Anthony Ross

Anthony Ross (born Anthony Rosenthal, February 23, 1909 – October 26, 1955) was an American character actor whose work spanned Broadway, film, and television across more than two decades. A native of New York City, he was the son of Charles M. Rosenthal and Cora S. Rosenthal, and later had his surname legally changed. After graduating from Brown University, Ross pursued further academic study abroad, attending both the Sorbonne and the University of Nancy while living in France.

Ross made his Broadway debut in Whistling in the Dark in 1932, launching a stage career that would continue until his death in 1955. Among his most significant theatrical contributions was originating the role of the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie during its landmark 1944 production. His other Broadway credits included Leo in The Greatest Show on Earth (1938), a fictionalized portrayal of New Yorker founding editor Harold Ross in Wolcott Gibbs' Season in the Sun (1950), the Producer in The Country Girl, and the Professor in Bus Stop. He also appeared in Sunday Breakfast, The Starcross Story, The Frogs of Spring, and Clothes, among additional productions.

His film work included several notable Hollywood productions. For 20th Century Fox, he appeared in Kiss of Death (1947) and The Gunfighter (1950). Additional screen credits included the Warner Bros. courtroom drama Perfect Strangers (1950), Nicholas Ray's film noir On Dangerous Ground (1952), the popular serial Mysterious Island (1951), and the film adaptation of The Country Girl, in which he reprised his stage role as the Producer.

On television, Ross appeared in numerous productions and starred as police captain Richard Hale in the 1954 CBS series The Telltale Clue. In his personal life, he was married to Mary Jean Copeland, who had served as assistant stage manager on The Glass Menagerie, and the couple had a son, Stephen.

Ross died on October 26, 1955, at the age of 46, of a heart attack suffered while sleeping at his Manhattan apartment at 506 East 89th Street. Earlier that same evening, he had performed the role of the Professor in a Tuesday night performance of Bus Stop at the Music Box Theatre.