April 15 - Hans Conried

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On this day, in 1917, Hans Georg Conried was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised as an only child (he had a brother who died at the age of five and a half-brother who lived elsewhere), Hans was pretty much given everything he could ever want as a child. He began appearing in local stage shows (mostly Shakespearean plays) at the age of 12. After graduating from high school, he attended Columbia University in New York City to study commercial art (at the urging of his father) and acting (because he wanted to). By 1934, his father’s failing health left Hans as the sole supporter of the family. It was soon decided that the Conried Clan should move to Southern California to see if the change of climate would help dear old dad. Once the family was settled, Hans spent his days working for a sports equipment manufacturer and his nights on stage with the Santa Monica Players.

One day, in late 1935, Hans heard an announcement on his favorite radio station that they were going to add locally produced broadcasts of uncut Shakespeare works. He got so excited by the prospect that he went to the station and basically accosted the manager with his enthusiasm. Once the manager understood that Hans wasn’t there to complain, he took note of the young man’s wonderful voice and extensive Shakespearean credits and hired him to be a part of the upcoming broadcasts. On January 14, 1936, Hans began his radio career as part of the cast of KECA’s live broadcast of Othello. He would be a regular voice on airwaves for the next two decades. He was a regular on Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood, Ceiling Unlimited with Orson Welles and spent several years playing the dim witted Professor Kropotkin on My Friend Irma.

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Hans made the leap to the silver screen in 1938. His first role was as a snobbish student in the MGM romantic comedy Dramatic School, starring Paulette Goddard and Luise Rainer. While he would appear in dozens of films over the years, none of his roles really ever rose above that of bit part (in fact most of them for the first two years were uncredited). He often said that the highlight of his movie career came in 1953 when he got to star in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, the only movie ever written by Dr. Seuss. The film was a dismal financial and critical failure (so much so that Dr. Seuss tried his best never to mention it, ever) but Hans felt it was the most fun he’d ever had making a movie.

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When World War II finally came to America in 1941, Hans, as the only surviving son in his family, managed to keep from being drafted until September 1944. He was sent to be trained as a tank crewman, but the Army quickly realized that he was too tall for the job. He was then moved into a heavy artillery unit and shipped out to the Philippines. He wasn’t there long before Jack Kruschen, a friend and fellow actor, got him moved into the Armed Forces Radio Service. Hans spent the remainder of his tour there, travelling around Japan, Korea and the Philippines, setting up radio stations and performing for his fellow troops. While there he fell in love with Japanese culture and became a lifelong self-proclaimed Japanophile (his word).

Image copyright Jay Ward Productions

After returning to the United States in 1946, Hans began what would become the bread and butter of his career for the next thirty years: television appearances. One of his first gigs was on a quiz show produced in Los Angeles call Pantomime Quiz. An amiable rivalry sprung up on the show between Hans and his good friend, Vincent Price, and their often hilarious back and forth played out over several seasons. He quickly became one of the early popular personalities on the small screen through his frequent guest shots on The Jack Paar Show starting in the late Fifties. From then on, he had guest appearances on everything from I Love Lucy to The Love Boat. But his strongest collaborative relationship that beamed into everyone’s living rooms on a regular basis was with the animating team of Jay Ward and Bill Scott. The creative duo were the masterminds behind Crusader Rabbit, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends and Hoppity Hooper. Hans provided the voice for Snidely Whiplash on Rocky and Bullwinkle, Uncle Waldo on Hooper and was the live action host for Jay's Fractured Flickers (where he used many of his friends from Pantomime Quiz as interviewees). 

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Hans cemented his place in the Disney family when he took on dual roles in the company's 14th animated feature, Peter Pan. Not only did he play George Darling, he also gave voice to (and filmed the live action reference pieces for) the classic villain Captain Hook (which is the traditional way to cast those parts). As if that weren't enough, he played two roles in the classic short Ben and Me (Thomas Jefferson and a crook), was the prosecutor in The Story of Anyburg, USA, JB in The Goofy Success Story and became the Slave in the Magic Mirror for several episodes of Wonderful World of Color. On the live action front, Hans appeared as Thimblerig in the Davy Crockett series, Professor Whatley in The Shaggy D.A., and as Dr. Heffel in The Cat From Outer Space.

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In between all his screen appearances, Hans found time to grace stages, both on and off Broadway, as well. He was part of the original Broadway casts of Cole Porter's Can-Can, Candor and Ebbs' 70, Girls, 70, and a revival of Irene. Throughout the Sixties and early Seventies, he loved to take on regional theater productions or even join touring companies. His days of live theater, however, came to a halt one day in 1974, when he suffered a mild stroke. He recovered but was never again quite able to handle to physical stress of performing night after night. It also put a damper on his live action career in general. He soldiered on, though, and remained an active voice over actor right up to the end of life. He suffered a mild heart attack in 1979, then, on January 4, 1982, he had a major one. The following day, he passed away in a hospital in Burbank, California. He was only 64.