David Wayne
David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan; January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American actor and singer, with a stage and screen career spanning over 50 years. He was a recipient of two Tony Awards, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Finian's Rainbow and Best Actor in a Play for The Teahouse of the August Moon, with a third nomination for The Happy Time.
Also recorded as Wayne McMeekan
David Wayne

Studio Publicity · [1] · Public domain
- Name
- David Wayne
- Born
- 30 January 1914
- Birthplace
- Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
- Died
- 9 February 1995
- Place of death
- Santa Monica, California, U.S.
- Education
- Western Michigan University
- Birth Name
- Wayne James McMeekan
- Occupation
- * Actor
- Full name
- Wayne James McMeekan.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Honours
- Theatre World Award, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and Grammy Hall of Fame.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan; January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American actor and singer, with a stage and screen career spanning over 50 years. He was a recipient of two Tony Awards, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Finian's Rainbow and Best Actor in a Play for The Teahouse of the August Moon, with a third nomination for The Happy Time.
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wikidata · Q1177111 · wikipedia · David Wayne
In this article
Biography
Biography
Wayne worked between 1914 and 1995 across stage actor, film actor, television actor, actor and singer. This article rests on 3 catalogued compositions, 4 published texts, 1 issued recordings and 44 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.
David Wayne studied at Western Michigan University. The recorded working language is English. Residence is recorded at Bloomingdale and Traverse City. Distinctions recorded are Theatre World Award, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and Grammy Hall of Fame.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — David Wayne • Born — 30 January 1914 • Birthplace — Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. • Died — 9 February 1995 • Place of death — Santa Monica, California, U.S. • Education — Western Michigan University • Birth Name — Wayne James McMeekan • Occupation — * Actor • singer • Years Active — 1936–1994 • Children — 3
Early life and career
Early life and career
Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen Matilda (née Mason) and John David McMeekan. His mother died when he was four. Wayne attended Western Michigan University for two years before working as a statistician in Cleveland. He began acting with Cleveland's Shakesperean repertory theatre in 1936. When World War II began, Wayne volunteered as an ambulance driver with the British Army in North Africa. When the United States entered the war he joined the United States Army. Wayne's first major Broadway role was Og the leprechaun in Finian's Rainbow, for which he won the Theatre World Award and the first ever Tony, for Actor, Supporting or Featured (Musical). While appearing in the play, he and co-stars Albert Sharpe and Maude Simmons were recruited by producer David O. Selznick for roles in the film Portrait of Jennie (1948). In 1948, Wayne was one of 50 applicants (out of approximately 700) granted membership in New York's newly formed Actors Studio. He was awarded a second Tony, for Best Actor (Dramatic), for The Teahouse of the August Moon and was nominated as Best Actor (Musical) for The Happy Time. He originated the role of Ensign Pulver in the classic stage comedy Mister Roberts and also appeared in Say, Darling; After the Fall; and Incident at Vichy.
Film and television career
Film and television career
In films, Wayne was most often cast as a supporting player, such as the piano-playing neighbor of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn's characters in Adam's Rib (1949). He portrayed the child killer, originally played by Peter Lorre, in the remake of M (1951), in a rare title and villainous role. Wayne appeared in four films with Marilyn Monroe, more than any other actor: As Young as You Feel (1951), We're Not Married (1952), O. Henry's Full House (1952) (although he shared no scenes with Monroe), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) where he had scenes with Monroe. He starred in The Tender Trap (1955) with Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, and Celeste Holm. In 1955, Wayne starred in the NBC comedy Norby. Wayne appeared in the late 1950s on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and the Twilight Zone episode "Escape Clause". In 1959 he starred in the role of Major General Henning von Tresckow in the Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre production "Operation Spark", depicting the plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. He starred as Darius Woodley in two 1961 episodes of NBC's The Outlaws starring Barton MacLane. Also in 1961, Wayne appeared in the Bell Telephone Company-produced driver safety film Anatomy of an Accident, about a family outing tragically cut short by a car accident. He played the Mad Hatter, one of the recurring villains in the 1960s television series Batman. In 1964, he guest-starred in the series finale, "Pay Now, Die Later", of CBS's drama Mr. Broadway. Also in the 1960s, Wayne was a radio host on NBC's magazine program Monitor. • Illustration — Wayne and Jean Peters in trailer for As Young as You Feel (1951) Wayne was known for his role as Dr. Charles Dutton in Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain (1971). He also appeared as Uncle Timothy Jamison in the NBC sitcom The Brian Keith Show and played Charles Dutton in The Good Life, also on NBC. Wayne made a guest appearance in a leading role for a 1975 episode of Gunsmoke titled "I Have Promises to Keep". He co-starred with Jim Hutton in the 1976 television series Ellery Queen (as Inspector Richard Queen). In 1978, Wayne played James Lawrence in the ABC drama Family, and he played Digger Barnes in four episodes of the CBS soap opera Dallas. Wayne's friend Keenan Wynn later replaced Wayne in this role. From 1979 to 1982, Wayne starred as Dr. Amos Weatherby in the television series House Calls.
