Russ Brown (actor)

Russ Brown
Born
Russel Brown

(1892-05-30)May 30, 1892
DiedOctober 19, 1964(1964-10-19) (aged 72)
OccupationActor
Years active1912–1964

Russell Brown (May 30, 1892 – October 19, 1964) was an American actor of stage, television, and screen. He also had a career as a journalist, working for several newspapers in the city of Philadelphia. On stage, he is a best known for his Tony Award-winning role of Benny Van Buren in the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees; a role he also reprised on film in 1958. Other highlights of his work in film were his portrayal of Captain Brackett in Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1958 movie version of the 1949 Broadway musical South Pacific, and as park caretaker George Lemon in the classic courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Murder (1959). On television he portrayed the recurring character of Thomas Jones, the father of the title character, in the legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones from 1960–1962.