Lou Merrill

Louis Dilman Merrill (April 1, 1912 – April 7, 1963) was an American actor, who worked primarily in radio from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Lou Merrill
Born	Louis Dilman Merrill April 1, 1912 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died	April 7, 1963 (aged 51) Los Angeles, California, U.S
Occupation	Actor, Narrator
Years active	1937–1963
Spouse(s)	Celeste Rush
Children	2 adopted daughters

Early life

Lou Merill was born on April 1, 1912 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Radio

He performed in Lux Radio Theater as a utility supporting player in nearly every broadcast from 1937–1939 (notably as Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and also served as an assistant director handling the crowd scenes during that time. He continued to work the show sporadically until 1953. His career in the 1930s also included roles in the children's Christmas series The Cinnamon Bear (as Santa Claus), the crime drama Big Town (as various gangsters and a stand-in for Edward G. Robinson as Steve Wilson), the soap opera Those We Love (as con man Ed Neely), and The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air. He later worked for Arch Oboler on Arch Oboler's Plays and Lights Out. As related by Mr. Oboler on the Speaking of Radio show (1976), in one dramatic real-life confrontation, Mr. Oboler broke his hand on Mr. Merrill's jaw when the former became incensed over the latter's offensive attitude. A mutual respect resulted from the incident.

In 1941, he starred as the Nemo-like Captain Craig McKenzie in the now mostly lost sci-fi radio series Latitude Zero (on which the 1969 film of the same name is based). 12 years later, he starred on the true crime anthology drama series Crime Classics. Merrill played Thomas Hyland, the host/narrator who was fascinated with crime, playing the role deadpan but with subtle humor. Radio comedy appearances included Point Sublime (a regular as jeweler Aaron Saul) and Abbott and Costello (guesting as Santa Claus) and the Life of Riley as Punchy (a punch drunk ex-prize fighter). He also appeared on Escape, The Man Called X, Suspense, NBC University Theater, On Stage, The CBS Radio Workshop, Rogue's Gallery, and The Six Shooter.

Merrill was the narrator for Retribution, a "psychological mystery series."[1]

Film

Merrill first appeared in film with the 1935 Columbia Pictures production The Black Room; he played the Story Teller in Trailer, though he was left uncredited. His formal debut in movies came in the 1939 Universal Studios production Tropic Fury.[2] He appeared sporadically in films throughout the next three decades, often in small roles along with several uncredited appearances.

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1935	The Black Room	Story Teller in Trailer	Uncredited
1938	Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars	Dr. Metz	Serial, Uncredited
1939	Tropic Fury	Porthos Scipio
1940	North West Mounted Police	Lesure
1941	New Wine	Soldier	Uncredited
1942	Reap the Wild Wind	Captain of the 'Pelican'
1943	Hangmen Also Die!	Industrialist	Uncredited
1943	Passport to Suez	Mr. Rembrandt	Uncredited
1947	The Lady from Shanghai	Jake Bjornsen
1950	The Next Voice You Hear...	Radio announcer	Voice, Uncredited
1951	Cause for Alarm!	Mr. Phillips	Voice, Uncredited
1951	Sirocco	Egyptian	Uncredited
1951	The Family Secret	Reporter	Uncredited
1953	Confidentially Connie	Minor Role	Uncredited
1953	Fort Ti	Raoul de Moreau	Uncredited
1953	The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd	Lord Bellmore	Serial, [Chs. 1, 13–15], Uncredited
1954	Charge of the Lancers	Col. Zeansky
1954	Phantom of the Rue Morgue	Pedestrian	Uncredited
1954	The Iron Glove	Count DuLusac
1954	Sabaka	Koobah
1955	Duel on the Mississippi	Georges Gabriel
1955	The Crooked Web	Herr Schmitt
1955	The Fighting Chance	Sammy	Uncredited
1957	The Giant Claw	Pierre Broussard
1961	The Devil at 4 O'Clock	Aristide Giraud

Television

Merrill occasionally appeared on television, in episodes of such programs as Oboler Comedy Theater, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, I Love Lucy, The Lineup, Colt .45, Sugarfoot, The Millionaire, This Man Dawson, Shirley Temple's Storybook, Angel, and King of Diamonds.

Voiceover narration

In his later years, Merrill continued doing voice-over work, regularly doing film trailer narration work for American International Pictures. Merrill narrated trailers for films such as It Conquered the World, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, War of the Colossal Beast, Teenage Cave Man, Night of the Blood Beast, A Bucket of Blood, Horrors of the Black Museum, The Angry Red Planet, Master of the World, and Burn, Witch, Burn.

Family

Merrill was married to actress Celeste Rush. They had two adopted daughters.[3]

Death

Merrill died on April 7, 1963 in Los Angeles, California, aged 51. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[4]

References

1. West, Virginia (April 8, 1947). "KECA mike memos" (PDF). Radio Life. p. 10. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
2. "Merrill Makes Screen Debut". The Van Nuys News. September 25, 1939. p. 7. Retrieved June 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Not Bad". The Lincoln Star. March 19, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved June 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Louis Dilman Merrill (1912-1963) - Find A Grave Memorial". Find A Grave.

External links

• Lou Merrill at IMDb