Morris Ankrum
- Birthday
- Aug 27, 1896
- Birthplace
- Danville, Illinois, USA
Bio: American actor Morris Ankrum graduated from the University of Southern California with a law degree, then went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Here he founded a collegiate little theatre, eventually turning his hobby into a vocation as a teacher and director at the Pasadena Playhouse. (He was much admired… More Bio: American actor Morris Ankrum graduated from the University of Southern California with a law degree, then went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Here he founded a collegiate little theatre, eventually turning his hobby into a vocation as a teacher and director at the Pasadena Playhouse. (He was much admired by his students, including such future luminaries as Robert Preston and Raymond Burr.) Having already changed his name from Nussbaum to Ankrum for professional reasons, Ankrum was compelled to undergo another name change when he signed a Paramount Pictures contract in the 1930s; in his first films, he was billing as Stephen Morris. Reverting to Morris Ankrum in 1939, the sharp-featured, heavily eyebrowed actor flourished in strong character roles, usually of a villainous nature, throughout the 1940s. By the 1950s, Ankrum had more or less settled into "authority" roles in science-fiction films and TV programs. Among his best known credits in this genre were Rocketship X-M (1950), Red Planet Mars (1952), Flight to Mars (1952), Invaders From Mars (1953) (do we detect a subtle pattern here?), Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and From the Earth to the Moon (1958). The fact that Morris Ankrum played innumerable Army generals was fondly invoked in director Joe Dante's 1993 comedy Matinee: the military officer played by Kevin McCarthy in the film-within-a-film Mant is named General Ankrum. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Most Popular
Filmography
-
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (Colorized) (2007)
- Actor
-
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
- Foundation Head
- 86%
-
The Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961)
- Capt. Davis
-
Giant from the Unknown (Giant from Devil's Crag)(Giant from Diablo Point) (1958)
- Prof. Cleveland
-
How to Make a Monster (1958)
- Capt. Hancock
- See all 102 films
Morris Ankrum Videos
Apache
3 minutes 43 seconds
X: The Man With The X Ray Eyes
2 minutes 10 seconds
Good News
1 minutes 14 seconds
Tennessee's Partner
2 minutes 15 seconds
Cattle Queen Of Montana
2 minutes 7 seconds
Born Today
- Jean Dujardin (41 years old)
- Mia Maestro (35 years old)
- Blake Woodruff (18 years old)
- Lauren Lee Smith (33 years old)
- Reza Kianian (62 years old)
- Zoe Saldana (35 years old)
- Sean Marshall (48 years old)
- Sadie Frost (48 years old)
- Samuel West (47 years old)
- Hugh Dancy (38 years old)
- Poppy Montgomery (41 years old)
- Paula Abdul (51 years old)
- Robin Tunney (41 years old)
- Gena Rowlands (83 years old)
- Phylicia Rashad (65 years old)
- Louis Jourdan (94 years old)
- Eric Schweig (46 years old)
- Mia Sara (46 years old)
- Virginia Hey (61 years old)
- Ryan Hurst (37 years old)
- Vanessa Martinez (34 years old)
- Paul Dano (29 years old)
- Aidan Turner (30 years old)
- Daria Nicolodi (63 years old)
- See more (24)
