Woodrow Parfrey

Woodrow Parfrey (October 5, 1922 &mdash; July 29, 1984) was an American-born character actor. He was born in New York City. Parfrey was orphaned by his teens and grew up in abject poverty during the Depression. He served in the United States Army during World War II, Parfrey faught in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded and captured, spending the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. It was these wartime experiences that helped him to set up many of his tough, eccentric characters that he would later play. Among the parts he played were two different roles on the American sitcom, Hogan's Heroes; Doctor Schneider in the episode Kommandant of the Year and Hugo Hindmann in the episode Casanova Klink.

After the war, he began working on Broadway, acting on stage during the late 1940s and most of the 1950s. He started to appear on television in the early fifties, shortly followed by film. Parfrey soon became one of the most interesting character actors to appear on American televison and film in the 1960s, bringing a quirky charisma to every character that he played, from shopkeepers to space-age simians. His noted turn as the unbalanced informer in Broadway's Advise and Consent (1961) set the standard for his offbeat, conspiratorial persona in dozens of TV and movie appearances into the 1980s.

Parfrey has played many focal TV guest star roles, mainly in the late sixties, and a few big A-movie parts, most notably as one of the wretched prisoners in Papillon (1973). His association with that film's director, Franklin Schaffner, also included a bit part as one of the three "See No Evil" orangutan judges in Planet of the Apes (1968). (He would don the prosthetics again a few years later for the pilot of the spinoff TV series.)

In addition, Parfrey also turned up in the unofficial repretory companies of both Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel.

Among his credits were appearances in Combat!, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Name of the Game, Police Story, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, Lost in Space, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, Studio One, The King's Pirate, Planet of the Apes, The Sunshine Patriot, Eight is Enough, Room 222, When Every Day Was the Fourth of July, Police Woman, Baretta, The Sting II and Remington Steele.

His determination to bring that edgy "something extra" to his profession lives on in his son, the "underground" publisher Adam Parfrey.

He died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack.

Filmography

 * The Sting II (1983)
 * Frances (1982)
 * Jinked! (1982)
 * The Shooting (1982) (TV)
 * The Seduction (1982)
 * Pals (1981) (TV)
 * Back to the Planet of the Apes (1981) (TV)
 * Used Cars (1980)
 * Carny (1980)
 * Bronco Billy (1980)
 * Time Express (1979) (TV)
 * The Tenth Month (1979) (TV)
 * Backstairs at the White House (1979) (mini) (TV)
 * The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (1979) (TV)
 * B. J. and the Bear (1978) (TV)
 * The New Maverick (1978) (TV)
 * The Seniors (1978)
 * It's a Mile from Here to Glory (1978) (TV)
 * When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978) (TV)
 * Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers (1976) (mini) (TV)
 * The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
 * The Return of the World's Greatest Detective (1976) (TV)
 * Stay Happy (1976)
 * Valley Forge (1975) (TV)
 * Hearts of the West (1975) (uncredited)
 * The Big Rip-Off (1975) (TV)
 * The Family Nobody Wanted (1975) (TV)
 * This Is the West That Was (1974) (TV)
 * Melvin Purvis G-Man (1974) (TV)
 * The Fess Parker Show (1974) (TV)
 * Papillon (1973)
 * The Alpha Caper (1973) (TV)
 * Charley Varrick (1973)
 * Oklahoma Crude (1973)
 * Wheeler and Murdoch (1973) (TV)
 * Hunter (1973) (TV)
 * No Place to Run (1972) (TV)
 * A Very Missing Person (1972) (TV)
 * Dirty Harry (1971)
 * The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) (TV)
 * Cold Turkey (1971)
 * Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster (1971) (TV)
 * Crowhaven Farm (1970) (TV)
 * The Andersonville Trial (1970) (TV)
 * The Movie Murderer (1970) (TV)
 * Hastings Corner (1970) (TV)
 * Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969) (TV)
 * Wake Me When the War Is Over (1969) (TV)
 * Sam Whiskey (1969)
 * The Sunshine Patriot (1968) (TV)
 * Madigan (1968)
 * Planet of the Apes (1968)
 * How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) (1968)
 * The Flim-Flam Man (1967)
 * The King's Pirate (1967)
 * Scalplock (1966) (TV)
 * The War Lord (1965)
 * Cattle King (1963)
 * Westinghouse Presents: The Dispossessed (1961) (TV)
 * The Million Dollar Incident (1961) (TV)
 * Macbeth (1960) (TV)
 * The Cherry Orchard (1959) (TV)
 * Johnny Gunman (1957)

