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E-mail: Time Machine Collectibles Fax: 509-525-0393
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After a long illness, Phil died peacefully
in his sleep on Thursday Feb 9th
We at Time Machine
Collectibles wish to extend our heartfelt
condolences to the family and friends of
Phil Brown.
He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and fans alike.
April 30, 1916
- February 9, 2006
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Phil Brown is probably best known for his
role in Star Wars as Uncle Owen Lars (Luke
Skywalker's Uncle), due to its world-wide
popularity for the past twenty years, in spite of
it's being a small role in terms of his long and
successful career in New York, Hollywood and
Europe.
Phil graduated from Stanford University in 1937
and was fortunate to be accepted into the famous
Group Theatre of New York in 1938.
While waiting for the Group Theatre to cast him,
Mr. Brown secured his first job on Broadway as a
dancer in the play, "Everywhere I
Roam". This led him to another dance part in
a political cabaret in aid of sending medical
supplies to Loyalist Spain. He also stage managed
a Russian War Relief meeting in Madison Square
Garden, addressed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
among others. These humanitarian efforts on the
part of Mr. Brown earned him a number of
"Brownie Points" in every Red-Haters'
"Black Book". (Roosevelt picked up a
few, but not as many as Brown.)
In 1941 after the sad dissolution of the Group
Theatre, Brown, along with a number of the senior
members, moved to Hollywood for work in films
which he did until he was drafted. His move
upward on the totem pole was fairly rapid,
playing a series of roles, classified in those
days as "the guy who didn't get the
girl". His near-misses comprise an
impressive list which included Jean Arthur, Jean
Craine, Hedy Lamarr, Ruth Hussey, Donna Reed, and
Claudette Colbert. He nearly succeeded in getting
Donna Reed in "Calling Dr. Gillespie",
but just missed doing so in the last reel, due to
having killed off a number of people earlier in
the film.
In the forties, along with other former Group
Theatre members, Mr. Brown formed The Actor's
Laboratory, a unique organization in Hollywood.
Life Magazine coverage of Ben Johnson's
"Volpone", directed by Morris
Carnovsky, resulted in the quote: "the
theatre where some of the best acting in America
can be seen today!". Phil Brown occupied a
position on the board of directors of the Actor's
Laboratory throughout it's duration, and during
that time directed the West Coast production of
Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" and
Arthur Laurent's "Home of the Brave".
He also played the title role in Michael
Chekhov's production of Gogol's "The
Inspector General", and produced many of the
70+ other productions.
In 1944 Brown returned briefly to Broadway to
perform the lead in "The Streets are
Guarded", which was written by retired
Marine Colonel Lawrence Stallings.
In 1948 Phil Brown traveled to London to play
the the role of Helen Haye's son Tom opposite her
in the Tennessee Williams play, "The Glass
Menagerie", directed by Sir John Gielgud.
This was the first Tennessee Williams play to be
seen in that city.
Brown remained in London for 18 months to play a
leading role along with Robert Newton in a comedy
thriller titled "Obsession" (a.k.a
"The Hidden Room), also performing in that
production was Sally Gray. He went on to a
behind-the-scenes position as assistant to the
director in a film based on the 30's novel,
"Christ in Concrete" by Pietro
DiDenato, which starred Sam Wanamaker. The Film
has two titles "Give Us This Day" or
"Salt to the Devil", and is considered
a classic in France.
In 1949 Brown was lured back to Hollywood with
the promise of directing, by Columbia Pictures.
He had only finished his first feature film
entitled "The Harlem Globetrotters"
which starred Dorothy Dandridge and the famous
Globetrotter team, before the anti-communist
zealots of the infamous McCarthy period rose to
prominence with their incredible persecution of
so many actors, authors, and other artists. The
last employment he was offered in Hollywood was a
job directing an anthology series of short plays
for Schlitz Beer, with Irene Dunne as the Master
of Ceremonies, after which he he was permanently
deprived of his livelihood by the American
Legion.
Although Phil Brown was never a member of the
Communist Party, a few ill-informed
super-patriots such as Ronald Reagan, (then
president of the Screen Actor's Guild), Roy
Brewer, (head of the Stage Hands Union in
Hollywood), The American Legion, and that most
powerful and corrupt of all the Red-Haters, J.
Edgar Hoover, decided that he was indeed a
"Red". They concluded that the Great
American Public would be better off if they were
not to see Mr. Brown's face on their screen, or
view any of the films he had directed. Brown was
blacklisted in 1952, along with many others
during that disgraceful time in political
history.
