William John Eythe (April 7, 1918 – January 26, 1957) was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage.
Early life
Born in Mars, Pennsylvania, a small town located about 25 miles from Pittsburgh, he was interested in acting from a young age. He converted an old barn into a theatre and started performing plays he had written. At Carnegie, Eythe appeared in over 80 plays. During the Second World War, many of Hollywood's young male stars were away at war, and the film studios were forced to locate newer, younger actors who were below the age of military service, or those actors who were considered unfit for service due to medical conditions. As one such actor, Eythe was spotted by a talent scout for 20th Century Fox films.
The test was successful and Eythe signed a long-term contract with the studio on 20 June 1942.
Eythe was one of the three leads in a war film, Wing and a Prayer (1944), directed by Henry Hathaway, alongside Don Ameche and Dana Andrews. Eythe replaced Randolph Scott. He was to have appeared in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier but ended up being replaced by John Hodiak.
He was reunited with Baxter on A Royal Scandal (1945), directed by Otto Preminger (taking over from Ernst Lubitsch) and starring Tallulah Bankhead and Charles Coburn.
Eythe was then given the lead role in The House on 92nd Street (1945) playing double-agent Bill Dietrich (based on William G. Sebold). This was a semi-documentary directed by Henry Hathaway and was a big hit. He was announced for Doll Face with Vivian Blaine and a musical remake of The Bowery but neither were made.
thumb|right|Eythe in 1946
Eythe was the romantic male lead in Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946), starring Coburn. He was billed fourth in Centennial Summer (1946), a musical directed by Preminger featuring Jeanne Crain, Cornel Wilde and Linda Darnell.
In 1946, he was one of eight Hollywood actors to give a performance in front of King George VI of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Elizabeth.
Return to Broadway
Eythe returned to New York. He turned producer, buying the rights to the revue Lend an Ear and much revising it. It debuted in New York in 1948, the cast including Eythe and a young Carol Channing. It ran for 460 performances until 1950.
During the show run he began appearing in TV in episodes of The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse ("Dinner at Antoine's", "This Time, Next Year", an adaptation of "The Little Sister", "The Promise"). He announced he had bought the rights to the novel The Perfect Round by Henry Morton Robinson and wanted to turn it into a play. In November 1949 Eythe left the cast of Lend an Ear, replaced by John Beal. He returned to films with the lead role in a B film at Columbia, Customs Agent (1950). In 1950 he appeared in the musical The Liar, directed by Alfred Drake, which only had a short run. Eythe also appeared in a starring (though non-singing) role in the 1950 Cole Porter musical Out of this World, based on the Greek myth of Amphitryon, in which Jupiter (George Gaynes) comes to earth to bed a lovely young lady, taking the shape of her much-loved husband (Eythe). The song "From This Moment On", which went on to become a standard, was originally written for the couple.
Television
Eythe then focused on television. He was in episodes of Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre ("Follow Fat Flora"), Studio One in Hollywood ("Summer Had Better Be Good"), Armstrong Circle Theatre ("Fog Station"), Lux Video Theatre ("Dames are Poison"), Tales of Tomorrow ("The Invader", with Eva Gabor), Lights Out ("Sisters of Shadow", "Perchance to Dream"), Schlitz Playhouse ("The Haunted House"), and Hollywood Opening Night ("The Singing Years"). His last screen appearance was in The Ford Television Theatre ("Indirect Approach"). In 1953 he was in a stage production of Garson Kanin's The Live Wire.
Later career
Eythe became a professional photographer. He and his partner Lon McCallister toured the world producing films for the Hilton Hotel chain.
Eythe married a young 20th Century Fox contract actress, Buff Cobb, in June 1947. The marriage was short-lived and was not a happy one, and the couple divorced in 1949. Cobb later sued Eythe for $2,500 that he owed according to their divorce settlement. The unpaid debt resulted in Eythe's being arrested. "I suppose I do owe the money", he said. "I'm a bum book-keeper and a bum businessman".
Eythe lived with Lon McCallister from the early 1950s until his death. Carol Channing described McCallister as Eythe's "dearest friend".
Death
Eythe was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles in January 1957 suffering from hepatitis. He died several weeks later at the age of 38.
Partial filmography
- The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) – Gerald Tetley
- The Song of Bernadette (1943) – Antoine Nicolau
- The Eve of St. Mark (1944) – Pvt. Quizz West
- Wilson (1944) – George Felton
- Wing and a Prayer (1944) – Ens. Hallam 'Oscar' Scott
- A Royal Scandal (1945) – Lt. Alexei Chernoff
- The House on 92nd Street (1945) – Bill Dietrich
- Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946) – Albert 'Al' Marbury
- Centennial Summer (1946) – Ben Phelps
- Meet Me at Dawn (1947) – Charles Morton
- Mr. Reckless (1948) – Jeff Lundy
- Special Agent (1949) – Johnny Douglas
- Customs Agent (1950) – Bert Stewart