Kevin McCarthy (February 15, 1914 â€" September 11, 2010) was an
American actor who gave over 200 television and film performances. He
is best remembered for portraying the male lead in the horror science
fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).Following several
television guest roles, McCarthy gave his first credited film
performance in Death of a Salesman (1951), portraying Biff Loman to
Fredric March's Willy Loman. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award
and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.Kevin
McCarthy was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Roy Winfield
McCarthy and Martha Therese (née Preston). McCarthy's father was
descended from a wealthy Irish American family based in Minnesota. His
mother was born in Washington state to a Protestant father and a
nonobservant Jewish mother; McCarthy's mother converted to Catholicism
before her marriage. He was the brother of author Mary McCarthy, and a
distant cousin of U.S. senator and presidential candidate Eugene
McCarthy of Minnesota. His parents both died in the 1918 flu pandemic,
and the four children went to live with relatives in Minneapolis.
After five years of near-Dickensian mistreatment, described in Mary
McCarthy's memoirs, the children were separated: Mary moved in with
their maternal grandparents, and Kevin and his younger brothers were
cared for by relatives in Minneapolis. McCarthy graduated in 1932 from
Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, then attended the
University of Minnesota, where he appeared in his first play Henry IV,
Part 1, and discovered a love of acting.
American actor who gave over 200 television and film performances. He
is best remembered for portraying the male lead in the horror science
fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).Following several
television guest roles, McCarthy gave his first credited film
performance in Death of a Salesman (1951), portraying Biff Loman to
Fredric March's Willy Loman. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award
and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.Kevin
McCarthy was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Roy Winfield
McCarthy and Martha Therese (née Preston). McCarthy's father was
descended from a wealthy Irish American family based in Minnesota. His
mother was born in Washington state to a Protestant father and a
nonobservant Jewish mother; McCarthy's mother converted to Catholicism
before her marriage. He was the brother of author Mary McCarthy, and a
distant cousin of U.S. senator and presidential candidate Eugene
McCarthy of Minnesota. His parents both died in the 1918 flu pandemic,
and the four children went to live with relatives in Minneapolis.
After five years of near-Dickensian mistreatment, described in Mary
McCarthy's memoirs, the children were separated: Mary moved in with
their maternal grandparents, and Kevin and his younger brothers were
cared for by relatives in Minneapolis. McCarthy graduated in 1932 from
Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, then attended the
University of Minnesota, where he appeared in his first play Henry IV,
Part 1, and discovered a love of acting.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.