Roddy McDowall Net Worth

#Fact1In Italy for the filming of Cleopatra (1963), became so frustrated with the numerous delays during its production, he begged Darryl F. Zanuck for a part in The Longest Day just so he could do some work and. ended up with a small role as an American soldier. Richard Burton, being in the same position followed suit and got a cameo role of an RAF pilot.2Was Jay Sandrich's first choice for the lead role of Arthur Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), but was unavailable, hence, the role was given to Gordon Jump, who previously played the chief police officer on Soap (1977).3Friends with: Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Maureen O'Hara, Jane Powell, Ann Blyth, Lew Ayres, Natalie Wood, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Paul Newman, Sal Mineo, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, Vincent Price, Rupert Everett, Rock Hudson, Tuesday Weld, Claude Rains, Richard Haydn, Robert Mitchum, Anjelica Huston, Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp, Gene Autry, Groucho Marx, John Ford, Lee Grant,Stefanie Powers, Alan Ladd Jr., Dennis Hopper,Tina Sinatra,Truman Capote, Jean Arthur, Farley Granger, Robert Wagner, Mia Farrow,Dirk Bogarde,Marlene Dietrich,Myrna Loy, George Cukor, Carol Burnett, Judy Holliday, Judy Garland, Luise Rainer, Tammy Grimes, Barbra Streisand, Katharine Hepburn, James Caan, Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Vivien Leigh, Mae West, Phyllis Diller, Shelley Duvall, Karl Malden, Tim Burton, Margaret O'Brien, Brad Pitt, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tommy Steele, Fred Astaire, Ruth Gordon, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Crystal, Charles Chaplin, Sharon Tate, Esther Williams, Joel McCrea, Piper Laurie, Frances Dee, Anne Bancroft , Maggie Smith, Gloria Swanson, Bette Midler, Thelma Ritter, Andy Griffith, Debbie Reynolds, Geneviève Bujold, Suzanne Pleshette, Jane Fonda, Edith Head , Joan Plowright, Kim Stanley, Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, George Peppard, Leslie Caron, Michael Douglas, Anthony Perkins, Gore Vidal, Dominick Dunne, Tab Hunter, Lynn Bari, Joan Rivers, Maureen O'Sullivan, Christopher Plummer, Carol Lawrence, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Laurence Olivier, Clive Barker, Doris Roberts, Doris Day, Greer Garson, Coral Browne, Dolly Parton, Juliet Mills, Robert Walker Jr., Lizabeth Scott, Hayley Mills, Anthony Franciosa, Be4Friends with: Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Maureen O'Hara, Jane Powell, Ann Blyth, Lew Ayres, Natalie Wood, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Paul Newman, Sal Mineo, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, Vincent Price, Rupert Everett, Rock Hudson, Tuesday Weld, Claude Rains, Richard Haydn, Robert Mitchum, Anjelica Huston, Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp, Gene Autry, Groucho Marx, John Ford, Lee Grant,Stefanie Powers, Alan Ladd Jr., Dennis Hopper,Tina Sinatra,Truman Capote, Jean Arthur, Farley Granger, Robert Wagner, Mia Farrow,Dirk Bogarde,Marlene Dietrich,Myrna Loy, George Cukor, Carol Burnett, Judy Holliday, Judy Garland, Luise Rainer, Tammy Grimes, Barbra Streisand, Katharine Hepburn, James Caan, Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Vivien Leigh, Mae West, Phyllis Diller, Shelley Duvall, Karl Malden, Tim Burton, Margaret O'Brien, Brad Pitt, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tommy Steele, Fred Astaire, Ruth Gordon, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Crystal, Charles Chaplin, Sharon Tate, Esther Williams, Joel McCrea, Piper Laurie, Frances Dee, Anne Bancroft , Maggie Smith, Gloria Swanson, Bette Midler, Thelma Ritter, Andy Griffith, Debbie Reynolds, Geneviève Bujold, Suzanne Pleshette, Jane Fonda, Edith Head and Joan Plowright,.5Friends with: Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Maureen O'Hara, Jane Powell, Ann Blyth, Lew Ayres, Natalie Wood, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Paul Newman, Sal Mineo, Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, Vincent Price, Rupert Everett, Rock Hudson, Tuesday Weld, Claude Rains, Richard Haydn, Robert Mitchum, Anjelica Huston, Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp, Gene Autry, Groucho Marx, John Ford, Lee Grant,Stefanie Powers, Alan Ladd Jr., Dennis Hopper,Tina Sinatra,Truman Capote, Jean Arthur, Farley Granger, Robert Wagner, Mia Farrow,Dirk Bogarde,Marlene Dietrich,Myrna Loy, George Cukor, Carol Burnett, Judy Holliday, Judy Garland, Luise Rainer, Tammy Grimes, Barbra Streisand, Katharine Hepburn, James Caan, Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Vivien