Winfield Harding Roope was born October 20, 1893 in Allston, Massachusetts, near Boston, the only son of George Winfield Roope and Lucie Mattie Jacobs, a wealthy couple listed in Newton's Blue Book. He "prepared" at Stone School for Boys, a Boston boarding school, and attended Harvard University from 1912 to 1916. During his time there, he appeared in varied dramatic and musical roles in school productions. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university in 1916.
He began acting professionally on stage in New York City in the early 1920s, and continued to do so for almost thirty years, appearing both off and on Broadway. He moved into film around 1950. He did do some television in the early 1950s, but did most of his television work in dramas during the last five years of his life, from 1955 on.
His first appearance on the Broadway stage was in the musical revue One Helluva Night, on June 4, 1924. From September 5, 1924 through September 12, 1925, he played Lieutenant Aldrich in the drama What Price Glory?. From March 30, 1949 through April 9, 1949, he played Colonel Jared Rumley in the comedy The Biggest Thief in Town. His last appearance on Broadway was in the first Broadway production of The Madwoman of Chaillot, June 13–25, 1950.
Fay Roope portrayed generals, admirals and colonels, in such movies as From Here To Eternity, Rock Hudson's Seminole, the Gary Cooper comedy You're in the Navy Now, and the original version of the science-fiction classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still. He played Mexican president, Porfirio Díaz in the movie Viva Zapata.
Callaway Went Thataway (1951) playing Tom LorrisonThe Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (uncredited) playing Major GeneralThe Frogmen (1951) (uncredited) playing Adm. DakersYou're in the Navy Now (1951) (uncredited) playing Carrier AdmiralAssignment: Paris (1952) (uncredited) playing American AmbassadorWashington Story (1952) playing CaswellThe Brigand (1952) playing Mons. De LaforceYoung Man with Ideas (1952) playing Kyle ThornhillCarbine Williams (1952) playing Ed - District AttorneyDeadline - U.S.A. (1952) (uncredited) playing Surrogate Court JudgeMy Six Convicts (1952) playing Warden George PotterViva Zapata! (1952) playing President Porfirio DíazIndian Uprising (1952) (uncredited) playing Maj. Gen. George CrookMan of Conflict (1953) playing Ed JenksA Lion Is in the Streets (1953) (uncredited) playing Governor Charles SnowdenClipped Wings (1953) playing Col. DavenportFrom Here to Eternity (1953) (uncredited) playing Gen. SlaterThe Charge at Feather River (1953) playing Lt. Col. KilrainThe System (1953) playing Roger StuartSeminole (1953) playing Col. Zachary TaylorAll Ashore (1953) playing Commodore StantonDown Among the Sheltering Palms (1953) (uncredited) playing Colonel Thomas B. RichardsThe Clown (1953) playing Doctor StraussThe Atomic Kid (1954) playing Gen. LawlorThe Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) (uncredited) playing City EditorNaked Alibi (1954) playing Commissioner F.J. O'DayThe Black Dakotas (1954) playing John LawrenceLiving It Up (1954) playing ManThe Lone Gun (1954) playing Mayor BoothAlaska Seas (1954) playing Captain Walt DavisMa and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955) playing Fulton AndrewsThe Rack (1956) playing Col. Dudley SmithThe Proud Ones (1956) playing MarkhamThe True Story of Jesse James (1957) (uncredited) playing Tom TropeThe FBI Story (1959) playing Dwight McCutcheonFaye Roope played judges in Raymond Burr's Perry Mason TV series, had a continuing role as Mr. Botkin in the long-lasting western Gunsmoke, and appeared as an older man of authority in many TV Western's of the 1950s. He played the old-west hanging judge in the classic 1960 Twilight Zone time-travel episode Execution, and appeared in many of the classic drama anthology shows of American television's Golden Age.
The Philco Television PlayhouseThe Beautiful Bequest (1949)The Ford Television TheatreJunior (1952)Mr. & Mrs. NorthTill Death Do Us Part (1952) playing Edward BarryHouse Behind the Wall (1953) playing Richard BurtonFireside TheatreGrey Gardens (1953) playing JustinRacket SquadThe Knockout (1951) playing Clayton CarswellThe Strange Case of James Doyle (1952) playing Jim DoyleSting of Fate (1953) playing Albert (Husband)The Lone RangerMessage to Fort Apache (1954) playing Colonel GainesCity DetectiveThe Blonde Orchid (1954) playing Police Commissioner RalphThe Public DefenderThe Case of the Parolee (1954) playing Mr. MarshallClimax!A Man of Taste (1955)The MillionaireThe Jerome Wilson Story (1955) playing Dr. Tom EvansScreen Directors PlayhouseWant Ad Wedding (1955) playing Reverend WalkerStudio 57Cubs of the Bear (1954) playing Amos Harlock"The Senorita and the Texan" (1955) playing Don LuisSoldiers of FortuneThe General (1955) playing General DeSabaCelebrity PlayhouseTantrum Size 12 (1956)Ford Star JubileeThe Day Lincoln Was Shot (1956)Broken ArrowIndian Medicine (1957) playing TyoeTales of Wells FargoThe Inscrutable Man (1957) playing Mr. HarperZane Grey TheaterThe Bitter Land (1957) playing Morgan BattersonSchlitz Playhouse of StarsThe Lonely Wizard (1957) playing Dr. ElliottThe CaliforniansThe Search for Lucy Manning (1957)Code 3The Man with Many Faces (1957) playing Dr. MatthewsPanic!Child's Play (1957) playing Charlie JenningsDr. Hudson's Secret JournalDr. Means' Surgery (1955) (as Fay Roupe) playing ChairmanLove in White Shoes (1957)The Adventures of Jim BowieBayou Tontine (1957) playing Etienne BroussardCurfew Cannon (1958) playing Etienne RochambeauThe Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'Frontier Journalism was Fearless (1955) playing Colonel Josh ClantonThe Frontier Theatre (1956) playing Older ActorThe Underdog (1958) playing Uncle George JacksonThe Court of Last ResortThe Westover Case (1958) playing Dan TackberryDragnetThe Big Oskar (1958) playing Oskar HovejgPerry MasonThe Case of the Gilded Lily (1958) playing Judge KyleThe Case of the Hesitant Hostess (1958) playing JudgeThe Rifleman The Brother-in-Law (1958) playing Jeff StaceyThe Legacy (1959) playing Doc BurrageThe Spiked Rifle (1959) playing BartonPanic (1959) playing Doc BurrageBonanzaThe Magnificent Adah (1959) playing CastellanGunsmoke"Change of Heart (1959) playing Mr. BotkinMurder Warrant (1959) playing Mr. BotkinThe F.U. (1959) playing Mr. BotkinHave Gun, Will TravelKiller's Widow (1958) playing E.J. RandolphAlaska (1959) playing WadeRawhideIncident on the Edge of Madness (1959) playing Mayor HaslipTateThe Gunfighters (1960) playing KeeferThe Chevy Mystery ShowFear Is the Parent (1960) playing DowThe TexanDesert Passage" (1958) playing Ben AtkinsThe Accuser (1960) playing Mr. BentonThe Twilight ZoneExecution (1960) playing JudgeCheyenneGold, Glory and Custer - Prelude (1960) playing Commissioner BradyGold, Glory and Custer - Requiem (1960) playing Commissioner BradyThe Tom Ewell ShowThe Old Magic (1961) playing DuttonFay Roope married Marie Teresa Roope. They had two children, Martha and George, and many grandchildren. He died on September 13, 1961, in Port Jefferson, New York, aged 67.
