Dan Seymour

American character actor

Evelyn Schwartz

(m. 1949)

Children2

Dan Seymour (born Daniel Seymour Katz; February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944) and Key Largo (1948).

Early life

Seymour was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Senn High School in Chicago and graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. in Fine Arts.

Career

From left to right: Dan Seymour, Aldo Nadi, Humphrey Bogart, Sheldon Leonard, Marcel Dalio and Lauren Bacall in *To Have and Have Not* (1944)

Seymour worked in burlesque as a song-and-dance man and worked at night as an emcee in New York night clubs.^[1] He moved to Hollywood, where his large build made him suitable casting for roles as dubious characters. After 16 months of dieting and swimming, his weight dropped to 244 pounds in 1946 having lost 100 pounds.^[2]

He played Vichy French Captain Renard, in To Have and Have Not (1944), the adversary of Humphrey Bogart's character. In Key Largo (1948), he again played opposite Bogart as one of the henchmen of Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson). In the motion picture Mara Maru (1952), he played opposite Raymond Burr and Errol Flynn.

He later appeared in seven episodes of Perry Mason, which starred Burr; the episodes spanned the entire nine-year run of the popular series. During the first season in 1957, he played Harry Marlow in "The Case of the Silent Partner." In the final season in 1965, he played Nappy Tyler in "The Case of the Carefree Coronary." He made four appearances in The Untouchables, and three on Adventures of Superman. He performed on the radio anthology series Mollé Mystery Theatre and later on many television series. He acted in episodes 25 and 26 of Batman (1966) credited as "Dan Seymore".

Personal life

He married Evelyn Schwartz in 1949. They had two children: Jeff, born in 1950, and Greg, born in 1954.

Death

On May 25, 1993, Seymour died two months after suffering a stroke in Santa Monica, California.^[1]^[3] He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.

Partial filmography

Bombs over Burma (1942) - Pete Brogranza
Cairo (1942) - Fat Doorman in Cairo Theatre (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town (1942) - Headwaiter at Nightclub (uncredited)
Road to Morocco (1942) - Slave-Buyer (uncredited)
Casablanca (1942) - Abdul (uncredited)
Mug Town (1942) - Chef (uncredited)
Tahiti Honey (1943) - Fats
Rhythm of the Islands (1943) - Native Guard
Hit the Ice (1943) - Resort Chef (uncredited)
Tiger Fangs (1943) - Henry Gratz
Klondike Kate (1943) - Harry - Piano Player
Kismet (1944) - Fat Turk at the Cafe (uncredited)
Rainbow Island (1944) - Fat Native Man (uncredited)
To Have and Have Not (1944) - Capt. M. Renard
Brazil (1944) - King of the Carnival (uncredited)
It's in the Bag! (1945) - Fatso (uncredited)
Guest Wife (1945) - Turkish customer (uncredited)
The Spanish Main (1945) - Jailer (uncredited)
Confidential Agent (1945) - Mr. Muckerji
San Antonio (1945) - Laredo Border Guard (uncredited)
A Night in Casablanca (1946) - Prefect of Police
The Searching Wind (1946) - Torrone
Cloak and Dagger (1946) - Marsoli
Philo Vance's Gamble (1947) - Jeffrey Connor
Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) - Dr. Armand
Slave Girl (1947) - Telek - Tuareg Chieftain
Intrigue (1947) - Karidian
Key Largo (1948) - Angel Garcia
Johnny Belinda (1948) - Pacquet - Storekeeper
Highway 13 (1948) - Kelleher (uncredited)
Trail of the Yukon (1949) - Tom Laroux
Reign of Terror (1949) - Innkeeper (uncredited)
Young Man with a Horn (1950) - Mike (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) - Josef (uncredited)
Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950) - Charlie Crawford
Sirocco (1951) - Wealthy Syrian (uncredited)
The Blue Veil (1951) - Pelt
Rancho Notorious (1952) - Comanche Paul
Mara Maru (1952) - Lt. Zuenon
Glory Alley (1952) - Sal Nichols (The Pig)
Face to Face (1952) - Drummer ('The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky')
Tangier Incident (1953) - Police Inspector Rabat
The System (1953) - Mr. Marty
Second Chance (1953) - Felipe
The Big Heat (1953) - Mr. Atkins
Human Desire (1954) - Duggan - Bartender (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) - Josef
Moonfleet (1955) - Hull
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) - Greco
The Buster Keaton Story (1957) - Indian Chief
Undersea Girl (1957) - Police Lt. Mike Travis
The Sad Sack (1957) - Arab Chieftain (uncredited)
Watusi (1959) - Mohamet
Return of the Fly (1959) - Max Barthold
Unholy Rollers (1972) - Used Car Dealer
The Way We Were (1973) - Guest
Centerfold Girls (1974) - Proprietor
The Manhandlers (1974) - Vito
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) - Psychic

References

^ ^a ^b Oliver, Myrna (May 29, 1993). "Dan Seymour; Abdul the Arab in Casablanca". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
^ Todd, John (May 20, 1946). "Hollywood Chatter". The Daily Times. Ohio, New Philadelphia. International News Service. p. 2. Retrieved May 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 110. ISBN 9780786450190. Retrieved 7 April 2017.