When Brown had been unemployed for 8 months, and
it appeared that he would remain so, he was
offered a leading role in a play entitled
"The River Line" by the same London
management that had presented "The Glass
Menagerie". He left for London immediately,
followed shortly by his wife Ginny and their two
young sons.
Seeing no point in returning to Hollywood
considering the political witch-hunt that
continued to flourish, the Browns remained in
London until early 1992. Fortunately, the British
government and citizens welcomed Mr. Brown's
talent as both actor and director, and he was
able to build a new career for himself . He
played a number of roles in London's West End,
which is the British equivalent of Broadway,
where he also directed a number of plays, as well
as producing and directing programs for British
Television, and performing in many shows. Over
the years he also acted in a number of films in
Spain, Yugoslavia, France, and Sweden.
Brown and his family lived on two luxurious
houseboats on the Thames, spending a part of each
year on the island of Hvar, off the coast of Yugoslavia, from 1952 until his recent return to
Hollywood in 1992.
Phil will be 88 in April and is retired from acting,
Because of failing health,
Phil is no longer attending conventions, but he continues to
sign autographs.
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I would like to announce my retirement from the convention
circuit. Personally autographed photos will continue to be
available to the public online through my website at
www.philbrown.com.
Meeting my fans personally has been endlessly rewarding for my
wife Ginny and me. I would like to express my deepest
gratitude to all for your support of my career, and thank you
from the bottom of my heart for your kind thoughts and warm
wishes.
Phil is now confined to bed and is no longer able to autograph
photos.
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| Phil at Disney World 200l |
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FILMS (Link to IMDB)
Filmography
Chaplin
(1992) - Projectionist (cameo)
Mario Puzo's 'The Fortunate Pilgrim';
(1988) - TV Series - Supervisor F/O
Martian Chronicles, The (1980), (mini) TV
Series (cameo)
Superman (1978) - State Senator (cameo)
aka Superman: The Movie (1978)
Star Wars (1977) - Uncle Owen Lars
aka Adventures of the Starkiller (1976) (USA)
aka Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1980)
Silver Bears (1977) - American Banker
(cameo)
Pink Panther Strikes Again, The (1976) -
Virginia Senator (cameo)
Romantic Englishwoman, The (1975) -
Mr.Wilson (featured)
Scalawag (1973)
Valdez Is Coming (1971) - Malson
(featured)
Togetherness (1970) - Everett
Tropic of Cancer (1970) - Van Norden
(featured)
Land Raiders (1969) - Mayfield (featured)
aka Day of the Landgrabber, The (1969)
Adding Machine, The (1969) - Don (Lead)
Operation Cross Eagles (1969) - Sgt.
Tunley (cameo)
aka Unakrsna vatra (1969)
Boy Cried Murder, The (1966), (lead)
aka Decak vikao ubistvo (1966)
aka Junge schrie Mord, Ein (1966) (West Germany)
Bedford Incident, The (1965) - Chief
Hospitalman McKinley (featured)
Counterfiet Traitor, The (1962)
Camp on Blood Island, The (1958)
(featured)
King in New York, A (1957) - Headmaster
(featured)
Green Scarf, The (1954) - John Bell
(featured)
Hidden Room, The (1949)- Bill Kronin
((lead)
aka Obsession (1949)
If You Knew Susie (1948) - Joe Collins
(cameo)
Moonrise (1948) - Elmer (featured)
Johnny O'Clock (1947) - Hotel Clerk
(featured)
Killers, The (1946), (uncredited) - Nick
Adams (featured)
aka Man Alone, A (1946)
Without Reservations (1946) -
Soldier(featured)
aka Thanks God, I'll Take It From Here (1946)
State Fair (1945) - Harry Ware ((featured)
aka It Happened One Summer (1945)
Jungle Captive, The (1945) - Don
Young(featured)
aka Wild Jungle Captive (1952)
Over 21 (1945) - Frank MacDougal
(featured)
Impatient Years, The (1944) - Henry
Fairchild (featured)
Weird Woman (1944) - David Jennings
(featured)
Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) - Roy Todwell
(lead)
Pierre of the Plains (1942) - Val Denton
(featured)
I Wanted Wings (1941) - Jimmy
Masters(cameo)
H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) - Joe Bingham
(featured)
Director
Filmography
Harlem
Globetrotters (1951) |
Autographed Photos - Orders - Gallery - Time Machine - Links
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