Remembering Jeff Corey

Jeff Corey was born Arthur Zwerling on August 10, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York. Corey made over 200 film and television appearances in a career that spanned 61 years. His early career included appearances in such classic films as “The Devil and Daniel Webster” (1941), “The Killers” (1946), and “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947). Later feature film credits include two classic western adventures released in 1969, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “True Grit”.

 

Corey was among the many actors affected by the government's quest to seek out people they thought were communists. He was blacklisted in 1951 for refusing to name names of possible communists before the so-called "House Un-American Activities Committee." Not only did he refuse to name names, but he also critiqued the acting of previous witnesses. After being blacklisted, Corey worked as an acting teacher for twelve years.

 

Corey returned to acting in 1963, appearing in a drama called “The Balcony”. Other films in which Corey appeared include “In Cold Blood” (1967), “Little Big Man” (1970), “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (1970), and “Oh, God!” (1977). Jeff appeared in two Euro-westerns “The Treasure of the Aztecs” (1965) and “Catlow” (1971).

 

His television appearances include guest spots on “The Wild Wild West”, “Bonanza” and “Hawaii Five-O”. In 1977, Corey appeared in the mini-series “Testimony of Two Men”.

 

Corey died due to injuries from a fall in Santa Monica, California on 16 August 2002, just six days after his 88th birthday. He was survived by his wife of 63 years, and their three children.

 

Today we remember Jeff Corey on what would have been his 100^th birthday.