Army Archerd
{{Short description|American columnist (1922–2009)}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Army Archerd
|image = Army Archerd.jpg
|imagesize = 150px
|birth_name = Armand Andre Archerd
|caption = Archerd at the 1988 Academy Awards
|birth_date = {{birth date|1922|01|13}}
|birth_place = Bronx, New York City, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2009|09|08|1922|01|13}}
|death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|alma_mater = University of California, Los Angeles
|spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Joan Paul|1944|1969|end=div}}
- {{marriage|Selma (Fenning) Archerd|1969}}
}}
|children = 2
}}
Armand Andre Archerd (January 13, 1922Some sources, including Variety, cite 1919 as his year of birth; the Social Security Death Index cites 1922 – September 8, 2009) was an American columnist for Variety for over fifty years before retiring his "Just for Variety" column in September 2005.{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2005/scene/markets-festivals/just-for-variety-column-to-end-after-52-years-1117926968/|title='Just for Variety' column to end after 52 years|date=August 3, 2005|access-date=March 12, 2018}} In November 2005, Archerd began blogging for Variety and was working on a memoir when he died.
Biography
Archerd was born in The Bronx, New York, and graduated from UCLA in 1941. He was hired by Variety to replace columnist Sheilah Graham (former girlfriend of F. Scott Fitzgerald) in 1953. His "Just for Variety" column appeared on page two of Daily Variety and swiftly became popular in Hollywood. Archerd broke many exclusive stories, reporting from film sets, announcing pending deals, giving news of star-related hospitalizations, marriages, and births. In 1984, he was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, in front of Mann's Chinese Theater, where he had emceed dozens of movie premieres.
One of his most significant scoops was in his July 23, 1985, column, when he printed that Rock Hudson, despite denials from the actor's publicists and managers, was undergoing treatment for AIDS.
Archerd was Jewish{{cite news|last=Abcarian|first=Robin|title=Army Archerd dies at 90; Variety columnist watched over Hollywood for half a century|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2009-09-08|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-army-archerd9-2009sep09,0,2412325.story|access-date=2009-09-09}} and a strong proponent of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Holocaust awareness. He was married to Selma Fenning Archerd, a former actress, from November 15, 1969, until his death. They had one child and lived in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.
Archerd made four appearances on the popular, long-running game show The Hollywood Squares in the 1970s. His bluffs to questions from Peter Marshall became legendary, as he was able to fool contestants into believing his (often ridiculous) answers.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Some say{{who|date=April 2016}} he was even better than the accepted champion in that regard, long-time participant John Davidson. Also in that decade, Archerd and his wife Selma made appearances on the game show Tattletales.
He made several appearances in TV series, including Burke's Law (1964), Hollywood Backstage,{{YouTube|id=MjhyBeJNowg|title=Hollywood Backstage video highlights, time stamp 11:00}} Batman (episode 39), Mannix (1967), and Marcus Welby, M.D., and films such as The Young Runaways (1968), The Outfit (1973), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), Gable and Lombard (1976), California Suite (1978), The French Atlantic Affair (1979) and The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980).
Archerd died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from a rare form of lung cancer (pleural mesothelioma), as a result of his exposure to asbestos in the Navy during World War II.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Teacher's Pet | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1963 | A New Kind of Love | Onlooker | Uncredited |
| 1963 | Under the Yum Yum Tree | Writer | Uncredited |
| 1964 | What a Way to Go! | TV Announcer | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Kisses for My President | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1966 | The Oscar | Press Conference Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1967 | Rough Night in Jericho | Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Planet of the Apes | Gorilla | UIncredited |
| 1968 | Wild in the Streets | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1968 | The Young Runaways | Himself | |
| 1970 | Beneath the Planet of the Apes | Gorilla | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Referee | |
| 1973 | The Thief Who Came to Dinner | Newsman | Uncredited |
| 1973 | The Outfit | Butler | |
| 1976 | Gable and Lombard | Emcee | |
| 1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Premiere MC | |
| 1978 | California Suite | Himself | |
| 1980 | The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood | Himself | |
| 1981 | The Devil and Max Devlin | Himself | |
| 1986 | Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star | Television Host | |
| 1990 | Repossessed | Himself |
1975 La Femme oubliée Columbo Army Archerd (lui-même) (VF : Jacques Thébault)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- [https://variety.com/2005/voices/columns/welcome_to_army-1200571805/ Army Archerd's blog]
- [https://variety.com/2009/film/columns/just-for-army-archerd-1118008314/ Excerpts of "Just for Variety" columns written for Variety]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110930150346/http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/army-archerd Army Archerd Interview] at Archive of American Television
- {{IMDb name|33746}}
- {{Find a grave|41778533}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archerd, Army}}
Category:Jewish American journalists
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:Television personalities from New York City
Category:Deaths from mesothelioma in the United States
Category:Journalists from the Bronx
Category:Writers from Greater Los Angeles
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:Variety (magazine) people
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California
Category:Townsend Harris High School alumni
Category:Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery