Berton Churchill

See also:Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood. He was an advocate for healthy diet and authored the 1960 book, Stay Young and Vital. He died of Parkinsons disease in 1990 and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. His body was returned to the west coast to be interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Cummings was married five times, and had seven children. Berton Churchill died in New York City. His last significant credit was the 1973 TV movie Partners in Crime, also starring Lee Grant. In 1925, Berton Churchill helped found the Masquers club that led to him and five other actors creating the Screen Actors Guild in 1933. He also spent a season starring in My Living Doll (1964), another sitcom.

One of Churchill's better known roles was with John Wayne in John Ford's highly acclaimed 1939 film, "Stagecoach.". That was followed by The New Bob Cummings Show, 1961-1962. Robinson, and Will Rogers. He was in the first performance of Twelve Angry Men to be televised, a live production that aired in 1955, and received an Emmy award for his role as Juror Number Eight. Beginning in 1955 and continuing through 1959, Cummings starred in his own sitcom, The Bob Cummings Show (shown in reruns as Love That Bob). As well, he performed with many of the most famous stars of the day such as Bette Davis, Jeanette MacDonald, Tyrone Power, Edward G. Cummings began a long career on television in 1952 with the comedy My Hero. Much in demand, in more than 125 films Churchill worked for some of the great directors such as Otto Preminger, John Ford, and Frank Capra. He served duty at a base in Oxnard, California during World War II, and later was a pilot in the United States Air Force Reserve.

There, his powerful stage voice and commanding presence landed him numerous supporting roles, usually as the stern or pompous character with such roles as a banker, a State Governor, or a land baron. His many film comedies also include: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) with Jean Arthur, and The Bride Wore Boots (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Cummings gave memorable performances in three notable dramas: Kings Row (1942), Saboteur (1942), and Dial M for Murder (1954). With the advent of filmmaking in New York Berton Churchill appeared in several motion pictures, and in the 1920s, following the use of sound in film, he moved to Hollywood, California. He achieved stardom in 1939 in Three Smart Girls Grow Up opposite Deanna Durbin. In 1919 he was in charge of the New York headquarters during the Equity strike in which fellow Canadian and friend, actress Marie Dressler assumed a major part with him that led to her being blacklisted by the producers. In the 1930s Cummings worked (under his own name) as a contract player and appeared in a number of minor roles. There, he was one of the earliest members of Actors Equity and sat on the Council. He had a brief career on Broadway under the stage name Blade Stanhope Conway, a supposed Englishman, before moving to Hollywood, California, first acting under the name and persona of Bruce Hutchens, wealthy Texan.

As a young man interested in the theater, he headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Born in Toronto, Ontario. While attending high school there he was taught to fly by his godfather, Orville Wright. Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 - October 10, 1940) was a Canadian actor. Cummings was born in Joplin, Missouri. He chiefly performed in comic roles but was effective in his few dramas, especially two Alfred Hitchcock films, Saboteur and Dial M for Murder.

Robert Cummings (June 10, 1908 - December 2, 1990), also known as Bob Cummings, was an American motion picture and television actor.