Veteran performer John Randolph was a Tony Award-winning character
actor whose union and social activism in the '40s and '50s caused him
to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. The balding performer may
not have been a household name, but he was a regular face in movies and
TV for over four decades.
He was born Emanuel Cohen on June 1, 1915, in New York City, to Jewish immigrants from Romania and Russia, mother Dorothy (Shorr), an insurance agent, and father Louis Cohen, a hat manufacturer. When his father died and his
mother remarried, his stepfather, Joseph Lippman, renamed him Mortimer.
He began his dramatic training in the '30s, studying under
Stella Adler and changing his name to the
less ethnic moniker of "John Randolph". He served in the Army Air Force
during WWII and married actress
Sarah Cunningham in Chicago in
1945 while performing in
Orson Welles's
stage production of "Native Son". They had two children, Martha and
Harrison.
After the war, Randolph become one of the original members of
the Actors Studio. After making his film debut with
The Naked City (1948), his
passionate, outspoken leftist views and defense of other accused
figures led to Randolph and his wife being blacklisted. In 1955, they
were both called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and
pleaded the Fifth Amendment. Although Randolph lost many jobs during
this 15-year blacklist, he continued to find work onstage, mainly in
New York.
Finally, director
John Frankenheimer broke the
Hollywood blacklist after casting Randolph, along with fellow "marked"
actors
Will Geer and
Jeff Corey, in
Seconds (1966), in which he played a
disillusioned older man surgically made to look decades younger (now
played by
Rock Hudson). Randolph continued
to flourish in films and TV following this breakthrough with important
roles in
Serpico (1973),
Frances (1982),
Prizzi's Honor (1985) and
You've Got Mail (1998), along
with the TV movies
The Missiles of October (1974)
and "Lincoln" (1975) (mini). He also played the recurring role of
Roseanne Barr's father on her popular sitcom.
In
1987, he was the recipient of both Tony and Drama Desk awards for his
close-to-home portrayal of a Communist, left-wing grandfather in
Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound". Randolph
continued his activism into the 1980s, heading the Council of
American-Soviet Friendship, a cultural exchange organization. He died
of natural causes at age 88.
Numb(2003)
Sunset Strip(2000)as Mr. Niederhaus
The Dogwalker(1999)as Ike
You've Got Mail(1998)as Schuyler Fox
Special Collector's Edition(2010)
Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story(2004)
Family Ties(1982)
The Bob Newhart Show(1972)
American Playhouse(1980)as Self - Host
Gernika Lives(1989)as Host Self
The 41st Annual Tony Awards(1987)as Self - Winner
The New Deal for Artists(1976)as Self
Bicentennial Minutes(1974)as Self - Narrator
Production History(2026)as Self
I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not(2025)as Self
Al Pacino, le Bronx et la fureur(2022)as Self
Seinfeld: Inside Look(2004)as Frank Costanza
11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(2005)as Self - Memorial Tribute
