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Fred F. Sears

December 26, 2022

Frederick Francis Sears (July 7, 1913 – November 30, 1957) was an American film actor and director.

Fred F. Sears
Born
Frederick Francis Sears

(1913-07-07)July 7, 1913
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 30, 1957(1957-11-30) (aged 44)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
EducationBoston College
Occupation(s)Actor, director
Years active1948–1957
Spouse
Mary Ann Hawkins
​
​
(m. 1955; div. 1956)​

Biography

Sears, formerly based in Boston as a dramatic director and instructor, was hired as a dialogue director by Columbia Pictures in 1946. He began playing incidental roles in Columbia's productions. The actors in Columbia's stock company were expected to perform in any kind of film, from adventures to musicals, to two-reel comedy shorts, to westerns and serials. Sears gradually received larger supporting roles (as "Fred Sears"), notably in the popular Blondie series and the long-running Charles Starrett western series. By 1949 Sears was so well established in the close-knit Starrett unit that he was allowed to direct, and he continued to helm the Starrett westerns (as "Fred F. Sears") until the studio retired the series in 1952. Toward the end of the series's run, the films were being made so cheaply that the scripts would incorporate lengthy excerpts from older films. In Bonanza Town (1951), director Sears also had to appear as an actor, to match footage from his performance in West of Dodge City (1947).

Sears's budget-stretching skills attracted the attention of Columbia staff producer Sam Katzman. Katzman was a notoriously cheap producer, making topical films so quickly that they could be playing in theaters while the topic was still hot. Katzman recruited Sears for the 1952 serial Blackhawk, and after Sears was relieved of the Charles Starrett features, Katzman offered Sears full-time work in his unit. For the next five years Fred Sears worked steadily as a contract director, having no particular style or specialty of his own but capable of working in various genres. His most famous films are probably the Bill Haley musicals Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock, and the science-fiction features Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and The Giant Claw.

Sears might have continued indefinitely with Sam Katzman but he died in late 1957, at the age of 44. His final films were released posthumously.[1]

Filmography

Director

Actor

Notes

  1. ^ Movie Director Sears Found Dead at Studios Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 01 Dec 1957: 17.

Further reading

Dixon, Wheeler Winston. Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood. Southern Illinois University Press, 2005.

External links

  • Fred F. Sears at IMDb

December 26, 2022
fred, sears, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2011, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fred F Sears news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Frederick Francis Sears July 7 1913 November 30 1957 was an American film actor and director Fred F SearsBornFrederick Francis Sears 1913 07 07 July 7 1913Boston Massachusetts U S DiedNovember 30 1957 1957 11 30 aged 44 Hollywood California U S EducationBoston CollegeOccupation s Actor directorYears active1948 1957SpouseMary Ann Hawkins m 1955 div 1956 wbr Contents 1 Biography 2 Filmography 2 1 Director 2 2 Actor 3 Notes 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography EditSears formerly based in Boston as a dramatic director and instructor was hired as a dialogue director by Columbia Pictures in 1946 He began playing incidental roles in Columbia s productions The actors in Columbia s stock company were expected to perform in any kind of film from adventures to musicals to two reel comedy shorts to westerns and serials Sears gradually received larger supporting roles as Fred Sears notably in the popular Blondie series and the long running Charles Starrett western series By 1949 Sears was so well established in the close knit Starrett unit that he was allowed to direct and he continued to helm the Starrett westerns as Fred F Sears until the studio retired the series in 1952 Toward the end of the series s run the films were being made so cheaply that the scripts would incorporate lengthy excerpts from older films In Bonanza Town 1951 director Sears also had to appear as an actor to match footage from his performance in West of Dodge City 1947 Sears s budget stretching skills attracted the attention of Columbia staff producer Sam Katzman Katzman was a notoriously cheap producer making topical films so quickly that they could be playing in theaters while the topic was still hot Katzman recruited Sears for the 1952 serial Blackhawk and after Sears was relieved of the Charles Starrett features Katzman offered Sears full time work in his unit For the next five years Fred Sears worked steadily as a contract director having no particular style or specialty of his own but capable of working in various genres His most famous films are probably the Bill Haley musicals Rock Around the Clock and Don t Knock the Rock and the science fiction features Earth vs the Flying Saucers and The Giant Claw Sears might have continued indefinitely with Sam Katzman but he died in late 1957 at the age of 44 His final films were released posthumously 1 Filmography EditDirector Edit The Jolson Story 1946 The Lone Hand Texan 1947 The Corpse Came C O D 1947 Millie s Daughter 1947 West of Dodge City 1947 The Return of the Whistler 1948 Tokyo Joe 1949 Rusty s Birthday 1949 Desert Vigilante 1949 Horsemen of the Sierras 1949 The Blazing Trail 1949 Across the Badlands 1950 Raiders of Tomahawk Creek 1950 Lightning Guns 1950 Prairie Roundup 1951 Ridin the Outlaw Trail 1951 Snake River Desperadoes 1951 Bonanza Town 1951 Pecos River 1951 Smoky Canyon 1952 The Hawk of Wild River 1952 The Miraculous Blackhawk Freedom s Champion 1952 Serial The Kid from Broken Gun 1952 final film in the Charles Starrett series Last Train from Bombay 1952 Target Hong Kong 1953 Ambush at Tomahawk Gap 1953 The 49th Man 1953 Flame of Calcutta 1953 Sky Commando 1953 Mission Over Korea 1953 The Nebraskan 1953 El Alamein 1953 Overland Pacific 1954 Massacre Canyon 1954 The Miami Story 1954 The Outlaw Stallion 1954 Wyoming Renegades 1955 Cell 2455 Death Row 1955 Chicago Syndicate 1955 Apache Ambush 1955 Teen Age Crime Wave 1955 Inside Detroit 1956 Fury at Gunsight Pass 1956 Rock Around the Clock 1956 Earth vs the Flying Saucers 1956 The Werewolf 1956 Miami Expose 1956 Cha Cha Cha Boom 1956 Don t Knock the Rock 1956 Rumble on the Docks 1956 Utah Blaine 1957 The Giant Claw 1957 The Night the World Exploded 1957 Calypso Heat Wave 1957 Escape from San Quentin 1957 The World Was His Jury 1958 Going Steady 1958 Crash Landing 1958 Badman s Country 1958 Ghost of the China Sea 1958 Actor Edit The Return of Rusty 1946 Detective uncredited The Jolson Story 1946 Oscar Cutter uncredited Blondie Knows Best 1946 Man on Park Bench uncredited Lone Star Moonlight 1946 Announcer uncredited The Lone Hand Texan 1947 Sam Jason uncredited Millie s Daughter 1947 Escort Manager uncredited West of Dodge City 1947 Henry Hardison uncredited Blondie s Holiday 1947 Gambler uncredited Law of the Canyon 1947 Dr Middleton uncredited For the Love of Rusty 1947 Doc Levy uncredited The Corpse Came C O D 1947 Police Detertive Dave Short Sport of Kings 1947 The Son of Rusty 1947 E A Thompson uncredited Down to Earth 1947 Bill Orchestra Leader uncredited Blondie in the Dough 1947 Quinn Her Husband s Affairs 1947 Man at Mayor s Party uncredited It Had to Be You 1947 Fireman 2 Tilleman uncredited Blondie s Anniversary 1947 Bert Dalton Phantom Valley 1948 Ben Theibold uncredited The Return of the Whistler 1948 Crandall uncredited Song of Idaho 1948 Himself Radio Announcer uncredited Adventures in Silverado 1948 Hatfield The Fuller Brush Man 1948 Bartender uncredited Whirlwind Raiders 1948 Tracy Beaumont Singin Spurs 1948 Mr Hanson The Gallant Blade 1948 Lawrence Soldier in Woods Rusty Leads the Way 1948 Jack Coleman uncredited The Return of October 1948 Reporter uncredited Smoky Mountain Melody 1948 Mr Crump The Man from Colorado 1949 Veteran uncredited Shockproof 1949 Clerk uncredited Slightly French 1949 Cameraman uncredited Boston Blackie s Chinese Venture 1949 Police Chemist uncredited The Crime Doctor s Diary 1949 Ballistics Man uncredited The Lone Wolf and His Lady 1949 Tex Talbot uncredited Home in San Antone 1949 Radio Announcer Breezy Laramie 1949 Col Ron Dennison Johnny Allegro 1949 Desk Clerk uncredited The Blazing Trail 1949 Luke Masters The Secret of St Ives 1949 Narrator voice uncredited South of Death Valley 1949 Sam Ashton Bandits of El Dorado 1949 Ranger Captain Richard Henley Tokyo Joe 1949 Medical Major uncredited Rusty s Birthday 1949 Policeman uncredited Renegades of the Sage 1949 Lt Jones Texas Dynamo 1950 Hawkins Hoedown 1950 Sam Baker uncredited David Harding Counterspy 1950 Peters uncredited On the Isle of Samoa 1950 Pilot uncredited Convicted 1950 Fingerprint Man uncredited Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard 1950 Agent Peters Frontier Outpost 1950 Major Copeland Lightning Guns 1950 Opening Off Screen Narrator voice uncredited Gasoline Alley 1951 Smite uncredited My True Story 1951 E H Carlyle Fort Savage Raiders 1951 Col Sutter The Big Gusher 1951 Sheriff uncredited Never Trust a Gambler 1951 State Trooper uncredited Bonanza Town 1951 Henry Hardison Cyclone Fury 1951 Captain Barham Saturday s Hero 1951 Reporter uncredited The Family Secret 1951 Laboratory Analyst uncredited The Kid from Amarillo 1951 Jonathan Cole Pecos River 1951 Townsman on Porch Listening to Music uncredited Laramie Mountains 1952 Major Markham Brave Warrior 1952 Opening Narrator voice uncredited The Rough Tough West 1952 Pete Walker Doctor uncredited The Kid from Broken Gun 1952 Opening Narrator voice uncredited Rainbow Round My Shoulder 1952 Director uncredited Serpent of the Nile 1953 Off Screen Narrator voice uncredited Flame of Calcutta 1953 Opening Off Screen Narrator voice uncredited The Werewolf 1956 Narrator voice uncredited The Night the World Exploded 1957 Narrator voice uncredited The Giant Claw 1957 Narrator voice uncredited Crash Landing 1958 Opening Off Screen Narrator voice uncredited final film role Notes Edit Movie Director Sears Found Dead at Studios Los Angeles Times 1923 Current File Los Angeles Calif 01 Dec 1957 17 Further reading EditDixon Wheeler Winston Lost in the Fifties Recovering Phantom Hollywood Southern Illinois University Press 2005 External links EditFred F Sears at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fred F Sears amp oldid 1114072774, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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