Louis Jean Heydt [April 17, 1905 - January 29, 1960] was an American Film, TV, and Theatre character actor from Montclair, New Jersey

Montclair, New Jersey

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...

.

Early life

Heydt was born in Montclair New Jersey and Educated at Worcester Academy

Worcester Academy

Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school spread over in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in...

 and Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

. He first wanted to be a journalist and worked as a reporter for The New York World, but soon delveloped an interest in acting and landed a number of roles on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 between 1927 and 1948. He made his stage debut in The Trial of Mary Dugan

The Trial of Mary Dugan

The Trial of Mary Dugan is a play written by Bayard Veiller.The melodrama concerns a sensational courtroom trial of a showgirl accused of killing of her millionaire lover. Her defense attorney is her brother, Jimmy Dugan. It was first presented on Broadway in 1927, with Ann Harding in the title...

 and went on to appear in a dozen plays including Strictly Dishonorable

Strictly Dishonorable (play)

Strictly Dishonorable is a romantic comedy play written by Preston Sturges and first produced on Broadway in 1929. It has been adapted for the screen twice, first in 1931, then again in 1951...

, Before Morning and Happy Birthday.

Film And TV Career

In the 1930s Heydt Traveled to Hollywood where he would go on to appear in over 100 films and TV series, most notably Gone With the Wind

Gone with the Wind

The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...

, Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film)

Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States....

, The Great McGinty

The Great McGinty

The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition...

, and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Thirty Seconds over Tokyo

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 MGM war film. It is based on the true story of America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan four months after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The movie was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist. The screenplay by...

. Other films he appearred in include I Am the Law

I Am the Law (1938 film)

-Plot:New York City law professor John Lindsay is asked by Eugene Ferguson, a member of the governor's Civic Committee, to become a special prosecuter to fight racketeers and corruption in the city, but unknown to Lindsay, Ferguson is in association with the racketeers.-Cast:* Edward G...

, They Made Me a Criminal

They Made Me a Criminal

They Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American Warner Bros. drama crime film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the 1933 film The Life of Jimmy Dolan. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia.-Plot:Johnnie...

, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, and Zombies on Broadway

Zombies on Broadway

Zombies on Broadway is an American Comedy-horror film released in 1945.-Plot summary:The duo of Jerry Miles and Mike Strager are employed as Broadway press agents. Miles and Strager's latest idea is to hire a genuine zombie for the opening of a new nightclub...

, He also appeared on the 1950s TV series Waterfront and Mackenzie's Raiders

Mackenzie's Raiders

Mackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959. The series was narrated by Art Gilmore.-Synopsis:...

. Other series he appeared on include Adventures of Superman

Adventures of Superman (TV series)

Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...

, Treasury Men in Action

Treasury Men in Action

Treasury Men in Action, a.k.a. Federal Men, is the title of a TV crime drama series broadcast live and which aired from 1950 through 1955 on ABC and starred Walter Greaza, Ross Martin, and Tom McKee. It was directed by William Beaudine, Leigh Jason, and Will Jason among others.The series centers on...

, Cavalcade of America

Cavalcade of America

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on...

, TV Reader's Digest

TV Reader's Digest

TV Reader's Digest is the title of a 30 minute American television anthology drama series which aired on the ABC from 1955 to 1956.Based on articles that appeared in Reader's Digest magazine, the episodes based on true stories which were varied in their themes, plots and content. Themes included...

, Lux Video Theatre

Lux Video Theatre

Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....

, Wagon Train

Wagon Train

Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...

, and Maverick

Maverick (TV series)

Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...

.

Death

Heydt collasped and died of a heart attack on January 29, 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts after appearing in the first scene of the play There Was a Little Girl in which he played opposite Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...

.

External links