# Walter Abel

Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American stage, film, and radio actor whose career spanned nearly seven decades.

## Life

Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he had studied in 1917 and joined a touring company. His brother Alfred died in 1922 from tuberculosis contracted while serving overseas in World War I. Abel was married to concert harpist Marietta Bitter.

## Career

Abel made his film debut in 1918 with a small part in Out of a Clear Sky, and his Broadway debut in Forbidden in 1919.
In 1924, he appeared in two Eugene O'Neill plays simultaneously: Bound East for Cardiff at the Provincetown Playhouse and Desire Under the Elms at the Greenwich Village Theater. His many theatre credits include As You Like It (1923), William Congreve's Love for Love (1925), Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (1929–1930), Mourning Becomes Electra (1929), Kaufman and Hart's Merrily We Roll Along (1934), and Trelawny of the 'Wells'. He also appeared in Channing Pollock's play The Enemy (1926) with Fay Bainter, adapted to film as The Enemy (1927) with Lillian Gish and Ralph Forbes. Abel made his stage debut in London in the 1929 Coquette.
His first major film role was as D'Artagnan in RKO Pictures' 1935 The Three Musketeers, and as hyperactive agent Danny Reed in the 1942 musical comedy Holiday Inn, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.
Abel went on to play in more than sixty films, and was a vice president of the Screen Actors' Guild.
Abel also appeared as a concert narrator or reader with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait in 1951, and in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood in 1953.

