Cliff Osmond obit

Actor Cliff Osmond dies at 75

He appeared in four Billy Wilder films, was also noted acting coach

 

He was not on the list.

Actor and noted Hollywood acting coach Cliff Osmond, whose long career included roles in the Billy Wilder films “Irma La Douce,” “Kiss Me Stupid,” “The Front Page” and “The Fortune Cookie,” died Dec. 22 in Pacific Palisades, Calif., after fighting pancreatic battle for four years. He was 75.

Osmond made his first appearances on television in 1962, guesting on shows including “Twilight Zone,” “The Rifleman,” “Dr. Kildare” and “The Untouchables” in that year alone. Other TV credits during the period included “Have Gun Will Travel,” “Wagon Train,” “77 Sunset Strip,” “Batman” and “The Flying Nun.”

His first film role was an uncredited bit in the Western epic “How the West Was Won.”

Osmond guested repeatedly on “Gunsmoke” and subsequently appeared on “McMillan & Wife,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “All in the Family,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Kojak” and “Murder, She Wrote.”

The actor’s film credits also included “Oklahoma Crude” and “Hangar 18.” He made his last screen appearance in the 1996 film “For Which He Stands.”

Osmond also did stage work, drawing awards for appearances in Berthold Brecht’s “Baal” at UCLA and in George Bernard Shaw’s “You Never Can Tell” in Chicago.

He was also an occasional producer, director and writer who was nominated for a WGA Award for penning an episode of “The Streets of San Francisco.”

Clifford O. Ebrahim was born in Jersey City, New Jersey He majored in English at Dartmouth and earned an MBA from UCLA. He also did graduate work in theater history at UCLA.

Survivors include his wife Gretchen (Ebrahim) Osmond; a daughter and a son; and a granddaughter.

Donations may be made to any charity that provides funding to those seeking a cure for pancreatic cancer.

He starred in each films directed by Billy Wilder, including Irma la Douce, Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), The Fortune Cookie and The Front Page. Osmond played Pap in the 1981 television adaptation for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Osmond appeared in over one hundred films and television series. During that period he guest-starred at least half a dozen times on Gunsmoke and in the 1965 episode "Yahoo" of NBC's Laredo. He played a vengeful blind man in the “None So Blind” episode of The Rifleman in 1962, and was cast in "The Gift", (1962) of the original The Twilight Zone. He played a hippie in Ironside (1968) and appeared as well on Here's Lucy (1974), The New Land (1974), as a plumber's apprentice on work release from prison in All in the Family (1975).

As a screenwriter, Osmond was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award for writing an episode of Streets of San Francisco (1973). He also wrote and directed the film The Penitent.[citation needed]

Osmond received a Best Actor award for his UCLA performance of Berthold Brecht's Baal, and the Joseph Jefferson acting award for a Chicago stage appearance in Shaw's You Never Can Tell.

In addition to his acting and writing careers, Osmond was an acting teacher and coach in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the fall of 2004, he was visiting professor in acting and Guest Resident Artist at Georgetown University, teaching two acting courses and directing Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.

In 2010, he wrote a book about his career and acting: Acting Is Living: Exploring the Ten Essential Elements in any Successful Performance.

Filmography

 

    The Rifleman (1962) - None So Blind

    'The Rifleman (1962) - Bartender (uncredited)

    Wagon Train (1962) "The John Bernard Story" - Ben Gill

    Irma La Douce (1963) - Police Sergeant

    Have Gun, Will Travel (February 22, 1963) - "Caravan" - Koro

    The Raiders (1963) - Private Jean Duchamps

    Wild and Wonderful (1964) - Hercule - Giselle's Uncle

    Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) - Barney

    Laredo (1965, TV) - Midas Mantee / Running Antelope

    The Fortune Cookie (1966) - Purkey

    Batman (1967,TV) - Andante

    Three Guns for Texas (1968) - Running Antelope

    The Devil's 8 (1969) - Bubba

    Sweet Sugar (1972) - Burgos

    Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) - Captain Peters

    Oklahoma Crude (1973) - Massive Man

    The Front Page (1974) - Jacobi

    Sharks' Treasure (1975) - Lobo

    Emergency! (1975) - S4Ep5 - Clide

    Bob Newhart Show (1975) - S5Ep3 - Leonard de Paolo

    Joe Panther (1976) - Rance

    Guardian of the Wilderness (1976) - McCollough

    The Mouse and His Child (1977) - C. Serpentina (voice)

    The Great Brain (1978) - Mr. Kokovinis

    The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) - Big Chin

    The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) - Wes Hardin (Bank-robber)

    Beggarman, Thief (1979, TV) - Sagerac

    Hangar 18 (1980) - Sheriff Barlow

    The Adventures of Nellie Bly (1981, TV) - Stanfil

    Lone Star Sports Bar & Grill (1983) - Cal

    In Search of a Golden Sky (1984) - Russ McGuire

    For Which He Stands (1996) - Javier Chavez (final film role)