific (1949), playing one of the marines, but after a few weeks in the show he successfully auditioned to replace Ralph Meeker as Mannion in Mister Roberts, and was also made understudy to the play's star Henry Fonda.


"But I never made it! He never missed a performance! And Henry's wife at the time died during the run of Mr. Roberts, but he still didn't miss the performance the night she died. He didn't show up, and the stage manager finally said to me, 'Okay, Alex, get dressed'. So I had the outfit on, and then the stage manager looked at his watch and said, 'All right, two more minutes, and we go up'. And we were one minute away from curtain time, and Fonda walked in, in costume, and he just walked right out, hit his mark, and he played the performance as though nothing had happened."
While acting in Mister Roberts, Nicol was seen by the Universal Studios director George Sherman, who was in New York City to film The Sleeping City (1950). He cast Nicol as a young doctor. Nicol was given a contract by Universal, and Sherman also directed his second film, Tomahawk (1951), in which he played a cavalry officer with a hatred of Indians.

Small roles as a prisoner of war in Target Unknown (1951) and a trainee pilot in Air Cadet (1951) preceded Nicol's first major part, co-starring with Frank Sinatra and Shelley Winters in the musical drama Meet Danny Wilson (1952). In his next film he was an antagonist again, causing Loretta Young to be wrongly sent to prison in Because of You (1952). He played a troublesome sergeant in Red Ball Express (1952), directed by Budd Boetticher.

Nicol's first lead role was opposite Maureen O'Hara in The Redhead from Wyoming (1953) directed by Lee Sholem.


"Roll 'Em Sholem" they used to call him. All he would say before every scene was "Roll 'Em!" And then when you got to the end of the scene he'd say "Cut!" and then he'd look at the script clerk and say, "Did they say all the words?", and if so that was it. When the picture was over I went to the front office at Universal and asked to be released from my contract. They thought I was crazy. But I thought, "If this is my big break, then I'm not going very far."
Going freelance, Nicol was directed by Daniel Mann in About Mrs. Leslie (1953) starring Shirley Booth and Robert Ryan. Nicol returned to Universal (at a much larger salary than he had been getting as a contract player) to appear in two George Sherman films, The Lone Hand (1953) and Dawn at Socorro (1954). Nicol then made three films in England, most notably Ken Hughes' The House Across the Lake (1954).


"It was a great script, and Sidney James, a wonderful actor, was in it, along with Hillary Brooke. Eventually I got back to the United States and I was glad to come back. Those British pictures kept me working, but they were really fast, really cheaply budgeted."
Anthony Mann directed Nicol in his role as a navigator in Strategic Air Command (1955), and it was Mann who then gave the actor his best-remembered role as the weak psychopathic son of a patriarch rancher (Donald Crisp) that menaced Jimmy Stewart in The Man from Laramie (1955).

After a supporting role in Jacques Tourneur's Great Day in the Morning (1956) Nicol believed his Hollywood career was not progressing. In 1956 he returned to Broadway to replace Ben Gazzara in the lead role of Brick, in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. When the Broadway run ended Nicol starred in the tour.



Nicol starred with Shelley Winters in the play Saturday Night Kid (1958). He then returned to Hollywood where he made his first film as a director, The Screaming Skull (1958), in which he also acted.


"I wasn't doing the kind of films as an actor that I wanted to do, so I thought, "Well, I'll try directing." We shot the picture in six weeks and it did very well, so I was happy with that."
Nicol traveled to Italy when director Martin Ritt gave him a role in Five Branded Women (1959). While there he was offered parts in other movies. He and his family remained in Europe for two years.


"We lived in Rome; God, it was beautiful. We did a lot of films very quickly, with backing from Italian and Yugoslavian finance sources. It was one of the happiest times of my life."
One of his last assignments in Italy was another directorial credit, Then There Were Three, also known as Three Came Back, a World War II combat and spy actioner, which he also produced and was one of the co-stars, along with Frank Latimore. Returning to the United States in 1961, he played Paul Anka's father in the thriller Look in Any Window (1961), with subsequent acting roles including the The Twilight Zone episode "Young Man's Fancy" in 1962; two westerns, The Savage Guns (1962) and Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964); Roger Corman's Bloody Mama (1969), based on the life of Ma Barker, and the independently mede religious horror The Night God Screamed. Second-billed to star Jeanne Crain, he portrayed her husband, a small-time evangelist whose death at film's midpoint occurs through crucifixion by religious fanatics led by a charismatic guru styled upon Charles Manson, whose 1969 cult murders were still fresh in the public's mind during the film's production in 1971.

Nicol later worked as a director in television and did episodes of Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, and many episodes for Tarzan starring Ron Ely. The last film in which he acted was A*P*E (1976), an independent movie made by a friend of the actor. He retired in the late 1980s and died of natural causes in Montecito, California in 2001.

Alex Nicol was survived by his wife, Jean and his three children, Lisa Nicol, Alexander Nicol III, and Eric Nicol.

