--- name: "Gary Merrill" canonical: "https://film.one/person/gary-merrill" fi1m_id: "gary-merrill" imdb_id: "nm0581282" tmdb_id: 10608 wikidata_id: "Q562339" roles: ["Actor"] born: "2 August 1915" died: "5 March 1990" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 84 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-20T02:10:38.935830+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Gary Merrill ## Identity Gary Merrill - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/gary-merrill - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** gary-merrill - **IMDb ID:** nm0581282 - **TMDB ID:** 10608 - **Wikidata ID:** Q562339 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Merrill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q562339, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0581282/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10608 Actor. Born 2 August 1915 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Died 5 March 1990. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 2 August 1915, Hartford, Connecticut, USA - **Died:** 5 March 1990 - **Active:** 1949–1951 - **Also known as:** Gary Fred Merrill - **Frequently works with:** [Darryl F. Zanuck](https://film.one/person/darryl-f-zanuck.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 83 (1), 1950s 84 (2) - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Action 2, Drama 2, War 2, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $13m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Merrill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q562339, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0581282/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10608 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*All About Eve*](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) (90) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Gary Merrill > Gary Merrill played the decent man told that his decency is the problem, and he took the news without raising his voice. Two good years at Fox, then three decades of steady character work; the two years are the ones to see. Watch the scene in *Twelve O'Clock High* (1949) where Colonel Keith Davenport is relieved of his command. Gregory Peck's Savage does the relieving and the film is Peck's, but the scene is Merrill's. He plays a man who loves his men and has just been told that this is why they are dying, and he does not argue and he does not shout. We found it hard to watch, because Merrill lets us see Davenport agreeing with the verdict before Peck has finished delivering it. That is what he did when given something to do: he played reasonable men absorbing bad news. The voice helped. It was deep and cultured and had been noticed on radio before anyone filmed his face, and it made him plausible as a man with authority who would rather not use it. He had come up through summer stock and regional theatre in the late 1930s, then Broadway, including *Born Yesterday* in 1945, and the Army Air Forces, where he appeared in *Winged Victory* (1944) on stage and on film. By the time he signed with 20th Century-Fox in 1949 he already sounded like a colonel. Fox used him well for about two years. After Davenport came Bill Sampson in *All About Eve* (1950), Joseph L. Mankiewicz's theatre satire, where Merrill is the stage director and the love interest and, in a company of people who can all talk, the one who talks least. Our review of that film does not single him out, and that is fair; Bette Davis and the script are the reasons to see it. But the part needed someone who could stand next to Davis and look like an adult with a job, and Merrill managed it. The same year he was Tommy Scalise for Otto Preminger in *Where the Sidewalk Ends*, and in 1951 a colonel again, Devlin, in *Decision Before Dawn*. Then the parts got smaller and stayed small. War films, Westerns, medical dramas, a great deal of television guest work and a few series that did not last, on through the 1970s, with *Mysterious Island* (1961) among the more visible. He retired after 1980. "I had no drive, really," he said, and the career bears him out; nobody who saw Davenport in that office would have guessed it. Start with *Twelve O'Clock High*, then *All About Eve*, and do not expect the rest to match them. He did not. ## Biography Gary Merrill (also credited as Gary Fred Merrill) was an American actor. