Russell Collins

Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897; died November 14, 1965) was an American actor from Indianapolis, Indiana, whose career spanned 43 years and encompassed hundreds of performances across stage, film, and television.

Collins was the middle child among five siblings born to Emma (née Hughes) and Martin F. Collins. His brothers were Oren and Raymond, and his sisters were Irene and Maxina. By 1910, his father had become disabled and unable to work, leaving his mother to support the household as a seamstress; the 1910 United States census lists Emma Collins as the head of the household. Collins pursued formal training at Carnegie Tech's Drama School in the years immediately following World War I, and also attended Indiana University and Northwestern University.

His professional stage work began with early Group Theatre productions, and his Broadway debut came through Success Story. He went on to appear on Broadway from 1932 to 1962, accumulating credits that included Both Your Houses, The Moon Is Down, The Iceman Cometh, The Survivor, and Carousel. Among his most prominent Broadway achievements was starring in the 1935 musical play Johnny Johnson, a role widely regarded as one of his most notable stage performances. In 1950, Collins appeared in the London production of Mr. Roberts at the Coliseum Theatre, playing Doc alongside Tyrone Power in the title role and Jackie Cooper as Ensign Pulver.

Beginning in the late 1940s, Collins shifted increasing attention toward Hollywood films and television. His television work ranged across teleplay dramas, Westerns, sitcoms, and weekly series of various formats. In 1957 he appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Night the World Ended," and in 1962 he played a town doctor in "The Nancy Davis Story," the thirty-third episode of the fifth season of the TV Western Wagon Train. He remained active as a character actor in television work until shortly before his death.

Collins died on November 14, 1965, in West Hollywood, California, and is buried at Elsinore Valley Cemetery in Lake Elsinore, California.