RODDY MCDOWALL Biography - Other artists & entretainers

 
 

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RODDY MCDOWALL
       

Roddy McDowall, the London born actor, stars as Bon Chance Louie, the proprietor of the Monkey Bar in MCA TV’s TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY.

       

For McDowall it’s just another role in a movie and tv career that has spanned some forty years, because, believe it or not, the ever youthful looking actor is actually 55. Apart from his obvious acting talent, Roddy’s face has been his fortune and even when he was 25 he was still being cast to portray 14-year olds. Looking younger than he really is, is believes McDowall, the reason why he is constantly in demand and why he has worked so much.

       

Ironically, if his face is his ‘fortune’, to most of us it is for wearing a mask that we most remember him for – a monkey mask that is. For Roddy starred in four out of the five highly successful ‘Ape’ movies ("Planet of the Apes", “Escape from the Planet of the Apes", “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes", and “Battle for the Planet of the Apes") followed by the tv series based on the movies.

       

McDowall was the only regular in the series of films based on the novel La Planete des Singes by Frenchman Pierre Boulle, who was also responsible for another Hollywood classic, The Bridge on the River Kwai. He missed the second film “Beneath the Planet of the Apes", because he was back in England directing “Tam-Lin” with Ava Gardner. McDowall sees his portrayal of the character in the ‘Ape’ films as one of the greatest challenges of his career.