Whit Bissell

Actor
Whit Bissell

About

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Also Known As
Whitner Bissell, Whitner N. Bissell, Cpl. Whitner N. Bissell
Birth Place
New York City, New York, USA
Born
October 25, 1909
Died
March 05, 1996

Biography

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A wide-ranging character actor with Broadway experience, Bissell entered films in 1943 with "Holy Matrimony" and went on to appear in over 80 more. specializing as ineffectual types and high-strung professionals. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as the scientist who turned Michael Landon into a wolfman in "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957)....

Filmography

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The Night Rider (1979)
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979)
Dr Henry Blodgett
The Time Machine (1978)
Casey's Shadow (1978)
Donner Pass: The Road To Survival (1978)
Last of the Mohicans (1977)
General Webb

Photos & Videos

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Shack Out on 101 - Lobby Card Set
8 Photos
Advance To The Rear (1964) The War Won't Last Forever
0 Photos
0 Photos
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) -- (Movie Clip) I Am Not Insane!

Family & Companions

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Adrienne Marden
Wife
Actor, director. Divorced.
Jennifer Raine Bissell
Wife
Actor. Died January 5, 1993; daughter of actor Alan Napier.

Biography

A wide-ranging character actor with Broadway experience, Bissell entered films in 1943 with "Holy Matrimony" and went on to appear in over 80 more. specializing as ineffectual types and high-strung professionals. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as the scientist who turned Michael Landon into a wolfman in "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957).

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

The Night Rider (1979)
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979)
Dr Henry Blodgett
The Time Machine (1978)
Casey's Shadow (1978)
Donner Pass: The Road To Survival (1978)
Last of the Mohicans (1977)
General Webb
The Incredible Rocky Mountain Race (1977)
The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977)
Flood! (1976)
Dr Ted Horne
Psychic Killer (1975)
Dr Taylor
The FBI Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One (1974)
Senator Mckellar
Cry Rape! (1973)
Judge Newcombe
Soylent Green (1973)
The Salzburg Connection (1972)
[James] Newhart
Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
Minister
In Broad Daylight (1971)
City Beneath The Sea (1971)
A Tattered Web (1971)
Airport (1970)
Mr. Davidson
Once You Kiss a Stranger (1969)
Dr. Haggis
5 Card Stud (1968)
Dr. Cooper
A Covenant With Death (1967)
Bruce Donnelly
The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
Hobbs, newspaper editor
Fluffy (1965)
Dr. Braden
Where Love Has Gone (1964)
Professor Bell
Advance to the Rear (1964)
Captain Queeg
Seven Days in May (1964)
Senator Prentice
Hud (1963)
Burris
Spencer's Mountain (1963)
Dr. Campbell
Third of a Man (1962)
Dr. Maxwell
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Medical officer
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
Ludstrum
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Dr. Ellis
The Time Machine (1960)
Walter Kemp
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Chamlee
Warlock (1959)
Petrix
The Black Orchid (1959)
Mr. Harmon
No Name on the Bullet (1959)
[Thad] Pierce
Never So Few (1959)
Capt. Alofson
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Lou Gans
Monster on the Campus (1958)
Dr. Oliver Cole
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
John P. Clum
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Dr. Alfred Brandon
The Tall Stranger (1957)
Adam Judson
The Wayward Girl (1957)
Ira Molson
Johnny Tremain (1957)
Josiah Quincy
The Young Stranger (1957)
Grubbs
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
Professor Frankenstein
Man from Del Rio (1956)
Breezy Morgan
Dakota Incident (1956)
Mark Chester
The Proud Ones (1956)
Mr. Bolton
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Dr. Hill
Trial (1955)
Sam Wiltse
Not As a Stranger (1955)
Dr. Dietrich
The Desperate Hours (1955)
Carson
At Gunpoint (1955)
Clem Clark
The Naked Street (1955)
Assistant District Attorney Blaker
Shack Out on 101 (1955)
Eddie Miller
The Big Combo (1955)
Doctor
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Lt. Cmdr. Dickson
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Dr. [Edwin] Thompson
The Shanghai Story (1954)
Paul Grant
Three Hours to Kill (1954)
Deke
It Should Happen to You (1954)
Robert Grau
The Atomic Kid (1954)
Dr. Edgar Pangborn
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Snader
Target Earth (1954)
Scientist
Devil's Canyon (1953)
Virgil
The Sellout (1952)
Wilfred Jackson
Red Mountain (1952)
Miles
Boots Malone (1952)
Lou Dyer
Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
Mr. Yarbrough
Hoodlum Empire (1952)
Filby
The Turning Point (1952)
Buck, records clerk
The Family Secret (1951)
Joe Elsner
Lost Continent (1951)
Stanley Briggs
Tales of Robin Hood (1951)
Will Stutely
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Wounded officer
The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Bob Ford
Sealed Cargo (1951)
Shuster
The Du Pont Story (1951)
Dr. Wallace Carothers
Night into Morning (1951)
Stone yard proprietor
Wyoming Mail (1950)
Sam Wallace
For Heaven's Sake (1950)
Second doctor
Convicted (1950)
Owens
Perfect Strangers (1950)
Defense attorney
A Life of Her Own (1950)
Rental agent
Side Street (1950)
Harold Simpsen
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
Sid Bennet
The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949)
Pete Bellem
Tokyo Joe (1949)
Capt. Winnow
Chicken Every Sunday (1949)
Mr. Robinson
Anna Lucasta (1949)
Stanley Lucasta
Canon City (1948)
Heilman
He Walked by Night (1948)
Paul Reeves
Night Song (1948)
Wardrobe Gates
A Double Life (1948)
Dr. [Roland] Stauffer
Another Part of the Forest (1948)
Jugger
Raw Deal (1948)
Murderer
The Senator Was Indiscreet (1948)
[Robert] Oakes
That Lady in Ermine (1948)
Guilio
Brute Force (1947)
Tom Lister
The Sea of Grass (1947)
Ted, a clerk
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Bartender
It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946)
Chester Frye
Cluny Brown (1946)
Dowager's son
Destination Tokyo (1944)
Yoyo
Winged Victory (1944)
Holy Matrimony (1943)
Matthew Leek

