"I Love Lucy" Character Actor John Bleifer 1992 Hillside Cemetery

John Bleifer (July 26, 1901 – January 24, 1992), also known as John Melvin Bleifer, was an American actor whose career began at the end of the silent film era, and lasted through the mid-1980s. He appeared in feature films and film serials, and in a number of television series and miniseries. Bleifer also acted on stage, and appeared in several Broadway productions.

Life and career

Bleifer was born in Zawiercie, Poland. After moving to the United States, he began his acting career in 1927, with a small role in the Edward Sloman film, Surrender. Over the course of his career, he would appear in well over 100 films, serials, television shows and Broadway plays. His European accent allowed him to play several different nationalities, while using essentially the same accent.[1] Bleifer did not make many silent films, but his career took off in 1933, after the advent of sound pictures.

The 1940s saw Bleifer's career continue on the same path he had taken in the prior decade. He had numerous small roles, many nameless and un-credited, as in: Archie Mayo's 1940 version of Four Sons, starring Don Ameche;[2] the war film Paris Calling (1942), starring Basil Rathbone, Randolph Scott, and Elisabeth Bergner;[3] the comedy They Got Me Covered (1943), starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour;[4] Mr. Lucky, starring Cary Grant and Laraine Day;[5] the classic For Whom the Bell Tolls, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman;[6] and the 1946 comedy Without Reservations, starring John Wayne and Claudette Colbert.[7] 

He also had several featured roles, such as: Pedro in the classic 1940 swashbuckler, The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power;[8] 

as Oscar Zimmerman in the spy drama Waterfront, starring J. Carrol Naish and John Carradine;[9] 

and as Franz Leiber in The Bowery Boys comedy, Smugglers' Cove (1948).[10] 

During this decade Bleifer appeared in several film serials, including Perils of Nyoka (1942), and Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943).

During the 1950s Bleifer's film career slowed down, as he became more involved with the new medium of television. He only had a few featured roles in film, such as in: Lew Landers' State Penitentiary (1950), starring Warner Baxter, where Bleifer had the role of Jailbreak Jimmy;[11] and in the role of Jake Haberman in the 1957 police drama, Chain of Evidence.[12] He continued to appear in smaller roles in a number of features, including: the 1951 Humphrey Bogart film noir, Sirocco;[13] 1953's The Juggler, starring Kirk Douglas and directed by Edward Dmytryk;[14] the 1955 musical Kismet, starring Howard Keel and Ann Blyth;[15] the 1955 Bowery Boys comedy, Spy Chasers;[16] the 1957 musical Silk Stockings, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse;[17] and Edward Dmytryk's 1959 remake of The Blue Angel.[18] 

In the 1950s Bleifer appeared in numerous television shows, such as Dangerous Assignment (1952), Navy Log (1956), I Love Lucy (1956), The Count of Monte Cristo (1956), The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), Perry Mason (1958), Peter Gunn (1959), and Rawhide (1959).

John Bleifer played the waiter at Restaurant Le Plaisir 

in the I Love Lucy episode "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown."

Bleifer continued working through the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s. He made numerous television appearances on shows such as Death Valley Days (1960), The Lawless Years (1961), The Untouchables (1961), Dr. Kildare (1962-3), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), Adam-12 (1971), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974), S.W.A.T. (1975), Police Woman (1976), 

Little House on the Prairie (1979), 

The White Shadow (1979), 

and Highway to Heaven (1984). 

Bleifer also appeared in the television miniseries QB VII, in the role of Ben-Dan. 

While his activity in films decreased, he did continue in the medium, with roles in such films as: the tobacconist in the 1962 comedy If a Man Answers, starring Bobby Darrin and Sandra Dee;[19] the Steward in The Hook, starring Kirk Douglas;[20] a small role in W.C. Fields and Me (1976), starring Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine;[21] as Mishka in F.I.S.T. (1978), starring Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, and Peter Boyle;[22] and as one of the Rabbis in the Robert Aldrich comedy, The Frisco Kid, starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford.[23] Bleifer's final performance was in the featured role of Hyman in 1986's Inside Out, starring Elliott Gould. 

