Phil Brown

Philip Mortimer Brown (April 30, 1916 – February 9, 2006) was an American actor.

Early life Brown was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1916. He majored in dramatics at Stanford University, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Career Brown played some of his first roles on stage when he joined the Group Theatre in New York City. The Group Theatre eventually closed, and many of its members relocated to Hollywood, where Brown helped found the Actors' Laboratory Theatre. He found his first cinema roles here, making his motion picture debut in Mitchell Leisen's 1941 war movie, I Wanted Wings.

In 1946, he played Ernest Hemingway's protagonist Nick Adams in Robert Siodmak's version of The Killers, alongside William Conrad and Charles McGraw as the titular "killers".

In 1948, he played Tom in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, at the Haymarket Theatre London, in a production directed by John Gielgud.

His association with the Lab came back to haunt him later in the decade, when its members fell under the scrutiny of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although he was not a Communist, Brown was blacklisted in 1952, and was eventually compelled to relocate with his family to the United Kingdom between 1953 and 1993.

Overseas he was able to resume acting on stage, TV and films; he also directed for the stage and TV. In 1953, Brown appeared in the play The River Line in the West End. He was best known for his role as Luke Skywalker's uncle, Owen Lars, in Star Wars (1977).

He returned to the United States in the 1990s and in later years made the rounds of autograph shows.

Death Phil Brown died in his sleep of pneumonia on February 9, 2006, at the age of 89.

Legacy His wife Ginny survives him with their son; two grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1941 I Wanted Wings Jimmy Masters 1941 H. M. Pulham, Esq. Joe Bingham 1942 Hello, Annapolis Kansas City 1942 Calling Dr. Gillespie Roy Todwell 1942 Pierre of the Plains Val Denton 1944 Weird Woman David Jennings 1944 The Impatient Years Henry Fairchild 1945 The Jungle Captive Don Young 1945 Over 21 Frank MacDougal 1945 State Fair Harry Ware 1946 Without Reservations Soldier 1946 The Killers Nick Adams Uncredited 1947 Johnny O'Clock Phil, Hotel Clerk 1948 If You Knew Susie Joe Collins 1948 The Luck of the Irish Tom Higginbotham 1948 Moonrise Elmer - Soda Jerk 1949 Obsession Bill Kronin 1949 Give Us This Day Bit part Uncredited 1954 The Green Scarf John Bell 1957 A King in New York Headmaster 1958 The Camp on Blood Island Lt. Peter Bellamy 1959 John Paul Jones Sentry 1962 The Counterfeit Traitor Harold Murray Uncredited 1965 The Bedford Incident Chief Hospitalman Mckinley - Sick Bay 1966 The Boy Cried Murder Tom Durrant 1967 Bomb at 10:10 Professor Pilic 1968 Operation Cross Eagles Sgt. Turley 1969 The Adding Machine Don 1970 Land Raiders Sheriff John Mayfield 1970 Tropic of Cancer Van Norden 1970 Togetherness Everett 1971 Valdez Is Coming Malson 1972 Ooh... You Are Awful American Man 1973 Scalawag Sandy 1975 The Romantic Englishwoman Mr. Wilson 1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again Virginia Senator 1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming Rev. Cartwright 1977 Star Wars Owen Lars 1978 Silver Bears American Banker 1978 Superman State senator (Missile Control) 1992 Chaplin Projectionist 1999 Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming Council Elder Short, (final film role)

Television Year Title Role Notes 1980 Oppenheimer Lewis Strauss 2 episodes 1981 Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years Lord Beaverbrook 2 episodes 1988 The Fortunate Pilgrim Supervisor F/O 1989 The Martian Chronicles (miniseries) Narrator