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Michael Strong

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For other people named Michael Strong, see Michael Strong (disambiguation).
Michael Strong
Born
Cecil Natapoff

(1918-02-08)February 8, 1918
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 17, 1980(1980-09-17) (aged 62)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materBrooklyn College (BA)
Occupation(s)American stage, film and television actor
Years active1937-1980
Spouse(s)Theda Kropf (?-1966), Diane Shalet (?-1980) (his death)[1]

Michael Strong (born Cecil Natapoff; February 8, 1918 – September 17, 1980)[2][3] was an American stage, film and television actor.

Early life

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Michael Strong was born in New York City as Cecil Natapoff, the son of Russian-Jewish parents who emigrated to the U.S. in 1903, fleeing the pogroms of Russia.[4] He grew up in the Bronx. His father was a mail carrier.[3][5][4]

He attended Brooklyn College and was a member of the Brooklyn College Varsity Dramatic Society, appearing in productions at local theaters[6] and in radio performances.[7] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938.[8]

Career

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While at Brooklyn College, he made his Broadway debut in 1937 in the short-lived production of Wall Street Scene.[9] He also performed in Yiddish radio, and in 1941 changed his name to Michael Strong.[4] After a stage career that included one of the principal roles in the play Men to the Sea, he was signed to a personal contract by Hal. B. Wallis at Paramount Pictures in 1945, and was slated to make his screen debut in the film The Searching Wind in the role created on stage by Montgomery Clift.[10] Strong did not appear in the film.

He was a charter member of The Actors Studio.[11]

Strong appeared in the 1949 stage and William Wyler's 1951 film version of Detective Story, playing a cat burglar, and was cast by Elia Kazan in supporting and ensemble roles, twice appeared in the opening night casts of plays by Arthur Miller. He played the bartender Chuck in Sidney Lumet’s televised adaptation of The Iceman Cometh in 1960. He appeared with Zero Mostel and Eli Wallach in an adaptation of Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros. he was the understudy for Jack Klugman in the 1959 Broadway production of the Gypsy.[4]

Strong was a regular on live programming during the Golden Age of Television, including the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, a showcase for young actors, and in early television series including Danger and Suspense. His performances in those shows were "admired for extracting feeling from the smallest gesture." He was a regular on the soap opera The Edge of Night.[4]

In 1962, Kazan invited Strong, Jason Robards and other actors in forming the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center. In its inaugural season in 1963-1964, he appeared in productions of Incident at Vichy and After the Fall.[4]

He made guest appearances in over 120 television series during his career on shows such as The Green Hornet (in "Hornet Save Thyself"), Decoy, Naked City, The Eleventh Hour, The F.B.I., The Fugitive, I Spy, Mission: Impossible (five episodes), Columbo (in "Negative Reaction"), The Streets of San Francisco, The Big Valley, Planet of the Apes and Hawaii Five-O. He played Dr. Roger Korby in the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?".

In 1975, Strong appeared in a production of The Dybbuk at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.[4]

Among his film credits are Point Blank, Patton, and The Great Santini.

Chekhov film

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Paul Newman was impressed by Strong's performance of a one-act Anton Chekhov monologue at the Actors Studio in 1959, and cast him in a starring role in a short film based on a Chekhov play of the same name, On the Harmfulness of Tobacco. The 25-minute film, which was shot in five days at the Orpheum,[12] then a Yiddish theater, on the Lower East Side. was only given a short release at theaters in New York and Los Angeles. At its release, a brief New York Times review called it a “top-flight, one-man tour de force by Michael Strong.” It has been described as a "lost masterpiece."[4]

Strong was regarded as an "actor's actor" by co-stars such as Kirk Douglas and Karl Malden. The Forward, in recounting the film in 2017, said "it’s hard not to wonder if he might have joined their ranks if this film had been released." In January 1962, Newman took his name off the film and declined to work on obtaining distribution, which crushed Strong.[4] Newman told biographer Daniel O'Brien, "I did that as an exercise for myself... I did it to see whether I could handle a camera and direct actors." Newman "didn't think it had turned out that well."[12] The film was shown in 2017 at Lincoln Center for the first time since 1962.[13]

