He was born on Sept. 17, 1928, in London, England, the second child of Thomas and Winefried McDowall. He began as a children's clothing model at age five. His first screen appearance was at the age of 8 in a film titled "Scruffy", and went on to appear in over a dozen British films before coming to the U.S. with his mother and older sister, Virginia, in 1940 when England became involved in WW II. His father had been an officer in the British Merchant Marines and re-entered military service, joining his family in American after the end of the war.
Within weeks of arriving in the U.S. Roddy was appearing in American films, most notably "How Green Was My Valley", "Lassie Come Home" and "My Friend Flicka". He continued to work in films, television and on the stage for the next 60 years. His last appearances were as 'Scrooge' in "A Christmas Carol" at N.Y.C.'s Madison Square Garden (Dec.97-Jan.98) , as the voice of 'Mr. Soil' in Disney's animated film, "A Bug's Life" and as host of the 30th Anniversary special "Behind the Planet of the Apes", both in 1998.
Roddy appeared in four of the five "Apes" films, missing only the second one because he was in Scotland filming his only directorial film, "Tam Lin". The editing of the original version resulted in a film that bore little resemblance to Roddy's vision of the old Scottish ballad. The result was a huge disappointment to Roddy. However, thanks to the efforts of Martin Scorsese the film was restored and re-edited 1998. It was released exclusively on video, and includes an introduction by Roddy.
Roddy also was a skilled photographer, publishing a total of five books featuring people from the entertainment business, many of whom were his close friends. The photographs are accompanied by observations of the person by other equally famous individuals. The books are titled Double Exposure, with the addition 'Take Two', 'Three',and 'Four' being added respectively. They are large, 'coffee table' editions. The original Double Exposure was first published in 1966, but was re-issued in the over-size format. All proceeds from the sale of the books went to one of Roddy's favorite charities, the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation. His photography has also appeared in many leading magazines.
Roddy recieved many honors and awards for his acting, including a Tony, an Emmy, and a nomination for a second Emmy. He was supposed to have been nominated for a 'Best Supporting Actor' Oscar for his role as 'Octavian' in "Cleopatra", but due to a clerical error on the part of the studio he was placed in the wrong catagory and his nomination and all votes he had received were disqualified. A mistake made all the worse by the fact that he was considered a favorite to win. Unfortunately, he never received another nonimation.
Daniel E. Renfroe Copyright 1998
SHOCK TREATMENT (1964)
LORD LOVE A DUCK (1966)
THE ADVENTURES OF BULLWHIP GRIFFIN (1967)
PLANET OF THE APES (1968)
The POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)
THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973)
FUNNY LADY (1975)
FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)
DEAD OF WINTER (1987)
OVERBOARD (1987)
DEADLY GAME (1991)
THE GRASS HARP (1995)
UNKNOWN ORIGIN (1995)
UNLIKELY ANGEL (1996)
TALENTED AND VERTSITLE, RODDY WAS A FREQUENT GUEST ACTOR ON DOZENS OF TELEVISION SERIES FOR OVER 40 YEARS AND WAS A REGULAR IN THE SERIES "THE FANTSTIC JOURNEY", "PLANET OF THE APES", AND "TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY."
HE ENJOYED DOING VOICES FOR ANIMATED CHARACTERS AND DID SEVERAL EPISODES OF "PINKY AND THE BRAIN' AS 'SNOWBALL' AND "BATMAN"' AS 'THE MAD HATTER'. HE ALSO VOICED AND NARRATED SEVERAL ANIMATED SPECIALS FOR TELEVISION.
Daniel E. Renfroe Copyright 1998
Daniel E. Renfroe Copyright 1999
Roddy epitomized what it meant to be a true gentleman and friend.
He is deeply missed.
