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Bert Freed

Acting 74 (deceased) years old The Bronx, New York USA ★ 0.7
Born: November 3, 1919
Died: August 2, 1994

Biography

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  

Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 — August 2, 1994) was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.

Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Penn State University, and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Following World War II Army service in the European Theatre, he appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985. His film debut occurred, oddly enough, in a musical Carnegie Hall (1947). A prominent role was as the villainous Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through the season.

Freed played Columbo in a live 1960 episode of the "Chevy Mystery Theatre" seven years before Peter Falk played the role. Thomas Mitchell also played the part on stage prior to Falk's version, which is probably where many of the eccentric Columbo traits originated; only a few were visible in Freed's straightforward interpretation, although the character as played by Freed is recognizably Columbo.

He appeared (sometimes more than once) in television shows such as The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley,The Virginian, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, Then Came Bronson, Run For Your Life, Get Smart, The Lucy Show, Hogan's Heroes, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Combat!, Petticoat Junction, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Ironside, The Green Hornet, The Munsters, and many, many more. He directed one episode of T.H.E. Cat.

Freed appeared as a racist club owner in No Way Out (1950), a gangster in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950), a Marine private in Halls of Montezuma (1951 film), an Army sergeant in Take the High Ground! (1953), the Police Chief in Invaders From Mars (1953), Sgt. Boulanger in Paths of Glory (1957), the hangman in Hang 'Em High (1968), Max's father in Wild in the Streets (1968), as Chief of Detectives in Madigan (1968), a homosexual prison guard in There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and Bernard's father in Billy Jack (1971) in which he got "whumped" on the side of the face by Billy Jack's right foot "just for the hell of it."

He retired from acting in 1986, and died of a heart attack in Canada in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Bert Freed,  licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

The Rifleman
The Rifleman 1958
Ironside
Ironside 1967
Mannix
Mannix 1967
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction Detective Horton 1963
Run for Your Life
Run for Your Life Sheriff Parsons 1965

Filmography

Acting Credits (142)

