Luther Adler
Birthday: Born in 1903-05-04 in New York City, New York, USA
Deathday: 1984-12-08
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway. Adler was born Lutha Adler on May 4, 1903 in New York City. He was one of six children born to Russian Jewish actors Sara and Jacob P. Adler. His father was considered to be one of the founders of the Yiddish theater in America. His siblings also worked in theatre; his sister Stella Adler achieved fame as an actress and drama teacher. His brother Jay also achieved some fame as an actor. Adler's father gave him his first acting job in the Yiddish play, Schmendrick, at the Thalia Theater in Manhattan in 1908; Adler was he 5 years old. His first Broadway plays were The Hand of the Potter in 1921; Humoresque in 1923; Monkey Talks in 1925; Money Business and We Americans in 1926; John in 1927; Red Rust (or Rust) and Street Scene in 1929
TV Credits
77 Sunset Strip
Character:
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their l...
The Psychiatrist
Character: Dr. Bernard Altman
The Psychiatrist is an American television series about a young psychiatrist with unorthodox methods of helping his patients. Roy Thinnes played the title role of Dr. James Whitman. Luther Adler co-starred as Dr. Bernard Altman, the older psychiatrist with whom Whitman worked. Two episodes of the short-lived series, "The Private World of Martin Dalton" and "Par for the Course," were directed by Steven Spielberg. The regular hour long series ran from February 3, 1971 to March 10 of the same year....
Hawaii Five-O
Character: Dominick Vashon
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett...
Route 66
Character:
After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod...
The Streets of San Francisco
Character:
Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate murders and other serious crimes in San Francisco. Stone would become a second father to Keller as he learned the rigors and procedures of detective work....
Naked City
Character: Sean Wicklow
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”....
Studio One
Character:
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
General Electric Theater
Character: Torvald Helmer
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations....
Mission: Impossible
Character: Leo Vorka
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the th...
The Islanders
Character: Frank Fellino
The Islanders is an American adventure television series which aired on ABC from 1960 to 1961, starring William Reynolds, James Philbrook, and Diane Brewster. At the beginning of the series, Sandy Wade and Zack Malloy, co-owners of a Grumman Goose amphibious aircraft, start their one-plane airline in the Moluccas or Spice Islands of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Throughout the series they experience a variety of adventures where seemingly harmless charter flights put them into danger. They ar...
The Twilight Zone
Character: Arthur Castle
A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist....
Hec Ramsey
Character:
Hec Ramsey is a television Western, a production of Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited, in association with Universal Studios, broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel show during the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons....
Straightaway
Character:
Straightaway is a 26-week half-hour adventure/drama television series which aired on ABC during the 1961–1962 season – the story of two young men who operate a garage and engage in auto racing. John Ashley and Brian Kelly played race car designers Clipper Hamilton and Scott Ross, respectively. Scott designs the vehicles, and Clipper is the mechanic. Asa Maynor was cast in four episodes as Dixie. Most episodes center on the clients who bring a race car to the Straightaway Garage. The series was o...
Target: The Corruptors!
Character:
Target: The Corruptors! is an American crime drama series starring Stephen McNally which aired on ABC from September 29, 1961 to June 8, 1962. The series was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television....
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Character:
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960. Two of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables....
The Name of the Game
Character:
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s. The show had an extremely large budget for a television series....
Search
Character:
Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe was the name of an existing PBS series. In the UK the series aired on BBC 1 under the title Search Control. The show was created by Leslie Stevens, and produced by Leslie Stevens, Robert Justman, John...
Ben Casey
Character:
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff was a medical consultant for the show and may have influenced the personality of the title character....
Robert Montgomery Presents
Character:
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ....The Johnson's Wax Program, and so on....
Naked City
Character: Willard Manson
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”....
Naked City
Character: Henri Tourelle
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”....
Naked City
Character: Mr. Kovar
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”....
General Electric Theater
Character: Warner Johnson
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations....
Hawaii Five-O
Character: Charles Ogden
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett...
Studio One
Character: Joe Rundle
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions....
Playhouse 90
Character: Irving Werner
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were usually hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of hour-and-a-half dramas rather than 60-minute plays. Playhouse 90 began as a pitch by Frank Stanton—the formidable, forward-thinki...
Movie Credits
House of Strangers
Character: Joe Monetti
Gino Monetti is a ruthless Italian-American banker who is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of the sons take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that stays loyal to his father....
Cast a Giant Shadow
Character: Jacob Zion
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins....
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
Character: Adolf Hitler
The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler....
Hoodlum Empire
Character: Nicholas 'Nick' Mancani
It's a deadly play for power when a Mafia chieftain's top gun goes straight and threatens to testify against the big boss and his cruel, nationwide network of crime. The picture, which was shot in a semi-documentary style, was inspired by the Kefauver investigations of 1950-51....
Under My Skin
Character: Louis Bork
Set in Paris, Under My Skin stars John Garfield as a washed-up jockey who has stolen money from a crooked gambler (Luther Adler)....
Saigon
Character: Lieutenant Keon
After World War II Larry learns that his flying buddy Mike will only live a short time despite the efforts of the doctors. He takes on a profitable flying job for profiteers Maris to finance a good time for his buddy. As the plane takes off he shoves Maris' secretary Susan on board. When Mike falls for her, Larry tells her to play along for Mike's sake. She, of course, falls for Larry....
Crashout
Character: Pete Mendoza
Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny....
