Steve Brodie (actor)


Steve Brodie 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.

Film career

Brodie appeared in 79 feature films during his career, plus a profusion of appearances on episodic TV. 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, 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, , and The Dakotas. Brodie made three guest appearances on Perry Mason.He portrayed murderer Ben Wallace in the 1959 episode 'The Case of the Garrulous Gambler', Eddie Lewis in the 1962 episode 'The Case of the Angry Astronaut' and Quinn Torrey in the 1964 episode 'The Case of the Witless Witness'.
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 to 1948. He married Barbara Ann Savitt in 1950. Their son, Kevin Brodie, was a child actor who later became a film writer and director.

Death

Brodie died of cancer in 1992 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. Brodie was actually not among the five nominees in that category that year.

Partial filmography