Bleifer died on January 24, 1992 in Los Angeles County, California, and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park, in Culver City, California, next to his wife, Grace, who had died three years previously, in 1989.[24]

Filmography

(Per AFI database)[25][26][27]

We Americans (1928) (as Jake Bleifer)
Blood Money (1933)

Captured! (1933)

The Bowery (1933)
Clear All Wires! (1933) (as John Melvin Bleifer)
Manhattan Melodrama (1934) (as John M. Bleifer)
Hell in the Heavens (1934) (as John M. Bleifer)
Night Alarm (1934)
The Line Up (1934) (as John M. Bleifer)
Black Fury (1935) (as John M. Bleifer)
Les Misérables (1935)
The Black Room (1935) (as John M. Bleifer)

The Crimson Trail (1935)

Sutter's Gold (1936)
15 Maiden Lane (1936)
The Road to Glory (1936)
Ladies in Love (1936)
36 Hours to Kill (1936)
Slave Ship (1937)
Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
Thin Ice (1937)
Seventh Heaven (1937)
Love Under Fire (1937)
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1938)
Ride a Crooked Mile (1938)
The Baroness and the Butler (1938)
Sharpshooters (1938)
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
Full Confession (1939)
Pacific Liner (1939)
Pack Up Your Troubles (1939)
Frontier Marshal (1939)
Boy Friend (1939)
Everything Happens at Night (1939)
Girl from God's Country (1940)
The Mark of Zorro (1940) as Pedro
Four Sons (1940)
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941)
The Monster and the Girl (1941)
Berlin Correspondent (1942)
Blue, White and Perfect (1942)
Eagle Squadron (1942)
Lure of the Islands (1942)
Paris Calling (1942)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Headin' for God's Country (1943)
Mr. Lucky (1943)
The Moon Is Down (1943)
Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
They Got Me Covered (1943)

Background to Danger (1943)

In Our Time (1944)

Dragon Seed (1944)

The Conspirators (1944)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Waterfront (1944)
Tonight and Every Night (1945)
Rendezvous 24 (1946)
The Wife of Monte Cristo (1946)
Without Reservations (1946)

Fall Guy (1947)

High Conquest (1947)
Northwest Outpost (1947)
The Enchanted Valley (1948)
French Leave (1948)
16 Fathoms Deep (1948)
Smugglers' Cove (1948)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Bride of Vengeance (1949)
Come to the Stable (1949)
The Jackpot (1950)
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
The Petty Girl (1950)
State Penitentiary (1950)
Bowery Battalion (1951)
Sirocco (1951)
Aladdin and His Lamp (1952)
Red Snow (1952)
The Juggler (1953)
White Lightning (1953)
Spy Chasers (1955)
Kismet (1955)
Crashing Las Vegas (1956)
Fighting Trouble (1956)
World Without End (1956)
The 27th Day (1957)
Silk Stockings (1957)
Chain of Evidence (1957)
Footsteps in the Night (1957)
The Blue Angel (1959)
The Gene Krupa Story (1960)
Ice Palace (1960)
The George Raft Story (1961)
If a Man Answers (1962)
The Hook (1963)
The Loved One (1965)
Torn Curtain (1966) as Danish Waiter at Hotel D'Angleterre (uncredited)
Heavy Traffic (1973)
W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
F.I.S.T. (1978) as Mishka

The Frisco Kid (1979) as First Rabbi

Inside Out (1986)


References

1. Erickson, Hal. "John Bleifer: Biography". AllMovie. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. "Four Sons: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
3. "Paris Calling: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
4. "They Got Me Covered: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
5. "Mr. Lucky: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
6. "For Whom the Bell Tolls: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
7. "Without Reservations: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
8. "The Mark of Zorro: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
9. "Waterfront: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
10. "Smugglers' Cove: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
11. "State Penitentiary: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
12. "Chain of Evidence: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
13. "Sirocco: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
14. "The Juggler: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
15. "Kismet: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
16. "Spy Chasers: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
17. "Silk Stockings: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
18. "The Blue Angel: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
19. "If a Man Answers: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
20. "The Hook: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
21. "W.C. Fields and Me: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
22. "F.I.S.T.: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
23. "The Frisco Kid: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
24. "John Bleifer". Find a Grave. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
25. "John Bleifer: Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
26. "John Bleiffer: Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
27. "John Blieffer: Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2015.

