Kerwin Mathews

About Kerwin Mathews

Who is it?: Actor
Birth Day: January 08, 1926
Birth Place:  Seattle, Washington, United States
Died On: July 5, 2007(2007-07-05) (aged 81)\nSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Birth Sign: Aquarius
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1954–1978
Partner(s): Tom Nicoll (1961–2007; his death)

Kerwin Mathews Net Worth

Kerwin Mathews was born on January 08, 1926 in  Seattle, Washington, United States, is Actor. Before there was a George Lucas and Harrison Ford running around creating special-effects excitement, there was a virile, boyishly handsome actor named Kerwin Mathews who was entertaining audiences battling a variety of creatures courtesy of pioneer special effects guru Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen's legendary monsters of the late 50s and early 60s earned cult film infamy and it was those wondrous storybook fantasies and the Harryhausen association that also put Kerwin on the Hollywood map.Born an only child in Seattle, Washington, on January 8, 1926, Kerwin's parents split up while he was quite young and he and his mother relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin. He developed an early interest in acting while performing in high school plays. Following a couple of years in the Army Air Force during WWII, Kerwin studied at Beloit College in Wisconsin on both dramatic and musical scholarships. He later taught speech and drama at the college and also found acting jobs in regional theater. In the early 1950s, after teaching high school English in Lake Geneva, Wisconin, for a few years, he decided to make the big trek to Hollywood to seek out his fame and fortune.While training at the Pasadena Playhouse, Kerwin met a casting agent for Columbia Pictures and was eventually signed to a seven-year contact after winning over the approval of studio boss Harry Cohn. Finding a number of roles on TV, he acquitted himself quite well with his film debut in 5 Against the House (1955) as one of four college pals (the others being Guy Madison, Brian Keith and Alvy Moore) who decide to carry out a faux casino robbery in Las Vegas, a plan that backfires badly. The offbeat ensemble picture drew good reviews and Kerwin was off and running.Following decent showings in the crime yarn The Garment Jungle (1957) and war flick Tarawa Beachhead (1958), he found respect as a middleweight talent, but truly came into his own in the Saturday afternoon-styled adventure fantasies popular with the school crowd. An agile fencer with fine all-American looks, he won the opportunity to play the role of the dauntless hero in Columbia's classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). Out to rescue fair damsel Kathryn Grant (who later became Mrs. Bing Crosby), he battled everything in his path -- from a colossal, one-eyed Cyclops to a fire-spewing dragon. The final climactic battle scene was his Errol Flynn / Basil Rathbone-like swordplay against a dexterous, sword-swinging skeleton, all courtesy of Harryhausen.Kerwin worked with Harryhausen's stop-motion creations again in The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) as a doctor whose foes this time around included a giant squirrel and alligator. He then played the countrified folk legend Jack the Giant Killer (1962) and again found himself saving a princess while pitted against evil wizards and other specially-designed effects (by Jim Danforth). Other less arduous films he made included the WWII war drama The Last Blitzkrieg (1959) with Van Johnson, the crime thriller Man on a String (1960) with Ernest Borgnine and his third-billed role behind Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra in The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) in which he and Tracy played priests.By the early 1960s Kerwin was typecast in adventure tales and was now searching for work overseas to display his stoic heroics, though his efforts were mostly for naught in such empty spectacles as Italy's Saffo - Venere di Lesbo (1960) ["The Warrior Princess"] opposite Gilligan's Island (1964) star Tina Louise; England's The Pirates of Blood River (1962); and the Franco-Italian co-production Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (1964) ["Panic in Bangkok"]. He fared somewhat better in the British-made Maniac (1963) in a change-of-pace role and received some of his best notices on TV playing composer Johann Strauss Jr. in Disney's 1963 TV biopic Disneyland: The Waltz King: Part 1 (1963) (and "Part 2").Kerwin's career ended in 1978 after making a small sprinkling of appearances in low-budget sci-fi and horror films, plus some TV guest appearances throughout the decade. By this time he had already moved to San Francisco and spent his later years selling antiques and furniture. He was also a stalwart patron of the arts and supporter of the city's various opera and ballet companies. Kerwin died overnight in his sleep at age 81 in his San Francisco home, survived by his partner of 46 years Tom Nicoll.
Kerwin Mathews is a member of Actor

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1943

Mathews was born in Seattle, Washington and was two years old when he moved with his divorced mother to Janesville, Wisconsin. He attended Janesville High School, graduating in 1943. Mathews said that "a kind high school Teacher put me in a play, and that changed my life." According to a classmate, he was a "handsome rascal".

1954

After moving to Los Angeles in 1954, Mathews acted at the Pasadena Playhouse, including a production of Comedy of Error. While there he met the head of casting for Columbia Pictures, leading to a seven-year studio contract.

1957

Mathews' first sizeable role was as Lee J. Cobb's son in The Garment Jungle (1957). He was promoted to star for Tarawa Beachhead (1958), a war film produced by Charles Schneer. Schneer liked the actor's work and cast him in the role of Sinbad in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), directed by Nathan Juran with effects by Ray Harryhausen. The movie was a big success and remains Mathews' most famous film. Juran called Mathews "the epitome of professionalism."

1959

Mathews co-starred with Van Johnson in The Last Blitzkrieg (1959), a war film for Sam Katzman, and Man on a String (1960) with Ernest Borgnine (Mathews replaced Cliff Robertson for the latter).. In The Last Blitzkrieg Mathews gave a strong performance in a role where he was cast against type, as a fanatical Nazi. He did an episode of Goodyear Theatre and went to Italy to make The Warrior Empress (1960) with Tina Louise. He was on stand by to replace Dirk Bogarde on Song Without End (1960) when Bogarde was clashing with the Director.

1960

Schneer cast Mathews in an unofficial follow up to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960), playing the title role, with effects by Harryhausen. Columbia then put him in a prestigious film, The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961), billed underneath Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy.

1961

He was survived by his partner of 46 years, Tom Nicoll, a British display manager at Harvey Nichols, a British luxury department store, who he had met in 1961.

1962

Mathews went to England to star in a swashbuckler film for Hammer Films released through Columbia, The Pirates of Blood River (1962). Edward Small cast him as Jack the Giant Killer (1962), directed by Juran, an attempt to repeat the success of Sinbad only without Harryhausen or Schneer.

1963

Hammer called him back to play the title role in Maniac (1963), a psycho thriller released by Columbia. He then left Columbia.

1964

He did another OSS 117 film, Panic in Bangkok (1964), then starred in The Viscount (1967), also from a novel by Bruce. In between he starred in a pilot for a TV show that did not go to series, Ghostbreakers.

1968

Mathews starred in some low budget films, Battle Beneath the Earth (1968), and Un killer per sua maestà (968). He had a support part in A Boy... a Girl (1969) directed by John Derek and Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969) a pilot for a proposed Dan Curtis series.

1970

Mathews had support roles in Barquero (1970), the TV movie Death Takes a Holiday (1971), and Octaman (1971). He guest starred on General Hospital and Ironside. His last lead was The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), directed by Juran.

2007

He retired from acting in 1978 and moved to San Francisco, where he ran a clothing and antiques shop. Mathews died in his sleep in San Francisco on July 5, 2007, at the age of 81.