Notable TV Guest Appearances

 * The Yellow Rose playing "Bryce Macklin" in episode: "The Far Side of Fear" (episode # 1.22) 12 May 1984
 * Remington Steele playing "Archie Doke" in episode: "Dreams of Steele" (episode # 2.19) 20 March 1984
 * Bay City Blues playing "Actor" in episode: "Beautiful Peoples" (episode # 1.2) 1 November 1983
 * Quincy, M.E. playing "Jimmy" in episode: "Whatever Happen to Morris Permutter?" (episode # 8.23) 4 May 1983
 * The Fall Guy playing "Al" in episode: "Spaced Out" (episode # 2.16) 16 February 1983
 * Mr. Merlin playing "Actor" in episode: "Alex Goes Popless" (episode # 1.14) 25 January 1982)
 * Vega$ playing "Head Cashier" in episode: "The Day the Gambling Stopped" (episode # 2.9) 12 December 1979
 * Barnaby Jones playing "John Wilson" in episode: "Man on Fire" (episode # 8.1) 20 September 1979
 * Vega$ playing "Cy Winters" in episode: "Doubtful Target" (episode # 1.19) 7 March 1979
 * Dallas playing "Doctor - Examined Julie's Dead Body" in episode: "The Red File: Part 1" (episode # 2.17) 2 February 1979
 * WKRP in Cincinnati playing "Dr. Hyman Monroe" in episode: "Bailey's Show" (episode # 1.6) 23 October 1978
 * Police Woman playing "Actor" in episode: "Flip of a Coin" (episode # 4.21) 23 March 1978
 * Baretta playing "Actor" in episode: "Woman Trouble" (episode # 4.19) 23 March 1978
 * Little House on the Prairie playing "Reverend Pritchard" in episode: "Be My Friend" (episode # 4.17) 30 January 1978
 * Charlie's Angels playing "Sheriff Hayden" in episode: "Angels on Horseback" (episode # 2.15) 21 December 1977
 * Kojak playing "Actor" in episode: "The Summer of '69: Part 2" (episode # 5.10) 10 December 1977
 * Kojak playing "Actor" in episode: "The Summer of '69: Part 1" (episode # 5.9) 4 December 1977
 * Eight is Enough playing "Actor" in episode: "Mortgage Burnin' Blues" (episode # 2.5) 19 October 1977
 * Police Story playing "Norrell" in episode: "Spitfire" (episode # 4.13) 11 January 1977
 * Jigsaw John playing "Billy" in episode: "Dry Ice" (episode # 1.5) 1 March 1976
 * Ellery Queen playing "Doctor Saltzman" in episode: "The Adventure of the Two-Faced Woman" (episode # 1.18) 29 February 1976
 * The Blue Knight playing "Actor" in episode: "Cop Killer" (episode # 1.5) 14 Januray 1976
 * The Family Holvak playing "Barber" in episode: "First Love: Part 1" (episode # 1.5) 5 October 1975
 * Police Story playing "Napoleon Fargo" in episode: "The Cutting Edge" (episode # 3.2) 16 September 1975
 * Lucas Tanner playing "Joe Angeles" in episode: "A Touch of Bribery" (episode # 1.21) 2 April 1975
 * Get Christie Love! playing "Fallon" in episode: "A Fashion Hotel" (episode # 1.20) 12 March 1975
 * McCloud playing "Arden" in episode: "Sharks!" (episode # 5.8) 23 February 1975
 * Mannix playing "Steve Dorset" in episode: "A Ransom for Yesterday" (episode # 8.17) 9 February 1975
 * The Rookies playing "Colby" in episode: "Angel" (episode # 3.18) 3 February 1975
 * Movin' On playing "Wentworth" in episode: "Goin' Home: Part 2" (episode # 1.13) 19 December 1974
 * Movin' On playing "Wentworth" in episode: "Goin' Home: Part 1" (episode # 1.12) 12 December 1974
 * Planet of the Apes playing "Veska" in episode: "Escape from Tomorrow" (episode # 1.1) 13 September 1974
 * Chase playing "Actor" in episode: "Hot Beef" (episode # 1.18) 13 February 1974
