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(March 25, 1892, in Blairgowrie,
Perthshire, Scotland - May 18, 1967, in Los Angeles, California)
 Andrew
"Andy" Clyde was a movie and TV actor whose career spanned more than
four decades. He broke into silent films in 1925 as a Mack Sennett
comic. Clyde's mastery of makeup allowed him tremendous versatility;
he could play everything from grubby young guttersnipes to old
crackpot scientists.
Clyde hit upon an "old man" characterization in his short comedies,
which were immediately successful. Adopting a gray wig and mustache,
he used this makeup for the rest of his short-subject career, and
the character was so durable that he literally grew into it. Clyde's
long series of Columbia Pictures comedies began in 1934 and
continued until 1956. He outlasted every comedian on the Columbia
payroll except The Three Stooges.
Andy Clyde also kept busy as a character actor in feature films; for
example, he played a sad provincial postman in the Katharine Hepburn
film The Little Minister and Charles Coburn's drinking buddy in The
Green Years. In the 1940s, he gravitated toward outdoor and western
adventures. Clyde is well remembered for his roles as a comic
sidekick, usually teaming with William Boyd in the Hopalong Cassidy
series or with Whip Wilson in Monogram's low-budget western movies
playing the character "Winks".
Clyde's last theatrical film was released in 1956, after which he
worked in television, in such programs as CBS's Lassie and ABC's The
Real McCoys. In the latter he was the foil of the legendary Walter
Brennan, playing the role of friendly neighbor "George McMichael" to
Brennan's "Grandpa Amos". The popular actress Madge Blake appeared
as Clyde's fictitious sister, "Flora McMichael", a sometimes
romantic interest of Brennan's "Grandpa" role. Clyde continued to
perform on television until his death.
Clyde has a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. |
