Liam Dunn

Acting

Liam Dunn

Born 1916-11-12 · New Jersey, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Liam Dunn (November 12, 1916 – April 11, 1976) was an American character actor. Life and career The New Jersey native's early career was spent on television in series such as Bonanza, Room 222, Alias Smith and Jones, Mannix, Emergency! [S5Ep18] as "Amos", and Gunsmoke. Dunn's breakout role was as the judge (and Barbra Streisand's character's father) in the 1972 film What's Up, Doc?, for which he was noticed by Mel Brooks, who was in the process of forming a stock company of actors.[citation needed] Dunn went on to appear in Brooks films, including Blazing Saddles (1974) as Rev. Johnson, Young Frankenstein (1974) as Mr. Hilltop, and as the Newsvendor in Silent Movie (1976). He also appeared in several Walt Disney productions, such as The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), Charley and the Angel (1973), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Gus (1976). He frequently portrayed characters who were verbally and/or physically abused in a slapstick way. Additional television credits include Twigs, All in the Family, Barney Miller, McMillan & Wife, Rhoda, Sanford and Son, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, S4Ep6. Additional film credits included roles in Catch-22 (1970), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), A Reflection of Fear (1972), Emperor of the North Pole (1973), Papillon (1973), Killer Bees (1974), Bank Shot (1974), At Long Last Love (1975), The Night That Panicked America (1975), Peeper (1976) and High Velocity (1976). Dunn collapsed on the set of Disney's The Shaggy D.A. (1976) during the filming of the roller rink sequence, and as soon as he was hospitalized, died on April 11, 1976, from emphysema in Granada Hills, California. John Fiedler was brought in to complete the role as dog catcher. Though only 59 at the time of his death, Dunn always looked much older than he was, and he was cast accordingly. CLR

Acting credits

Papillon poster
7.8

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

Papillon

1973

Young Frankenstein poster
7.9

A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.

Young Frankenstein

1974

Blazing Saddles poster
7.2

Crafty railroad worker Bart becomes the first Black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the citizens of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new protector. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend Jim are their only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.

Blazing Saddles

1974

Catch-22 poster
6.7

A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.

Catch-22

1970

Herbie Rides Again poster
6.2

The living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.

Herbie Rides Again

1974

Silent Movie poster
6.5

Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.

Silent Movie

1976

What's Up, Doc? poster
7.4

The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.

What's Up, Doc?

1972

Emperor of the North poster
6.8

Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.

Emperor of the North

1973

Twigs poster
NR

Three middle-aged sisters and their grouchy mother confront issues with men in their lives.

Twigs

1975

Genesis II poster
5.9

A scientist who has been preserved in suspended animation wakes up to find himself in a primitive society in the future.

Genesis II

1973

The Shaggy D.A. poster
5.8

Wilby Daniels, a successful lawyer running for District Attorney, suddenly finds himself being transformed into an English sheepdog. Somehow he has to keep his change a secret and find just what is causing it, all the while eluding the local dog catcher.

The Shaggy D.A.

1976

That's My Man poster
6.7

A poor young man is finally able to achieve his dream of running a horse at the track, but when he starts becoming successful, he begins to lose sight of what mattered to him before.

That's My Man

1947

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid poster
5.7

The gangs of Jesse James and Cole Younger join forces to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, but things do not go as planned.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid

1972

Charley and the Angel poster
5.7

Charley is a workaholic family man that finds out from an angel that his "number's up" and he will be dying soon so he tries to change his ways and be a better husband and father with the time he has left.

Charley and the Angel

1973

The Bank Shot poster
5.4

A bank temporarily housed in a mobile home while a new building is built, looks like an easy target to break into. On the other hand, why not steal the whole bank, and rob it in a safer location.

The Bank Shot

1974

The Bank Shot poster
5.4

A bank temporarily housed in a mobile home while a new building is built, looks like an easy target to break into. On the other hand, why not steal the whole bank, and rob it in a safer location.

The Bank Shot

1974

Peeper poster
5.1

A detective is hired to locate a girl adopted 30 years earlier whose birth father wants to bequeath her his fortune.

Peeper

1975

The World's Greatest Athlete poster
5.5

Stuck with a feeble sports department, college coach Sam Archer (John Amos) faces the ax unless he can reverse the school's athletic fortunes. An African vacation with his assistant (Tim Conway) answers Archer's prayers when he spots the athletically gifted Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). Sam counts on Nanu's remarkable abilities to put the team back on the winning track. This upbeat farce boasts an impressive cast of comedians.

The World's Greatest Athlete

1973

Gus poster
5.9

The California Atoms are in last place with no hope of moving up. But by switching the mule from team mascot to team member, (He can kick 100 yard field goals!) they start winning, and move up in the rankings, Hurrah! The competition isn't so happy.

Gus

1976

At Long Last Love poster
5.1

Four socialites unexpectedly clash: heiress Brooke Carter runs into gambler Johnny Spanish at the race track while playboy Michael O. Pritchard nearly runs into stage star Kitty O'Kelly with his car. Backstage at Kitty's show, it turns out she and Brooke are old friends who attended public school together. The foursome do the town, accompanied by Brooke's companion Elizabeth, who throws herself at Michael's butler and chauffeur Rodney James.

At Long Last Love

1975

Miracle on 34th Street poster
7.0

A department store Santa tries to convince a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus that he is Santa Claus, and winds up going on trial to prove who he is.

Miracle on 34th Street

1973

A Reflection of Fear poster
6.1

A young girl lives with her mother and grandmother. One day her estranged father returns home with a female companion he introduces as his fiance. Soon the girl finds herself in the midst of strange goings-on, which evolve into a web of crime and murder.

A Reflection of Fear

1972

A Cry in the Wilderness poster
6.5

The father of a wilderness family gets bitten by a skunk, and fearing rabies, chains himself to a barn to protect his family should he go mad. He orders his son not to come near him no matter how persuasive or rational his appearance or argument. However, the creek dries up, indicating an upstream blockage and an imminent flood. Several trips upstream by the son have failed to locate the blockage and now Dad wants to be released...

A Cry in the Wilderness

1974

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn poster
10.0

The story of a family living in a New York City slum in 1912, headed by a loving but alcoholic father and a strong-willed mother.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

1974