 * Good Times playing "Interviewer" in episode: "Too Old Blues" (episode # 1.1) 8 February 1974
 * Ironside playing "Fred" in episode: "Two Hunder Large" (episode # 7.15) 10 January 1974
 * Maude playing "Gus" in episode: "The Office Party" (episode # 2.14) 18 December 1973
 * Mannix playing "Eddie" in episode: "All the Dead Were Strangers" (episode # 7.13) 16 December 1973
 * The New Perry Mason playing "Actor" in episode: "The Case of the Cagey Cager" (episode # 1.9) 25 November 1973
 * Chase playing "Jack" in episode: "One for You, Two for Me" (episode # 1.5) 9 October 1973
 * Kung Fu playing "Denver Peck" in episode: "Superstition" (episode # 1.12) 5 April 1973
 * Temperatures Rising playing "Brundage" in episode: "Panic in the Sheets" (episode # 1.20) 13 February 1973
 * Mannix playing "Mel Faber" in episode: "The Faces of Murder" (episode # 6.20) 4 February 1973
 * The Rookies playing "Maxwell" in episode: "Crossfire" (episode # 1.16) 15 January 1973
 * The New Dick Van Dyke Show playing "Eli Scott" in episode: "Old Dick and Jenny" (episode # 2.11) 3 December 1972
 * The Mod Squad playing "Durko" in episode: "Another Final Game" (episode # 5.10) 16 November 1972
 * Ironside playing "Walter Dolan" in episode: "A Man Named Arno" (episode # 5.24) 9 March 1972
 * The Mod Squad playing "Actor" in episode: "The Tangled Web" (episode # 4.22) 22 February 1972
 * Cade's County playing "Oliver See" in episode: "Dead Past" (episode # 1.18) 13 February 1972
 * Bonanza playing "Dr. Ingram" in episode: "Shanklin" (episode # 13.20) 13 February 1972
 * Mission: Impossible playing "Collins" in episode: "The Bride" (episode # 6.15) 1 January 1972
 * Mannix playing "Actor" in episode: "Catspaw" (episode # 5.13) 8 December 1971
 * Mannix playing "Willie Small" in episode: "Run Till Dark" (episode # 5.7) 27 October 1971
 * McCloud playing "Elmer" in episode: "Encounters with Aries" (episode # 2.1) 22 September 1971
 * Storefront Lawyers playing "Max Goodwin" in episode: "This Money Kills Dream" (episode # 1.22) 7 April 1971
 * Alias Smith and Jones playing "Sam Winters" in episode: "The Fifth Victim" (episode # 1.11) 25 March 1971
 * Adam-12 playing "Man" in episode: "Log 106: Post Time" (episode # 3.24) 18 March 1971
 * The High Chaparral playing "Pruitt" in episode: "The Hostage" (episode # 4.16) 5 March 1971
 * Mannix playing "Pete Fender" in episode: "With Intent to Kill" (episode # 4.17) 23 January 1971
 * The F.B.I. playing "Mr. Oliver" in episode: "The Unknown Victim" (episode # 6.15) 3 January 1971
 * The Most Deadly Game playing "Hiram Welch" in episode: "The Classic Burial Position" (episode # 1.10) 2 January 1971
 * Adam-12 playing "John Marshal" in episode: "Log 134: Child Stealer" (episode # 2.23) 4 April 1970
 * The Name of the Game playing "Dr. Malcolm" in episode: "One of the Girls in Research" (episode # 2.25) 3 April 1970
 * Mannix playing "Gene" in episode: "Fly, Little One" (episode # 3.21) 21 February 1970
 * The Doris Day Show playing "Barton Durston" in episode: "Buck's Portrait" (episode # 2.19) 16 February 1970
 * Mayberry R.F.D. playing "Braden Pyle" in episode: "Goober's Brother" (episode # 2.18) 9 February 1970
 * Adam-12 playing "Harv" in episode: "Log 54: Impersonation" (episode # 2.16) 7 Februaty 1970
 * The Name of the Game playing "Dr. Loudon" in episode: "The Garden" (episode # 2.18) 30 January 1970