Personal life

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His first wife was Theda Kropf, a fellow acting student at Brooklyn College who became a kindergarten teacher. She and Strong taught theater at Camp Unity, an interracial summer camp for adults in Wingdale, New York.[4] They divorced in 1966.[14] His second wife was actress Diane Shalet, who was an actress and intern with the Lincoln Center troupe.[4][15] He had two children with Kropf: Paul and Ellen Strong.[4]

Strong died of stomach cancer in Los Angeles, California, on September 17, 1980, aged 62.[4][16]

Filmography

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A partial filmography follows.

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Sleeping City Dr. Alex Connell Uncredited
1951 Detective Story Lewis Abbott appeared on Broadway in same role
1962 On the Harmfulness of Tobacco Ivan Ivanovich Nyukhin directed by Paul Newman, considered a lost film
1966 Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round Paul Feng
1967 Point Blank Stegman
1968 Secret Ceremony Dr. Walter Stevens Uncredited
1970 Patton Brig. Gen. Hobart Carver
1979 The Great Santini Col. Varney final film appearance

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1960 The Iceman Cometh Chuck Morello TV play
1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mr. Malloy Season 1 Episode 16: "What Really Happened"
1963 The Lieutenant Peter Clay "Cool of the evening" (S1E2)
1966 Gunsmoke Shaver "Snap Decision" (S12E1)
1966 Star Trek: The Original Series Dr. Roger Korby "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (S1E7)
1967 Mission: Impossible Stephan Gomalk "Operation Heart" (S2E7)
1968 Mission: Impossible Yorgi Petrosian "The Emerald" (S2E18)
1970 Mission: Impossible Police Chief Petrovitch "Decoy" (S5E8)
1971 The Immortal Jason Richards "My Brother's Keeper"" (S1E15)
1973 Gunsmoke Peak Stratton "Kimbro" (S18E21)
1973 Hawaii Five-O Harry Maguire "One Born Every Minute" (S6E17)
1974 Columbo Sergeant Hoffman "Negative Reaction" (S4E2)
1979 Archie Bunker's Place Tony Bremmer "A Small Mafia Favor" (S1E24)

References

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  1. ^ "Diane Shalet Strong (paid obituary)". The New York Times. New York, New York City. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2019 – via Legacy.com.
  2. ^ California Death Index and Social Security Death Index, accessed on Ancestry.com
  3. ^ a b Cecil Natapoff in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Aug 1937: Notes: Name listed as CECIL NATAPOFF; 04 Jan 1988: Name listed as MICHAEL STRONG
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Jalon, Allan (21 November 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Paul Newman's Lost Masterpiece — And How We Rediscovered It". The Forward. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. ^ Michael Strong in U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed via Ancestry.com; Handwritten notation: "See also Cecil Natapoff"
  6. ^ "Boro College Play to Be Repeated". Times Union. Brooklyn, N.Y. 23 April 1937. Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "College Radio Club Honors 12 Students". The Brooklyn Citizen. 28 May 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "B'Klyn College Will Confer 687 Degrees Tonight". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 27 June 1938. p. 22. Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "For "Wall St. Scene"". The Brooklyn Citizen. 9 October 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "SCREEN NEWS: Michael Strong Signs a Contract With Wallis". The New York Times. 27 June 1945.
  11. ^ "Michael Strong, Actor 30 Years". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1980-09-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  12. ^ a b Bosworth, Patricia (30 July 2008). "The Newman Chronicles". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Paul Newman Directs". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  14. ^ Theda K Kropf in the California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984, accessed via Ancestry.com
  15. ^ Meredith, Jack (December 13, 1969). "Michael Strong a man of many lives in variety of theatrical characters". The Windsor Star. Canada, Ontario, Windsor. p. 39. Retrieved 3 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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