Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia (September 29, 1903 – April 11, 1973) was an American radio, film, and television actor best remembered for his roles as the ex-wrestler murderer Willie Garzah in the film The Naked City (1948) and as a gangster who turned state's evidence in the film The Enforcer (1951).

Ted de Corsia
de Corsia in The Enforcer
Born	Edward Gildea De Corsia September 29, 1903 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	April 11, 1973 (aged 69) Encino, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Radio, film, television actor
Years active	1947–72
Spouse(s)	Mary Robertson (1934–35; divorced) Rachel Thurber (1939–19??; divorced); 2 children

Early years

Edward Gildea De Corsia was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Radio

De Corsia was a member of the cast of Blackstone Plantation.[1] He starred in the title role on Mike Hammer[2] and played Sergeant Velie on The Adventures of Ellery Queen.[3] He also voiced roles on Family Theater,[2] The March of Time, Cavalcade of America, Gang Busters,[4] and The Shadow.

Film

He made his film debut in Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and went on to make a career playing villains and gangsters in 1940s and 1950s films, including The Naked City (1948), The Enforcer (1951), Crime Wave (1954), The Big Combo (1955), The Killing (1956), Baby Face Nelson, Slightly Scarlet (1956), and The Joker is Wild (1957).

In his last feature, The Outside Man (1972) with Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson, his character, the mobster Victor, is killed off early in the film, but he later appears as his embalmed corpse, posed in a chair, holding a cigar.

Television

In the late 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a number of television series, mostly westerns. He was featured on three episodes of the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason, including the episodes "The Case of the Drifting Dropout" (1964), in which he played murder victim Mort Lynch, and "The Case of the Positive Negative" (1966), in the role of murder victim George Emory. Other television appearances included The Californians, The Lone Ranger, Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel, Tales of Wells Fargo, Sugarfoot, Jefferson Drum, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Frontier Doctor, Mackenzie's Raiders, Riverboat, Tate, The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, Sea Hunt, Lawman, Stoney Burke, Rawhide, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, 77 Sunset Strip,The Dakotas, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Zane Grey Theater,The Outer Limits (episode "The Inheritors", 1964) and The Monkees, episode "Hitting The High Seas", (1967) and "The Devil And Peter Tork", (1968).

Death

He died at the age of 69 in Encino, California, from a heart attack. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1947	The Lady from Shanghai	Sidney Broome
1948	The Naked City	Willie Garzah
1949	The Life of Riley	Norman
	Neptune's Daughter	Lukie Luzette
	It Happens Every Spring	Manager Jimmy Dolan
	Mr. Soft Touch	Rainey
1950	The Outriders	Bye
	Cargo to Capetown	Rhys
	Three Secrets	Del Prince
1951	The Enforcer	Joe Rico
	Vengeance Valley	Herb Backett
	A Place In The Sun	Judge R.S. Oldendorff
	Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison	Warden Ben Rickey
	New Mexico	Acoma - Indian Chief
	Crazy Over Horses	Duke
1952	Captain Pirate	Capt. Easterling
	The Savage	Iron Breast
	The Turning Point	Harrigan
1953	Man in the Dark	Lefty
	Ride, Vaquero!	Sheriff Parker
	Hot News	Dino Rizzo
	Crime Wave	'Doc' Penny
1954	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Capt. Farragut
1955	The Big Combo	Ralph Bettini
	Man with the Gun	'Frenchy' Lescaux
	Kismet	Police Sub-altern
1956	The Conqueror	Kumlek
	Slightly Scarlet	Solly Caspar
	The Steel Jungle	Steve Marlin
	The Kettles in the Ozarks	Professor
	Mohawk	Indian Chief Kowanen
	The Killing	Patrolman Randy Kennan
	Showdown at Abilene	Dan Claudius
	Dance with Me, Henry	Big Frank
1957	Gunfight at the O.K. Corral	Shanghai Pierce
	The Lawless Eighties	Grat Bandas
	The Midnight Story	Lt. Kilrain
	The Joker is Wild	Georgie Parker
	Gun Battle at Monterey	Max Reno
	Man on the Prowl	Detective
	Baby Face Nelson	Rocca
1958	Handle with Care	Sam Lawrence
	South Seas Adventure	Supplemental Narration	Voice
	Enchanted Island	Capt. Vangs
	The Buccaneer	Capt. Rumbo
1957-1958	Official Detective	Ellis / Lt. Evans	2 episodes
1959	Inside the Mafia	Augie Martello
1960	Oklahoma Territory	Chief Buffalo Horn
	Noose for a Gunman	Jack Cantrell
	From the Terrace	Mr. Ralph W. Benziger
	Spartacus	Legionnaire	Uncredited
1962	It's Only Money	Patrolman
1964	The Quick Gun	Jud Spangler
	Blood on the Arrow	Jud
1965	The Money Trap	Police captain	Uncredited
1966	Nevada Smith	Hudson (bartender)
1967	The King's Pirate	Capt. McTigue
1968	5 Card Stud	Eldon Bates
1970	The Delta Factor	Ames
1972	The Outside Man	Victor	(final film role)

References

1. Key, Pierre V.R. (ed.) (1933). Pierre Key's Radio Annual (PDF). Pierre Key Publishing Corporation. p. 218. Retrieved 25 November 2016.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
2. "Harry Wismer Off On Sports Trek". Brownwood Bulletin. November 25, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved May 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Whistling Clown Sunday Mystery". Harrisburg Telegraph. March 2, 1940. p. 18. Retrieved May 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Grunwald, Edgar A. (1938). Variety Radio Directory. Variety, Inc. p. 1284.

External links

• Ted de Corsia at IMDb
• Ted de Corsia at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ted de Corsia at Find a Grave