 * Love, American Style playing "Doctor" in episode: "Love and Those Poor Crusaders' Wives" (episode # 1.16b) 23 January 1970
 * Room 222 playing "Mr. Granger" in episode: "Play It Lose" (episode # 1.13) 14 January 1970
 * The Good Guys playing "Chaplain" in episode: "Total Honesty" (episode # 2.6) 31 October 1969
 * Daniel Boone playing "Quartermaster Owens" in episode: "The Printing Press" (episode # 6.5) 23 October 1969
 * Lancer playing "Zeek" in episode: "The Man Without a Gun" (episode # 1.23) 25 March 1969
 * Mayberry R.F.D. playing "Ken Marshall" in episode: "An Efficient Service Station" (episode # 1.22) 3 March 1969
 * I Dream of Jeannie playing "Mr. Farber" in episode: "Porcelain Puppy" (episode # 4.20) 3 March 1969
 * Bonanza playing "Theodore Scott" in episode: "My Friend, My Enemy" (episode # 10.16) 12 January 1969
 * Mannix playing "Harry" in pisode: "A Pittance of Faith" (episode # 2.14) 11 January 1969
 * The Mod Squad playing "George Albert" in episode: "The Sunday Drivers" (episode # 1.13) 7 January 1969
 * Mannix playing "Harrison" in episode: "A View of Nowhere" (episode # 2.11) 14 December 1968
 * The Doris Day Show playing "Mr. Digby" in episode: "The Black Eye" (episode # 1.8) 26 November 1968
 * Judd, for the Defense playing "Dan Grimes" in episode: "The Death Farm" (episode # 2.6) 1 November 1968
 * The Doris Day Show playing "Maxwell Digby" in episode: "The Uniform" (episode # 1.2) 1 October 1968
 * Bewitched playing "Gen. Stanton" in episode: "I Confess" (episode # 4.28) 4 April 1968
 * I Dream of Jeannie playing "Mr. Murdock" in episde: "Divorce, Genie Style" (episode # 3.22) 27 February 1968
 * The Virginian playing "Hobie Simpson" in episode: "The Hell Wind" (episode # 6.21) 14 February 1968
 * Felony Squad playing "Eddie Rade" in episode: "Killing, Country Style" (episode # 2.17) 28 December 1967
 * The Flying Nun playing "Weatherman" in episode: "Wailing in a Winter Wonderland" (episode # 1.16) 21 December 1967
 * The Iron Horse playing "Holmes" in episode: "T is for Traitor" (episode #2.12) 2 December 1967
 * The Second Hundred Years playing "Commander Crane" in episode: "Remember the Maine" (episode # 1.9) 8 November 1967
 * Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea playing "Leo Brock" in episode: "Fatal Cargo" (episode # 4.7) 5 November 1967
 * Lost in Space playing "Col. Fogey" in episode: "The Haunted Lighthouse" (episode # 3.7) 18 October 1967
 * Hogan's Heroes playing "Hugo Hindmann" in episode "Casanova Klink" (episode # 3.6) 14 October 1967
 * I Dream of Jeannie playing "Mr. Fakeling" in episode: "My Master the Swinging Bachelor" (episode # 2.20) 17 April 1967
 * Bonanza playing "Professor" in episode: "Napoleon's Children" (episode # 8.30) 16 April 1967
 * The Iron Horse playing "Holmes" in episode: "The Golden Web" (episode # 1.29) 27 March 1967
 * Occasional Wife playing "Moe" in episode: "The Business Trip" (episode # 1.22) 21 February 1967
 * Felony Squad playing "Harley" in episode: "The Desperate Silence" (episode # 1.23) 13 February 1967
 * Mission: Impossible playing "Henks" in episode: "The Diamond" (episode # 1.18) 4 February 1967
 * Get Smart playing "Dr. Pasteur" in episode: "It Takes One to Know One" (episode # 2.16) 7 January 1967
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Dr. Adrian Cool" in episode: "The Take Me to Your Leader Affair" (episode # 3.16) 30 December 1966