Wake of the Red Witch
Character: Mayrant Ruysdaal Sidneye
Captain Ralls fights Dutch shipping magnate Mayrant Sidneye for the woman he loves, Angelique Desaix, and for a fortune in gold aboard the Red Witch....
M
Character: Dan Langley
Remake of the 1931 Fritz Lang original. In the city, someone is murdering children. The Police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible....
The Loves of Carmen
Character: Dancaire
Gypsy Carmen drives men wild in 1820s Spain, especially the dragoon Don Jose....
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Character: Keith 'Cherokee' Mandon
Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime business, faces corrupt local cops who run the city’s underworld and meets a powerful tycoon’s whimsical daughter....
D.O.A.
Character: Majak
Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder....
Absence of Malice
Character: Santos Malderone
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher....
The Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children
Character: Dr. Bernard Altman
A hip psychiatrist teams up with an ex-addict to combat drug addiction in a small town in this pilot for "The Psychiatrist."...
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
Character: Delphin Delmas
Broadway showgirl Evelyn Nesbit (Joan Collins) is the object of affection of two men: playboy architect Stanford White (Ray Milland) and wealthy but unstable Harry Thaw (Farley Granger). She marries Thaw, but White’s continued pursuit puts him in the path of Thaw’s volatile temper. Inspired by true events that occurred at the turn of the 20th century....
The Brotherhood
Character: Dominick Bertolo
The son of a powerful Mafia don comes home from his army service in Vietnam and wants to lead his own life, but family tradition, intrigues and powerplays involving his older brother dictate otherwise, and he finds himself being slowly drawn back into that world....
The Miami Story
Character: Tony Brill
Fed up with the raising crime in Miami, the police chief and the leading members of the city council hire a former Miami gangster, gone straight, to help eliminate the biggest crime syndicate in the city....
Hot Blood
Character: Marco Torino
Stephen Torino, who is tricked by his brother Marco into an arranged marriage with tempestuous Annie Caldash. Annie is willing to give the union a go, but Torino wants none of it....
Crazy Joe
Character: Falco
The rise and fall of a Mafia gangster, based on the life of murdered New York gangster "Crazy" Joey Gallo....
Lancer Spy
Character: Schratt
An Englishman impersonates an imprisoned German officer and "returns" to Germany to become a national hero. A female German spy is assigned to check him out but falls in love with him....
The Sunshine Patriot
Character: Imre Hyneck
An American spy tries desperately to get out from behind the Iron Curtain with some crucial microfilm with the Communist security police close on his heels....
The Tall Texan
Character: Joshua Tinnen
Groups of desperate travelers journey together throughout the Southwest and soon find trouble when they all get gold fever. The action and drama are heightened when they discover gold…on an Indian burial ground!...
Cornered
Character: Marcel Jarnac
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife....
The Last Angry Man
Character: Max Vogel
Dr. Sam Abelman is a Jewish doctor contentedly spending his autumn years serving his own Brooklyn neighborhood. But when his nephew, would-be journalist Myron, writes an article about him, it draws the attention of a producer, Woodrow Thrasher, who believes Dr. Abelman a good candidate for a TV show. The doctor, however, is suspicious of the whole enterprise, thinking both Myron and Thrasher are simply out to make a fast buck....
Murph the Surf
Character: Max 'The Eye'
Based on a true story, details the daring 1964 theft of the J.P. Morgan jewel collection from New York's American Museum of Natural History. Called the "Greatest Jewel Heist of the 20th Century," the robbers took 22 precious gems, including the Star of India, the 100.32-carat de Long Ruby and the 16.25-carat Eagle Diamond, stones so famous they would be impossible to sell....
Mean Johnny Barrows
Character: Don Racconi
A Vietnam veteran gets caught in a mob war with a couple of double-crossers....
Paradise Lost
Character: Self - Host
Playwright Clifford Odets' portrait of the Great Depression unfolds in the modest two-family home of Leo and Clara Gordon as misfortune strikes them and the people running with them. Opened on Broadway in 1935, it became one of the Group Theatre's most controversial plays and Odets' favorite....
The Plot to Kill Stalin
Character: Molotov
In late 1952, an aging and increasingly paranoid Stalin puts in motion a purge against his doctors, with antisemitic overtones. His lackeys, including Khrushchev, Molotov and Beria, fear it will spread to the Politburo, and plan to strike first....
The Man in the Glass Booth
Character: Presiding Judge
Arthur Goldman is a rich Jewish industrialist, living in luxury in a Manhattan high-rise. He banters with his assistant Charlie, often shocking him with his outrageousness and irreverent musings on aspects of Jewish life. Nonetheless, Charlie is astonished one day when Israeli secret agents burst in and arrest Goldman for being a Nazi war criminal. Whisked to Israel for trial, Goldman forces his accusers to face, not only his presumed guilt, but their own....
The Three Sisters
Character: Chebutykin
In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters and their brother live but dream daily of their return to their former home in Moscow, where life is charming and stimulating meaningful. But for now they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries a provincial girl, Natasha, and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning th...
Voyage of the Damned
Character: Professor Weiler
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival....
South Sea Sinner
Character: Cognac
A tramp steamer lands sick crewman Jake Davis on rubber-growing island Oraka, from which voluptuous, bedroom-eyed saloon singer Coral is about to be ejected because "men like her too much." But Coral's slimy boss Cognac gets her a reprieve so she can learn Jake's secret....