Full Name John Stevenson Name Steve Brodie Cause of death Cancer Role Film actor | Occupation Actor Children Kevin Brodie Years active 1944-1989 | |
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Died January 9, 1992, West Hills, California, United States Spouse Virginia Osburn (m. 1973–1992), Barbara Ann Stillwell Savitt (m. 1950–1966), Lois Andrews (m. 1946–1968) Movies The Giant Spider Invasion, Out of the Past, Desperate, The Steel Helmet, Blue Hawaii Similar People Kevin Brodie, Bill Rebane, Lois Andrews, Anthony Mann, Jerry Warren | ||
Steve Brodie (born John Stevenson; November 21, 1919 – January 9, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor from El Dorado in Butler County in south central Kansas. Born John Stevenson, he took his screen name from Steve Brodie, a daredevil who claimed to have jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886 and survived.
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Film career
Brodie appeared in more than two hundred films, mostly from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s. He worked at various studios, including MGM, RKO and Republic Pictures, appearing mostly in westerns and B-movies. He played supporting roles in the majority of his films, including the 1947 film noir classic Out of the Past and 1950's Armored Car Robbery.
An exception was 1947's Desperate, where he had a starring role. Later appearances included roles in two Elvis Presley films: 1961's Blue Hawaii and 1964's Roustabout.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, he appeared mostly on television, with guest- starring roles in such series as Stories of the Century (as the outlaw Harry Tracy), Crossroads, Sugarfoot, Colt .45, Stagecoach West, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Public Defender, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alaskans, Pony Express, The Brothers Brannagan, Going My Way, The Asphalt Jungle, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and The Dakotas. Brodie made three guest appearances on Perry Mason.
Brodie and Lash La Rue appeared nine and five times, respectively, as Sheriff Johnny Behan of Cochise County, Arizona, an historical person, in the ABC western series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp.
Brodie appeared on stage in the 1950s as Maryk in a national company production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, co-starring with Paul Douglas as Queeg and Wendell Corey as Greenwald.
Personal life
Brodie was married to actress Lois Andrews from 1946 until her death in 1968. Their son Kevin Brodie was a child actor who later became a film writer and director.
(In contrast to the first sentence above, numerous sources indicate that Brodie and Andrews divorced in 1948, and married Barbara Ann Savitt in 1950. A United Press International news item in 1965 indicated that Kevin Brodie's mother was Savitt, rather than Andrews. Columnist Harrison Carroll reported as much in his column in 1952: "It's an 8-pound baby son for actor Steve Brodie and his wife, the former Barbara Savitt. Youngster will be named Kevin Patrick.")
Death
Brodie died of cancer in West Hills, California, at the age of 72.
At the time of his death, The Los Angeles Times erroneously stated in his obituary that Brodie had been nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for 1949's Home of the Brave. In truth, Brodie was actually not among the five nominees in that category that year.