Alex Nicol | |
---|---|
Nicol in The Screaming Skull
|
|
Born |
Alexander Livingston Nicol, Jr. January 20, 1916 Ossining, New York, U.S. |
Died | July 29, 2001 Montecito, California, U.S. |
(aged 85)
Occupation | Actor, film and television director |
Years active | 1950–1976 |
Spouse(s) | Jean Fleming (1948-his death) (3 children) |
Alex Nicol (January 20, 1916 — July 29, 2001) was an American actor and film director. Nicol appeared in many Westerns including The Man from Laramie (1955). He appeared in over forty feature films as well as directing many television shows including The Wild Wild West (1967), Tarzan (1966), and Daniel Boone (1966). He also played many roles on Broadway.
He was born Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr., in Ossining, New York, in 1916. When his movie career started thirty-four years later he adjusted the year to 1919. "I was a little older than some of the other people under contract so I thought, 'Well, I'll cure that right now'," he later confessed. His father was the arms keeper at Sing Sing. He studied at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art before joining Maurice Evans' theatrical company, with whom he made his Broadway debut with a walk-on in Henry IV, Part 1 (1939). Later a member of The Actors Studio, Nicol would play Brick in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, under the direction of Studio co-founder Elia Kazan.
However, it was as a character actor that Nicol spent most of his career. He also directed films, and appeared frequently on television. His acting career was interrupted by a five-year stint in the army. He served with the 101st Cavalry and attained the rank of Technical Sergeant.