Fay Roope


Fay Roope was a Harvard graduate and a character actor who appeared in American theater in New York City from the 1920s through 1950, and in American film and television from 1949 through 1961.

Early life

Winfield Harding Roope was born October 20, 1893, in Allston, Massachusetts, near Boston, the only son of George Winfield Roope and Lucie Mattie Jacobs, a wealthy couple listed in Newton's Blue Book. He "prepared" at Stone School for Boys, a Boston boarding school, and attended Harvard University from 1912 to 1916. During his time there he appeared in varied dramatic and musical roles in school productions. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university in 1916.

Acting career

He began acting professionally on stage in New York City in the early 1920s, and continued to do so for almost thirty years, appearing both off and on Broadway. He moved into film around 1950. He did do some television in the early 1950s, but did most of his television work in dramas during the last five years of his life, from 1955 on.

Broadway career

His first appearance on the Broadway stage was in the musical revue One Helluva Night, on June 4, 1924. From September 5, 1924, until September 12, 1925, he played Lieutenant Aldrich in the drama What Price Glory?. From March 30, 1949, to April 9, 1949, he played Colonel Jared Rumley in the comedy The Biggest Thief in Town. His last appearance on Broadway was in the first Broadway production of The Madwoman of Chaillot, June 13–25, 1950.

Film career

Fay Roope portrayed generals, admirals, and colonels in such movies as From Here To Eternity, Rock Hudson's Seminole, the Gary Cooper comedy You're in the Navy Now, and the original version of the science-fiction classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still. He played Mexican president Porfirio Díaz in the movie Viva Zapata!.

Film roles

You're in the Navy Now - Carrier Admiral The Frogmen - Adm. Dakers The Day the Earth Stood Still - Major General Callaway Went Thataway - Tom LorrisonIndian Uprising - Maj. Gen. George Crook Viva Zapata! - President Porfirio DíazMy Six Convicts - Warden George PotterDeadline - U.S.A. - Surrogate Court Judge McKay Carbine Williams - Ed - District AttorneyYoung Man with Ideas - Kyle ThornhillThe Brigand - Mons. De LaforceWashington Story - CaswellAssignment – Paris! - American Ambassador The Clown - Doctor StraussDown Among the Sheltering Palms - Colonel Thomas B. Richards All Ashore - Commodore StantonSeminole - Col. Zachary TaylorThe System - Roger StuartThe Charge at Feather River - Lt. Col. KilrainFrom Here to Eternity - Gen. Slater Clipped Wings - Col. DavenportA Lion Is in the Streets - Governor Charles Snowden Man of Conflict - Ed JenksAlaska Seas - Captain Walt DavisThe Lone Gun - Mayor BoothLiving It Up - ManThe Black Dakotas - John LawrenceNaked Alibi - Commissioner F.J. O'DayThe Last Time I Saw Paris - City Editor The Atomic Kid - Gen. LawlorMa and Pa Kettle at Waikiki - Fulton AndrewsThe Proud Ones - MarkhamThe Rack - Col. Dudley SmithThe True Story of Jesse James - Tom Trope The FBI Story - Dwight McCutcheon

Television career

Faye Roope played judges in Raymond Burr's Perry Mason TV series, had a continuing role as Mr. Botkin in the long-lasting western Gunsmoke, and appeared as an older man of authority in many TV Westerns of the 1950s. He played the old-west hanging judge in the classic 1960 Twilight Zone time-travel episode Execution, and appeared in many of the classic drama anthology shows of American television's Golden Age.

Roles in television episodes

The Philco Television Playhouse

Personal life

Fay Roope married Marie Teresa Roope. They had two children, Martha and George, and many grandchildren. He died on September 13, 1961, in Port Jefferson, New York, aged 67.