Personal life
Personal life
Wayne was married to Jane Gordon in 1941 and had two daughters and a son. In August 1970, their son disappeared and was presumed drowned during a camping and fishing trip. Wayne's wife, daughter of opera vocalist Jeanne Gordon, died in 1993.
Death
Death
On February 9, 1995, Wayne died in his Santa Monica, California, home from complications of lung cancer at age 81.
Filmography
Filmography
Features: • Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) as Cab Driver (uncredited) • Portrait of Jennie (1948) as Gus O'Toole • Adam's Rib (1949) as Kip Lurie • The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) as Arthur Colner Maxwell • Stella (1950) as Carl Granger • My Blue Heaven (1950) as Walter Pringle • Up Front (1951) as Joe • M (1951) as Martin W. Harrow • As Young as You Feel (1951) as Joe Elliott • With a Song in My Heart (1952) as Don Ross • Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952) as Ben Halper • We're Not Married! (1952) as Jeff Norris • O. Henry's Full House (1952) as Horace ("The Cop and the Anthem" segment) • The I Don't Care Girl (1953) as Ed McCoy • Tonight We Sing (1953) as Sol Hurok • Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953) as Lieutenant Carl G. Schmidt • How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) as Freddie Denmark • Hell and High Water (1954) as Tugboat Walker • The Tender Trap (1955) as Joe McCall • The Naked Hills (1956) as Tracy Powell • The Three Faces of Eve (1957) as Ralph White • The Sad Sack (1957) as Corporal Larry Dolan • The Last Angry Man (1959) as Woodrow 'Woody' Thrasher • The Big Gamble (1961) as Samuel Brennan • The Andromeda Strain (1971) as Dr. Charles Dutton • The African Elephant (1971; documentary) as narrator • Huckleberry Finn (1974) as The Duke • The Front Page (1974) as Bensinger • Tubby the Tuba (1975) as Pee-Wee the Piccolo (voice) • The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) as Colonel T.R. Clydesdale • A Place to Be (1979; documentary) as narrator • The Prize Fighter (1979) as Pop Morgan • Finders Keepers (1984) as Stapleton • The Survivalist (1987) as Dub Daniels Short subjects: • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Awards (1951) as himself • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952) as himself • Anatomy of an Accident (1961) as John Avery • John F. Kennedy: 1917-1963 (1979) as narrator
Television work
Television work
• Great Catherine (1948, TV Movie) • Norby (1955) as Preston (a.k.a) Pearson Norby (canceled after 13 episodes) • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (Season 2 Episode 28: "One More Mile to Go") as Sam Jacoby • Suspicion (1957) (Season 1 Episode 7: Heartbeat) as James Mennick • The Strawberry Blonde (1959, TV Movie) as Biff Grimes • The Twilight Zone, "Escape Clause" (1959) as Walter Bedeker • Wagon Train (1960) (The Shad Bennington Story) as Shadrack Bennington • Naked City, "The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish" (1962) as Herbert Konish • Teahouse of the August Moon (1962 TV movie) as Sakini • Kings of Broadway (1962, TV Movie) (unsold pilot) • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963) (Season 1 Episode 15: "The Thirty-First of February") as Andrew Anderson • Cowboy and the Tiger (1963, TV Movie) as Narrator (unsold pilot) • Lamp at Midnight (1966, TV Movie) as Father Firenzuola • Batman (1966, guest villain, episodes 13, 14, 69, 70) as The Mad Hatter • Arsenic and Old Lace (1969, TV Movie) as Teddy Brewster • The Boy Who Stole the Elephant (1970, TV Movie) as Colonel Rufus Ryder • Night Gallery, "The Diary" (1971) as Dr. Mill (segment "The Diary") • Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971, TV Movie) as Himself (uncredited) • The Good Life (1971–1972) as Charles Dutton • The Catcher (1972, TV Movie) as Armand Faber • The Dark Side (1972) (unsold pilot) • The Streets of San Francisco (1972, TV Series) as Wally Sensibaugh • Banacek ("Ten Thousand Dollars a Page") (1973) as Walter Tyson • Hawaii Five-O ("30,000 Rooms and I Have the Key") (1974) as Monsieur Bordeaux • Return of the Big Cat (1974, TV Movie) as Grandpa Jubal • Barney Miller ("Bureaucrat") (1975) as E. J. Heiss • Gunsmoke ("I Have Promises to Keep") (1973-1975) as Reverend Byrne / Judge Warfield • It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (1975, TV Movie) as Dr. Abner Sedgwick • Ellery Queen (1975–1976) as Inspector Richard Queen • Once an Eagle (1976, TV Mini-Series) as Colonel Terwilliger • In the Glitter Palace (1977, TV Movie) as Nate Redstone • Hunter ("Yesterday Upon the Stair") (1977) • Black Beauty (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Mr. Dowling / Narrator • Loose Change (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Dr. Moe Sinden • Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978, TV Movie) as Mickey Mills • Dallas (1978) as Digger Barnes • The Gift of Love (1978, TV Movie) as O'Henry / Narrator • The Girls in the Office (1979, TV Movie) as Ben Nayfack • An American Christmas Carol (1979, TV Movie) as Merrivale • Eight is Enough (1980) as Matt • House Calls (1979–1982) as Dr. Amos Weatherby • Matt Houston (1984) S2/Ep20, "Blood Ties" as Bill Houston • Murder, She Wrote (1985, TV Series) as Cyrus Leffingwell • Newhart (1985, TV Series) as Mr. Pittman (episode "Pirate Pete") • The Golden Girls (1986) as Big Daddy • Poker Alice (1987, TV Movie, based on the frontier gambler Poker Alice, with Elizabeth Taylor in the starring role) as Amos (final film role)
