Bert Freed

Bert Freed

Birthday: 1919-11-03

Deathday: 1994-08-02

Place of birth: The Bronx, New York USA

Also known as:

imdb_id: nm0293099

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.

Played in movies:

Paths of Glory

Score: 8.3

In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan

Score: 8.2

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Score: 7.9

The Strike

Score: 7.5

Norma Rae

Score: 7.2

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Score: 7.2

Boomerang!

Score: 7.0

The Desperate Hours

Score: 7.0

Detective Story

Score: 7.0

No Way Out

Score: 6.9

Hang 'em High

Score: 6.8

There Was a Crooked Man...

Score: 6.8

The Gazebo

Score: 6.8

Twilight of Honor

Score: 6.8

The Long, Long Trailer

Score: 6.8

Nevada Smith

Score: 6.8

Shock Treatment

Score: 6.7

The Andersonville Trial

Score: 6.7

Death Scream

Score: 6.6

Red Mountain

Score: 6.4

Fate Is the Hunter

Score: 6.4

711 Ocean Drive

Score: 6.3

Till Death

Score: 6.3

Key to the City

Score: 6.2

Men of the Fighting Lady

Score: 6.2

Madigan

Score: 6.2

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town

Score: 6.1

The Goddess

Score: 6.0

Wild in the Streets

Score: 6.0

Billy Jack

Score: 5.9

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Score: 5.9

Invaders from Mars

Score: 5.9

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Score: 5.9

Halls of Montezuma

Score: 5.9

The Company She Keeps

Score: 5.9

Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers

Score: 5.8

The Cobweb

Score: 5.8

Take the High Ground!

Score: 5.7

The Swinger

Score: 5.5

Then Came Bronson

Score: 5.2

P.J.

Score: 5.2

The Atomic City

Score: 5.2

Tangier Incident

Score: 5.0

Why Must I Die

Score: 5.0

Evel Knievel

Score: 4.9

The Subterraneans

Score: 4.8

Barracuda

Score: 4.1

Love and the Midnight Auto Supply

Score: 3.5

Incident at Vichy

Score: 0.0

Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase

Score: 0.0

Breakout

Score: 0.0

Are You My Mother?

Score: 0.0

The Plot to Kill Stalin

Score: 0.0

Skag

Score: 0.0

Played in tv shows:

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Score: 8.6

Lincoln

Score: 8.0

Get Smart

Score: 7.9

The Munsters

Score: 7.9

The Outer Limits

Score: 7.8

Perry Mason

Score: 7.7

Perry Mason

Score: 7.7

Perry Mason

Score: 7.7

Perry Mason

Score: 7.7

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Score: 7.7

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Score: 7.7

Combat!

Score: 7.7

Arrest and Trial

Score: 7.7

Mission: Impossible

Score: 7.6

Mission: Impossible

Score: 7.6

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Score: 7.6

The Fall Guy

Score: 7.6

Knight Rider

Score: 7.5

Hogan's Heroes

Score: 7.5

Run for Your Life

Score: 7.2

The Green Hornet

Score: 7.2

The Thin Man

Score: 7.1

McCloud

Score: 7.1

The Rifleman

Score: 7.0

The Lucy Show

Score: 7.0

Vega$

Score: 7.0

The Streets of San Francisco

Score: 6.9

Barnaby Jones

Score: 6.9

Police Story

Score: 6.9

Ironside

Score: 6.8

The Rookies

Score: 6.8

Tarzan

Score: 6.7

Charlie's Angels

Score: 6.7

77 Sunset Strip

Score: 6.7

Mannix

Score: 6.7

Gunsmoke

Score: 6.6

Gunsmoke

Score: 6.6

Peter Gunn

Score: 6.5

Mr. Novak

Score: 6.5

The High Chaparral

Score: 6.5

Cannon

Score: 6.5

The Virginian

Score: 6.3

The Virginian

Score: 6.3

The Chevy Mystery Show

Score: 6.3

Paper Moon

Score: 6.3

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

Score: 6.3

Route 66

Score: 6.3

The Philco Television Playhouse

Score: 6.3

The Philco Television Playhouse

Score: 6.3

General Electric Theater

Score: 6.3

General Electric Theater

Score: 6.3

The Mod Squad

Score: 6.2

Bronk

Score: 6.2

Riverboat

Score: 6.2

The Guns of Will Sonnett

Score: 6.2

Decoy

Score: 6.2

The Big Valley

Score: 6.1

The Big Valley

Score: 6.1

The Big Valley

Score: 6.1

Shane

Score: 6.0

Law of the Plainsman

Score: 6.0

The Sixth Sense

Score: 5.9

Petticoat Junction

Score: 5.8

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

Score: 5.8

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

Score: 5.8

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Score: 5.7

The Dakotas

Score: 5.7

The Loner

Score: 5.7

Adventures in Paradise

Score: 5.7

The Detectives

Score: 5.6

Ben Casey

Score: 5.6

Johnny Staccato

Score: 5.6

Dr. Kildare

Score: 5.5

Dr. Kildare

Score: 5.5

Tightrope

Score: 5.5

The Outsider

Score: 5.2

Studio One

Score: 5.0

Studio One

Score: 5.0

Studio One

Score: 5.0

The Millionaire

Score: 5.0

Studio One

Score: 5.0

Bourbon Street Beat

Score: 5.0

Lancer

Score: 4.7

Cain's Hundred

Score: 4.7

Target: The Corruptors!

Score: 3.5