Cast (Special)

Archie (1976)
Mr Lodge; Veronica'S Father
Nick and Nora (1975)
Wells (Guest)
Bachelor Party (1959)
Walter; Clerk
Mr. Tutt (1958)
The Comedian (1957)
Columnist
The Unexplained (1956)
Father
Miracle on 34th Street (1955)
Dr Pierce

Life Events

1943

Film debut "Holy Matrimony"

1954

Co-starred in "Creature From the Black Lagoon"

1957

Played recurring roles on "Bachelor Father"

1957

Featured in both "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"

1974

Played William Seward in TV-miniseries "Sandburg's Lincoln" (NBC)

1978

Final film appearance, "Casey's Shadow"

1979

Final TV-movie "The Night Rider"

Photo Collections

 
8 Photos
Shack Out on 101 - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from Shack Out on 101 (1955), starring Terry Moore and Lee Marvin. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Videos

Movie Clip

Advance To The Rear (1964) The War Won't Last Forever Briefly with Whit Bissell as Union Captain Queeg, Melvyn Douglas as Col. Brackenby and Glenn Ford as Lt. Heath, who’ve just been demoted together for screwing up and are being shipped west, meet Joan Blondell as Easy Jenny and Stella Stevens as dishy Martha Lou, whom we know to be a top Confederate spy, in the Civil War comedy Advance To The Rear, 1964.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) -- (Movie Clip) I Am Not Insane! Director Don Siegel’s perfectly efficient opening, Whit Bissell from the state mental hospital joins the ER doc Richard Deacon, who seems rightly concerned about Kevin McCarthy, as suburban GP Miles, who insists he’s not lost mind, from the original Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, 1956.
Trial (1955) -- (Movie Clip) He Talks White Supremacy Director Mark Robson shooting at an LA-area cemetery, Glenn Ford, Arthur Kennedy and Dorothy McGuire the legal team for their innocent client, at the funeral for the presumed murder victim, James Todd the minister, James Hoyt and Paul Guilfoyle the local racists demanding justice against the Latino perp, in writer Don Mankiewicz’s Trial, 1955.
Warlock (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Looks Like A Fair Enough Town First appearance for Henry Fonda as expensive hired lawman Blaisdell and Anthony Quinn his associate Morgan, Whit Bissell, Dolores Michaels, Vaughn Taylor among those receiving when Wallace Ford, as the intimidated Judge Holloway, has his moment, in Warlock, 1959, from the novel by Oakley Hall.
Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) -- (Movie Clip) This Lungfish Dr. Maia (Antonio Moreno) shows off the strange hand he found in Brazil, David (Richard Carlson) sensing the opportunity, his boss Mark (Richard Denning) considering, researcher Kay (Julia Adams) in support, as Luis (Rodd Redwing) finds trouble back at the site, early in Creature From The Black Lagoon, 1954.
Brute Force (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Why Keep On Fighting? Joining director Jules Dassin’s opening, wardens taking roll introducing John Hoyt, Howard Duff, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell and Jack Overman, Sir Lancelot the singing neighbor, then star Burt Lancaster as Collins, and Hume Cronyn prison Captain Munsey, in Brute Force, from producer Mark Hellinger and writer Richard Brooks.
Seven Days In May (1964) -- (Movie Clip) The Iron Mask First appearance of Ava Gardner as "Ellie," former mistress to the right-wing general under whom Col. "Jiggs" Casey (Kirk Douglas) serves, at a D.C. power party, Senator Prentice (Whit Bissell) throwing in conspiratorial comments, in John Frankenheimer's Seven Days In May, 1964.
Soylent Green (1973) -- (Movie Clip) Opening, The Year 2022 The impressive opening montage depicting the apparent decline of Western civilization, and the first scene introducing Santini (Whit Bissell), and grouchy pals Thorn (Charlton Heston) and Sol (Edward G. Robinson) from Soylent Green, 1973, directed by Richard Fleischer.
