Michael J. Pollard


Actor
Michael J. Pollard

About

Also Known As
Michael J Pollack
Birth Place
Passaic, New Jersey, USA
Born
May 30, 1939
Died
November 20, 2019

Biography

With his impish grin, the diminutive Michael J Pollard became a familiar face to moviegoers and television viewers in the 1960s, often in offbeat roles. The stage-trained New Jersey native racked up numerous credits on and off Broadway from his 1958 debut in "Comes a Day," including "A Loss of Roses" (1959), co-starring Warren Beatty, the musical "Bye Bye Birdie" (1960), "Enter Laughing"...

Family & Companions

Beth Howland
Wife
Actor. Co-starred on Broadway in "Company" (1970), best-known as Vera in TV series "Alice"; married in November 1961; divorced.

Biography

With his impish grin, the diminutive Michael J Pollard became a familiar face to moviegoers and television viewers in the 1960s, often in offbeat roles. The stage-trained New Jersey native racked up numerous credits on and off Broadway from his 1958 debut in "Comes a Day," including "A Loss of Roses" (1959), co-starring Warren Beatty, the musical "Bye Bye Birdie" (1960), "Enter Laughing" (1963), as the oddball friend of the leading character, a role he recreated in the 1967 feature version, and Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class" (1978).

Pollard entered films with Martin Ritt's "Adventures of a Young Man" (1962) and went on to portray a number of small roles in films ranging from "The Stripper" (1963) to the motorcycle drama "The Wild Angels" (1966). Pollard received his widest exposure in Arthur Penn's groundbreaking "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967). For his turn as the getaway-car driver C.W. Moss, he received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Despite the acclaim, Pollard lacked leading man qualities and except for "Little Fauss and Big Halsey" (1970), he was relegated to playing quirky supporting parts. Among his better-known features are "Melvin and Howard" (1980), "Roxanne" (1987), "Tango & Cash" (1989) and "Dick Tracy" (1990).In 1991, Pollard's voice was heard on the animation series "The Toxic Crusaders" (1991). After working on several projects, he was cast as Mr. Cummings in Gavin O'Conner's drama feature "Tumbleweeds" (1999). Since he began his career in the late 1950s, Pollard has been a frequent guest on TV on everything from "The Andy Griffith Show" to "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" to "Star Trek." He was a regular in support of Harvey Korman and Valerie Perrine in the short-lived sitcom "Leo and Liz in Beverly Hills" (CBS, 1986). Pollard was formerly married to actress Beth Howland, remembered as Vera in the long-running sitcom "Alice."

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Beautiful Darling (2009)
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003)
Tumbleweeds (1999)
The Unknown Cyclist (1998)
Gabe Sinclair
Merchants of Venus (1997)
Mad Dog Time (1996)
Skeeter (1994)
Hopper
Heartstopper (1992)
Harrison Lubbock
Arizona Dream (1992)
Fabian
Split Second (1992)
Joey Takes a Cab (1991)
The Arrival (1991)
End of the Night (1991)
Sales Assistant
The Art of Dying (1991)
Delbert
Motorama (1991)
I Come in Peace (1990)
Why Me? (1990)
Ralph
Working Trash (1990)
Dick Tracy (1990)
Enid Is Sleeping (1990)
Hotel Manager
Season of Fear (1989)
Bob
Night Visitor (1989)
Tango & Cash (1989)
Stuck with Each Other (1989)
Fast Food (1989)
Bud
Next of Kin (1989)
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland (1988)
Herman
Scrooged (1988)
Roxanne (1987)
The American Way (1987)
Tesla (In The Air)
American Gothic (1987)
America (1986)
The Patriot (1986)
Howard
Heated Vengeance (1985)
Melvin and Howard (1980)
Between The Lines (1977)
The Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
Dirty Little Billy (1972)
Billy [Bonney]
Les Petroleuses (1971)
Marshal
Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970)
Little Fauss
Hannibal Brooks (1969)
Packy
Jigsaw (1968)
Dill
Caprice (1967)
Barney
Enter Laughing (1967)
Marvin
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
C. W. Moss
The Wild Angels (1966)
Pigmy
The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966)
Airport worker
The Stripper (1963)
Jelly
Summer Magic (1963)
Digby Popham

Cast (Special)

Came the Dawn (1993)
Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim (1987)
Henry Fonda and the Family (1962)
Guest

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

The Odyssey (1997)

Life Events

1955

Stage acting debut, "Anniversary Waltz" in Nutley, NJ

1958

Made Broadway debut in "Comes a Day"

1962

Feature acting debut, "Adventures of a Young Man"

1963

Created role of Marvin in Broadway production of "Enter Laughing"

1967

Reprised stage role of Marvin in feature version of "Enter Laughing"

1967

Played C.W. Moss in "Bonnie and Clyde"

1970

Co-starred with Robert Redford in "Little Fauss and Big Halsey"

1986

TV series debut as regular in the short-lived "Leo and Liz in Beverly Hills" (CBS)

1989

Cast in the action comedy "Tango and Cash"

1991

Lent his voice for the animation series "The Toxic Crusaders"

1999

Cast in the Gavin O'Conner drama "Tumbleweeds"

2001

Played Ned in the drama mystery "Out Of The Black"

2002

Cast in the horror feature "House Of 1000 Corpses"

Photo Collections

Bonnie and Clyde - Publicity Still
Here is a photo taken to help publicize Warner Bros' Bonnie and Clyde (1967), starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Gene Hackman. Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.

Videos

Movie Clip

Bonnie And Clyde (1967) -- (Movie Clip) Isn't That Your Car, Eugene? The happenstance appearance of Gene Wilder and Evans Evans as Eugene and Velma, interrupted by the Barrow gang (producer Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard as Clyde, Bonnie, Buck, Blanche and C.W.) who need another car, in Arthur Penn’s landmark Bonnie And Clyde, 1967.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) -- (Movie Clip) You A Good Driver? Having just fled a robbery, Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde (Warren Beatty) meet gas station attendant C.W. Moss (Michael J. Pollard) and become a gang, in Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, 1967.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) -- (Movie Clip) Frank Here's A Texas Ranger! Title characters (Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty) with brother Buck (Gene Hackman), C-W (Michael J Pollard) and Blanche (Estelle Parsons) are fortunate to turn the tables on Texas lawman Frank Hamer (Denver Pyle), an inflated version of a real event, in Bonnie And Clyde, 1967.
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) -- (Movie Clip) Let Me Get The Kodak! Big event for the Barrow family as older brother and fellow ex-con Buck (Gene Hackman), with wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons) joins the newly notorious Clyde (producer Warren Beatty) and Bonnie (Faye Dunaway), wheel-man C.W. (Michael J. Pollard) a little behind the social curve, in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie And Clyde, 1967.
Enter Laughing (1967) -- (Movie Clip) Ronald Colman, Right? Wannabe actor David (Reni Santoni) rings girlfriend Wanda (Janet Margolin) from the Manhattan machine shop where he works with Marvin (Michael J. Pollard) and for Foreman (Jack Gilford), circa 1938, in Carl Reiner's Enter Laughing, 1967.

Family

Holly Pollard
Daughter
Mother, Beth Howland.

Companions

Beth Howland
Wife
Actor. Co-starred on Broadway in "Company" (1970), best-known as Vera in TV series "Alice"; married in November 1961; divorced.

Bibliography