Kerwin Mathews
| Kerwin Mathews | |
|---|---|
Mathews as Jack the Giant Killer
|
|
| Born |
January 8, 1926 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 2007 (aged 81) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1954–1978 |
| Partner(s) | Tom Nicoll (1961–2007; his death) |
Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960) and Jack the Giant Killer (1962).
Mathews was born in Seattle, Washington and was two years old when he moved with his divorced mother to Janesville, Wisconsin. He attended Janesville High School, graduating in 1943. Mathews said that "a kind high school teacher put me in a play, and that changed my life." According to a classmate, he was a "handsome rascal".
After serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, he attended and performed at nearby Milton College for two years before transferring to Beloit College on drama and music scholarships. He remained at Beloit three years after graduation teaching speech and dramatic arts and appeared in regional theatre. He also taught high school English in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1954, Mathews acted at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he met the head of casting for Columbia Pictures, leading to a seven-year studio contract. He appeared in several action/adventure and fantasy films of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Mathews met his longtime partner Tom Nicoll, a British display manager at Harvey Nichols, a British luxury department store in 1961. Although he felt , he "looked fondly" on his Hollywood career, with his favorite role being Johann Strauss, Jr. in the Disney two-part telefilm The Waltz King (1963). Matthews played Jean Bruce's OSS 117 in two French films and played The Viscount based on another hero written by Bruce.
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