Dan Seymour was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944) and Key Largo (1948).
He should not be confused with the Dan Seymour who was the announcer of Orson Welles' Halloween broadcast of The War of the Worlds and other radio programs.
Early life:
He was born Daniel Seymour Katz in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Senn High School in Chicago and graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.S. in Fine Arts.
Career:
Seymour worked in burlesque as a song-and-dance man and worked at night as an emcee in New York night clubs. He moved to Hollywood, where his large build made him suitable casting for roles as dubious characters. After 16 months of dieting and swimming, his weight dropped to 244 pounds in 1946 having lost 100 pounds.
He played Vichy French Captain Renard, in To Have and Have Not (1944), the adversary of Humphrey Bogart's character. In Key Largo (1948), he again played opposite Bogart as one of the henchmen of Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson). In the motion picture Mara Maru (1952), he played opposite Raymond Burr and Errol Flynn.
He later appeared in seven episodes of Perry Mason, which starred Burr; the episodes spanned the entire nine-year run of the popular series. During the first season in 1957, he played Harry Marlow in "The Case of the Silent Partner." In the final season in 1965, he played Nappy Tyler in "The Case of the Carefree Coronary." He made four appearances in The Untouchables, and three on Adventures of Superman. He performed on the radio anthology series Mollé Mystery Theatre and later on many television series. He acted in episodes 25 and 26 of Batman (1966) credited as "Dan Seymore".
TV shows:
We the People, Space Patrol, Passport to Danger
Personal life:
He married Evelyn Schwartz in 1949. They had two children: Jeffrey, born in 1950, and Gregory, born in 1954.
Death:
Seymour died two months after suffering a stroke in Santa Monica, California. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.