## Death

Abel died March 26, 1987, of a myocardial infarction at a nursing home in Essex, Connecticut. He was cremated and a memorial service was held at the Little Church Around the Corner in Manhattan. His ashes were combined with those of his wife and scattered in Long Island Sound.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1918 | Out of a Clear Sky | | Uncredited Lost film |
| 1920 | The North Wind's Malice | Tom | |
| 1930 | Liliom | Carpenter | |
| 1935 | The Three Musketeers | d'Artagnan | |
| 1936 | Two in the Dark | Ford Adams | |
| 1936 | The Lady Consents | Stanley Ashton | |
| 1936 | The Witness Chair | James 'Jim' Trent | |
| 1936 | Fury | District Attorney | |
| 1936 | We Went to College | Phil Talbot | |
| 1936 | Second Wife | Kenneth Carpenter Sr. | |
| 1937 | Green Light | John Stafford | |
| 1937 | Portia on Trial | Dan Foster | |
| 1937 | Wise Girl | Karl | |
| 1938 | Law of the Underworld | Warren Rogers | |
| 1938 | Racket Busters | Hugh Allison | |
| 1938 | Men with Wings | Nick Ranson | |
| 1939 | King of the Turf | Robert Barnes | |
| 1939 | First Offenders | Gregory Stone | |
| 1939 | Miracle on Main Street' | Jim Foreman | |
| 1940 | Dance, Girl, Dance | Judge | |
| 1940 | Arise, My Love | Phillips | |
| 1940 | Who Killed Aunt Maggie? | Dr. George Benedict | |
| 1940 | Michael Shayne: Private Detective | Elliott Thomas | |
| 1941 | Hold Back the Dawn | Inspector Hammock | |
| 1941 | Skylark | George Gorell | |
| 1941 | Glamour Boy | Anthony J. Colder | |
| 1942 | Beyond the Blue Horizon | Prof. Thornton | |
| 1942 | Holiday Inn | Danny Reed | |
| 1942 | Wake Island | Cmdr. Roberts | |
| 1942 | Star Spangled Rhythm | B.G. DeSoto | |
| 1943 | Fired Wife | Chris McClelland | |
| 1943 | The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith | Jack / A Flyer / Opening Narrator | Short Film |
| 1943 | So Proudly We Hail! | Chaplain | |
| 1944 | Follow the Boys | Walter Abel | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Hitler Gang | Narrator (voice) | |
| 1944 | Mr. Skeffington | George Trellis | |
| 1944 | An American Romance | Howard Clinton | |
| 1945 | The Affairs of Susan | Richard Aiken | |
| 1945 | Duffy's Tavern | Director | |
| 1945 | Kiss and Tell | Harry Archer | |
| 1946 | The Kid from Brooklyn | Gabby Sloan | |
| 1946 | 13 Rue Madeleine | Charles Gibson | |
| 1947 | Variety Girl | Walter Abel | Uncredited |
| 1947 | The Fabulous Joe | Milo Terkel | |
| 1948 | Dream Girl | George Allerton | |
| 1948 | That Lady in Ermine | Major Horvath / Benvenuto | |
| 1948 | Picture in Your Mind | Narrator | Short Film |
| 1948 | Neighbor to the North | The American | Short Film |
| 1953 | So This Is Love | Colonel James Moore | |
| 1953 | Island in the Sky | Col. Fuller | |
| 1954 | Night People | Maj. R.A. Foster, MD | |
| 1955 | The Indian Fighter | Captain Trask | |
| 1956 | The Steel Jungle | Warden Bill Keller | |
| 1957 | Bernardine | Mr. Beaumont | |
| 1957 | Raintree County | T.D. Shawnessy | |
| 1958 | Handle with Care | Prof. Roger Bowden | |
| 1964 | Quick, Let's Get Married | The Thief | |
| 1965 | Mirage | Charles Stewart Calvin | |
| 1965 | Israel: The Story of the Jewish People | Narrator | Short Film; uncredited |
| 1972 | Silent Night, Bloody Night | Mayor Adams | |
| 1979 | Israel: The Story of the Jewish People | Narrator | Short Film; credited as Walter Able |
| 1984 | Grace Quigley | Homer Morrison | Final role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1948 | Critic at Large | Self | Episode: "Episode #1.16" |
| 1948–1949 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Macduff | 2 episodes |
| 1949 | The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre | Sir Wilfred Roberts | Episode: "Witness for the Prosecution" |
| 1950 | Masterpiece Playhouse | George Tesman | 2 episodes |
| 1950–1951 | The Prudential Family Playhouse | Egbert Flound / Sam Dodsworth | 2 episodes |
| 1950–1953 | Lux Video Theatre | Father / Joe Holmby | 2 episodes |
| 1951 | Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre | | Episode: "To My Beloved Wife" |
| 1951 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self | Guest |
| 1951 | Who Said That? | Self | Episode: "March 12, 1951" |
| 1951 | The Sam Levenson Show | Self | Episode: "Walter Abel and Son" |
| 1951 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self | Episode: "Episode #4.39" |
| 1951 | 20 Questions | Self | Episode: "Walter Abel" |
| 1951–1952 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Father / Harry Archer | 2 episodes |
| 1951–1952 | Tales of Tomorrow | Doctor Allen | 4 episodes |
| 1952 | Celanese Theatre | Reed | Episode: "Yellow Jack" |
| 1952 | It's News to Me | Self | Episode: "Walter Abel, Signe Hasso" |
| 1953 | The Ford Television Theatre | | Episode: "There's No Place Like Home" |
| 1954 | Ethel and Albert | Gilbert | Episode: "The Income Tax" |
| 1954 | Studio One | Juror No. 4 | Episode: "Twelve Angry Men" |
| 1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | | Episode: "The Judged" |
| 1954 | The Red Buttons Show | | Episode: "November 12, 1954" |
| 1955 | Playwrights '56 | Dr. Harmon | Episode: "The Answer" |
| 1955 | The Martha Raye Show | Self | Episode: "Stubby Kaye, Johnnie Ray, Walter Abel" |
| 1956 | Climax! | Stewart | Episode: "The Midas Touch" |
| 1956 | The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial | | Episode: "The Person and Property of Margery Hay" |
| 1956–1958 | Playhouse 90 | Mr. Wayde | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | McKinley | Episode: "The Great American Hoax" |
| 1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | | Episode: "Heroes Walk on Sand" |
| 1958 | Suspicion | Major Harvey Denbrow | Episode: "Meeting in Paris" |
| 1960 | The Play of the Week | Inspector | Episode: "The Enchanted" |
| 1963 | The Defenders | Ben Burke | Episode: "A Book for Burning" |
| 1963 | The Farmer's Daughter | General Todd | Episode: "An Enterprising Young Man" |
| 1964 | East Side West Side | Brewer Bradford | Episode: "Here Today" |
| 1965 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self | Episode: "Episode #4.196" |
| 1966 | Seaway | Goddard Borglun | Episode: "The Viking" |
| 1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Reynard Pitney | Episode: "And Baby Makes Five" |
| 1971 | NBC Children's Theatre | Self | Episode: "Super Plastic Elastic Goggles" |
| 1973 | The Man Without a Country | Col. A.B. Morgan | Direct-to-TV Movie |
| 1976 | The American Woman: Portraits of Courage | Judge | Direct-to-TV Documentary |

## Radio appearances

| Year | Program | Episode/source |
| 1941 | Gulf Screen Guild Theatre | No Time for Comedy |
| 1944 | Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre | Phantom Lady |
| 1945 | Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre | Double Indemnity |
| 1947 | Theatre Guild on the Air | No Time for Comedy |
| 1947 | Suspense | Quiet Desperation |
| 1952 | Theatre Guild on the Air | The Bishop Misbehaves |