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Alex Nicol (34 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

A*P*E
A*P*E (1976)
, 1h27
Directed by Paul Leder
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Adventure, Horror
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Natural horror films, Films about apes, King Kong films, Giant monster films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère, Disaster films
Actors Joanna Kerns, Alex Nicol, Lee Nak-hoon, Jules Levey, Paul Leder
Roles Col. Davis
Rating27% 1.3683451.3683451.3683451.3683451.368345
A 36-foot-gorilla escapes from an oil tanker off the coast of Korea. After battling with a giant Great White Shark, the ape reaches land and destroys several buildings and attacking a giant Python (the snake's origins are never revealed) before finding and kidnapping an American actress named Marilyn (Joanna Kerns). The military eventually corners and kills the ape, prompting one observer to comment, "He was just too big for a small world like ours!"
Huckleberry Finn, 1h18
Directed by Robert Totten
Origin USA
Genres Adventure
Actors Ron Howard, Don Most, Royal Dano, Antonio Fargas, Jack Elam, Rance Howard
Roles Dr. Robinson
Rating55% 2.7688352.7688352.7688352.7688352.768835
The Night God Screamed, 1h25
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror, Crime
Themes Films about religion
Actors Jeanne Crain, Alex Nicol, Jack Donner, Barbra Hancock, James Sikking, Corinne Conley
Roles Willis Pierce
Rating58% 2.9040652.9040652.9040652.9040652.904065
In the seven-and-a-half-minute pre-credits sequence, a faceless hooded figure, dressed like a monk and carrying a six-foot cruciform staff, walks through a forest, stopping on a hill overlooking a lakeside baptismal ceremony conducted by a Christ-like figure (Michael Sugich) who starts making a speech/plea to God, expressing gratitude for being shown the light and receiving "a chance to be saved". He then thanks God for giving him the power and for making him "Your son". He tells God that all those present "were just a bunch of sinners", but "I saved them", because "I made them see that using dope was the way to turn on to you". Continuing, "we got trouble, Lord — the heat won't leave us alone — they want to bust us for being hooked on you", he then declaims that "they don't dig our kind of faith — they put us down cause we ain't one of them uptight establishment churches with one of them phony moneymaking ministers, lying and stealing…" He tells God and the assembled young followers that one among them was sent to "spy on us and try to bust us". He focuses on one of the girls and announces, "there's a chick that don't want to be baptized — she don't want to follow me" and finishes by pronouncing, "Oh, yes, Lord, in our happy flock, maybe we got us a Judas". When the girl (Andrea Darvi) gets up and tries to run, she is quickly caught and held, as the Christ-like figure, now revealed to be the leader of a Charles Manson-styled cult, calls for "The Atoner" who, appearing from the bushes, is the initially-seen silent hooded figure with the tall cross/staff. The cult leader, whom the girl addresses as "Billy Joe", forcibly "baptizes" her, with The Atoner holding her underwater, in front of all assembled, until she drowns.
Bloody Mama, 1h30
Directed by Roger Corman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Films about families, Gangster films
Actors Shelley Winters, Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Diane Varsi, Robert De Niro, Robert Walden
Roles George Barker
Rating56% 2.849812.849812.849812.849812.84981
Young Kate Barker (Lisa Jill) is brutalized by her father and older brothers, who rape her. Thirty-five years later, the middle-aged Kate 'Ma' Barker (Shelley Winters) now brutalizes innocent people herself, while indulging her monstrous sexual appetites. She lives by robbing banks with her four sons; the pragmatic Arthur (Clint Kimbrough), the sadistic Herman (Don Stroud), the bisexual Fred (Robert Walden), and the loyal, drug-addicted Lloyd (Robert De Niro). It all begins in the late 1920s when Ma leaves her husband, George, and her Arkansas home and embarks on her own with her four sons on a robbery-murder spree to make her own fortune, while keeping them under a tight leash.
Gunfighters of Casa Grande, 1h32
Directed by Roy Rowland
Genres Western
Actors Alex Nicol, Jorge Mistral, Aldo Sambrell, Roberto Rey, Diana Lorys, José Manuel Martín
Roles Joe Daylight
Rating46% 2.3433552.3433552.3433552.3433552.343355
Joe Daylight is on the run along with members of his outlaw gang, The Kid, Doc and Henri. After fleeing from a bank robbery, they manage to elude the posse chasing them after crossing into Mexico. The gang had agreed to meet up later to divide up the money, however Daylight instead tells them that he has used the money to buy a hacienda, the Casa Grande. Although several of them protest, the gang agrees to follow Daylight to the ranch. He also enlists a mystical Mexican gunfighter called ”Viajero” (Traveller) – who knows the neighbourhood and comes from a haciendero family (though few know this) – to help him fit into the role of a Mexican hacienda owner, a hidalgo.
A Matter of WHO
Directed by Don Chaffey
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Crime
Actors Terry-Thomas, Sonja Ziemann, Alex Nicol, Richard Briers, Honor Blackman, Carol White (actrice anglaise)
Roles Edward Kennedy
