John Brown
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.
The Wild One
as Bill HanneganThe Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to...
Movie pageStrangers on a Train
as Prof. CollinsHaving met on a train, a smooth-talking psychotic socialite shares his theory on how two...
Movie pageThe Day the Earth Stood Still
as George Barley, boarderAn alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face...
Movie pageThe Stranger
as Passport Photographer (uncredited)An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi,...
Movie pageThe Bigamist
as uncreditedSan Francisco businessman Harry Graham and his wife and business partner, Eve, are in the...
Movie pageRobot Monster
as Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)Ro-Man, an alien robot who greatly resembles a gorilla in a diving helmet, is sent to earth to...
Movie pageHans Christian Andersen
as SchoolmasterA small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak...
Movie pageSymphony in Slang
as The Hipster / Noah Webster (voice) (uncredited)At the gates of Heaven, the admitting officials have a hard time understanding a newcomer's life...
Movie pageDixieland Droopy
as Narrator / Pee Wee Runt (voice) (uncredited)John Pettibone (Droopy), a dog whose love of Dixieland music is not appreciated by those around...
Movie pageThe Horn Blows at Midnight
as Lou the waiter (uncredited)A trumpet player in a radio orchestra falls asleep during a commercial and dreams he's Athanael,...
Movie pageThe Life of Riley
as Digger O'DellInspired by the popular '40s radio show of the same title, director Irving Brecher's 1949 comedy...
Movie pageJennifer
as Service Station Attendant (uncredited)A young woman is hired to take care of an eerie old mansion, where she finds herself entangled...
Movie pageA Peach of a Pair
as JohnVaudeville performers Cook and Butler are mistaken for domestic servants; hilarity ensues.
Movie pageCrazylegs
as KellerThe story of the life and career of football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch (who plays himself).
Movie pageMan Crazy
as Mr. DuncanThree women come to Hollywood to break into the movies.
Movie pageI Love Lucy
as Mr. MurdochCuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife....
TV Show pageThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
as Harry MortonBurns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen,...
TV Show pageSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
as uncreditedSchlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....
TV Show page