Stage appearances
Stage appearances
• As You Like It (1935) (Cleveland) • Escape This Night (April 22 – May 1938) (Broadway) • Dance Night (October 14–16, 1938) (Broadway) • The American Way (January 21 – September 23, 1939) (Broadway) • The Scene of the Crime (March 28 – April 4, 1940) (Broadway) • The Merry Widow (Revival) (August 4, 1943 – May 6, 1944) (Broadway) • Peepshow (February 3–26, 1944) (Broadway) • Park Avenue (November 4, 1946 – January 4, 1947) (Broadway) • Finian's Rainbow (January 10, 1947 – October 2, 1948) (Broadway) (replaced by Philip Truex in February 1948) • Mister Roberts (February 18, 1948 – January 6, 1951) (Broadway) (replaced by Larry Blyden in 1950) • The Teahouse of the August Moon (October 15, 1953 – March 24, 1956) (Broadway) (replaced by Burgess Meredith in 1954) • The Ponder Heart (February 16 – June 23, 1956) (Broadway) • The Loud Red Patrick (October 3 – December 22, 1956) (Broadway) • Say, Darling (April 3, 1958 – January 17, 1959) (Broadway) (replaced by Eddie Albert in 1959) • Send Me No Flowers (December 5, 1960 – January 7, 1961) (Broadway) • Venus at Large (April 12–14, 1962) (Broadway) • Too True to Be Good (Revival) (March 12 – June 1, 1963) (Broadway) • After the Fall (January 23, 1964 – May 29, 1965) (ANTA Washington Square Theatre) • Marco Millions (February 20 – June 18, 1964) (ANTA Washington Square Theatre) • But For Whom Charlie (March 12 – July 2, 1964) (ANTA Washington Square Theatre) • Incident at Vichy (December 3, 1964 – May 7, 1965) (ANTA Washington Square Theatre) • The Yearling (December 10–11, 1965) (Broadway) • Show Boat (July 1966) Lincoln Center (Role; Capt. Andy) • The Happy Time (January 18 – September 28, 1968) (Broadway)
Radio appearances
Radio appearances
• Year — Program — Episode/source • 1952 — Stars in the Air — Good Sam • 1953 — Lux Radio Theatre — Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie
Life and work
Life and work
David Wayne was born on 30 January 1914 in Traverse City. Wayne held the nationality of United States. Wayne was educated at Western Michigan University. Recorded father: John David McMeekan. Recorded mother: Helen Matilda Mason. Wayne worked as stage actor, film actor, television actor and actor, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them singer. Wayne was active from 1938. Wayne worked in English.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1914–1997
The full dated record · 7 entries
1914
David Wayne was born on 30 January 1914.
1947
Receives Theatre World Award.
1947
Receives Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
1954
Receives Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
1995
Dies at Santa Monica.
1995
David Wayne died on 9 February 1995.
1997
Receives Grammy Hall of Fame.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bloomingdale and Traverse City.
Residences
Traverse City.
Birth place
Santa Monica.
Death place
Catalogued output
Writings on music
These are catalogued publications carrying the name — editions and printings, distinct from the works they contain and from writing about the subject. The 1990s are the densest part of the run, with 2 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
4 editions carry dates between 1979 and 1999
The run opens with The American taxpayers' guide to survival and closes with Health sciences
The entries follow Open Library
The American taxpayers' guide to survival
1979
Human form & function
1989
Lecture notes on clinical medicine
1991
Health sciences
1999
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1177111: David Wayne
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “David Wayne”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards
Awards
Wayne won two Tony Awards, one in 1947 for Finian's Rainbow and one in 1954 for The Teahouse of the August Moon. In 1958, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the mystery-thriller anthology series Suspicion. Additionally, he received two Photoplay Awards for his performances in the 1951 war film Up Front and the 1950 dark comedy Stella. Along with his turn in Stella, Wayne was nominated that same year for a second Photoplay Award, but in the category of Most Promising Male Star.
Honours and awards
Where the work is held
Honours and awards
They run from 1947 to 1997.
4 honours stand against the name
Theatre World Award
1947
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
1947
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
1954
Grammy Hall of Fame
1997
Authority records
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
David Wayne was recorded at birth as Wayne James McMeekan. The authorities additionally record the heading Wayne McMeekan. His recorded language was English. He was the child of John David McMeekan and Helen Matilda Mason. Wayne received Theatre World Award, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and Grammy Hall of Fame. Connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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