Roddy McDowall Movies and Career Information

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was an English-born actor and photographer. He was best known as Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series. He began his long career as a child actor. McDowall was born in Herne Hill, London, the son of Winsfriede L. (nee Corcoran), an Irish-born aspiring actress, and Thomas Andrew McDowall, a Merchant Mariner. Both of his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He had a sister, Virginia (23 September 1927 – 8 December 2006). After he had appeared in several British films, McDowall's family came to America because of the Blitz. He then made his first well-known film appearance, at age twelve, playing Huw in How Green Was My Valley (1941). This role made him a household name. He starred in Lassie Come Home (1943), a movie which introduced a girl who would become his lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor. He appeared too as Ken McLaughlin in the 1943 film My Friend Flicka. McDowall then went on to appear in other films, including The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and The White Cliffs of Dover (1944). McDowall continued his career successfully into adulthood, but it was usually in