Russell Collins

Born in 1897 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Russell Collins was the middle child of Emma (née Hughes) and Martin F. Collins' five children. He had a younger brother and sister, Raymond and Maxina, as well as an older brother and sister, Oren and Irene.[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCWW-BD8?i=11&cc=1325221 "Twelfth Census of the United States: 1900"], enumeration date June 14, 1900, Center Township 5th Precinct, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana; Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C. Digital image of original census page available at FamilySearch, a free online genealogical database provided as a public service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved August 23, 2017.[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RV4-NP8?i=12&cc=1727033 "The Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910"], enumeration date April 25, 1910, Center Township "Part of Precinct" [of Indianapolis], Marion County, Indiana. FamilySearch. Retrieved August 23, 2017. By 1910, Russell's father had become disabled and jobless, so his mother supported him and the rest of the family by working as a seamstress from their home. Emma's responsibilities for the family were so predominant, in fact, that she is identified in the 1910 United States Census as "Head" of the Collins' household.

As a student in the Drama School at Carnegie Tech, Collins "first learned his trade in the days immediately following World War I."{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Harold V.|title=Notes and Comment|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15723103/russell_collins/|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=19 November 1965|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|page=17|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = December 11, 2017}} {{Open access}} He also attended Indiana University and Northwestern University.{{cite news|title=Actor Russell Collins Back Home In 'Iceman'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15723593/russell_collins/|work=The Indianapolis Star|date=7 May 1947|location=Indiana, Indianapolis|page=27|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = December 11, 2017}} {{Open access}}

Collins had roles in a few early Group Theatre productions with Success Story being his Broadway debut.{{cite web|title=Russell Collins|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/russell-collins-35920|website=Internet Broadway Database|publisher=The Broadway League|accessdate=12 December 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212025537/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/russell-collins-35920|archivedate=12 December 2017}} Probably his most noted Broadway role was as the star of the 1935 musical play Johnny Johnson. He enjoyed a long career on Broadway, although by the late 1940s, he began to perform increasingly in Hollywood films and on television, where he appeared in teleplay dramas, as well as on Westerns, sitcoms, and on an array of other weekly series. He remained in high demand as a character actor and worked on television to shortly before his death. His 1957 appearance in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Night the World Ended" was a typical TV role, as was his 1962 role as a caring town doctor in “The Nancy Davis Story” on the TV Western Wagon Train (S5E33).

He played Doc in the 1950 London production of Mr. Roberts at the Coliseum Theatre with

Tyrone Power as Mr. Roberts and Jackie Cooper as Ensign Pulver.

He died November 14, 1965, in West Hollywood, California. His gravesite is located in the Elsinore Valley Cemetery at Lake Elsinore, California.{{Citation needed |date=September 2021}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Success Story (1932) as Harry Fisher
• Both Your Houses (1933) as Peebles
• Men in White (1933) as Dr. Cunningham
• Gentlewoman (1934) as Havens
• Gold Eagle Guy (1934) as a deserter and as Ed Walker
• Till the Day I Die (1935) as Schlupp
• Waiting For Lefty (1935) as Fatt and as Fayette and as Reilly
• Paradise Lost (1935) as Homeless Man
• Johnny Johnson (1935) as Johnny Johnson
• The Star-Wagon (1937) as Hanus Wicks
• Missouri Legend (1938) as Jim Cummins
• Here Come the Clowns (1938) as John Dickinson
• Morning's at Seven (1939) as Carl Bolton
• The Moon is Down (1942) as Major Hunter
• Carousel (1945) as Starkeeper and as Dr. Seldon
• The Iceman Cometh (1946) as James Cameron
• The Liar (1950) as Brighelia
• Sabrina Fair (1953) as Fairchild
• Sunrise at Campobello (1958) as Louis McHenry Howe (replacement)
• Romulus (1962) as Achilles
• Calculated Risk (1962) as Jonathan Travis

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{IMDb name|172660|Russell Collins}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• [http://www.whenmoviesweremovies.com/hoosieractors.html Russell Collins]
• [http://tyforum.bravepages.com/mr.html Mr. Roberts]
• [http://www.kwf.org/kurt-weill/weill-works/by-genre?id=385:johnny-johnson-an-appreciation&catid=21:weill-works Johnny Johnson: An Appreciation]
• [http://collections.mcny.org/Collection/-2F3HRG39J8V.html Museum of the City of New York photo of Russell Collins with Grouip Theatre members]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Russell}}

Category:1897 births

Category:1965 deaths

Category:American male stage actors

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male telenovela actors

Category:Male actors from Indianapolis

Category:Indiana State University alumni