Booth Colman
Encyclopedia
Booth Colman is a film, television and stage actor. The actor today usually plays older authority figures like doctors and lawyers in films. Colman has been appearing in films since 1952 when he appeared uncredited in The Big Sky directed by Howard Hawks
. In 1965, he appeared alongside Sonny and Cher in the film Wild on the Beach
.
Colman was born in Portland, Oregon
. As a child actor in local productions became active in local radio. He attended the Universities of Washington and Michigan. After Army service during World War II he went to New York and began a long career in Broadway theater.
He has appeared dozens of times on prime-time television dramas and comedies including Frasier
, Gilligan's Island
and The Monkees. In the 1970s Colman played the role of Dr. Zaius
in the popular short-lived TV series, Planet of the Apes
. Films include Norma Rae
, The Man Who Wasn't There
and Intolerable Cruelty
. In 1983, he portrayed the kindly scientist Professor Hector Jerrold in the ABC
daytime melodrama General Hospital
.
Colman has played Scrooge hundreds of times on stage in A Christmas Carol
at the Meadow Brook Theatre in the Detroit area.
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
. In 1965, he appeared alongside Sonny and Cher in the film Wild on the Beach
Wild on the Beach
Wild on the Beach is a 1965 beach party film directed by Maury Dexter. It is notable for the musical acts showcased onscreen, being the film debut of Sonny & Cher in particular...
.
Colman was born in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. As a child actor in local productions became active in local radio. He attended the Universities of Washington and Michigan. After Army service during World War II he went to New York and began a long career in Broadway theater.
He has appeared dozens of times on prime-time television dramas and comedies including Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
and The Monkees. In the 1970s Colman played the role of Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius is a fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series and television series based upon it. He is an orangutan and although given a minor role devoid of dialogue in the novel, he becomes the main antagonist of the story in the subsequent film adaptation...
in the popular short-lived TV series, Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (TV series)
Planet of the Apes was a short-lived American science fiction television series that aired on Friday evenings at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central on CBS in 1974. The series starred Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, and James Naughton, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman...
. Films include Norma Rae
Norma Rae
Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film that tells the story of a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works...
, The Man Who Wasn't There
The Man Who Wasn't There
The Man Who Wasn't There is a 2001 neo-noir film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Billy Bob Thornton stars in the title role. Also featured are James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Alexi-Malle and Coen regulars Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, and Jon...
and Intolerable Cruelty
Intolerable Cruelty
Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Academy Award winners George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton with Cedric the Entertainer...
. In 1983, he portrayed the kindly scientist Professor Hector Jerrold in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
daytime melodrama General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
.
Colman has played Scrooge hundreds of times on stage in A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
at the Meadow Brook Theatre in the Detroit area.