Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara
Though best known for his Native American characterizations, Michael Ansara is actually of Lebanese extraction. Ansara, born in Syria and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, entered Los Angeles City College in 1941, planning to become a doctor. His shyness in class prompted his professor to suggest that Ansara take a dramatics course to bolster his self-confidence. The medical profession's loss turned out to be the acting community's gain: after training at Pasadena Playhouse, Ansara blossomed as a classical actor with such groups as the Hollywood Players' Ring. The role that brought Ansara to the attention of Hollywood's higher-ups was his brief, uncredited appearance as the tormented Judas in The Robe (1953). He went on to be cast as Cochise in the 1956 TV series version of the 1950 20th Century-Fox feature Broken Arrow; while the role brought him fame and fortune, Ansara noted that "the acting range was rather limited. Cochise could do one of two things--stand with his arms folded, looking noble; or stand with his arms at his sides, looking noble." He was allowed a more flexible acting range, as well as a wider vocabulary, in his next Indian assignment, that of Harvard-educated federal marshal Sam Buckhart in the 1959 western series Law of the Plainsman. In both this assignment and Broken Arrow, the rather hirsute Ansara was required to keep his chest shaven at all times. More recently, Ansara has been active in the lucrative world of TV cartoon voiceover work. Michael Ansara was married for several years to actress Barbara Eden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Michael Ansara:
- Harum Scarum with Elvis Presley , Billy Barty
- The Greatest Story Ever Told with Max vonSydow , Dorothy McGuire , Robert Loggia , Claude Rains , Jose Ferrer , Charlton Heston , Donald Pleasence , David McCallum , Roddy McDowall , Burt Brinckerhoff , David Hedison , Telly Savalas , Angela Lansbury , Paul Stewart , Harold J. Stone , Frank Silvera , Michael Tolan , Carroll Baker , Pat Boone , Sal Mineo , Van Heflin , Ed Wynn , Shelley Winters , Martin Landau , Nehemiah Persoff , Joseph Schildkraut , Victor Buono , John Wayne , Sidney Poitier , Richard Conte , Frank DeKova , Russell Johnson , Mickey Simpson , Richard Bakalyan , Robert Blake
- The Robe with Richard Burton , Jean Simmons , Victor Mature , Michael Rennie , Dean Jagger , Torin Thatcher , Richard Boone , Ernest Thesiger , Dawn Addams , Leon Askin , Frank DeKova , Harry Shearer , John Doucette , Percy Helton , Mae Marsh , Cameron Mitchell , Hayden Rorke , Betta Saint John , George E. Stone , Anne Bancroft
- Centennial with William Atherton , James Best , Raymond Burr , Richard Chamberlain , Timothy Dalton , Robert DoQui , Robert Douglas , Robert Easton , Dana Elcar , Rene Enriquez , Sharon Gless , Andy Griffith , Mark Harmon , Gregory Harrison , Richard Jaeckel , David Janssen , Brian Keith , Sally Kellerman , Geoffrey Lewis , A. Martinez , Stephen McHattie , Doug McKeon , Greg Mullavey , Alan Napier , Lois Nettleton , Donald Pleasence , Lynn Redgrave , Clive Revill , Jorge Rivero , James J. Sloyan , Gale Sondergaard , Marshall Thompson , Robert Vaughn , Dennis Weaver , Anthony Zerbe , Stephanie Zimbalist , Richard Crenna , Carl Franklin
- The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston , Yul Brynner , Anne Baxter , Edward G. Robinson , Yvonne DeCarlo , Debra Paget , Nina Foch , Cedric Hardwicke , Martha Scott , Judith Anderson , Vincent Price , John Carradine , Douglas Dumbrille , Frank DeKova , Henry Wilcoxon , Lawrence Dobkin , H.B. Warner , Woody Strode , Charlton Heston , Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer , Henry Brandon , Frankie Darro , Edward Earle , Franklin Farnum , Frank Lackteen , Kenneth MacDonald , Peter Mamakos , Robert Vaughn , Clint Walker , Michael Connors , Cecil B. DeMille , John Hart , Stanley Price , James Coburn
- Road to Bali with Bob Hope , Bing Crosby , Dorothy Lamour , Murvyn Vye , Leon Askin , Humphrey Bogart , Bob Crosby , Katharine Hepburn , Carolyn Jones , Jane Russell , Jerry Lewis , Dean Martin
Michael Ansara Trivia
