Centenary Celebration: Bob Cummings
By Jim Linz
Bob Cummings (1908-1990) was a movie and television actor with almost 70 films to his credit. Although best known for his comedy talents, he effectively played dramatic roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films—Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). Similarly, Cummings was not known as a singer, but was effective in Moon Over Miami (1941) singing "You Started Something" with Betty Grable. For a sample of his work, click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PB6dNBPw7w
Born in Joplin, Missouri, Cummings learned to fly while still in high school. Seems his godfather—Orville Wright—knew a thing or two about flight.
After attending Carnegie Tech, Cummings enrolled at the American of Dramatic Arts in New York. While in New York, Cummings had a brief Broadway career under the stage name Blake Stanhope Conway, passing him-self off as an Englishman.
Abandoning his "British ancestry," Cummings moved to Hollywood as wealthy Texan Bruce Hutchens. After a few acting jobs under that name, Cummings began acting in the 1930s under his own name. He worked as a contract player for most of the 1930s, appearing mostly in minor roles in films like Seasoned Greetings (1933), Sons of the Desert (1933), Millions in the Air (1935), and Forgotten Faces (1936).
In 1938 he appeared in College Swing, followed, in 1939, by a starring role opposite Deanna Durbin in Three Smart Girls Grow Up. Among his notable comedy roles were The Devil in Miss Jones (1941), Moon Over Miami (1941), and The Bride Wore Boots (1946).
Cummings also found significant success on radio and television. He starred in the radio drama Those We Love from 1938 to 1945 and in a number of television series between 1952 and 1964, most notably The Bob Cummings Show from 1955 to 1959.
Cummings was an early advocate of natural foods, authoring Stay Young and Vital in 1960 touting the benefits of health foods and exercise.
This article originally appeared in Trans-Lux volume 26, number 1, Winter 2008.
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Created Thursday, November 27, 2008; Modified Thursday, November 27, 2008.
