1898-1987
American actor Walter Abel was born on this day in St. Paul, Minnesota. His career choice was to become an actor, and he in fact studied to become one. His initial eye, of course, was toward the stage, but it did not take long after his graduation in 1917 from the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts to find work in front of a motion picture camera. Though he immediately joined a touring company in 1917, he made is his film debut the following year in an uncredited role/extra in the Famous Players-Lasky production Out of a Clear Sky (1918), a romantic comedy directed by Marshall Neilan and produced and "presented" by Adolph Zukor. He did not make another film for two years, when he appeared in The North Wind's Malice in a credited role. This would be the end of this film career during the silent era. He did not re-enter the film business until the coming of talking films. In the meantime, he made a heck of a name for himself on Broadway. In 1930, he appeared in the Frank Borzage directed drama Liliom. He again took time--5 years--off for his stage work, but when he did return to film it came in his most famous role: that of d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1935). After this, he was never far from a camera. Abel made his television debut fairly early in the medium in a 1948 episode of The Philco Television Playhouse (An Inspector Calls); he appeared again in the series the following year. After this, despite a few films here and there thorough the years (notable role for me personally: Mayor Adams in Silent Night, Bloody Night in 1972), he became a specialist in guest appearances on a variety of series. Some of them include: Tales of Tomorrow, The Ford Television Theater, The Red Buttons Show, Suspicion, Playhouse 90, and Bob Hope Presents the Chyrsler Theatre. In 1966, he went into to semi-retirement, but continued to make the odd appearance here and there in filmed roles; and he worked almost all the way up to his death. His last appearance came in 1984 the Katherine Hepburn film Grace Quigley. Abel died three years later at the age of 88 on the 26th of March. His ashes were scattered in Long Island Sound not long after.
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