"Go West" Actress Diana Lewis Powell 1997 Cathedral City Desert Cemetery

Diana Lewis (September 18, 1919 – January 18, 1997)[1] was an American film actress and an Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player.

Early years

The daughter of vaudeville performers,[2] Lewis was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.[2][3]

Career

Lewis was a singer with the orchestra led by Larry Leeds.[4]

She began her film career in It's a Gift (1934) and worked steadily over the next few years, usually in minor roles. Her more notable films include It's a Gift, Gold Diggers in Paris (1938), Go West (1940), and Johnny Eager (1941). 

She was the love interest of Andy Hardy as Daphne Fowler in Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940).[5]

Marriage

Lewis met actor William Powell, who was 27 years her senior, at MGM in 1940.[6] They married at a dude ranch in Nevada on January 5, 1940,[7] after a courtship of less than a month.[6] 

She retired from acting in 1943. The couple remained together for 44 years until Powell's death at age 91 in 1984.

Death

Lewis died from pancreatic cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, aged 77. She was interred at Cathedral City's Desert Memorial Park in Riverside County, California, alongside Powell, and her stepson, William David Powell.[8][9]

Affiliations and honors

Lewis was an active supporter of women's golf and the LPGA. The LPGA's William and Mousie Powell Award is named in honor of the Powells.

In 2000, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.[10]

Complete filmography

It's a Gift (1934)
One Hour Late (1935) (uncredited)
Enter Madame (1935)
All the King's Horses (1935) (uncredited)
Choose Your Partners (1935 short)
Grand Slam Opera (1936 short)
Love Nest on Wheels (1937 short)
He Couldn't Say No (1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
First Offenders (1939)
Forty Little Mothers (1940)

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)

Bitter Sweet (1940)

Go West (1940)

The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)
Johnny Eager (1941)
Whistling in Dixie (1942)
Seven Sweethearts (1942)

Cry 'Havoc' (1943)

References

1. Palm Springs Cemetery District "Interments of Interest"
2. Vosburgh, Dick (31 January 1997). "Obituary: Diana Lewis". Independent. 
3. "Fairfax Senior High School". schooldirectory.lausd.net. Los Angeles Unified School District.
4. "William Powell, 47, Film Star, Weds Diana Lewis, Rising Young Actress". The Dispatch. Illinois, Moline. Associated Press. January 6, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved September 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Andy Hardy films website". 
6. "The 3rd Mrs Powell". Photoplay. 
7. "William Powell Marries Girl 21 Years Old". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. Associated Press. January 6, 1940. p. 10. 
8. Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). "Chapter 8: East L.A. and the Desert". Laid to Rest in California: a guide to the cemeteries and grave sites of the rich and famous. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0762741014. OCLC 70284362.
9. John "J-Cat" Griffith (May 16, 1999). "Diana "Mousie" Powell". Actress. Find a Grave.
10. Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated

"Pinky" Actor Griff Barnett 1958 Rose Hills Cemetery

Griff Barnett (born Manley Griffith, November 12, 1884 – January 12, 1958) was an American actor.[1]

Barnett was born in Blue Ridge, Texas in 1884.

In the early 20th century, Barnett was a member of the Mack-Hillard stock theater company in Wichita, Kansas.[2]

He played the role of the Rexall family druggist in commercials on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show on radio in the late 1940s and early 1950s.[1] He also appeared in numerous films from the 1930s through the 1950s, including To Each His Own (1946), Apartment for Peggy (1948), and Pinky (1949). 

Barnett frequently played doctors or lawyers.[1] In 1954, he appeared in episode 131 of the TV series, The Lone Ranger.

Griff Barnett died at home in El Monte, California, on January 12, 1958, aged 73.[1] He is buried at Rose Hills Cemetery.

