Woodrow Parfrey

Sydney Woodrow Parfrey was born on October 5, 1922, in New York City, and died on July 29, 1984, in Los Angeles, at the age of 61. He was orphaned as a teenager and, before pursuing a career in the arts, worked as an automobile mechanic. He trained in acting under Erwin Piscator at the New School for Social Research. During World War II, Parfrey served in the U.S. Army, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by German forces. Following his release from military service, aptitude testing pointed him toward acting, launching what would become a decades-long career on stage, television, and film.

Parfrey's stage work was concentrated primarily in the late 1940s and 1950s, with his Broadway career spanning from 1952 to 1962. His credits included the musical The Choir Rehearsal, as well as the plays The Rivalry, Room Service, and Giants, Sons of Giants. Among his most significant stage roles was that of Herbert Gelman, an unbalanced informer, in the original Broadway production of Advise and Consent in 1961, a performance for which he received the Fanny Kemble Award.

As the 1960s progressed, Parfrey shifted his focus substantially toward television and film. He became a recognizable presence in guest-starring roles, particularly during the late 1960s when fantasy and espionage series depended heavily on distinctive character performers. He appeared five times on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a total matched among guest players only by Jill Ireland. His television work also included a 1962 appearance as Joe Darby in the western series The Virginian, two separate roles in Perry Mason — George Pickson in 1962 and George Moffgat in 1963 — and a 1967 appearance as Brock in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He portrayed storekeeper Ike Godsey in The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in 1971, the television film that served as the pilot for The Waltons, and later appeared in the miniseries The Moneychangers in 1976 and Backstairs at the White House in 1979. His only regular television series role came in the short-lived 1979 CBS program Time Express.

On film, Parfrey developed recurring working relationships with director Franklin J. Schaffner, director Don Siegel, and actor-director Clint Eastwood. For Schaffner, he played Maximus, one of the three orangutan judges in Planet of the Apes in 1968, and later appeared as a prisoner in Papillon in 1973. He subsequently appeared in the television series based on the Planet of the Apes franchise, playing a chimpanzee prefect. His collaborations with Siegel included a role in Charley Varrick in 1973, while his work with Eastwood included a part in The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976. His broader film credits encompassed Cattle King in 1963, The War Lord in 1965, The King's Pirate in 1967, Madigan and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life both in 1968, Sam Whiskey in 1969, Dirty Harry and Cold Turkey both in 1971, Oklahoma Crude in 1973, Stay Hungry and The Outlaw Josey Wales both in 1976, The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel in 1979, and Carny, Bronco Billy, and Used Cars all in 1980, among others through 1982.

On February 18, 1950, Parfrey married Rosa Ellovich. His son was publisher Adam Parfrey, who died at the same age as his father. Woodrow Parfrey died of a heart attack on July 29, 1984, and is buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery.