Henry Jones (actor)

Henry Jones
Jones in The Lady Says No (1952)
Born	Henry Burk Jones (1912-08-01)August 1, 1912 New Jersey, U.S.
Died	May 17, 1999(1999-05-17) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1943–1996
Spouse(s)	Yvonne Bergere (1942; her death) Judy Briggs (1946–61; divorce; 2 children)
Relatives	Henry Burk (grandfather)

Henry Burk Jones (August 1, 1912 – May 17, 1999) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

Early years[edit]

Jones was born in New Jersey,^[1] and was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Helen (née Burk) and John Francis Xavier Jones. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk, a German immigrant. Jones attended the Jesuit Saint Joseph's Preparatory School.^{[citation needed]}

Career[edit]

Early in his career, he performed with the Hedgerow Theatre near Philadelphia. His first Broadway appearance was in Maurice Evans's 1938 Hamlet. During World War II, he served in the Army and was cast in Irving Berlin's This is the Army.^{[citation needed]}

Jones is remembered for his role as handyman Leroy Jessup in the movie The Bad Seed (1956), a role he originated on Broadway.^[2] Other theater credits included My Sister Eileen, The Time of Your Life, They Knew What They Wanted, The Solid Gold Cadillac, and Sunrise at Campobello, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Performance in a Drama.^[3] His last Broadway role was in Advise and Consent in 1960–1961.^[4]

Jones appeared in more than 180 films and television shows. His screen credits included The Girl Can't Help It with Jayne Mansfield, 3:10 to Yuma with Van Heflin, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? with Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo with James Stewart, Cash McCall with James Garner, The Bramble Bush with Richard Burton, Rascal with Bill Mumy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, Dirty Dingus Magee with Frank Sinatra, Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner and Walter Brennan, Support Your Local Gunfighter with James Garner, 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin, and Arachnophobia with Jeff Daniels.^{[citation needed]}

On television, Jones' best-remembered role was as the title character's father-in-law in the 1970s sitcom Phyllis. Jones portrayed Jed McCoy on a 1961 episode of the sitcom The Real McCoys. He had a regular role on the drama Channing, with Jason Evers.^{[citation needed]}

Jones also appeared on Appointment with Adventure, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Investigators, The Eleventh Hour, Bewitched, Night Gallery, Emergency!, The Mod Squad, Daniel Boone with Fess Parker, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Thriller, Adam-12, The Doris Day Show, Father Knows Best, The Dukes of Hazzard, Flo, Magnum, P.I. with Tom Selleck, The Untouchables with Robert Stack, Hawkins with James Stewart, Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin, MacGyver, Mr. Belvedere, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show with Burns and Allen,The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Falcon Crest.^{[citation needed]}

He played Dr. Smith's cousin in a 1966 episode of Lost in Space, "Curse of Cousin Smith", and with R.J. Hoferkamp in the 1968 made-for-television movie Something for a Lonely Man. In 1967, he guest-starred as mysterious time travelling villain Mr. Pem in the episode "A Time to Die" of the Sci-Fi TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Jones returned as Pem in the 110th and last episode of the series, "No Way Back". Starting in 1974, he guest-starred three times on The Six Million Dollar Man as Dr. Jeffrey/Chester Dolenz. This character was a brilliant scientist who built lifelike robots, but although every plot was foiled, he still managed to escape to fight another day. In 1978, he appeared in the Barney Miller episode "The Prisoner".^{[citation needed]}

In the mid-1980s, Jones appeared at local dining theatre productions, including Winnipeg's Stage West.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life and death[edit]

Jones was a Republican and supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.^[5]

Jones died in UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, at age 86 from complications from injuries suffered in a fall at his home in Santa Monica, California.^[6]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Henry Jones at the Internet Broadway Database
• Henry Jones at IMDb
• Henry Jones at the TCM Movie Database