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he attended Bowdoin College and Trinity College. He began his career in stage productions and radio, including a recurring role as Batman in the Superman radio series, before serving in the US Army Air Forces during the Second World War, where he appeared in Winged Victory. Merrill gained prominence with supporting roles in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and as Bill Sampson in All About Eve (1950). He was married to his co-star Bette Davis from 1950 to 1960. His later work included numerous films, television guest appearances, and voice-over work. He published an autobiography, Bette, Rita and the Rest of My Life, in 1988 and died in Falmouth, Maine. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Decision Before Dawn* (1951), Fi1m 79, as Col. Devlin — [page](https://film.one/film/decision-before-dawn.md) - *All About Eve* (1950), Fi1m 90, as Bill Sampson — [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *Twelve O'Clock High* (1949), Fi1m 83, as Colonel Keith Davenport — [page](https://film.one/film/twelve-oclock-high.md) ## Complete filmography (94) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Littlest Hobo* (1979), series, as Willie Brogan - *The Seekers* (1979), series, as Capt. Hull - *World of Darkness* (1977), as Dr. Thomas Madsen - *Thieves* (1977), as Street Man - *The Zodiac Murders* (1975), Actor - *Movin' On* (1974), series, Actor - *Huckleberry Finn* (1974), as Pap - *Murder and the Computer* (1973), as Gordon Craig - *The Murderers* (1973), Actor - *Pueblo* (1973), as Adm. Thomas E. Moorer - *Kung Fu* (1972), series, as Dan Hoyle - *Earth II* (1971), as Walter Dietrich - *Young Dr. Kildare* (1971), series, as Dr. Leonard Gillespie - *Cannon* (1971), series, Actor - *Secret of the Sacred Forest* (1970), as Mike Parks - *Medical Center* (1969), series, Actor - *Marcus Welby, M.D.* (1969), series, as Orlando 'Cord' Corday - *Loving Badly* (1969), Actor - *Then Came Bronson* (1969), as Inspector Otis - *Run, Psycho, Run* (1968), as George Dennison - *The Power* (1968), as Mark Corlane - *Clambake* (1967), as Sam Burton - *The Incident* (1967), as Douglas McCann - *Hondo* (1967), series, Actor - *Hondo and the Apaches* (1967), as General Philip Sheridan - *The Last Challenge* (1967), as Squint Calloway - *The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones* (1966), as Marshal Duncan - *The Time Tunnel* (1966), series, as Senator Leroy Clark - *Destination Inner Space* (1966), as Dr. LaSatier - *In Search of Hart Crane* (1966), as Narrator (voice) - *Ride Beyond Vengeance* (1966), as Dub Stokes - *Atomic Power Today: Service with Safety* (1966), as Narrator - *Around the World Under the Sea* (1965), as Dr. August 'Gus' Boren - *Catacombs* (1965), as Raymond Garth - *Branded* (1965), series, Actor - *Profiles in Courage* (1964), series, as John Marshall - *Reporter* (1964), series, Actor - *The Searching Eye* (1964), as Narrator - *Kraft Suspense Theatre* (1963), series, as Mark Jordan - *The Outer Limits* (1963), series, as Dr. James Hamilton / Major Roger Brothers - *The Paragon* (1963), as John Pemberton - *A Girl Named Tamiko* (1962), as Max Wilson - *Combat!* (1962), series, as Capt. August - *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, as John Pemberton, Harry Jarvis - *Sam Benedict* (1962), series, Actor - *Mysterious Island* (1961), as Gideon Spilitt - *The New Breed* (1961), series, as Karl Lippert - *Ben Casey* (1961), series, Actor - *Bus Stop* (1961), series, Actor - *The Pleasure of His Company* (1961), as James Dougherty - *The Great Impostor* (1960), as Pa Demara - *Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years* (1960), series, as Narrator - *Outlaws* (1960), series, Actor - *The Savage Eye* (1960), as The Poet - *Rhapsody of Steel* (1959), as Narrator (voice) - *The Wonderful Country* (1959), as Major Colton - *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as Joseph Paradine — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md) - *Laramie* (1959), series, Actor - *New York Confidential* (1959), series, Actor - *Crash Landing* (1958), as Captain Steve Williams - *The Missouri Traveler* (1958), as Doyle Magee - *Suspicion* (1957), series, Actor - *Alcoa Theatre* (1957), series, as Dick Bowen - *If You Knew Elizabeth* (1957), as Walter Hubbard - *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Col. Boyd Nelson, Noah Rawlins, Luke Cannon - *Bermuda Affair* (1956), as Bob Scoffield - *Navy Wife* (1956), as Jack Blain - *The 20th Century Fox Hour* (1955), series, as David Trask - *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Sgt. Rockwell, Joseph Pond, Carl Adams, Ted Franklin, Cash Bentley - *The Human Jungle* (1954), as John Danforth - *The Black Dakotas* (1954), as Brock Marsh (alias Zachary Paige) - *Witness