Donald Woods
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 2, 1906
- Died
- March 5, 1998 (aged 91)
- Birthplace
- Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Donald Woods (born Ralph Lewis Zink, December 2, 1906 – March 5, 1998) was a Canadian-American film and television actor whose career in Hollywood spanned six decades. Born in Brandon, Manitoba, Woods moved with his family to California and was raised in Burbank. A son of William and Margaret Zink, Presbyterians of German descent. His younger brother, Clarence Russell Zink, also became an actor (Russ Conway). Woods graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and made his film debut in 1928. His screen career was spent mostly in B movies, for example as lawyer Perry Mason in the 1937 film The Case of the Stuttering Bishop. He also occasionally played major roles in bigger feature films like A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), Watch on the Rhine (1943), The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944), and Roughly Speaking (1945). Of considerable importance to his acting career were several seasons as leading man with the Elitch Gardens Theatre Company in Denver, Colorado, where he performed in 1932, 1933, 1939, 1941, 1947, and 1948. In the early days of television, Woods starred as the title character in the 1951 syndicated TV series Craig Kennedy, Criminologist, and he was the host of Damon Runyon Theater on CBS-TV. He played himself on the dramatic series Hotel Cosmopolitan, also on CBS, and he was one of three hosts of The Orchid Award on ABC-TV. He portrayed Walter Manning on Portia Faces Life on CBS. He also appeared in such anthology series as The Philco Television Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, The United States Steel Hour, Crossroads, and General Electric Theater. On April 11, 1961, Woods appeared as "Profesor Landfield" in the episode "Two for the Gallows" on NBC's Laramie western series. Series character Slim Sherman (John Smith) is hired under false pretenses to take Landfield into the Badlands to seek gold. Landfield, however, is really Morgan Bennett, a member of the former Henry Plummer gang who has escaped from prison. Slim has no idea that Lanfield is seeking the loot that his gang had hidden away. Series character Jess Harper (Robert Fuller), Pete Dixon, played by Warren Oates, and Pete's younger brother soon come to Slim's aid. The title stems from the talk that the undisciplined Dixon brothers might eventually wind up on a hangman's noose. Woods later was a regular in the role of John Brent on the short-lived series Tammy and made guest appearances on Bat Masterson, Wagon Train, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Stoney Burke, Bourbon Street Beat, Bonanza, Coronet Blue, Ironside, Alias Smith and Jones, The Wild Wild West and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, among many others before retiring from acting in 1976. Besides his film career, he also worked as a successful real estate broker in Palm Springs where he lived with his wife, childhood sweetheart Josephine Van der Horck. They were married from 1933 until his death and had two children, Linda and Conrad. He was interred at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Police Story
TV · 1 ep
The Sandy Duncan Show
TV · 1 ep
Alias Smith and Jones
TV · 1 ep
True Grit
Movie · as "Barlow"
Istanbul Express
Movie · as Shepherd
A Time to Sing
Movie · as Vernon Carter
Tammy and the Millionaire
Movie · as John Brent
Ironside
TV · 1 ep
Hondo
TV · 1 ep
Dimension 5
Movie · as Kane
Moment to Moment
Movie · as Mr. Singer
Felony Squad
TV · 1 ep
The Wild Wild West
TV · 1 ep
Tammy
TV · as John Brent · 26 eps
Kissin' Cousins
Movie · as General Alvin Donford
Arrest and Trial
TV · as Chet Hayes · 1 ep
Sam Benedict
TV · 1 ep
Stoney Burke
TV · as Dave Jenson
Five Minutes to Live
Movie · as Kenneth Wilson
Ben Casey
TV · 1 ep
13 Ghosts
Movie · as Cyrus Zorba
I'll Give My Life
Movie
Thriller
TV · as Dr. John Carmody · 1 ep
Bourbon Street Beat
TV · 1 ep
Men Into Space
TV · 1 ep
The Rebel
TV · as Sam Moss · 1 ep
Tightrope
TV · 1 ep
77 Sunset Strip
TV · 2 eps
Bat Masterson
TV · as Roger Purcell · 1 ep
Hotel Cosmopolitan
TV · 167 eps
