Bert Freed
Born
November 3, 1919
Died
August 2, 1994 (74 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
The Bronx, New York USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 — August 2, 1994) was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Penn State University, and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Following World War II Army service in the European Theatre, he appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985. His film debut occurred, oddly enough, in a musical Carnegie Hall (1947). A prominent role was as the villainous Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through the season.
Freed played Columbo in a live 1960 episode of the "Chevy Mystery Theatre" seven years before Peter Falk played the role. Thomas Mitchell also played the part on stage prior to Falk's version, which is probably where many of the eccentric Columbo traits originated; only a few were visible in Freed's straightforward interpretation, although the character as played by Freed is recognizably Columbo.
He appeared (sometimes more than once) in television shows such as The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley,The Virginian, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, Then Came Bronson, Run For Your Life, Get Smart, The Lucy Show, Hogan's Heroes, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Combat!, Petticoat Junction, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Ironside, The Green Hornet, The Munsters, and many, many more. He directed one episode of T.H.E. Cat.
Freed appeared as a racist club owner in No Way Out (1950), a gangster in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950), a Marine private in Halls of Montezuma (1951 film), an Army sergeant in Take the High Ground! (1953), the Police Chief in Invaders From Mars (1953), Sgt. Boulanger in Paths of Glory (1957), the hangman in Hang 'Em High (1968), Max's father in Wild in the Streets (1968), as Chief of Detectives in Madigan (1968), a homosexual prison guard in There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and Bernard's father in Billy Jack (1971) in which he got "whumped" on the side of the face by Billy Jack's right foot "just for the hell of it."
He retired from acting in 1986, and died of a heart attack in Canada in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bert Freed, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

Are You My Mother?
Bert
1986

Knight Rider
Anthony Solan · (1 episode)
1982

The Fall Guy
(1 episode)
1981
Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase
Carlo
1981

Skag
Bishop
1980

Norma Rae
Sam Dakin
1979

Barracuda
Jack
1978

Vega$
(1 episode)
1978
Till Death
Dr. Sawyer
1978

In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan
Dr. Julius Korein
1977

Love and the Midnight Auto Supply
Mayor John Randolph
1977

Charlie's Angels
Stambler · (1 episode)
1976

Death Scream
Det. Ross
1975

Bronk
(1 episode)
1975

Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Capt. Akins · (1 episode)
1974

Paper Moon
(1 episode)
1974

Lincoln
Edwin Stanton · (6 episodes)
1974

Incident at Vichy
Marchand, A Businessman
1973

Police Story
(1 episode)
1973

Barnaby Jones
Det. Capt. Ben Wyatt · (1 episode)
1973

The Streets of San Francisco
(2 episodes)
1972

The Rookies
(1 episode)
1972

The Sixth Sense
(1 episode)
1972

Cannon
(2 episodes)
1971

Evel Knievel
Doc Kincaid
1971

Billy Jack
Mr. Stuart Posner
1971

Breakout
Fletcher
1970

There Was a Crooked Man...
Skinner
1970

The Andersonville Trial
Board of Military Judges
1970

McCloud
(1 episode)
1970

Then Came Bronson
Editor Carson
1969

The Mod Squad
(1 episode)
1968

Lancer
(1 episode)
1968

The Outsider
(1 episode)
1968

Wild in the Streets
Max Jacob Flatow, Sr.
1968

Hang 'em High
Schmidt
1968

Madigan
Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch
1968

P.J.
Police Lieutenant
1968

Mannix
(1 episode)
1967

The High Chaparral
Telford Burris · (1 episode)
1967

The Guns of Will Sonnett
(1 episode)
1967

Ironside
(2 episodes)
1967

The Swinger
Police Captain
1966

Mission: Impossible
Leon Chandler · (2 episodes)
1966

Mission: Impossible
Gen. Brenner · (1 episode)
1966

Shane
Rufe Ryker · (15 episodes)
1966

The Green Hornet
Police Sgt. Bert Clark · (1 episode)
1966

Tarzan
(1 episode)
1966

Nevada Smith
Quince
1966

Get Smart
(1 episode)
1965

The Loner
(1 episode)
1965

Hogan's Heroes
Maj. Bernsdorf · (1 episode)
1965

The Big Valley
Judge Ben Coulter · (1 episode)
1965

The Big Valley
Henry Marvin · (1 episode)
1965

The Big Valley
Homer Roberts · (1 episode)
1965

Run for Your Life
Sheriff Parsons · (1 episode)
1965

Fate Is the Hunter
Dillon
1964

Invitation to a Gunfighter
Sheriff
1964

The Munsters
(1 episode)
1964

Shock Treatment
Frank Josephson
1964

Twilight of Honor
Sheriff Buck Wheeler
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(1 episode)
1963

