# John Brown (actor)

John Brown (April 4, 1904 – May 16, 1957) was a British actor.

## Radio

Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley, played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.

## Film

Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.

## Television

In early television, Brown was the second actor (after Hal March) to play "Harry Morton", the next-door neighbor of George Burns and Gracie Allen in their situation comedy show, opposite Bea Benaderet; his tenure on the series lasted six months, and he was replaced by Fred Clark in June 1951.

## Personal life

In 1952, Brown was placed on the Hollywood blacklist.

## Death

Brown died of a heart attack on May 16, 1957, in West Hollywood, California, while en route to his doctor's office.

## Filmography
### Radio

| Original Air Date | Program | Role |
| 1932 | Police Headquarters | |
| 1932–1936 | Roses and Drums | |
| 1935–1943 | Town Hall Tonight/The Fred Allen Show/Texaco Star Theatre | John Doe Various characters |
| 1939 | Arch Oboler's Plays | |
| 1940–1945 | Amanda of Honeymoon Hill | Mr. Lenord |
| 1942 | Tillie the Toiler | Mr. Simpkins |
| 1943–1949 | The Abbott and Costello Show | Travelling salesmen Police officers |
| 1943 | Busy Mr. Bingle | Mr. Bingle |
| 1943–1945 | The Jack Benny Program | Airplane Captain John Doe Various characters |
| 1944 | This Is My Best "The Plot To Overthrow Christmas" | The Devil |
| 1944 | The Burns and Allen Show | |
| 1944–1945 | It's Time to Smile | |
| 1945 | The Drene Show | |
| 1944–1946 | The Charlotte Greenwood Show | William Anderson |
| 1944–1950 | A Date with Judy | Dad |
| 1944–1951 | The Life of Riley | Digby "Digger" O'Dell Gillis Additional voices |
| 1945–1950 | The Saint | Inspector Fernack |
| 1945–1952 | The Adventures of Maisie | Mr. Dorsey |
| 1945–1954 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Thorny Thornberry |
| 1946–1951 | A Day in the Life of Dennis Day | Mr. Willoughby |
| 1947–1954 | My Friend Irma | Al |
| 1948–1949 | The Damon Runyon Theatre | Broadway |
| 1949 | Young Love | James Lewis' Dad |
| 1952–1953 | December Bride | Various characters |

### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1944 | Casanova Brown | Fire chief | Uncredited |
| 1945 | The Horn Blows at Midnight | Lew Poplinski – Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1945 | It's in the Bag! | Joe – Nightclub Doorman | Uncredited |
| 1946 | A Knight for a Day | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1946 | Make Mine Music | Umpire | Voice |
| 1946 | The Stranger | Passport Photographer | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Make Mine Freedom | People | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1949 | The Life of Riley | Digby "Digger" O'Dell | |
| 1949 | Winter Storage | Chip 'n' Dale | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1951 | Three Desperate Men | Fairwether | |
| 1951 | The Lemon Drop Kid | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Symphony in Slang | St. Peter The Hipster Noah Webster | Voice |
| 1951 | Strangers on a Train | Professor Collins | |
| 1951 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | George Barley | Uncredited |
| 1952 | The Sniper | Wise | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Somebody Loves Me | Auto Salesman | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Something for the Birds | Mr. Lund | |
| 1952 | Hans Christian Andersen | Schoolmaster | |
| 1953 | That's My Pup | Spike | Voice, uncredited |
| 1953 | T.V. of Tomorrow | Las Vegas Special Narrator "We’re getting a picture now" Narrator | Voice, uncredited |
| 1953 | The Unicorn in the Garden | Husband Psychiatrist | Voice |
| 1953 | Robot Monster | Ro-Man Great Guidance | Voice |
| 1953 | Crazylegs | Keller | |
| 1953 | Man Crazy | Mr. Duncan | |
| 1953 | The Bigamist | Dr. Wallace | Uncredited |
| 1953 | The Wild One | Bill Hannegan | |
| 1954 | The Farm of Tomorrow | Tomato Narrator | Voice, uncredited |
| 1954 | Dixieland Droopy | Narrator Agent | Voice, Uncredited, (final film role) |

### Television

| Year | Program | Role | Notes |
| 1949–1950 | The Life of Riley | Digby "Digger" O'Dell | Was the only original cast member to join the television version |
| 1951 | I Love Lucy | Mr. Murdoch | "The Mustache" |
| 1951 | The Amos 'n Andy Show | The Loan Shark | "Leroy Lends a Hand" Uncredited |
| 1951 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | Harry Morton | |
| 1952 | Biff Baker, U.S.A. | Mueller | "Counterfeit Plates" |