Hans Conried: A Biography; With a Filmography and a Listing of Radio, Television, Stage and Voice Work [Paperback]

Suzanne Gargiulo (Author), Leonard Maltin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002 | ISBN-10: 0786413387 | ISBN-13: 978-0786413386

Hans Conried was once described by the well-known Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as "a high-strung, droll fellow, plagued by a multitude of talents." Conried was indeed a talented and versatile actor, but his versatility often worked against him. A complex individual who yearned to perform Shakespeare on the stage, he achieved success playing low comedy in films and on television.

Conried performed in nearly 10,000 radio shows and hundreds of television programs and stage plays, as well as more than 80 films. Over the years, Conried also lent his distinctive voice to numerous animated shorts, phonograph records, commercials, and other projects. Some of his most memorable roles are Dr. Terwilliker in The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T; the voice of Captain Hook from Disney’s Peter Pan; eccentric Uncle Tonoose on The Danny Thomas Show; the fussy elocutionist Percy Livermore on I Love Lucy; and the voice of comical villain Snidely Whiplash from Jay Ward’s Dudley Do-Right series.

This book chronicles Conried’s life and career from his birth in 1917 through his death in 1982. Enlivened by many photographs as well as personal reminiscences from family, friends, and colleagues, the book also contains comprehensive information on Conried’s radio, television, film, stage and voice work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786413387
• ISBN-13: 978-0786413386
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Suzanne Gargiulo is by nature a very private person, but she has agreed to provide--in her own words--a glimpse of her story so far (the public bits, anyway): "I have always enjoyed researching the more obscure and nearly forgotten bits of history--especially the history of motion pictures and the people who made them. I wrote my first book on character actor Hans Conried because I fondly remembered his amazing 1953 film 'The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T' and wanted to learn more about this talented actor. I quickly realized there were no books on his life and career, so I filled the void with my comprehensive look at his intriguing life and his amazingly prolific career. I am hoping to publish a revised edition of the Conried book, as bits and pieces of his work are still surfacing and have yet to be compiled in the logs. Some of it can be found on my web site: www.hansconriedbook.com. I haven't had the time to update the site as much as I would like, but I do know a fan of Conried's radio days that is using the work I have done on the radio log and painstakingly making corrections and adding to it. This material will be either incorporated into the revised edition or published separately. We'll have to wait and see.

My second book began in much the same way as the first--with a desire to know more, but finding little or nothing at all. I had read several books on the great silent film actor Lon Chaney and noticed the name 'John Jeske' linked closely with Chaney and his wife Hazel toward the end of the actor's life. My curiosity piqued, I started digging and uncovered a heretofore unpublished story of Chaney's last days and the tragic aftermath of his death. Most of this information was never meant to be published, but I felt a strong need to set the record straight about the true nature of Jeske's connection to the Chaney's and tell his story for the first time. When the news came out earlier this year that 'Lon Chaney's Shadow: John Jeske and The Chaney Mystique' was to be published, a small group of Chaney fans violently lashed out about what they thought the book was going to be about. They filled pages and pages of online blogs with their unfounded, wild imaginings about the subject, which tells me I was on the right track when I knew I had to write this book. As with anything I do, my main goal is to right a wrong and always tell what I believe to be the truth. My new book is no different."

Suzanne moved to Wyoming in 2003 after living for many years on the West Coast and a brief period of discovering the East Coast. She is happily married and shares her home with six cats and two dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long-Overdue Biography of a Magnificent Character Actor, November 6, 2004

By 

Chiasmus Octothorpe "p_rosebank" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hans Conried: A Biography; With a Filmography and a Listing of Radio, Television, Stage and Voice Work (Paperback)

As a voice artist and character performer myself, I have long been in the habit of studying the "old masters" (Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, and of course Hans Conried). Since most of them are no longer with us, I can only study examples of their work, as well as books and articles about them. Sadly, such books and articles are very few and very far between, and it can be extremely difficult to track down which episodes of which radio series featured which performers.

Suzanne Gargiulo's book is a huge help with this. It's extremely well-researched, and includes quotations from Hans' friends, co-workers and family, as well as numerous photographs and other ephemera from the Hans Conried Special Collection at Boston University. Fortunately for posterity, Hans was a packrat, who saved reams of these items, which were then donated to the University, after his death in 1982. He was so prolific---particularly in radio drama and bit roles in films---that Suzanne's website (www.hansconriedbook.com) includes corrections and additions, as they come up.

However, for all its information, this book is a very easy, comfortable read---not at all dry (except, of course, for the examples of Hans' own wit). I found it impossible to put down, and my copy is now very well lived-in, with dog-eared pages, highlighting, and notes scribbled in the margins. Needless to say, I do NOT intend to part with it!

As this is the only book about the life of Hans Conried, it gave me a wealth of information to discover, about this wonderfully talented and versatile (some would even say TOO talented and TOO versatile) character actor. One particular gem of information: Not only did he voice Captain Hook and Mr. Darling in the Disney version of "Peter Pan", but he also performed in full costume in the live-action reference footage that was shot to assist the animators. Therefore, many of Hook's and Darling's gestures and mannerisms are really Hans' own!

The Filmography and listings of Stage, Television, Voice, and (above all) Radio Work have proved an invaluable resource in my efforts to track down examples of his work, to add to my own reference library, because in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, most radio performers were uncredited.

After reading and re-reading this book, I know what a wonderfully talented actor and delightful person, Hans Conried was. And I feel truly cheated, that I never got to speak with him personally, or to work with him.

This book belongs in the library of anyone who is, aspires to be, or appreciates voice actors, character actors, Shakespearean actors, radio drama, and eccentric characters in general. (And few characters are as eccentric as Hans himself.)

When you purchase the book, I recommend adding the video of "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T.", so you can see Hans in the role of a lifetime, which should have (had the studio not butchered the film in the editing suite) launched his career into the stratosphere it deserved. The DVD set of the complete series of "Fractured Flickers" (hosted by Hans) is also worth adding!