Booth Colman

Booth Colman was an American actor who worked in film, television and theater, and in later years was known for playing older authority figures. Born in Portland, Oregon, he started as a child actor in local productions and local radio before moving into Broadway theater, where he first appeared in Irwin Shaw's war drama The Assassin and then joined Maurice Evans' acting company. He made his screen debut in 1952 with an uncredited part in The Big Sky, directed by Howard Hawks. His films included The Silver Chalice (1954), My Gun Is Quick (1957), Norma Rae (1979) and Intolerable Cruelty (2003). He appeared dozens of times in prime-time television dramas and comedies, and in 1974 he played Dr. Zaius in the short-lived Planet of the Apes series. On stage he appeared as Scrooge over 600 times in A Christmas Carol, staged by the Meadow Brook Theatre in the Detroit area.