Petticoat Junction
Detective Horton · (1 episode)
1963

Mr. Novak
Lorimer · (1 episode)
1963

The Outer Limits
Joe Hayden · (1 episode)
1963

Arrest and Trial
(1 episode)
1963

The Dakotas
(1 episode)
1963

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Ben Golden
1962

Combat!
Sgt. Weber · (1 episode)
1962

The Lucy Show
Miller · (1 episode)
1962

The Virginian
Milo Henderson · (1 episode)
1962

The Virginian
Jason Ainsworth · (1 episode)
1962

Ben Casey
(2 episodes)
1961

Target: The Corruptors!
(1 episode)
1961

Dr. Kildare
Dr. Donald White · (1 episode)
1961

Dr. Kildare
Director · (1 episode)
1961

Cain's Hundred
Dave Reed · (1 episode)
1961

Route 66
(1 episode)
1960

The Subterraneans
Bartender
1960

Why Must I Die
Adler
1960
The Chevy Mystery Show
Lt. Columbo · (1 episode)
1960

The Gazebo
Lt. Jenkins
1960

The Detectives
(1 episode)
1959

Bourbon Street Beat
(1 episode)
1959

Adventures in Paradise
Michael Dannora · (1 episode)
1959

Law of the Plainsman
Benson · (1 episode)
1959

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
(1 episode)
1959

The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Lieutenant · (1 episode)
1959

Riverboat
Kester · (1 episode)
1959

Johnny Staccato
(2 episodes)
1959

Tightrope
(1 episode)
1959

77 Sunset Strip
(1 episode)
1958

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
(1 episode)
1958

The Rifleman
(2 episodes)
1958

The Plot to Kill Stalin
Sokolovsky
1958

Peter Gunn
(1 episode)
1958

The Goddess
Lester Brackman
1958

Paths of Glory
Sgt. Boulanger
1957

Decoy
Lieutenant Rosenberg · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Ken Woodman · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Harry Parker · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Carl Holman · (1 episode)
1957

Perry Mason
Joe Marshall · (1 episode)
1957

The Thin Man
(1 episode)
1957

Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers
Dayton Colonel
1956

The Desperate Hours
Tom Winston
1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Capt. Harvey Ellison · (1 episode)
1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Cooper · (1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Al Clovis · (1 episode)
1955

Gunsmoke
Chris Thornton · (1 episode)
1955

The Cobweb
Abe Irwin
1955

The Millionaire
M / Sgt. Matthew Brogan · (1 episode)
1955

The Strike
Chick
1954

Men of the Fighting Lady
Lt. (jg) Andrew Szymanski
1954

The Long, Long Trailer
Foreman
1954

Take the High Ground!
Sgt. Vince Opperman
1953

Invaders from Mars
Police Chief A.C. Barrows
1953

Tangier Incident
Kozad
1953

General Electric Theater
Mitch Green · (1 episode)
1953

General Electric Theater
Armstrong · (1 episode)
1953

The Snows of Kilimanjaro
American Soldier (uncredited)
1952

The Atomic City
Emil Jablons
1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame
Pete Johnson · (1 episode)
1951

Red Mountain
Sgt. Randall
1951

Detective Story
Det. Dakis
1951

The Company She Keeps
Smitty (plainclothesman)
1951

Halls of Montezuma
Slattery
1951

No Way Out
Rocky Miller (uncredited)
1950

Where the Sidewalk Ends
Det. Sgt. Paul Klein
1950

711 Ocean Drive
Steve Marshak (uncredited)
1950

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
Dutch (Third New York Henchman)
1950

Key to the City
Emmy's Husband
1950

Studio One
Chick · (1 episode)
1948

Studio One
Malone · (1 episode)
1948

Studio One
Mike Jannis · (1 episode)
1948

Studio One
Lt. Burke · (1 episode)
1948

The Philco Television Playhouse
Al Rago · (1 episode)
1948

The Philco Television Playhouse
(1 episode)
1948

Boomerang!
Herron, a Man in Alley Mob
1947