Tom Tully
Trailer for Lady in the Lake (1946)
Born
Thomas Kane Tulley

(1908-08-21)August 21, 1908
Durango, Colorado, U.S.
DiedApril 27, 1982(1982-04-27) (aged 73)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1937–1973
Spouses
Helen Ross
​
​
(m. 1930; div. 1935)​
    Frances McHugh
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1938; died 1953)​
      Ida Johnson
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1954)​
      Children1

      Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in Northern Pursuit (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in The Caine Mutiny (1954).

      In 1960, Tully was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.

      Early years

      Tully was born in Durango in southwestern Colorado, the son of Thomas H. Tulley and Victoria Lenore Day Tulley. He first worked as a sailor in the United States Navy then as a reporter for the Denver Post in Denver, before he entered acting with the expectation of better pay.[1]

      Career

      Stage

      Tully debuted on Broadway in Call Me Ziggy (1937). His other Broadway credits include The Sun Field (1942), The Strings, My Lord, Are False (1942), Jason (1942), Ah, Wilderness! (1941), The Time of Your Life (1940), Night Music (1940), The Time of Your Life (1939), The White Steed (1939), and Chalked Out (1937).[2]

      Radio

      In the era of old-time radio, Tully had the lead role of Joe in the serial Home of the Brave.[3]: 155  He also played Jim Carroll in the serial Life Begins,[3]: 198  Uncle Willie in the comedy My Mother's Husband,[3]: 247  and Charles Martin in the serial Stella Dallas.[3] He was a frequent guest actor on Gunsmoke, portraying a wide range of parts.[4][5][6][7][8]

      Film

      Tully's Hollywood film career spanned from the early 1940s until 1973. After a brief appearance in the film Carefree (1938), he next appeared in I'll Be Seeing You (1944) as the father of Shirley Temple's character.[1]

      Tully and Dorothy McGuire in the short film Reward Unlimited (1944)

      He received an Academy Award nomination for Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying the first commander of the Caine in the 1954 drama The Caine Mutiny,[9] with Humphrey Bogart.

      His last feature film role was as a crooked gun dealer, seated in a wheelchair after having his left leg removed close to the hip, in Don Siegel's popular crime film Charley Varrick (1973), with Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker.[10]

      Television

      From 1954 through 1960, he played the role of police Inspector Matt Grebb on the CBS police drama, The Lineup,[11] with co-star Warner Anderson. In repeats, The Lineup was known as San Francisco Beat.

      He made two appearances as Rob Petrie's (Dick Van Dyke) father on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1964 and 1966. This role reunited Tully with Jerry Paris from The Caine Mutiny. He also was a guest star on The Andy Griffith Show during the seventh season. He played Walt, the milkman in the episode, "Goodbye, Dolly."

      In 1962, he appeared on the NBC modern western series, Empire in the role of Tom Cole in the episode "Long Past, Long Remembered." Richard Jordan appeared in this episode too as Jay Bee Fowler. The series starred Richard Egan as New Mexico rancher Jim Redigo. In 1963, he was cast as Danny Mundt in "A Taste for Pineapple" of the ABC crime drama, The Untouchables. That same year he portrayed Jethro Tate in "Who Killed Billy Jo?" on another ABC crime drama, Burke's Law, with Gene Barry.

      In 1964, Tully had two appearances on CBS's Perry Mason. The first was as defendant Carey York in "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist;" the second was as murder victim Harvey Scott in "The Case of the Nautical Knot." During the 1966 season of ABC's Shane western series, he made 17 appearances as Tom Starett.[11]: 954  Tully also guest starred twice in the western TV series Bonanza: in the 1965 episode "The Dilemma" as Sundown Davis and in the 1967 episode "The Sure Thing" as Burt Laughlin.

      Later, Tully continued his acting in television dramas such as Mission: Impossible and The Rookies.

      Later years

      In November 1969, Tully traveled to South Vietnam, currently Vietnam, for the United Service Organization. His "handshake tour" took him to hospitals, radio interviews, and flight behind enemy lines, courtesy of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, to visit strategic military outposts such as the "Hawks Nest" in the Phum Valley. While in Vietnam entertaining troops, Tully contracted a filarial worm,[1] similar to the creature that causes elephantiasis. After returning to the United States, his condition worsened. Because a blood clot in a major vein shut off circulation, his left leg was amputated close to the hip. The amputation was performed in Laguna Beach, California, close to his home in San Juan Capistrano. Complications from his surgery caused pleuritis, deafness, and serious debilitation.

      At the time of his death, Tully had completed a manuscript about his grandmother and grandfather, David F. Day, a Medal of Honor recipient in the American Civil War.

      Politics

      Tully refused to join the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, and was out of work during the Hollywood blacklist, for nine months.[12]

      Personal life

      In 1930, Tully married Helen Brown in Colorado. They had a daughter, and they were divorced on November 26, 1935. In 1938, he married actress Frances McHugh, to whom he remained wed until her death in 1953. On June 20, 1954, he married Ida Johnson in Los Angeles, and they remained married until his death.[1]

      Tully played chess by mail, was a fly-fisherman, and voiced children's books for an elementary school.[13]

      Tully died of cancer at the age of 73 on April 27, 1982, at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, California.[10][14]

      Recognition

      In 1960, Tully's Hollywood Walk of Fame star,[12] 6119 Hollywood Boulevard near Gower Street, is one of the inaugural 1,558 stars, yet misspelled as Thomas L. Tully.[13]

      Partial filmography

      Television

      Year Title Role Notes
      1961RawhideDan YatesS4:E1, "Incident at Rio Salado"
      1965RawhideClete BonnerS7:E19, "Blood Harvest"

      References

      1. 1 2 3 4 Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960–1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 423. ISBN 978-1-4766-2856-1. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
      2. ↑ "Tom Tully". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
      3. 1 2 3 4 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
      4. ↑ "Tom Tully". rusc.com.
      5. ↑ "Tom Tully". BFI. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017.
      6. ↑ "Blood Harvest – Tales of the Texas Rangers (01-21-51)". OTRWesterns.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
      7. ↑ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
      8. ↑ "YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR: THE KING'S NECKLACE MATTER (RADIO)". Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
      9. ↑ "Tom Tully". Academy Awards Database. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
      10. 1 2 "Actor Tom Tully is dead at 85; Oscar nominee for 'Caine Mutiny'". Chicago Tribune. United Press International. April 26, 1982. p. Section 4 – Page 13. Retrieved April 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
      11. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 608. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
      12. 1 2 "Thomas Tully". Hollywood Walk of Fame. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
      13. 1 2 Tseng, Ada (July 10, 2019). "Tom Tully never knew he had a Hollywood star. His grandchildren found it decades after his death". Daily Pilot. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
      14. ↑ Thackery, Ted Jr. (April 28, 1982). "Tom Tully". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
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