Jack Weston

Jack Weston Biography Born August 21, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA Died May 3, 1996 in New York City, New York, USA (lymphoma) Birth Name Jack Weinstein In a 40-year career that spanned Broadway, television and movies, the versatile actor played everyone from sleazy villains to terrifying killers to clumsy comics. His bad-guy roles included a stalker who, along with Alan Arkin terrorized a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 cult classic Wait Until Dark (1967). He appeared in much lighter roles in Cactus Flower (1969), Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960), and Dirty Dancing (1987). In the latter, he ran a family resort in the Catskills that set the stage for romance between a teenager and dance instructor. His stage work included the Broadway hits "California Suite" in 1976 and 1981's "The Floating Lightbulb," for which he received a Tony nomination for his role as the trashy manager. Also in 1981, Weston appeared opposite Alan Alda in The Four Seasons, a movie about three middle-aged couples who vacation together. He played a cantankerous dentist obsessed with his Mercedes, which ended up going through the ice into a frozen lake at the movie's conclusion. Other film credits include Stage Struck (1958), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Ritz (1976), and Ishtar (1987). Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of a shoe repairman, Jack Weston began acting at the age of ten. Encouraged by his father and a perceptive teacher in his public school, he was brought to the Cleveland Playhouse, where he joined their children's theater. He stayed with the company until he was drafted into the army at the age of 19. After his stint in the military he moved to New York, where he appeared on Broadway in "Bells Are Ringing" with Judy Holliday. He spent 18 weeks on the road in James Leo Herlihy's "Crazy October" with Tallulah Bankhead and Joan Blondell. He later won rave reviews as Gaetsno Proclo in Terrence McNally's "The Ritz", a role he later recreated in the film version (The Ritz (1976)). He starred in the national company of Neil Simon's "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers", followed by the Broadway production of Simon's "California Suite". Next came "Cheaters" and "Break a Leg" with Julie Harris. Weston received a Tony nomination for his role in Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb". Weston made his big-screen debut in Stage Struck (1958), starring Henry Fonda, and has had an active career spanning more than 30 years and at least 25 films. His first major film role was in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) starring Doris Day and David Niven. His film career became firmly established as he appeared with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and The Honeymoon Machine (1961). He worked with Ingrid Bergman in Cactus Flower (1969), Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (1967) and Burt Reynolds in several films including Fuzz (1972) and Gator (1976). He appeared in A New Leaf (1971)--Elaine May's directorial debut--and worked for her again in Ishtar (1987). Weston has said that his favorite movie was The Four Seasons (1981), written and directed by Alan Alda. He did his first TV series, Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953), during "The Golden Age of Television" when the shows were shot live. He worked on The United States Steel Hour (1953), Playhouse 90 (1956), The Twilight Zone (1959), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963), Gunsmoke (1955) and The Untouchables (1959), as well as a comedy-drama special with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. He later performed in the BBC-TV production of Roald Dahl's "Tales of the Unexpected" and the TV miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue (1977). Spouse (2) Marge Redmond (19 April 1950 - ?) ( divorced) Laurie Davis Gilkes (? - 3 May 1996) (his death) ( 1 child) Was nominated for Broadway's 1981 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb." During World War II, he spent two years in Italy, courtesy of the U.S. Army, as an infantry company machine-gunner. He was a lifelong liberal Democrat.