 * The Iron Horse playing "Actor" in episode: "Big Deal" (episode # 1.14) 12 December 1966
 * Please Don't Eat The Daisies playing "Phil Bennett" in episode: "My Son, the Genius" (episode # 2.8) 5 November 1966
 * Batman playing "Rooper" in episode: "Dizzonor the Penguin" (episode # 2.18) 3 November 1966
 * Batman playing "Rooper" in episode: "Hizzonor the Penguin" (episode # 2.17) 2 November 1966
 * Occasional Wife playing "Grant Grey" (episode # 1.5) 11 October 1966
 * Family Affair playing "Mr. Hayden" in episode: "Marmalade" (episode # 1.5) 10 October 1966
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Dr. Emil Pertwee" in episode: "The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair" (episode # 3.2) 23 September 1966
 * Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre playing "Decarlo" in episode: "Time of Flight" (episode # 4.2) 21 September 1966
 * The Iron Horse playing "Holmes" in episode: "Joy Unconfirmed" (episode # 1.1) 12 September 1966
 * Death Valley Days playing "Actor" in episode: "The Four Dollar Law Suit" (episode # 14.24) 14 April 1966
 * Bonanza playing "Huber" in episode: "Shining in Spain" (episode # 7.26) 27 March 1966
 * A Man Called Shenandoah playing "Cliff Eldridge" in episode "The Death of Matthew Eldridge" (episode # 1.27) 21 March 1966
 * Honey West playing "Ronald Neuworth" in episode: "The Fun-Fun Killer" (episode # 1.25) 4 March 1966
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Andy Watson" in episode: "The Moonglow Affair" (episode # 2.23) 25 February 1966
 * My Favorite Martian playing "Floor Manager" in episode: "Martian, the Mannequin" (episode # 3.21) 6 February 1966
 * The Legend of Jesse James playing "Clagett" in episode: "Manhunt" (episode # 1.11) 29 November 1965
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Kutuzov" in episode: The Cherry Blossom Affair" (episode # 2.10) 19 November 1965
 * I Dream of Jeannie playing "Henry Tracy" in episode: "The Moving Finger" (episode # 1.9) 13 November 1965
 * The Fugitive playing "Mort Graham" in episode: "Three Cheers for Little Boy Blue" (episode # 3.6) 19 October 1965
 * Mister Roberts playing "Congressman Cooper" in episode: "Old Rustysides" (episode # 1.5) 15 October 1965
 * The Farmer's Daughter playing "Actor" in episode: "Sleeping Beauty Revisited" (episode # 3.4) 11 October 1965
 * Laredo playing "Sam Burns" in episode: "Rendezvous at Arillo" (episode # 1.4) 7 October 1965
 * Hogan's Heroes playing "Doctor Schneider" in episode: "Kommandant of the Year" (episode # 1.3) 1 October 1965
 * The Munsters playing "Petrie" in episode: "Country Club Munsters" (episode # 1.30) 15 April 1965
 * The Fugitive playing "Cleo Potter" in episode: "Devil's Carnival" (episode # 2.14) 22 December 1964
 * The Rogues playing "Thayer" in episode: "The Boston Money Party" (episode # 1.12) 6 December 1964
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Actor" in episode: "The Project Strigas Affair" (episode # 1.9) 24 November 1964
 * Profiles in Courage playing "Principal Ralston" in episode: "Mary S. McDowell" (episode # 1.2) 15 November 1964
 * Profiles in Courage playing "Governor William Brandon" in episode: "Oscar W. Underwood" (episode # 1.1) 8 November 1964
 * Tom, Dick, and Mary playing "Myron Sears" in episode: "The Touch of Your Hand" (episode # 1.4) 16 October 1964