Are You My Mother?
Are You My Mother? Bert 1986
Knight Rider
Knight Rider Anthony Solan 1982
Darkroom
Darkroom Charlie's Dad 1981
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy 1981
Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase
Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase Carlo 1981
Skag
Skag Bishop 1980
Norma Rae
Norma Rae Sam Dakin 1979
Barracuda
Barracuda Jack 1978
Vega$
Vega$ 1978
Till Death
Till Death Dr. Sawyer 1978
In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan
In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan Dr. Julius Korein 1977
Love and the Midnight Auto Supply
Love and the Midnight Auto Supply Mayor John Randolph 1977
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels Stambler 1976
Death Scream
Death Scream Det. Ross 1975
Bronk
Bronk 1975
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker Capt. Akins 1974
Paper Moon
Paper Moon 1974
Lincoln
Lincoln Edwin Stanton 1974
Incident at Vichy
Incident at Vichy Marchand, A Businessman 1973
Police Story
Police Story 1973
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones Det. Capt. Ben Wyatt 1973
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco 1972
The Rookies
The Rookies 1972
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense 1972
Cannon
Cannon 1971
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel Doc Kincaid 1971
Billy Jack
Billy Jack Mr. Stuart Posner 1971
Breakout
Breakout Fletcher 1970
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family Mr. Sharp 1970
There Was a Crooked Man...
There Was a Crooked Man... Skinner 1970
The Andersonville Trial
The Andersonville Trial Board of Military Judges 1970
McCloud
McCloud Packy Keefe 1970
Then Came Bronson
Then Came Bronson Editor Carson 1969
The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad 1968
Lancer
Lancer 1968
The Outsider
The Outsider 1968
Wild in the Streets
Wild in the Streets Max Jacob Flatow, Sr. 1968
Hang 'em High
Hang 'em High Schmidt 1968
Madigan
Madigan Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch 1968
P.J.
P.J. Police Lieutenant 1968
Mannix
Mannix 1967
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral Telford Burris 1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
The Guns of Will Sonnett 1967
Ironside
Ironside 1967
The Swinger
The Swinger Police Captain 1966
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible Leon Chandler 1966
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible Gen. Brenner 1966
Shane
Shane Rufe Ryker 1966
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet Police Sgt. Bert Clark 1966
Tarzan
Tarzan 1966
Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith Quince 1966
Get Smart
Get Smart Badeff 1965
The Loner
The Loner 1965
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes Maj. Bernsdorf 1965
The Big Valley
The Big Valley Judge Ben Coulter 1965
The Big Valley
The Big Valley Henry Marvin 1965
The Big Valley
The Big Valley Homer Roberts 1965
Run for Your Life
Run for Your Life Sheriff Parsons 1965
Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter Dillon 1964
Invitation to a Gunfighter
Invitation to a Gunfighter Sheriff 1964
The Munsters
The Munsters 1964
Shock Treatment
Shock Treatment Frank Josephson 1964
Twilight of Honor
Twilight of Honor Sheriff Buck Wheeler 1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 1963
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction Detective Horton 1963
Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak Lorimer 1963
The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits Joe Hayden 1963
Arrest and Trial
Arrest and Trial 1963
The Dakotas
The Dakotas 1963
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Ben Golden 1962
Combat!
Combat! Sgt. Weber 1962
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show Miller 1962
The Virginian
The Virginian Milo Henderson 1962
The Virginian
The Virginian Jason Ainsworth 1962
Ben Casey
Ben Casey 1961
Target: The Corruptors!
Target: The Corruptors! 1961
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare Dr. Donald White 1961
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare Director 1961
Cain's Hundred
Cain's Hundred Dave Reed 1961
Route 66
Route 66 1960
The Subterraneans
The Subterraneans Bartender 1960
Why Must I Die
Why Must I Die Adler 1960
The Chevy Mystery Show
The Chevy Mystery Show Lt. Columbo 1960
The Gazebo
The Gazebo Joe Jenkins 1959
The Detectives
The Detectives 1959
Startime
Startime Couver 1959
Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat 1959
Adventures in Paradise
Adventures in Paradise Michael Dannora 1959
Law of the Plainsman
Law of the Plainsman Benson 1959
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis 1959
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson Lieutenant 1959
Riverboat
Riverboat Kester 1959
Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato 1959
Tightrope
Tightrope 1959
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip 1958
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse 1958
The Rifleman
The Rifleman 1958
The Plot to Kill Stalin
The Plot to Kill Stalin Sokolovsky 1958
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn 1958
The Goddess
The Goddess Lester Brackman 1958
Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory Sgt. Boulanger 1957
Decoy
Decoy Lieutenant Rosenberg 1957
Perry Mason
Perry Mason Ken Woodman 1957
Perry Mason
Perry Mason Harry Parker 1957
Perry Mason
Perry Mason Carl Holman 1957
Perry Mason
Perry Mason Joe Marshall 1957
The Thin Man
The Thin Man 1957
Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers
Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers Dayton Colonel 1956
The Desperate Hours
The Desperate Hours Tom Winston 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Capt. Harvey Ellison 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Cooper 1955
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke Al Clovis 1955
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke Chris Thornton 1955
The Cobweb
The Cobweb Abe Irwin 1955
The Millionaire
The Millionaire M / Sgt. Matthew Brogan 1955
The Strike
The Strike Chick 1954
Men of the Fighting Lady
Men of the Fighting Lady Lt. (jg) Andrew Szymanski 1954
The Long, Long Trailer
The Long, Long Trailer Foreman 1954
Take the High Ground!
Take the High Ground! Sgt. Vince Opperman 1953
Invaders from Mars
Invaders from Mars Police Chief A.C. Barrows 1953
Tangier Incident
Tangier Incident Kozad 1953
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater Mitch Green 1953
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater Armstrong 1953
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Snows of Kilimanjaro American Soldier (uncredited) 1952
The Atomic City
The Atomic City Emil Jablons 1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame Pete Johnson 1951
Detective Story
Detective Story Det. Dakis 1951
Red Mountain
Red Mountain Sgt. Randall 1951
The Company She Keeps
The Company She Keeps Smitty 1951
Halls of Montezuma
Halls of Montezuma Slattery 1951
No Way Out
No Way Out Rocky Miller (uncredited) 1950
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Where the Sidewalk Ends Det. Sgt. Paul Klein 1950
711 Ocean Drive
711 Ocean Drive Steve Marshak (uncredited) 1950
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town Dutch (Third New York Henchman) 1950
Key to the City
Key to the City Emmy's Husband 1950
Studio One
Studio One Chick 1948
Studio One
Studio One Malone 1948
Studio One
Studio One Mike Jannis 1948
Studio One
Studio One Lt. Burke 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse Al Rago 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse 1948
Boomerang!
Boomerang! Herron, a Man in Alley Mob 1947

Directing Credits (1)

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