Acting · The Bronx, New York USA · Born November 3, 1919
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.
MovieAre You My Mother?
1986
as Bert
TVKnight Rider
1982
as Anthony Solan
TVDarkroom
1981
as Charlie's Dad
TVThe Fall Guy
1981
Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase
1981
as Carlo
MovieSkag
1980
as Bishop
MovieNorma Rae
1979
as Sam Dakin
MovieBarracuda
1978
as Jack
TVVega$
1978
Till Death
1978
as Dr. Sawyer
MovieIn the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan
1977
as Dr. Julius Korein
MovieLove and the Midnight Auto Supply
1977
as Mayor John Randolph
TVCharlie's Angels
1976
as Stambler
MovieDeath Scream
1975
as Det. Ross
TVBronk
1975
TVKolchak: The Night Stalker
1974
as Capt. Akins
TVPaper Moon
1974
TVLincoln
1974
as Edwin Stanton
MovieIncident at Vichy
1973
as Marchand, A Businessman
TVPolice Story
1973
TVBarnaby Jones
1973
as Det. Capt. Ben Wyatt
TVThe Streets of San Francisco
1972
TVThe Rookies
1972
TVThe Sixth Sense
1972
TVCannon
1971
MovieEvel Knievel
1971
as Doc Kincaid
MovieBilly Jack
1971
as Mr. Stuart Posner
MovieBreakout
1970
as Fletcher
TVThe Partridge Family
1970
as Mr. Sharp
MovieThere Was a Crooked Man...
1970
as Skinner
MovieThe Andersonville Trial
1970
as Board of Military Judges
TVMcCloud
1970
as Packy Keefe
MovieThen Came Bronson
1969
as Editor Carson
TVThe Mod Squad
1968
TVLancer
1968
TVThe Outsider
1968
MovieWild in the Streets
1968
as Max Jacob Flatow, Sr.
MovieHang 'em High
1968
as Schmidt
MovieMadigan
1968
as Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch
MovieP.J.
1968
as Police Lieutenant
TVMannix
1967
TVThe High Chaparral
1967
as Telford Burris
TVThe Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
TVIronside
1967
MovieThe Swinger
1966
as Police Captain
TVMission: Impossible
1966
as Leon Chandler
TVShane
1966
as Rufe Ryker
TVThe Green Hornet
1966
as Police Sgt. Bert Clark
TVTarzan
1966
MovieNevada Smith
1966
as Quince
TVGet Smart
1965
as Badeff
TVThe Loner
1965
TVHogan's Heroes
1965
as Maj. Bernsdorf
TVThe Big Valley
1965
as Judge Ben Coulter
TVRun for Your Life
1965
as Sheriff Parsons
MovieFate Is the Hunter
1964
as Dillon
MovieInvitation to a Gunfighter
1964
as Sheriff
TVThe Munsters
1964
MovieShock Treatment
1964
as Frank Josephson
MovieTwilight of Honor
1963
as Sheriff Buck Wheeler
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
TVPetticoat Junction
1963
as Detective Horton
TVMr. Novak
1963
as Lorimer
TVThe Outer Limits
1963
as Joe Hayden
TVArrest and Trial
1963
TVThe Dakotas
1963
as Lloyd Mitchell
MovieWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
as Ben Golden
TVCombat!
1962
as Sgt. Weber
TVThe Lucy Show
1962
as Miller
TVThe Virginian
1962
as Milo Henderson
TVBen Casey
1961
TVTarget: The Corruptors!
1961
TVDr. Kildare
1961
as Dr. Donald White
TVCain's Hundred
1961
as Dave Reed
TVRoute 66
1960
MovieThe Subterraneans
1960
as Bartender
MovieWhy Must I Die
1960
as Adler
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960
as Lt. Columbo
MovieThe Gazebo
1959
as Joe Jenkins
TVThe Detectives
1959
TVStartime
1959
as Couver
TVBourbon Street Beat
1959
TVAdventures in Paradise
1959
as Michael Dannora
TVLaw of the Plainsman
1959
as Benson
TVThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
TVThe DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Lieutenant
TVRiverboat
1959
as Kester
TVJohnny Staccato
1959
TVTightrope
1959
TV77 Sunset Strip
1958
TVWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
TVThe Rifleman
1958
MovieThe Plot to Kill Stalin
1958
as Sokolovsky
TVPeter Gunn
1958
MovieThe Goddess
1958
as Lester Brackman
MoviePaths of Glory
1957
as Sgt. Boulanger
TVDecoy
1957
as Lieutenant Rosenberg
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Ken Woodman
TVThe Thin Man
1957
MovieUnidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers
1956
as Dayton Colonel
MovieThe Desperate Hours
1955
as Tom Winston
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Capt. Harvey Ellison
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Al Clovis
MovieThe Cobweb
1955
as Abe Irwin
TVThe Millionaire
1955
as M / Sgt. Matthew Brogan
MovieThe Strike
1954
as Chick
MovieMen of the Fighting Lady
1954
as Lt. (jg) Andrew Szymanski
MovieThe Long, Long Trailer
1954
as Foreman
MovieTake the High Ground!
1953
as Sgt. Vince Opperman
MovieInvaders from Mars
1953
as Police Chief A.C. Barrows
MovieTangier Incident
1953
as Kozad
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Mitch Green
MovieThe Snows of Kilimanjaro
1952
as American Soldier (uncredited)
MovieThe Atomic City
1952
as Emil Jablons
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Pete Johnson
MovieDetective Story
1951
as Det. Dakis
MovieRed Mountain
1951
as Sgt. Randall
MovieThe Company She Keeps
1951
as Smitty
MovieHalls of Montezuma
1951
as Slattery
MovieNo Way Out
1950
as Rocky Miller (uncredited)
MovieWhere the Sidewalk Ends
1950
as Det. Sgt. Paul Klein
Movie711 Ocean Drive
1950
as Steve Marshak (uncredited)
MovieMa and Pa Kettle Go to Town
1950
as Dutch (Third New York Henchman)
MovieKey to the City
1950
as Emmy's Husband
TVStudio One
1948
as Chick
TVThe Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Al Rago
MovieBoomerang!
1947
as Herron, a Man in Alley Mob
