O. Z. Whitehead
O. Z. Whitehead | |
|---|---|
_-_07.png) O.Z. Whitehead as Al Joad in The Grapes of Wrath | |
| Born | Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead March 1, 1911 Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | July 29, 1998 (aged 87) Dublin, Ireland |
| NSA member | Ireland 1972 - 1974 1975 - 1987 |
| Parent(s) | Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead and Maria Starkweather Campbell |
Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead (March 1, 1911 – July 29, 1998)[1], known as "O.Z." or "Zebby", was an American Bahá'í who authored several volumes of biographical sketches of early members of the Bahá'í Faith.
In his career he was a stage and film character actor, and was one of the longest surviving members of John Ford's "stock company" of character actors. His best-known part was as Al in Ford's 1940 adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. He was born in New York City and attended Harvard University.
Personal life[edit]
As a child he was fascinated by films and the theatre and decided to make his career as an actor after his father took him to see Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in The Kid in 1921.[1] After years in stage, film and television Whitehead struggled in the Hollywood Studio system due to being a pacifist in World War II[1] and became dissatisfied with the roles he was given.
He first heard of the Bahá'í Faith in 1949,[1] and at his first informational meeting on the religion he heard Marzieh Gail speak. He became a Bahá'í in late 1950,[2] and began giving public talks on the religion throughout the 1950's, for example at World Religion Day observances.[3] In 1955 Whitehead went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.[1] In 1963 he attended the first Bahá'í World Congress in London, after which he pioneered to Ireland which allowed him to take advantage of Dublin theatrical opportunities. Whitehead was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Dublin and in 1972 he was elected to the inaugural National Spiritual Assembly of Ireland on which he served for fifteen years.
From about 1973 until the end of his life Whitehead devoted much of his time to the concerns of the religion including work resulting in publishing three books collecting biographies of early Bahá'ís while in his 6th decade but he also supported the Irish Actors' Equity and the Screen Actors' Guild and served on the executive of the Irish branch of PEN, the international writers' club.
Although he never married, he was in a long-term and very private relationship with actress Katharine Hepburn. The couple met through Dick Hepburn, who studied at Harvard University with Zebbie. After they agreed to part, Zebbie was never known to be in another relationship.
Whitehead died of cancer in Dublin in 1998, at the age of 87.
Acting career[edit]
Whitehead first appeared on Broadway in Martin Beck Theatre performing in The Lake, making 55 performances from December 1933 to February 1934. The play was also Katharine Hepburn's first Broadway leading role and she encouraged Whitehead in his early career.[4]
Whitehead's film debut was in The Scoundrel in 1935 which won a 1936 Oscar for Best Original Story.[5] Whitehead's first TV appearance was in the episode The Arrow and the Bow in Cavalcade of America in 1953 and he went on to appear in shows such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1961 he made a guest appearance on Perry Mason.
In 1966 he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Dublin Theatre Festival for his performance in Hughie, a part he was to perform until 1989. Following his move to Ireland he established the "O. Z. Whitehead Award" for supporting theatre in 1966.[1][6]
In total Whitehead made more than fifty appearances in films and TV series. His final role was as the narrator/Voice in the Irish horror film Biological Maintenance Department (1997).[1]
Publications[edit]
- 1976 - Some Early Bahá’ís of the West
- 1983 - Some Bahá’ís to Remember
- 1994 - Autobiographical 35 page chapter in Why They Became Bahá’ís: First Generation Bahá’ís by 1963, edited by Annamarie Honnold.
- 1996 - Portraits of some Bahá’í Women
Talks[edit]
- ???? - Talk on John Esslemont
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Weinberg, Robert (1998). "Obituary O. Z. Whitehead Actor and writer". Bahá'í Studies Review. Vol. 8. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02.
- ↑ "You Have Been Chosen The story of Carrie and Edward Kinney". Bahá'í News. No. 512. November 1973. pp. 10–15.
- ↑ * "World Religion Observance set". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. 16 Jan 1953. p. 5. Retrieved Apr 13, 2016.
- "Baha'is meet Sunday". The Sun and the Erie County Independent. Hamburg, New York. 14 Jan 1954. p. 7. Retrieved Apr 13, 2016.
- "Baha'i schools ending sessions". The New York Age. New York, New York. 4 Sep 1954. p. 4. Retrieved Apr 13, 2016.
- Frank Sawyer (16 Feb 1957). "The Baha'i religion reflects a new era". The New York Age. New York, New York. p. 11. Retrieved Apr 13, 2016.
- ↑ Medb Ruane (Jul 31, 1998). "O.Z. `Zebby' Whitehead to be buried in Dublin today". Irish Times. Ireland. Retrieved Apr 12, 2016.
- ↑ anonymous. "The Scoundrel". Movies. IMDb. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ↑ * "University Women plan reception". The Bridgeport Post. Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sep 29, 1976. p. 34. Retrieved Apr 13, 2016.
External Links[edit]
