History Creator / RoddyMcDowall

!!Television roles with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

!!Voice acting roles with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

* ''Film/ScavengerHunt1979''

He has the distinction of playing not one but two ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villains in two different adaptations of the franchise; he played the one-shot villain Bookworm in [[Series/Batman1966 the '60s live-action series]] and later voiced Jervis Tetch the Mad Hatter in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. (He also narrated the audiobook of the {{novelization}} of [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]].) Additionally, while not openly out during his lifetime, [=McDowall=] was gay.

He has the distinction of playing not one but two ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villains in two different adaptations of the franchise; he played the one-shot villain Bookworm in [[Series/Batman1966 the '60s live-action series]] and later voiced Jervis Tetch the Mad Hatter in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. (He also narrated the audiobook of the {{novelization}} of [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]].)

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rat in their version of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Wind in the Willows|1985}}''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- see the page quote above.

Although not out during his lifetime, [=McDowall=] was gay.

!!Film roles with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/793full_roddy_mcdowall.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"[Acting is] the only profession where the accumulation of reputation and excellence doesn't really mean very much next Monday morning. It's like being a fruit picker; it's seasonal."'']]

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/793full_roddy_mcdowall.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:''"[Acting is] the only profession where the accumulation of reputation and excellence doesn't really mean very much next Monday morning. It's like being a fruit picker; it's seasonal."'']]

Roderick Andre Anthony Jude [=McDowall=] (September 17, 1928 – October 3, 1998), known professionally as Roddy [=McDowall=], was an English-American actor, voice actor, film director, and photographer.

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rater in their version of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Wind in the Willows|1985}}''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- see the page quote above.

!!Film roles with TV Tropes pages:

[[caption-width-right:280:''"(Acting is) the only profession where the accumulation of reputation and excellence doesn't really mean very much next Monday morning. It's like being a fruit picker; it's seasonal."'']]

->''"Roddy [=McDowall=] was the quintessential gentleman. He showed up to the sessions in a tweed sport coat, perfectly creased white shirt, and an ascot tie. He was Old Hollywood in every best sense of that word. He showed up on time, he was a delight... and I never got a sense for a second that he felt he was slumming by doing a cartoon. He was delighted to be there. The work was as real and important to him as ''How Green Was My Valley''. He treated it with the same professionalism, and he grew to love [his character] Snowball."''

->''"(Acting is) the only profession where the accumulation of reputation and excellence doesn't really mean very much next Monday morning. It's like being a fruit picker; it's seasonal."''
-->-- '''Roddy [=McDowall=]'''

!!Film roles with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

He has the distinction of playing not one but two ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villains in two different adaptations of the franchise; he played the one-shot villain Bookworm in [[Series/{{Batman}} the '60s live-action series]] and later voiced Jervis Tetch the Mad Hatter in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. (He also narrated the audiobook of the {{novelization}} of [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]].)

He started acting when he was ten years old during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, gaining prominence for his roles in such films as ''Film/HowGreenWasMyValley'', ''Film/LassieComeHome'', and ''My Friend Flicka'', and continued in his acting career until his death, ultimately becoming known as a talented character actor across a wide range of projects -- amongst them the original ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' films as Dr. Cornelius and his son Caesar and Octavian in ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'', for which he would have gotten an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination had Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox not screwed up the paperwork. Fox felt so bad about this they took an ad in the trade papers to publicly apologize.

* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', episode "[[Recap/ColumboS01E06 Short Fuse]]" (1972)

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rater in their version of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Wind in the Willows|1985}}''''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- see the page quote above.

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rater in their version of ''WesternAnimation/TheWindInTheWillows1985''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- see the page quote above.

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rater in their version of ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- see the page quote above.

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Creator/RankinBass version of ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'', and the Water Rater in their version of ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows''. His last role was the voice of the ant Mr. Soil in Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- his ''Pinky and the Brain'' costar Creator/MauriceLaMarche says he was a delight to work with, and despite his impressive film resume never once acted like a ClassicallyTrainedExtra; he took the work seriously and loved playing Snowball.

----
* ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats''

->''"Roddy [=McDowall=] was the quintessential gentleman. He showed up to the sessions in a tweed sport coat, perfectly creased white shirt, and an ascot tie. He was Old Hollywood in every best sense of that word. He showed up on time, he was a delight... and I never got a sense for a second that he felt he was slumming by doing a cartoon. He was delighted to be there. The work was as real and important to him as ''How Green Was My Valley''. He treated it with the same professionalism, and he grew to love Snowball."''
-->-- '''Maurice [=LaMarche=]''', voice of the Brain when asked what it was like working with him on the animated series, ''Pinky and the Brain''

He started acting when he was ten years old during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, gaining prominence for his roles in such films as ''How Green Was My Valley'', ''Lassie Come Home'', and ''My Friend Flicka'', and continued in his acting career until his death, ultimately becoming known as a talented character actor across a wide range of projects -- amongst them the original ''Planet of the Apes'' films as Dr. Cornelius and his son Caesar and Octavian in ''Cleopatra'', for which he would have gotten an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination had Fox not screwed the paper work up. Fox felt so bad about this they took an ad in the trade papers to publicly apologize.

He has the distinction of playing not one but two ''Batman'' villains in two different adaptations of the franchise; he played the one-shot villain Bookworm in the '60s live-action series and later voiced Jervis Tetch the Mad Hatter in ''Batman: The Animated Series''. (He also narrated the audiobook of the {{novelization}} of [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]].)

In his later years he lent his voice to many a cartoon; in addition to playing the Mad Hatter, he was also the villainous hamster Snowball in ''Pinky and the Brain'', Samwise Gamgee in the Rankin-Bass version of ''The Return of the King'', and the Water Rater in their version of "The Wind in the Willows". His last role was the voice of the ant, Mr. Soil in Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. By all accounts he adored working on cartoons -- his ''Pinky and the Brain'' costar Creator/MauriceLaMarche says he was a delight to work with, and despite his impressive film resume never once acted like a ClassicallyTrainedExtra; he took the work seriously and loved playing Snowball.