to Murder* (1954), as Police Lt. Lawrence Mathews - *Justice* (1954), series, as Jason Tyler - *Letter to Loretta* (1953), series, as Bill Masters - *A Blueprint for Murder* (1953), as Fred Sargent - *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as McMasters, John Dwight - *Night Without Sleep* (1952), as Richard Morton - *The Girl in White* (1952), as Dr. Seth Pawling - *Phone Call from a Stranger* (1952), as David Trask - *Decision Before Dawn* (1951), as Col. Devlin — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/decision-before-dawn.md) - *Another Man's Poison* (1951), as George Bates - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as John Beasley / Nash - *Rawhide* (1951), as Narrator (voice) (uncredited) - *The Frogmen* (1951), as Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent - *All About Eve* (1950), as Bill Sampson — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/all-about-eve.md) - *Where the Sidewalk Ends* (1950), as Tommy Scalise - *Mother Didn't Tell Me* (1950), as Dr. Peter Roberts - *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, as Felice Benuzzi - *Twelve O'Clock High* (1949), as Colonel Keith Davenport — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/twelve-oclock-high.md) - *Slattery's Hurricane* (1949), as Cmdr E.T. Kramer - *Studio One* (1948), series, as Paul Gormay - *Strange Victory* (1948), as Narrator - *Winged Victory* (1944), as Captain McIntyre - *This Is the Army* (1943), as Backstage MP on Right (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![Gary Merrill](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-10c85f407e8b.jpg) Gary Merrill — PBS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Gary_Merrill_PBS_1970.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Original theatrical release poster for the 1950 film All About Eve.](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-7bcebdce1c6f.jpg) Original theatrical release poster for the 1950 film All About Eve. — "Copyright 1950 By Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/All_About_Eve_%281950_poster%29.jpg/1280px-All_About_Eve_%281950_poster%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Original theatrical release poster for the 1950 film All About Eve.](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-68596ec9712a.jpg) Original theatrical release poster for the 1950 film All About Eve. — "Copyright 1950 By Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/All_About_Eve_%281950_poster_-_retouch%29.jpg/1280px-All_About_Eve_%281950_poster_-_retouch%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the double-feature sci-fi adventure films Mysterious Island (1961) and Valley of the Dragons (1961). From the 20 Decem](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-97caabdee38b.jpg) Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the double-feature sci-fi adventure films Mysterious Island (1961) and Valley of the Dragons (1961). From the 20 Decem — Columbia Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Belair_Drive-in_Ad_-_20_December_1961%2C_Fontana%2C_CA.jpg/1280px-Belair_Drive-in_Ad_-_20_December_1961%2C_Fontana%2C_CA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Gary Merrill](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-47549f743d94.jpg) Gary Merrill — Image via TMDB - ![Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter and George Sanders pose for a studio publicity portrait for the movie All About Eve, 1950](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-c9fe079232bd.jpg) Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter and George Sanders pose for a studio publicity portrait for the movie All About Eve, 1950 — 20th Century Fox / Photographer not credited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Bette_Davis%2C_Gary_Merrill%2C_Anne_Baxter_and_George_Sanders%2C_1950.jpg/1280px-Bette_Davis%2C_Gary_Merrill%2C_Anne_Baxter_and_George_Sanders%2C_1950.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Publicity still of Bette Davis (as Margo Channing) and Gary Merrill (as Bill Sampson) in the 1950 film All About Eve. Such images were taken by a studio photogr](https://film.one/media/person/105019/gallery-1a9c4f19e22b.jpg) Publicity still of Bette Davis (as Margo Channing) and Gary Merrill (as Bill Sampson) in the 1950 film All About Eve. Such images were taken by a studio photogr — Warner Bros. Studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Bette_Davis_and_Gary_Merrill_in_All_About_Eve.jpg/1280px-Bette_Davis_and_Gary_Merrill_in_All_About_Eve.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gary-merrill