 * The Fugitive playing "Mr. Newlin" in episode: "World's End" (episode # 2.2) 22 September 1964
 * Summer Playhouse playing "Bill" in episode: "The Apartment House" 5 September 1964
 * The Richard Boone Show playing "Colonel Pok" in episode: "A Need of Valor" (episode # 1.25) 31 March 1964
 * The Great Adventure playing "George Bissel" in episode: "The Colonel from Connecticut" (episode #1.13) 10 January 1964
 * Combat! playing "Private Gates" in episode: "The Long Way Home: Part 2" (episode # 2.5) 15 October 1963
 * Perry Mason playing "George Moffgat" in episode: "The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito" (episode # 7.3) 10 October 1963
 * Combat! playing "Private Gates" in episode: "The Long Way Home: Part 1" (episode # 2.4) 8 October 1963
 * Temple Houston playing "Fred Bell" in episode: "Find Angel Chavez" (episode # 1.3) 26 September 1963
 * The Farmer's Daughter playing "Link Hartman" in episode: "The Speechmaker: Part 1" (episode # 1.1) 20 September 1963
 * The Dakotas playing "Actor" in episode: "Sanctuary at Crystal Springs" (episode # 1.18) 6 May 1963
 * Empire playing "Gates" in episode: "65 Miles Is a Long, Long Way" (episode # 1.29) 23 April 1963
 * The Untouchables playing "Ferris" in episode: "One Last Killing" (episode # 4.24) 2 April 1963
 * Have Gun – Will Travel playing "Bob Wire" in episode: "Bob Wire" (episode # 6.18) 12 January 1963
 * Gunsmoke playing "Tom Wiggins" in episode: "Louie Pheeters" (episode # 8.17) 5 January 1963
 * The Virginian playing "Joe Darby" in episode: "The Accomplice" (episode # 1.13) 19 December 1962
 * The Untouchables playing "Fred Myerson" in episode: "The Elegy" (episode # 4.8) 20 November 1962
 * Sam Benedict playing "Vernon Kurtz" in episode: "Maddon's Folly" (episode # 1.7) 27 October 1962
 * Perry Mason playing "George Pickson" in episode: "The Case of the Bogus Books" (episode # 6.1) 27 September 1962
 * The Defenders playing "Watts" in episode: "Reunion with Death" (episode # 1.29) 21 April 1962
 * The Defenders playing "Hamblin" in episode: "The Man with the Concrete Thumb" (episode # 1.10) 18 November 1961
 * Naked City playing "Dr. Manning Wirtz" in episode: "Which Is Joseph Creeley?" (episode # 3.7) 15 November 1961
 * Way Out playing "William Rogers" in episode: "Hush-Hush" (episode # 1.11) 23 June 1961
 * Naked City playing "Butterwick" in episode: "A Kettle of Precious Fish" (episode # 2.29) 31 May 1961
 * DuPont Show of the Month playing "Actor" in episode: "Treasure Island" (episode # 3.7) 5 March 1960
 * Play of the Week playing "Ephihodoff" in episode: "The Cherry Orchard" (episode # 1.12) 28 December 1959
 * Startime playing "Auditor" in episode: "The Wicked Schemes of Jebal Deeks" (episode # 1.6) 10 November 1959
 * Brenner playing "Actor" in episode: "Crime Wave" (episode # 1.13) 29 August 1959
 * Naked City playing "Actor" in episode: "Burst of Passion" (episode # 1.17) 20 January 1959
 * The Kaiser Aluminum Hour playing "Pip" in episode: "The Fragile Affair" (episode # 1.4) 28 August 1956
 * Studio One playing "Jesse" in the episode: "A Favor for Sam" (episode # 8.25) 5 March 1956
 * Kraft Television Theatre playing "Actor" in episode: "My Son, the Doctor" (episode # 2.8) 18 November 1954
 * Kraft Television Theatre playing "Actor" in episode: "The Man Who Made the Kaiser Laugh" (episode # 2.2) 7 October 1954