Phil Brown
Known for: Acting
Philip Mortimer Brown was an American actor and director. After majoring in dramatics at Stanford University where he was a Brother of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, Brown played some of his earliest stage roles as part of New York's Group Theater. When it folded, he and other Group Theatre veterans headed to Hollywood, where Brown worked in motion pictures and helped found the fabled Actors' Laboratory. In 1946, he played Ernest Hemingway's famous protagonist Nick Adams in Robert Siodmak's version of The Killers, alongside William Conrad and Charles McGraw as the titular "killers". His association with the Lab came back to haunt him later in the decade, when its members fell under the scrutiny of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although he was not a communist, Brown was blacklisted in 1952, and was eventually compelled to relocate with his family to England between 1953 and 1993. Overseas he was able to resume acting on stage, TV and films; he also directed for the stage and TV. He was best known for his role as Luke Skywalker's uncle, Owen Lars, in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). He returned to the United States in the 1990s and in later years made the rounds of autograph shows. Phil Brown died of pneumonia on February 9, 2006 at the age of 89.
Filmography
Film
Star Wars
Uncle Owen
1977
Series
The Professionals
Callahan
1977
Series
Tales of the Unexpected
F. Milton Willis
1979
Series
American Playhouse
Lewis Strauss
1982
Series
American Playhouse
Frank Karelsen
1982
Film
Superman
State Senator
1978
Series
The Protectors
Adam Markos
1972
Series
Interpol Calling
Brownley
1959
Series
Colonel March of Scotland Yard
Dr. Bryan Hayes
1956
Series
Colonel March of Scotland Yard
Gordon
1956
Series
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
Frank Rawlinson
1955
Series
Journey to the Unknown
Dr. Charles Wilson
1968
Film
Chaplin
Projectionist
1992
Film
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Virginia Senator
1976
Series
Theatre Night
Sam Grassman
1957
Series
The Martian Chronicles
Narrator
1980
Series
Oppenheimer
Lewis Strauss
1980
Film
The Killers
Nick Adams (uncredited)
1946
Series
The Fortunate Pilgrim
O
1988
Film
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Rev. Cartwright
1977
Series
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981
Film
The Bedford Incident
Chief Hospitalman Mckinley - Sick Bay
1965
Film
Valdez Is Coming
Malson
1971
Film
A King in New York
Headmaster
1957
White Hunter
1957
Film
John Paul Jones
Sentry
1959
Film
The Counterfeit Traitor
Harold Murray (uncredited)
1962
Film
Hello, Annapolis
Kansas City
1942
Film
The Romantic Englishwoman
Mr. Wilson
1975
Film
Land Raiders
Sheriff John Mayfield
1969
Film
The Camp on Blood Island
Lt. Peter Bellamy
1958
The Curse of a Faithful Wife
1972
Film
Moonrise
Elmer - Soda Jerk
1948
Film
Obsession
Bill Kronin
1949
Film
The Luck of the Irish
Tom Higginbotham
1948
Film
Tropic of Cancer
Van Norden
1970
Film
State Fair
Harry Ware
1945
Film
Johnny O'Clock
Phil, Hotel Clerk
1947
Series
Dial 999
1958
Film
Scalawag
Sandy
1973
Film
Pierre of the Plains
Val Denton
1942
Film
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Joe Bingham
1941
Film
Bomb at 10:10
Professor Pilich / Profesor Pilić
1967
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Jeremiah Cobb
1978
Film
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Roy Todwell
1942
Film
Maneaters Are Loose!
Kevin Pennington
1978
Film
Weird Woman
David Jennings
1944
Film
Operation Cross Eagles
Sgt. Turley
1968
Film
The Impatient Years
Henry Fairchild
1944
Film
I Wanted Wings
Jimmy Masters
1941
Film
The Jungle Captive
Don Young
1945
Film
Over 21
Frank MacDougal
1945
Film
Ooh...You Are Awful
American Man
1972
Film
If You Knew Susie
Joe Collins
1948
Film
Starwoids
Self
2001
Film
The Adding Machine
Don
1969
Film
Bomber Harris
Lord Beaverbrook
1989
Film
Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming
Council Elder
1999
Film
Togetherness
Everett
1970
Film
The Gangster Show: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Clark
1972