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Fred Graham (actor)

{{Short description|American actor (1908–1979)}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Fred Graham

| image = Fred Graham in The Giant Gila Monster (cropped).jpg

| caption = Graham in The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|10|26}}

| birth_place = Springer, New Mexico, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|10|10|1908|10|26}}

| death_place = Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.

| resting_place = Green Acres Memorial Park, Scottsdale, Arizona

| occupation = Actor, stuntman

| years_active = 1934–1973

| children = 2

}}

Fred Graham (October 26, 1908 – October 10, 1979){{Cite book |last=Freese |first=Gene Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10dXAwAAQBAJ&dq=Fred+Graham+stuntman&pg=PA112 |title=Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s–1970s: A Biographical Dictionary|edition= 2nd |date=2014|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7643-5 |language=en}} was an American actor and stuntman who performed in films from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Early life

Graham was a semiprofessional baseball player. Graham entered the film business in 1928."Fred Graham Studios Rising in Phoenix". Boxoffice. Aug 19, 1968. 93, 18. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. p. W2. {{ProQuest| }} He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild. He appeared in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)."Obituaries". Variety. Nov 7, 1979. 297, 1; Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. p. 98. {{ProQuest| }}

Career

He broke his ankle while working as Basil Rathbone's stunt double on The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).{{Cite book |last=Rode |first=Alan K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYI2DwAAQBAJ&dq=Fred+Graham+stuntman&pg=PA219 |title=Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film |date=2017|publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7397-9 |language=en}}

Graham coordinated stunts of John Wayne, with whom he made 26 films; Errol Flynn; and Ward Bond.

He played small roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, notably Vertigo, as the Police Officer who falls to his death in its famous opening scene while trying to help James Stewart. He continued working in films until the 1970s.{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62868619 |title=Hitchcock's motifs |date=2005 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=1-4237-4629-5 |location=Amsterdam |page=454 |oclc=62868619}}

Graham moved to Arizona in 1963. He was in charge of the Arizona Governor's Office for Motion Picture Development and was vice president and general manager of CineLogistics, part of Southwest Research and Development, which operated the Graham Studios of Carefree, Arizona.

Personal life and death

He had a wife, son, and daughter. He is interred at Green Acres Memorial Park in Scottsdale.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047–25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Selected filmography

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Television

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1957Alfred Hitchcock PresentsRinditchSeason 3 Episode 12: "Miss Paisley's Cat"
1959RawhideThe BartenderS1:E4, "Incident of the Widowed Dove"
1961RawhideShannonS3:E15, "Incident of the Fish Out of Water"
1961RawhideBartenderS4:E7, "The Black Sheep"

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{IMDb name|id=0334040|name=Fred Graham}}

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Category:1908 births

Category:1979 deaths

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American stunt performers

Category:Male actors from New Mexico

Category:People from Springer, New Mexico