American actor (1921–1996)
This article is about the character actor. For the film and television actor, see
Michael J. Fox .
Michael Fox (born Myron Melvin Fox , February 27, 1921 – June 1, 1996) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows. Some of his most famous recurring roles were as various autopsy physicians in Perry Mason , as Coroner George McLeod in Burke's Law , as Amos Fedders in Falcon Crest , and as Saul Feinberg in The Bold and the Beautiful .
Early life
Fox was born in Yonkers, New York to Jacob Fox, an Austrian-born salesman, and his wife, the former Josephine Berkowitz. He was the youngest of four children, and the third son.[ 1]
Career
Michael Fox began acting in stage plays in southern California circa 1945. Through his stage endeavors, Fox met Harry Sauber who introduced him to Sam Katzman .[ 2]
Two of his regular TV roles were as the coroner in the courtroom drama Perry Mason , and as Saul Feinberg on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 1989 to 1996.
Among his earlier television work was the penultimate episode of Adventures of Superman , as the ringleader of a criminal gang that tried to conduct a Perils of Pauline –style series of murder attempts on the show's various protagonists. He also appeared in several episodes on the 1955–1957 television series Science Fiction Theatre .
The Dr. Fox effect
Fox also made an important contribution to the scholarly field of education, as the actor who portrayed "Dr. Myron L. Fox" in a study that would give rise to the Dr. Fox effect ,[ 3] [ 4] and also participated in the generation of additional materials in at least one follow-up study.[ 5] In the initial demonstration of this effect, Fox delivered an engaging and expressive lecture that contained no meaningful content, and yet, the audience rated Fox just as highly as a genuine professor's lecture. The Dr. Fox effect has been often cited as a critique of the validity of student evaluations of teaching.
Personal life and death
He was married to Hannah, an actress he met while acting in the stage play The Dybbuk , in a Los Angeles area theatre run by Lou Smuckler, father-in-law of Lee J. Cobb . Borrowing a car from Dorothy Gish , Fox drove Hannah to a judge and married her between the matinee and evening performances of The Story of Mary Surratt .[ 2]
Fox died of pneumonia June 1, 1996, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California .[ 2] His death was written into The Bold and the Beautiful .
Acting roles
Non-recurring or recurring multiple roles in television series
Science Fiction Theatre
Beyond (1955) - Radar Man
The Brain of John Emerson (1955) - Dr. Franklin
The Frozen Sound (1955) - Dr. Gordine
The Flicker (1956) - Dr. James Kincaid
The Missing Waveband (1956) - Dr. Maxwell
Jupitron (1956) - Dr. Norstad
Signals from the Moon (1956) - Dr. Edwards
The Ford Television Theatre
The Payoff (1956) - Lieutenant Bernard Shuman
Catch at Straws (1956) - Jed Hartan
Front Page Father (1956) - Malcolm Slade
Miller's Millions (1957) - Judge Patterson
Perry Mason -
Case of the Runaway Corpse (1957) - Dr. Hoxie
Case of the Prodigal Parent (1958) - Dr. Samuel Anders
Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1959) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Bedeviled Doctor (1959) - Dr. Hoxie
Case of the Lame Canary (1959) - Dr. Hoxie
Case of the Artful Dodger (1959) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Singular Double (1960) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Fickle Fortune (1961) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Wintry Wife (1961) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Duplicate Daughter (1961) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Promoter's Pillbox (1962) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Bogus Books (1962) - Coroner's Physician
Case of the Libellous Locket (1963) - Physician
Case of the Golden Oranges (1963) - Coroner's Physician
Case of the Witless Witness (1963) - Autopsy Surgeon
Case of the Festive Felon (1963) - Surgeon
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Reunion for a Revenge (1959) - The Quaker
The Hostage (1959) - Bartender Tom
Alcoa Theatre
30 Pieces of Silver (1959) - Mr. Hammeker
The Observer (1960) - Father Holze
The Rifleman
Letter of the Law (1959) - Abel
The Trade (1959) - Trager
Miss Millie (1960) - Jim Oxford
The Hangman (1960) - Joe Hannah
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Marineland Mystery (1959) - Paul Schofield
Coat of Arms (1960)
The Popskull (1960)
The Twilight Zone
Nightmare as a Child (1960) - Doctor
Mr. Dingle, the Strong (1961) - Martian
Sounds and Silences (1964) - Psychiatrist
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
The Queen of Craven Point (1961) - Lab Man
The Reason (1961) - Andy
The Untouchables
The Stryker Brothers (1962) - Lieutenant Miller
Death for Sale (1961) - Bradley
The Dick Powell Show
Somebody's Waiting (1961)
The Big Day (1962) - Phil
The Hook (1962)
The Legend (1962) - Attorney
The Old Man and the City (1963)
The Virginian
The Brazen Bell (1962) - Prisoner Guard (uncredited)
No Drums, No Trumpets (1966) - General Howard
The Price of Love (1969) - Coroner
Gunsmoke
Carter Caper (1963) - Waiter
Wishbone (1966) - Buffalo Hunter
The Raid: Part 1 (1966) - Mr. Simms - Hotel Clerk
Hard Luck Henry (1967) - Jed Walsh
The Big Valley
Forty Rifles (1965) - De Koven
The Iron Box (1966) - MacGowan
Point and Counterpoint (1969) - Jonathan Williams
Honey West
A Matter of Wife and Death (1965) - Lieutenant Kovacs
Come to Me, My Litigation Baby (1966) - Mr. Strate
Batman
Holy Rat Race (1966) - Leo Gore
Smack in the Middle (1966) - Inspector Basch
Hi Diddle Riddle (1966) - Inspector Basch
Lost in Space
Cave of the Wizards (1967) - Alien on Computer Screen
The Ghost Planet (1966) - Cybernetic Leader/Supreme Brain
Ironside
A Very Cool Hot Car (1967) - Technician
Beyond a Shadow (1969) - Dr. Leonard Marcus
Death by the Numbers (1972) - Dr. Albert Gold
Hogan's Heroes
The Well (1969) - Captain Ritter
It's Dynamite (1970) - Berger
Get Fit or Go Fight (1970) Major Kimmel
Quincy, M.E.
