Lloyd Bochner

Lloyd Wolfe Bochner (July 29, 1924 – October 29, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He appeared in many Canadian and Hollywood productions between the 1950s and 1990s, including the films Point Blank, The Detective (1968), The Young Runaways (1968), Ulzana's Raid (1972) and Satan's School for Girls (1973), and the television prime time soap opera Dynasty (1981–82). Bochner also voiced Mayor Hamilton Hill in Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95) and its follow-up The New Batman Adventures (1997–99).

Career At the age of 11, Bochner began his acting career on Ontario radio programs. He went on to garner two Liberty Awards, the highest acting honour in Canada, for his work in Canadian film and theatre. Bochner served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. As a University College student at the University of Toronto, he actively participated in Hart House Theatre. In 1946, he made his debut with The Mapleville Story .

In 1951 he appeared in early television series such as One Man's Family and Kraft Television Theatre. In 1960, ABC called with a starring role in the series Hong Kong with co-star Rod Taylor. Faced against NBC's Wagon Train, then one of the most highly rated programs on the air, Hong Kong ended with the 26th episode. In 1961, he guest-starred in The Americans, an American Civil War drama about how the conflict divided families, starring Darryl Hickman.

A few years later, Bochner appeared in one of his most famous roles, that of a cryptographer attempting to decipher an alien text in the classic 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man", a part he spoofed years later in the comedy The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. In 1962 and 1963, he appeared in two episodes of the CBS anthology series, GE True, hosted by Jack Webb; he portrayed the part of Stoughton in "Code Name: Christopher, Part I" and Captain Ian Stuart in "Commando".

From 1963 to 1964, Bochner was a member of the repertory cast of NBC's The Richard Boone Show. In 1964, he guest-starred in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea season-one episode "The Fear-Makers". Later that year, he appeared as murderer Eric Pollard in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Latent Lover". Bochner is also memorably smooth and malicious as the gangster Carter against Lee Marvin in John Boorman's seminal 1960s film noir Point Blank. to Pia Zadora's abusive screenwriter husband in the camp classic film The Lonely Lady. In 1960, he starred in an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's The Citadel along with Ann Blyth. His son Paul said he "almost always played a suave, handsome, wealthy villain."

Notable roles Bochner played the scheming Cecil Colby on Dynasty. The character suffered a heart attack while having sex with Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins), and later died in his hospital bed seconds after marrying her. A few years later, Bochner planned to star as C.C. Capwell on the daytime drama Santa Barbara, but a heart attack caused his departure from the series. Bochner continued to appear in television series for the next few decades, doing frequent voiceover work for the highly acclaimed animated series Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.

Television roles In 1962, Bochner played in The Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man." That same year he appeared in 12 O'Clock High, playing the British officer, Major Mallory, episode "Fortress Wiesbaden".

In 1967, he appeared as a Royal Air Force officer and his German double on an episode of Hogan's Heroes in the episode "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To London". In 1967, he played an 'U.N.C.L.E.' agent in the last season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; a unique role in that while he was a 'good guy' in the final dialogue he was described as being "reassuringly unlikeable". He also appeared three times on the TV series Mission: Impossible. 1969 "The Glass Cage", 1971 "Takeover" and 1972 "The Deal". In 1969, Bochner played a handsome warlock named Franklyn in the Bewitched season five episode, "Marriage Witches Style". In 1969, he played as the cat-loving bad guy Clayton Hewitt in the episode "Catspaw" on It Takes a Thief and the final episode of same, "Project X", as Dr. George Kingsford in 1970.

In 1970, Bochner played Walter Gregson, a strangler on Hawaii Five-O in the season three episode, "Beautiful Screamer". Later on Hawaii Five-O, he was the Navy captain in the 1975 episode, "Murder: Eyes Only". He also appeared in Hawaii Five-O season 12 in an episode called "Clash of the Shadows" as a Jewish diplomat. He appeared in the episode "Prosecutor" of the ABC crime drama The Silent Force in 1970. In 1973, he played a chess coach in Columbo: The Most Dangerous Match and was in the episode "The Pisces" of the short-lived TV show The Starlost. In 1974 he guest starred as a would-be assassin in the TV series Chopper One in the episode "Killing Time" along with series regular Dirk Benedict with whom he would later work in Battlestar Galactica.

In 1974 and 1977, he appeared in four episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man; he portrayed Gavern Wilson in "Day of the Robot", Ulrich Rau in "Carnival of Spies", and Gordon Shanks in Deadly Countdown (part 1 and 2). In 1977, he was in an episode of the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang and an episode of the ABC situation comedy The San Pedro Beach Bums. Bochner also appeared in Barnaby Jones in an episode titled "The Loose Connection" (broadcast March 18, 1973). He was Commandant Leiter in the Battlestar Galactica original-series episode "Greetings from Earth" (1978).

Personal life and death Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Frieda ( Kenen) and Charles Abraham Bochner. . His uncle was Isaiah L. Kenen, founder of the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs.

Bochner interrupted his undergraduate studies in 1943 to serve in the Navy:

"He was appointed as an Ordinary Seaman (Officer Candidate UNTD) RCNVR in 1943. In 1943 he served in HMCS York for UNTD. He served in HMCS Cornwallis for Training 1944. He was appointed as a Probationary Sub-Lieutenant (Temp.) RCNVR 1944."

After the war, Bochner returned to the University of Toronto, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1947 from University College In 1960, the family moved to Los Angeles.

In 1998, he co-founded the committee to End Violence, a panel designed to study the impact violent images had on culture.

In his later years, Bochner spent summers sailing his 42-foot sloop in the Georgia Strait, off the coast of British Columbia with his wife Ruth, "indulging their long-held joy in being alone together on the water." Bochner and Ruth had three children — Johanna, Hart Bochner (actor, who also provided voices for Batman), and Paul (director and animator).

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards Bochner received an ACTRA Award in 2004.