Sid Melton RIP

[spress]

Sid Melton was a comic actor whose characters generally were dorky, wacky, and not very bright, with a deer in the headlights persona. Yet he also appeared, sometimes uncredited, in quite a few noirs and other crime films, including some really cheap Lippert numbers.

His casting as a screwy villain in some films demonstrates that in spite of itself, the noir universe does have a sense of humor. Of course it doesn't hurt that he also played Ichabod Mudd in the Captain Midnight TV series.

These are some of the relevant films:

Suspense (1946)
Body and Soul (1947)
The Gangster (1947)
Close-Up (1948)
Lady at Midnight (1948)
Knock on Any Door (1949)
White Heat (1949)
Hi-Jacked (1950)
Western Pacific Agent (1950)
The Naked Street (1955)
The Garment Jungle (1957)
The Beat Generation (1959)

In his memory, there should be a festival of his noir output called Meltonoir.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/ar...t-94.html?_r=1

[eubiecat]

Just watched a great 2nd season PETER GUNN episode with Melton in a nice character bit! He was among the cadre of distinctive character actors who added life and color to so much Hollywood product.