In Memoriam: HENRY BECKMAN (1921-2008)

[AaronHandy3]

Another connection to The Monkees TV series leaves us...

Courtesy of The Big Cartoon Forum:

Canadian-born actor Henry Beckman, a supporting performer in numerous TV series for 50 years, died suddenly June 17 in Barcelona, Spain. He was 86.

Beckman had supporting and guest character roles on television from 1951 to 2001. They included Capt. Roland Francis Clancey in Here Come the Brides, Commander Paul Richards on Flash Gordon, George Anderson on Peyton Place, and Detective Frank Briggs on The X-Files. He co-starred as Sandy Duncan's landlord Pat Harwell on the 1971 series Funny Face.

He was a voice actor in the 1986 National Film Board of Canada cartoon Every Dog's Guide To Complete Home Safety, which was nominated for a Genie Award -- the Canadian equivalent of an Oscar -- for best animated short film.

Beckman narrated the 2000 Cine-Groupe cartoon movie Lion Of Oz, which also featured the voice talents of Dom DeLuise, Jason Priestley, Lynn Redgrave and Bobcat Goldthwait.

Beckman appeared in hundreds of TV series, movies and stage productions. He guested on such shows as The Twilight Zone, Welcome Back Kotter, Rockford Files, Happy Days, Gunsmoke, Quincy, Ironside, Marcus Welby, Mannix, Columbo, Bewitched and The Monkees.

He had roles in at least a dozen movies, going back to the 1950s and 1960s in the likes of Niagara and Marnie. He portrayed the sheriff in the 1992 TV-movie The Man Upstairs, starring Katharine Hepburn in one of her last roles.

Beckman was nominated for a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy) for best supporting actor in 1988 for his performance as Leo in the TV-movie Family Reunion.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on November 26, 1921, he lied about his age in order to entered the Canadian military before his 18th birthday. He went ashore during the Second World War invasion of Normandy.

He married Cheryl Maxwell, a former actress and Broadway producer, in 1955. They had met that year in New York City, where Cheryl was the youngest Broadway theatrical producer known, and Henry was a Broadway and TV performer.

After their marriage, they bought The Dukes Oak Theatre in Cooperstown, New York. They sold the theater in 1957, moving to California, where the actor sought a career in front of the cameras.

The Beckmans were given the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal in 1977 for "contributions to Canadian culture and the esteem in which they were held by their peers."

Henry Beckman was predeceased by his wife Cheryl in 1998. The couple had two sons, Brian and Stuart. Stuart Beckman died in 2001.

Henry Beckman will be buried in the family plot at St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery near Sumas, Washington, just south of the British Columbia border. He had lived in the area for many years.

Beckman portrayed the ruthless D.A. in Monkees Episode No. 34, "The Picture Frame" (a.k.a. "The Bank Robbery"), and the ruthless Manager in Monkees Episode No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw".

To absent friends...