Louis Dilman Merrill (April 1, 1912 – April 7, 1963) was an American actor, who worked primarily in radio from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Early life
Lou Merill was born on April 1, 1912, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada., and moved to the United States when he was young. He acted in stock theater and little theater before going to radio.
Radio
Merrill began working in radio in 1928.
Film
Merrill first appeared in film with the 1935 Columbia Pictures production The Black Room; he played the Story Teller in Trailer, though he was left uncredited. His formal debut in movies came in the 1939 Universal Studios production Tropic Fury. He appeared sporadically in films throughout the next three decades, often in small roles along with several uncredited appearances.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1935|| The Black Room || Story Teller in Trailer || Uncredited
|-
|1938|| Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars || Dr. Metz || Serial, Uncredited
|-
|1939|| Tropic Fury || Porthos Scipio ||
|-
|1940|| North West Mounted Police || Lesure ||
|-
|1941|| New Wine || Soldier || Uncredited
|-
|1942|| Reap the Wild Wind || Captain of the 'Pelican' ||
|-
|1943|| Hangmen Also Die! || Industrialist || Uncredited
|-
|1943|| Passport to Suez || Mr. Rembrandt || Uncredited
|-
|1947|| The Lady from Shanghai || Jake Bjornsen ||
|-
|1950|| The Next Voice You Hear... || Radio announcer || Voice, Uncredited
|-
|1951|| Cause for Alarm! || Mr. Phillips || Voice, Uncredited
|-
|1951|| Sirocco || Egyptian || Uncredited
|-
|1951|| The Family Secret || Reporter || Uncredited
|-
|1953|| Confidentially Connie || Minor Role || Uncredited
|-
|1953|| Fort Ti || Raoul de Moreau || Uncredited
|-
|1953|| The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd || Lord Bellmore || Serial, [Chs. 1, 13–15], Uncredited
|-
|1954|| Charge of the Lancers || Col. Zeansky ||
|-
|1954|| Phantom of the Rue Morgue || Pedestrian || Uncredited
|-
|1954|| The Iron Glove || Count DuLusac ||
|-
|1954|| Sabaka || Koobah ||
|-
|1955|| Duel on the Mississippi || Georges Gabriel ||
|-
|1955|| The Crooked Web || Herr Schmitt ||
|-
|1955|| The Fighting Chance || Sammy || Uncredited
|-
|1957|| The Giant Claw || Pierre Broussard ||
|-
|1961|| The Devil at 4 O'Clock || Aristide Giraud ||
|}
Television
Merrill occasionally appeared on television, in episodes of such programs as Oboler Comedy Theater, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, I Love Lucy, The Lineup, Colt .45, Sugarfoot, The Millionaire, This Man Dawson, Shirley Temple's Storybook, Angel, and King of Diamonds.
Voiceover narration
In his later years, Merrill continued doing voice-over work, regularly doing film trailer narration work for American International Pictures. Merrill narrated trailers for films such as It Conquered the World, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, War of the Colossal Beast, Teenage Cave Man, Night of the Blood Beast, A Bucket of Blood, Horrors of the Black Museum, The Angry Red Planet, Master of the World, and Burn, Witch, Burn.
Personal life and death
Merrill was married to actress Celeste Rush. They had two adopted daughters. Merrill died on April 7, 1963, in Los Angeles, California, aged 51. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.