Jury Duty (1981) - Dr. Feld
Cover-Up (1980) - Fire Captain
Mission Impossible
Operation Heart (1967) - Dr. Levya
Underwater (1981) - Mr. Conners (uncredited)
Singular appearances in television series
Feature-length films
Without Warning! (1952) - Cab co Dispatcher (uncredited)
Blackhawk (1952) - Mr. Case / The Leader
Last Train from Bombay (1952) - Captain Tamil
Voodoo Tiger (1952) - Karl Werner, aka Heinrich Schultz
The Pathfinder (1952) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Magnetic Monster (1953, also dialogue director) - Dr. Serny
The Glass Wall (1953) - Inspector Toomey
Serpent of the Nile (1953) - Octavius
Siren of Bagdad (1953) - Telar
The Lost Planet (1953) - Dr. Ernst Grood
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953, also dialogue director) - ER Doctor
Run for the Hills (1953) - Phineas Cragg
Sky Commando (1953) - Major Scott
The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) - Elias Smith (uncredited)
Slaves of Babylon (1953) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Killer Ape (1953) - The Medical Officer (uncredited)
Riders to the Stars (1954) - Dr. Klinger (psychiatrist)
Charge of the Lancers (1954) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Iron Glove (1954) - Opening Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Gog (1954, also dialogue director) - Dr. Hubertus
Down Three Dark Streets (1954) - Paper Plant Superintendent (uncredited)
Rogue Cop (1954) - Rudy (uncredited)
Naked Alibi (1954) - Round Man (uncredited)
Riding with Buffalo Bill (1954) - King Carney
Masterson of Kansas (1954) - Bartender (uncredited)
The Silver Chalice (1954) - Slave (uncredited)
Conquest of Space (1955) - Elsbach
The Adventures of Captain Africa (1955) - Prime Minister
The Scarlet Coat (1955) - Major Russell (uncredited)
The Big Knife (1955) - Prize Fight Announcer (uncredited)
My Sister Eileen (1955) - Shakespearean actor (uncredited)
Running Wild (1955) - Delmar Graves
Crashout (1955, dialogue director)
Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! (1956) - Frank (uncredited)
Top Secret Affair (1957) - Reporter Lotzie
The Girl in the Kremlin (1957) - Igor Smetka
The Tijuana Story (1957) - Reuben Galindo
Plunder Road (1957, also Asst to Producer) - Smog Officer / Narrator
Kiss Them for Me (1957) - War Correspondent (uncredited)
War of the Satellites (1958) - Jason ibn Akad
Machine-Gun Kelly (1958) - Detective Clinton
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958) - Detective (uncredited)
Let's Make Love (1960) - Actor auditioning for Clement role (uncredited)
The Interns (1962) - Dr. Greenberg (uncredited)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) - TV Commercial Man
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) - Kohner, Lie Detector Operator (uncredited)
A Tiger Walks (1964) - Television Interviewer (uncredited)
The New Interns (1964) - Dr. Arthur Hellman, Psychiatrist
Billie (1965) - Ray Case, Reporter
Angel's Flight (1965) - Jake the Bartender
The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) - Announcer
Now You See It, Now You Don't (1968, TV Movie) - Inspector Delon
Seven in Darkness (1969, TV Movie) - The Pilot
The Dunwich Horror (1970) - Dr. Raskin
Bloody Mama (1970) - Dr. Roth
If Tomorrow Comes (1971, TV Movie) - Judge
Two for the Money (1972, TV Movie) - Hospital Administrator
Wild in the Sky (1972)
The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972, TV Movie) - Doctor Simon
The Longest Yard (1974) - Announcer
Young Frankenstein (1974) - Helga's Father
The Missiles of October (1974, TV Movie) - Soviet Marshal
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976, TV Movie) - Admiral Sherman
Dempsey (1983, TV Movie) - Judge Dooling
Quicksilver (1986) - Broker at Lunch
The Malibu Bikini Shop (1986) - Uncle Dave
Over the Top (1987) - Jim Olson
She Was Marked for Murder (1988, TV Movie)
Skinheads (1989) - Saul
References
^ U.S. Census Year: 1940; Census Place: Yonkers, Westchester, New York; Roll: T627_2863; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 68-14
^ a b c Weaver, Tom (2004). It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the Science Fiction and Horror Tradition . McFarland & Company. pp. 102– 121. ISBN 978-0-7864-2069-8 .
^ Donald H. Naftulin, John E. Ware, Jr., and Frank A. Donnelly, "The Doctor Fox Lecture: A Paradigm of Educational Seduction" Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine , Journal of Medical Education 48 (1973): 630-635
^ Schneider, Reto U. (23 September 2021). "The Legendary Dr Fox Lecture - Footage Found!" . weirdexperiments.com . Retrieved 27 September 2021 .
^ R. Williams and J. Ware, "Validity of student ratings of instruction under different incentive conditions: A further study of the Dr. Fox effect", Journal of Educational Psychology 68 (1976): 48–56.
External links