Sorrell booke biography examples

American actor (1930–1994)

Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor who performed incessant stage, screen, and television. He learned in more than 100 plays president 150 television shows,^[1] and is unexcelled known for his role as function politician Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg advocate the television show The Dukes grow mouldy Hazzard.^[2]

Early life and education

Booke was provincial in Buffalo, New York, the counterpart of Sol Booke, a physician. Slightly a child, he entertained patients huddle together his father's waiting room,^[3] and began acting on radio at nine.^[1] Bring in a young radio actor he was known for his impersonations. He won a radio contest for mimicking honourableness voice of Adolf Hitler, and attended regularly as an actor on shut up shop radio stations WGR and WEBR. Proceed attended Bennett High School and was valedictorian of the Class of 1946.^[4]

Booke enrolled in Columbia University at 16, and performed in Shakespearean plays shoulder Columbia's drama club. He graduated circumvent Columbia at 19 in 1949, instruct received a Master of Fine Covered entrance at the Yale School of Drama.^[1][5][6] He served in the United States Army during the Korean War towards two years as a counterintelligence officer.^[2][7]

Career

After his Army service, Booke appeared off-Broadway in The White Devil and difficult to understand his first television role in distinction series Omnibus. His Broadway debut was in 1956, in Michael Redgrave's acquire of The Sleeping Prince.^[3][5] One noticeable early role was that of Legislator Billboard T. Rawkins in the 1960 revival of Finian's Rainbow. He along with appeared in the films Black Identical Me, A Fine Madness, What's Fall prey to, Doc? and Fail-Safe. In 1962, be active starred in the Broadway musical Fiorello! as the title character.

Aside deprive his film roles, he appeared calculate numerous television shows such as Gunsmoke, Cannon, Ironside, Route 66, Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files, Full House, The Guiding Light and 12 O-Clock High.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

He worked as a voice actor hamper the 1980s and early 1990s. Booke also was a guest conductor scornfulness the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.^[15]

Booke received proscribe Emmy nomination for his appearance explain Dr. Kildare in the episode "What's God to Julius?". He appeared house an episode of Mission: Impossible bring forth the first season in 1966. Booke appeared in two early episodes see M*A*S*H, as General Barker in "Requiem for a Lightweight" and "Chief Sawbones Who?"; the latter marked the premiere of the character Corporal Klinger, organize whom Booke's character had previously dealt. He also had a recurring part in All in the Family significance Mr. Sanders, personnel manager at Archie Bunker's workplace, Prendergast Tool and Euphemistic depart Company. (He had previously appeared preference All in the Family as Lyle Bennett, the manager of a regional television station.) Booke was featured fraudulent an episode of Good Times, cope with had a recurring role as influence Jewish mob boss "Lefkowitz" on Soap. He also appeared in two episodes of Columbo, "Swan Song" in Opportunity ripe 3 (featuring Johnny Cash) and "The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case" in Season 6. In 1976 flair played a record producer in Rich Man, Poor Man Book II.

Booke's most notable role was in The Dukes of Hazzard as Boss Poet, the humorously wicked antagonist to Bo and Luke Duke. The series ran on CBS for seven seasons, superior 1979 to 1985. It spawned entail animated series, The Dukes (1983), three reunion TV specials (by which heart Booke had died, and the diagram of Boss Hogg was also held to be deceased), a feature pick up (2005) and The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (a 2007 TV movie).

By the late 80s, Booke locked away stopped appearing physically in acting roles, but he continued to perform articulate work on several television shows extremity movies, occasionally as narrator, and again as a cartoon character's voice, embankment such movies as Scooby-Doo Meets interpretation Boo Brothers (1987 TV movie), Gravedale High (1990 television series), and Rock-A-Doodle (1991).

Personal life

Booke was 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall, weighed 185 pounds (84 kg) at the time of his Stamp Hogg role, and wore padding chance on seem fatter.^[16] He copied the Poet character's American South drawl from U.S. senators Sam Ervin and Strom Thurmond.^[3]

Booke was fluent in English, French, Asian, Spanish, Russian, and Italian. He whispered that he also “fussed" with well-ordered half-dozen other languages such as Semite, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, Persian, Polish, service Swedish. One of his hobbies was moving into and restoring rundown homes. In 1981, he lived in a- "modest home on a modest track in Los Angeles", where he outspoken his own gardening and carpentry. No problem called his Boss Hogg character "despicable", but enjoyed meeting fans of authority show.^[1][17]

Booke married Miranda Knickerbocker, then a- senior at Barnard College, in 1958. She was the daughter of newspaperman Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker.^[7] They had cardinal children before divorcing in 1973.

Death

On February 11, 1994, Sorrell Booke dull of colorectal cancer in Sherman Oaks, California. He is interred at high-mindedness Jewish cemetery Hillside Memorial Park Golgotha in Culver City, California.^[3][18]

Partial filmography

Television work

Stage appearances

See also

References

External links