Rating61% 3.0960553.0960553.0960553.0960553.096055
responsables de la santé (Terry Thomas, Alex Nicol) lien une épidémie de variole en Europe pour le forage pétrolier au Moyen-Orient.
The Savage Guns, 1h23
Directed by Michael Carreras
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Romance, Western
Actors Richard Basehart, Don Taylor, Alex Nicol, José Manuel Martín, Fernando Rey, José Nieto
Roles Danny Pose
Rating49% 2.477452.477452.477452.477452.47745
The film takes place in a small valley in the Mexican state of Sonora, near the Arizona Territory, around 1870. Steve Fallon, a drifter and gun-for-hire, is severely exhausted when travelling through the barren landscape and is found by Mike Summers and his wife, Franchea. He is taken into their home and, while recovering, he learns that a local land baron, Ortega, is pressuring local ranchers to sell their land to him with the help of Danny Pose and his gang of outlaws. Fallon also develops feelings for Fanchea's sister, Juana.
Five Branded Women, 1h55
Directed by Martin Ritt, Bernard Vorhaus, Guido Guerrasio
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes Political films, Films about capital punishment
Actors Silvana Mangano, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jeanne Moreau, Vera Miles, Carla Gravina, Van Heflin
Roles Svenko
Rating65% 3.286683.286683.286683.286683.28668
Yugoslav partisans grimly crop the hair of a village quintet of women believed to have consorted with the occupational Nazis. Four, for various reasons, have indeed - and their seducer is a lone, swaggering sergeant whom the partisans briskly emasculate. Escorted out of town by the sheepish Nazis, the forlorn ladies link up, patriotically and romantically, with a band of tough mountain guerrillas.
Everybody Go Home!, 2h
Directed by Luigi Comencini
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Comedy
Themes Political films
Actors Alberto Sordi, Eduardo De Filippo, Serge Reggiani, Martin Balsam, Nino Castelnuovo, Claudio Gora
Roles Dan Al Toback
Rating76% 3.8341553.8341553.8341553.8341553.834155
Along the Venetian seaside, on the morning of September 8, 1943, Alberto Innocenzi, junior NCO of the Royal Italian Army is shocked when (in response to the separate surrender signed by the Badoglio government in Cassibile) the former allies of the Wehrmacht surround and take by storm the base where he's stationed. Innocenzi, along with some disbanded soldiers, manages to distance the German troops and is thoroughly shocked when, contrary to his plan of finding a higher echelon to which to report, most of the men accept the fact that the war is over for them and "everybody should just go home".
Under Ten Flags, 1h40
Directed by Carlo Lizzani, Duilio Coletti
Origin Italie
Genres War, Historical
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, La bataille de l'Atlantique, Political films
Actors Van Heflin, Charles Laughton, Mylène Demongeot, Folco Lulli, Gian Maria Volonté, Guido Celano
Roles Knoche / Captain Canard
Rating64% 3.233493.233493.233493.233493.23349
Loosely based on actual events during World War II, the film depicts real life German Captain Bernhard Rogge commanding the navy raider Atlantis, which from May 1940 to November 1941 sank 22 Allied merchant ships. The story alternates between scenes at the Admiralty and scenes at sea, particularly showing Captain Rogge's humanity and chivalrous conduct of his military engagements. Rogge was one of the few German flag rank officers who was not arrested by the Allies after the war, due to his conduct as a military officer. After eighteen months of successful raids, Atlantis was sunk on 22 November 1941 by the British cruiser Devonshire.
The Hunchback, 1h43
Directed by Carlo Lizzani
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, War, Biography
Themes Political films
Actors Gérard Blain, Anna Maria Ferrero, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernard Blier, Nino Castelnuovo, Enzo Cerusico
Roles Ufficiale Americano
Rating65% 3.2738553.2738553.2738553.2738553.273855
Alvaro fights during World War II against the Nazis and soon becomes a partisan leader. The other resistance fighters eventually dismiss him because they find his behaviour inacceptable. After the war he doesn't return to a normal life but turns into a foolhardy gangster.
Run with the Devil, 1h33
Directed by Mario Camerini
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Antonella Lualdi, Gérard Blain, Franco Fabrizi, Yvonne Furneaux, Cristina Gaioni, Spiros Focás
Roles Bill Rogers
Rating65% 3.277933.277933.277933.277933.27793
Portraits de femmes vivant dans la rue Margutta, à Rome, abritant de nombreux artistes affranchis de toute morale. L'une veut rester une éternelle enfant, une autre plus vieille épouse un bellâtre bon à rien, une troisième se sacrifie à un homme odieux, une dernière tente de sauver son mari du suicide...
The Screaming Skull, 1h8
Directed by Alex Nicol
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Russ Conway, Peggy Webber, John Hudson, Tony Johnson, Alex Nicol
Roles Mickey
Rating39% 1.954511.954511.954511.954511.95451
The film opens with a narrated disclaimer over footage of an opening coffin. The narrator explains that the film's climax is so terrifying that it may kill the viewer, and reassures the audience that if they die of fright while watching the film, they will receive a free burial service, and it closes on the casket which has a card inside reading "Reserved for You."