Time Machine, The (1960) -- (Movie Clip) Small Experimental Model London, December 31, 1899, after chat about space and time, George (Rod Taylor, as a fictionalized version of the author H.G. Wells) demonstrates his model for scientific friends (Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot, Whit Bissell, Tom Helmore), early in George Pal's The Time Machine, 1960.
Johnny Tremain (1957) -- (Movie Clip) The Greatest Patriots In Boston Now interested in politics in 1774 Boston, Hal Stalmaster (title character) with pal Rab (Richard “Dick” Beymer) learns of patriots Adams, Warren, Revere, Quincy (Rusty Lane, Walter Coy, Walter Sande, Whit Bissell) et al, the Boston Tea Party brewing, in Disney’s Johnny Tremain, 1957.
Airport (1970) -- (Movie Clip) He's Got A Bomb! Stewardess Gwen (Jacqueline Bisset) and pilot Demerest (Dean Martin) are actually in league with elderly stowaway Mrs. Quonsett (Helen Hayes), whom they’ve enlisted to help create a diversion because they know Guerrero (Van Heflin), sitting next to her, has a bomb, in Airport, 1970.

Trailer

Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) - (Original Trailer) A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill in the original The Manchurian Candidate (1962) starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury, from the novel by Richard Condon.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - (Original Trailer) Kevin McCarthy sees fit to address the audience directly in the trailer, sort-of, which on the whole seems appropriate, considering the premise, from the original Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, 1956.
Seven Days in May - (Original Trailer) The U.S. President is threatened by a military coup in Seven Days in May (1964) written by Rod Serling and starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.
Advance To The Rear - (Original Trailer) Civil War rejects are sent to the West, supposedly out of harm's way in Advance To The Rear (1964) starring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens.
Side Street - (Original Trailer) Farley Granger is a New York City mailman who is chased by both cops and crooks when he steals a shipment of dirty money in Side Street (1949).
Soylent Green - (Original Trailer) Future cop Charlton Heston uncovers the deadly secret behind a mysterious synthetic food in Soylent Green (1973).
Hud - (Re-issue Trailer) Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas both won Academy Awards for their performances in Hud (1963) starring Paul Newman.
Skirts Ahoy! - (Original Trailer) Three women join the Navy to find husbands in the MGM Technicolor musical Skirts Ahoy! (1952) starring Esther Williams.
No Name On The Bullet - (Original Trailer) Hired gunman Audie Murphy rides into town. Who is he there to kill? There's No Name On The Bullet (1959).
Young Stranger, The - (Original Trailer) A neglected teen gets into trouble with the law in director John Frankenheimer's first movie The Young Stranger (1957).
Destination Tokyo - (Original Trailer) A U.S. submarine braves enemy waters during World War II in Destination Tokyo (1944) starring Cary Grant & John Garfield.
Sealed Cargo - (Original Trailer) A fisherman (Dana Andrews) tangles with Nazi smugglers off the Canadian coast in Sealed Cargo (1951) co-starring Claude Rains.

Family

Brian Forster
Son
Survived him.
Kathy Marden
Daughter
Survived him.
Victoria Brown
Daughter
Survived him.
Amanda Whitley
Daughter
Survived him.

Companions

Adrienne Marden
Wife
Actor, director. Divorced.
Jennifer Raine Bissell
Wife
Actor. Died January 5, 1993; daughter of actor Alan Napier.

Bibliography

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