Leigh, Mae West, Phyllis Diller, Shelley Duvall, Karl Malden, Tim Burton, Margaret O'Brien, Brad Pitt, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tommy Steele, Fred Astaire, Ruth Gordon, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Crystal, Charles Chaplin, Sharon Tate, Esther Williams, Joel McCrea, Piper Laurie, Frances Dee, Anne Bancroft , Maggie Smith, Gloria Swanson, Bette Midler, Thelma Ritter, Andy Griffith, Debbie Reynolds, Geneviève Bujold, Suzanne Pleshette, Jane Fonda, Edith Head , Joan Plowright, Kim Stanley, Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, George Peppard, Leslie Caron, Michael Douglas, Anthony Perkins, Gore Vidal, Dominick Dunne, Tab Hunter, Lynn Bari, Joan Rivers, Maureen O'Sullivan, Christopher Plummer, Carol Lawrence, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Laurence Olivier, Clive Barker, Doris Roberts, Doris Day, Greer Garson, Coral Browne, Dolly Parton, Juliet Mills, Robert Walker Jr., Lizabeth Scott, Hayley Mills, Anthony Franciosa, Be6He was born exactly one day after Batman (1966) actor Adam West. Both guest-starred on Batman: The Animated Series (1992) as well.7He cast his mother Winifriede McDowall as the innkeeper's wife in Kidnapped (1948). Although she dreamed of being an actress, it was her only on screen role.8He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6632 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.9Along with Adam West, Bob Hastings, Barry Dennen, Steve Franken, Michael Pataki and Judy Strangis, he is one of only seven actors to appear in both Batman (1966) and Batman: The Animated Series (1992).10Had played villains on both Batman (1966) and Batman: The Animated Series (1992), the only actor to do so.11Had played the same character (The Mad Hatter) on three different series: Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Superman (1996) and The New Batman Adventures (1997).12Had appeared on an episode of The Carol Burnett Show (1967) wearing his Planet of the Apes (1968) make-up. The look of fright on Carol Burnett's face was reputed to be genuine.13Parents are Thomas Andrew McDowall and Winifriede McDowall (Winifred Lucinda Corcoran; had an older sister: Virginia McDowall.14The day after his death, Angela Lansbury paid tribute to him on "BBC Radio Five 5: Up all Night". She described him as "one of the most wonderful friends, anybody could possibly have . . . we've lost a beloved friend" and that he will be "so missed".15Horse whisperer Monty Roberts was McDowall's stunt double for most of his childhood roles.16Has appeared in four of the five Planet of the Apes films. Having originally played the chimpanzee archaeologist Cornelius in Planet of the Apes (1968), he was unable to reprise his role in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) as he was directing The Devil's Widow (1970) in Britain at the time. In that film, the role was played by David Watson. However, he later returned as Cornelius in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and as his son Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).17Both of the series in which he starred were short-lived science fiction series produced in the 1970s: Planet of the Apes (1974) and The Fantastic Journey (1977).18He was close friends with Maureen O'Hara for 57 years, from the time that they made How Green Was My Valley (1941), their first and only film together, until his death in October 1998.19Along with Woodrow Parfrey, Norman Burton and Eldon Burke, he is one of only four actors to appear in both Planet of the Apes (1968) and Planet of the Apes (1974).20Explained in 1995 during an interview for American cable station USA Network the limitations of his make-up on Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Overwhelmed by frustration over the inability to eat, touch his face and the constant itch brought on by the chimpanzee prosthetics, he admitted to crying.21An accomplished ballroom dancer, he won both the Charleston and Cha-Cha contests on the The Arthur Murray Party (1950).22Lifelong friends with Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor has since referred to him as the one friend she had to whom she confided everything, and who was always understanding.23On March 10, 1965, he attended the Los Angeles premiere of The Sound of Music (1965) as the date of the movie's star, Julie Andrews.24Final stage appearance was as Ebenezer Scrooge in the New York City production of "A Christmas Carol" in 1997. He alternated performances with Hal Linden.25Became close, lifelong friends with Peggy Ann Garner while filming The Pied Piper (1942) with her in 1941.26Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 396-398. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.27Introduced Carol Lawrence to Robert Goulet. In fact, she jokingly said that McDowall was responsible for hers and Goulet's first child.28In 1974, the FBI raided his home and seized his collection of films and television series during an investigation of copyright infringement and movie piracy. The collection consisted of 160 16mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes. The value of the films was conservatively assessed at $5,005,426 by representatives of the movie industry. The actor was not charged and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. There was then no aftermarket for films, as the commercial video recorder had not been marketed, and studios routinely destroyed old negatives and prints of classic films they felt had no worth. Film buffs like McDowall had to purchase 16mm prints of films from the studios, or movie prints on the black market, or from other collectors. He claimed that he had once had as many as 337 movies in his collection, but at the time of the investigation he was not sure how many were still in his possession. He had bought Errol Flynn's movie collection, and had acquired other films through purchases or swaps. McDowall told the FBI that he had transferred many of his films to videotape in order to conserve space and because tape was longer-lasting than film, and subsequently had sold or traded the prints, plus other prints of movies he had lost interest in, to other collectors. He said that he collected the films due to his love of the cinema and to help protect the movies' heritage. McDowall also said that being in possession of prints of his own films allowed him to study his acting and improve his craft. One of the films he had purchased, from American-International Pictures, was The Devil's Widow (1970), a movie he himself had directed. He explained that he believed that he was not in violation of copyright, as he was not showing the films for profit, nor trying to make a profit when selling his prints as he charged only what he remembered as the price he himself paid. He believed he had purchased some of the films outright from 20th Century-Fox, but learned subsequently from his lawyer that his agreement with 20th Century-Fox meant the studio retained ownership of the prints, and that he was forbidden to sell, trade or lend them out. McDowall was forthcoming about the individuals he dealt with on the black market, and also named Rock Hudson, Dick Martin and Mel Tormé as other celebrities with film collections.29A clerical error on the part of 20th Century-Fox cost McDowall a likely Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Caesar Augustus Octavian in Cleopatra (1963). The studio erroneously listed him as a leading player rather than a supporting one. When 20th Century-Fox asked the Academy to correct the error, it refused, saying the ballots already were at the printer. 20th Century-Fox then published an open letter in the trade papers, apologizing to McDowall: "We feel that it is important that the industry realize that your electric performance as Octavian in Cleopatra, which was unanimously singled out by the critics as one of the best supporting performances by an actor this year, is not eligible for an Academy Award nomination in that category... due to a regrettable error on the part of 20th Century-Fox.".30Won Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "The Fighting Cock".31In 1943, 20th Century-Fox announced that McDowall would star in "Oliver Twist", but the film was not made.32He was a rarity among movie stars in that he appears to have made no enemies at all during his lifetime. A man with numerous friends both in and out of show business, those who knew him continue to speak well of him to this day, and his funeral drew overflow crowds.33In addition to appearing on both the original and animated Batman series (Batman (1966) and Batman: The Animated Series (1992)), he was also the reader for the book-on-tape version of the novelization of the first Batman (1989).34Had appeared on three different Batman series: he played the Bookworm in Batman (1966) and the Mad Hatter (Dr. Jervis Tetch) in Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and its spin-off The New Batman Adventures (1997).35He was cremated after death and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.36In December 1998, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) honored him for his acting career and critically acclaimed photography by naming its photo archive after him. The collection, which includes several million negatives and stills, will be known as the Roddy McDowall Photograph Archive at the Margaret Herrick Library.