Wally Maher
Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 26, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on old-time radio; he was also known as the original voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel.
Early years
[edit ]Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4, 1908.[1] He was the son of Daniel and Mary Maher,[2] and he had three brothers and two sisters.[3] He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in acting.[1]
Career
[edit ]Theater
[edit ]Maher gained early acting experience with a stock theater company in Cincinnati. His radio debut came when he portrayed Paul Baumer in a production of All Quiet on the Western Front. However, a lack of future acting opportunities led him to pray for divine guidance, and soon after he had another acting opportunity.[1]
On Broadway, Maher portrayed Rittenhoff in Every Man for Himself (1940).[4]
Radio
[edit ]In 1936, he began working on several radio dramas from the West Coast.[5] That same year he had one of his most prominent film performances as the reporter who films the mob attempting to lynch Spencer Tracy's character in MGM's Fury , directed by Fritz Lang.
| Program | Role |
|---|---|
| Brenthouse | Lance Dudley [6] : 118 |
| Let George Do It | Lieutenant Riley[6] : 391 |
| The Lineup | Sergeant Matt Grebb[7] |
| The Main Line | Narrator[6] : 423 |
| Michael Shayne | Michael Shayne[6] : 458 |
| The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe | Archie Goodwin [6] |
| This Is Judy Jones | Leighton[6] : 664 |
| Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou | Wilbur[1] |
Other radio programs on which he appeared included The Whistler ,[6] : 719 NBC Presents: Short Story ,[6] : 481 The Eddie Bracken Show ,[6] : 220 Camel Caravan, Gang Busters, Suspense, Mr. District Attorney,[3] Hollywood Showcase , I Love a Mystery , and Junior Miss .[1]
Maher held offices in the Los Angeles chapter of the American Federation of Radio Artists, including being third vice-president in 1943[8] and a member of the board in 1945.[9]
Films
[edit ]The motion pictures in which he appeared include Nick Carter, Master Detective (1950), Pound Foolish (1940), The Story of Molly X (1949), Right Cross (1950, and Mystery Street (1950).[10]
Recording career
[edit ]In 1951, Maher and Gene Autry recorded The Story of Little Champ, a two-record album about a young colt.[11]
Animated shorts
[edit ]Maher provided the voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel for five shorts produced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Screwball Squirrel, Happy-Go-Nutty, Big Heel-Watha (all 1944), The Screwy Truant (1945), and Lonesome Lenny (1946). He also voiced the Jimmy Durante-sounding turkey in Jerky Turkey (1945).
Personal life and death
[edit ]Maher married Carmella Bruno,[1] and they had a son and two daughters.[3] Maher died on December 26, 1951, in St. Vincent's Hospital, aged 43.[3]
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d e f "Budding Star". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 31, 1943. p. 34. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wally Maher, radio actor, taken by death". Daily News. California, Los Angeles. December 27, 1951. p. 35. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Services Pending For Wally Maher, 43, Radio Actor". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. December 17, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wally Maher". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Radio: A Career of Crime". The Cincinnati Post. January 24, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
- ^ Adams, Magee (December 31, 1951). "Look and Listen". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 10. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Local AFRA Election" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 18, 1943. p. 61. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Allied Arts" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 8, 1945. p. 48. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Wally Maher". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Children: The Story of Little Champ" (PDF). Billboard. May 26, 1951. p. 36. Retrieved March 12, 2022.