Selected filmography

The Lone Ranger (1938, Serial) - Rancher (uncredited)
Santa Fe Stampede (1938) - Townsman Henry Jones (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939, Serial) - E.B. Tully (Ch. 6) (uncredited)
Those High Grey Walls (1939) - Prison Tailor (uncredited)
The Shadow (1940, Serial) - Stephen Prescott (uncredited)

Frontier Vengeance (1940) - Joel Hunter

Arizona (1940) - Sam Hughes
The Lady from Cheyenne (1941) - Cork Supporter (uncredited)
Bachelor Daddy (1941) - Bailiff (uncredited)
Gangs of Sonora (1941) - Man on Stagecoach (uncredited)
Outlaws of Cherokee Trail (1941) - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Death Valley Outlaws (1941) - Train Agent (uncredited)
A Missouri Outlaw (1941) - Man with Ward (uncredited)
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941, Serial) - Plant Watchman (uncredited)
Stardust on the Sage (1942) - Larkin (uncredited)
The Sombrero Kid (1942) - Townsman (uncredited)

Shadows on the Sage (1942) - Steve Jackson

The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) - 'Janssen' Passenger (uncredited)
Wilson (1944) - Reporter (uncredited)
Strange Holiday (1945) - Regan

To Each His Own (1946) - Daniel Norris

Without Reservations (1946) - Train Conductor (uncredited)
Danger Woman (1946) - Dr. George Carey
Duel in the Sun (1946) - The Bordertown Jailer (uncredited)
The Arnelo Affair (1947) - Mr. Adams (uncredited)
Suddenly It's Spring (1947) - Conductor on Train (uncredited)
The Michigan Kid (1947) - Prentiss Dawson

The Millerson Case (1947) - Doc Sam Millerson

Possessed (1947) - Coroner
Stepchild (1947) - Burns

Gunfighters (1947) - Mr. Banner

The Son of Rusty (1947) - Judge (uncredited)
Unconquered (1947) - Brother Andrews - of Pennsylvania
Wild Harvest (1947) - Rankin

Magic Town (1947) - Henry - Stringer's Office (uncredited)

Cass Timberlane (1947) - Herman, the Butler
The Gangster (1947) - Dorothy's Father (uncredited)
Daisy Kenyon (1947) - Will Thompson (uncredited)
The Tender Years (1948) - Sen. Cooper
Arch of Triumph (1948) - Fernand (uncredited)
Saigon (1948) - Surgeon
Fury at Furnace Creek (1948) - Appleby
Fighting Father Dunne (1948) - Governor
Tap Roots (1948) - Dr. MacIntosh

The Walls of Jericho (1948) - Judge Hutto

For the Love of Mary (1948) - Timothy Peppertree

Apartment for Peggy (1948) - Dr. Philip Conway

Criss Cross (1949) - Pop
Mother Is a Freshman (1949) - Dean Gillingham
The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949) - Deacon Burton

The Fountainhead (1949) - Judge (uncredited)

Any Number Can Play (1949) - Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Pinky (1949) - Dr. Joseph 'Doc Joe' McGill
Holiday Affair (1949) - Mr. Ennis
No Man of Her Own (1950) - Dr. Parker
Sierra (1950) - Dr. Hank Robbins

Customs Agent (1950) - Charles McGraw

Peggy (1950) - Dr. Philip Wilcox

Convicted (1950) - Mr. Hufford (uncredited)
When I Grow Up (1951) - Dr. Bailey
Home Town Story (1951) - Uncle Cliff
Two of a Kind (1951) - William McIntyre
Passage West (1951) - Papa Emil Ludwig
Cattle Drive (1951) - Conductor O'Hara

Scandal Sheet (1952) - Judge Elroy Hacker

The Treasure of Lost Canyon (1952) - Judge Wade
The Marrying Kind (1952) - Charley
The Sellout (1952) - J.R. Morrison
The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) - Dan 'Pop' Muzik (uncredited)
Angel Face (1953) - The Judge
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) - George Carlson (uncredited)
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) - Dad (Farmer) (uncredited) (final film role)

References

1. (17 January 1958). Griff Barnett Dead: Actor on Stage, Screen and Radio 50 Years Was 73, The New York Times
2. "A Pageant in May for Playgrounds". The Wichita Beacon. Kansas, Wichita. March 2, 1916. p. 4.