Wagon Train
TV · as Philip Ayers, Luke Grant · 1 ep
A Wind from the South
Movie · as Robert
The Millionaire
TV · as Cobb Marley · 1 ep
Damon Runyon Theater
TV · 39 eps
Lassie
TV · 1 ep
Portia Faces Life
TV · 324 eps
Inner Sanctum
TV · 1 ep
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Movie · as Capt. Jackson
The Studebaker Story
Movie · as John Mohler Studebaker
Born to the Saddle
Movie · as Matt Daggett
General Electric Theater
TV · as Norman Frost Bennett · 1 ep
The United States Steel Hour
TV · 1 ep
Tall, Dark and Dead
Movie · as Craig Kennedy
All That I Have
Movie · as Pastor William Goodwin
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Kirby Sinclair · 1 ep
Craig Kennedy, Criminologist
TV · as Craig Kennedy · 26 eps
Johnny One-Eye
Movie · as Vet
Mr. Music
Movie · as Tippy Carpenter
The Lost Volcano
Movie · as Paul Gordon
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV · 3 eps
Scene of the Crime
Movie · as Bob Herkimer
Free For All
Movie · as Roger Abernathy
Daughter of the West
Movie · as Commissioner Ralph C. Connors
Barbary Pirate
Movie · as Maj. Tom Blake
Lights Out
TV · 1 ep
The Philco Television Playhouse
TV · 1 ep
Bells of San Fernando
Movie · as Michael 'Gringo' O'Brien
The Return of Rin Tin Tin
Movie · as Father Matthew
Stepchild
Movie · as Ken Bullock
Never Say Goodbye
Movie · as Rex DeVallon
Goodbye, Weeds
Movie · as Henry
The Time, The Place and The Girl
Movie · as Martin Drew
Night and Day
Movie · as Ward Blackburn
Roughly Speaking
Movie · as Rodney Crane
Wonder Man
Movie · as Monte Rossen
Star in the Night
Movie · as Hitchhiker
Hollywood Canteen
Movie · as Self
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Movie · as Brother Juniper
Enemy of Women
Movie · as Dr. Hans Traeger, MD
Watch on the Rhine
Movie · as David Farrelly
Hi'ya, Sailor
Movie · as Bob Jackson
Corregidor
Movie · as Dr. Michael
So's Your Uncle
Movie · as Steve Curtis aka Uncle John
Thru Different Eyes
Movie · as Ted Farnsworth
The Gay Sisters
Movie · as Penn Sutherland Gaylord
March On, America!
Movie · as Francis Scott Key (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sky Raiders
Movie · as Captain Bob Dayton
I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island
Movie · as Joel Grant / Joseph Elmer
Bachelor Daddy
Movie · as Edward Smith
City of Chance
Movie · as Steve Walker
Mexican Spitfire
Movie · as Dennis Lindsay
Forgotten Girls
Movie · as Dan Donahue
Love, Honor and Oh-Baby!
Movie · as Brian McGrath
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Movie · as Dennis 'Denny' Lindsay
If I Had My Way
Movie · as Fred Johnson
Young America Flies
Movie · as John Woodward
Beauty for the Asking
Movie · as Jeffrey Martin
The Girl from Mexico
Movie · as Dennis Lindsay
Heritage of the Desert
Movie · as John Abbott
Romance on the Run
Movie · as Barry Drake
Danger on the Air
Movie · as Benjamin Butts
The Black Doll
Movie · as Nick Halstead
Charlie Chan on Broadway
Movie · as Speed Patten, Reporter New York Bulletin
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
Movie · as Perry Mason
Sea Devils
Movie · as Steve Webb
Talent Scout
Movie · as Steve Stewart
Once a Doctor
Movie · as Steven Brace
Big Town Girl
Movie · as Mark Tracey
Anthony Adverse
Movie · as Vincent Nolte
The Story of Louis Pasteur
Movie · as Dr. Jean Martel
Isle of Fury
Movie · as Eric Blake
Road Gang
Movie · as James 'Jim' Larrabie
A Son Comes Home
Movie · as Denny
The White Angel
Movie · as Charles Cooper
Breakdowns of 1936
Movie · as Self
The Song of a Nation
Movie · as Francis Scott Key
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
Movie
The Florentine Dagger
Movie · as Juan Cesare
A Tale of Two Cities
Movie · as Charles Darnay
Frisco Kid
Movie · as Charles Ford
Stranded
Movie · as John Wesley
The Case of the Curious Bride
Movie · as Carl
A Dream Comes True
Movie · as Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
Movie · as Self
Sweet Adeline
Movie · as Sid Barnett
Fog Over Frisco
Movie · as Tony Sterling
Merry Wives of Reno
Movie · as Frank
As the Earth Turns
Movie · as Stan
Charlie Chan's Courage
Movie · as Bob Crawford
Hollywood Newsreel
Movie · as Himself
She Was a Lady
Movie · as Tommy Traill
Motorboat Mamas
Movie · as Yacht Club Patron (uncredited)