Ralph Clanton

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia   Ralph Clanton September 11 1914 December 29 2002 was an American character actor Although his name is not familiar to audiences he did play a significant supporting role in a classic film which is revived regularly His most often seen performance is as the Comte De Guiche in the 1950 film Cyrano de Bergerac the first sound version in English of Edmond Rostands classic play and the film for which José Ferrer won his only Academy Award for Best Actor Besides Ferrer as Cyrano Clanton was the only holdover from the cast of the 1946 Broadway revival of the play and would play the role of De Guiche opposite him once more in a New York City Center production in 1953 In addition to playing De Guiche in Cyrano Clanton was featured in seven different episodes of Alfred Hitchcocks television show as well as making several appearances on the Hallmark Hall of Fame In 1976 he played the role of George Washington in a PBS television production of Sidney Kingsleys The Patriots a drama that had itself been produced on the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1963 but without Clanton He also played the role of Jasper Delaney on the TV soap operas Another World and its spinoff Somerset He played the role of Mr Ingram in the scifi thriller The 27th Day He played guest star roles on numerous television series including Perry Mason in addition to appearing on Broadway in the role of Claude Nau in Robert Bolts Vivat Vivat Regina as well as in several Shakespeare productions One of his last roles was a bit part in the hit Dan Aykroyd Eddie Murphy film Trading Places in 1983 In a playbill for the 1946 revival of Cyrano de Bergerac he is listed as a direct descendant of members of the infamous Clanton gang which took part in the Gunfight at the OK Corral Description above from the Wikipedia article Ralph Clanton  licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia