Joseph Sweeney (July 26, 1884[a] – November 25, 1963) was an American actor who worked in stage productions, television and movies principally in the 1950s, often playing grandfatherly roles.[1] His best-known role was as the elderly Juror #9 in the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men,[2] the role he originated in a 1954 Westinghouse Studio One live teleplay of which the film was an adaptation.
Joseph Sweeney | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sweeney in 12 Angry Men, 1957 | |
| Born | July 26, 1884 |
| Died | November 25, 1963 (aged 79) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1918–1963 |
Stage career
Born in Philadelphia on 26 July 1884, he raised in a rooming house in the same place with W. C. Fields.[1] In 1910 he started on an acting career and moved to Broadway, being fully active on-stage and making tours along United States.[1] Sweeney debuted on stage in stock theater with a company in Norwich, Connecticut.[3] He had a successful career as a stage performer in such productions as The Clansmen, George Washington Slept Here, Ladies and Gentlemen, A Slight Case of Murder, Dear Old Darlin, and Days To Remember.[1] In the 1940s, he made the switch to television as audiences' interests changed.[2] He returned to the stage in 1953 to portray Giles Corey in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.[4]
In 1949 he was a regular on the CBS series Wesley, and between 1950 and 1960 he appeared in leading and supporting roles and in installments of Lights Out, Kraft Television Theatre, Philco Television Playhouse, Campbell Television Soundstage, Studio One, Producers' Showcase, Playwrights '56, The U.S. Steel Hour, The Defenders, Car 54, Where Are You?, and Dr. Kildare.[1]
His most important performance in television was Twelve Angry Men (1954), by Reginald Rose, who played Juror Mr. McCardle, and later repeated the role in Sidney Lumet film adaption alongside Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Jack Warden.[1] He also played crafty and villainous roles, such as the larcenous former household employee in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) or The Fastest Gun Alive (1956).[1]
Later life
Sweeney kept a busy active acting until the time of his death on 25 November 1963 at the age of 79, appearing in numerous television shows and programmes that year alone, including at least in more than a dozen during the last year of his life.[1][2]
Filmography
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Wesley | Wesley's Grandfather | |
| 1954 | Twelve Angry Men | Juror #9 | |
| 1961 | Naked City | Jacob S. Moreland | Season 3 Episode 12 - Bridge Party |
| 1963 | Car 54, Where Are You? | The Judge / A.E. Van Cleve / Jim McNaughton | 4 Episodes |
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Sylvia on a Spree | A Pal of Jack's | |
| 1936 | Soak the Rich | Capt. Pettijohn, 1st detective | |
| 1940 | The Philadelphia Story | Butler (uncredited) | |
| 1950 | Outside the Wall | Prison Hospital Inmate (uncredited) | |
| 1956 | The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | Edward M. Schultz | |
| 1956 | The Fastest Gun Alive | Reverend | |
| 1957 | 12 Angry Men | Juror #9 / McCardle |
