---
name: "Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/o-z-whitehead"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "1 March 1911"
died: "29 July 1998"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T00:14:41.420714+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."
---

# Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead

Actor. Born 1 March 1911 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 29 July 1998.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 1 March 1911, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 29 July 1998
- **Also known as:** O.Z. Whitehead, Zebby
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Z._Whitehead, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3347469, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925713/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8520

## Biography

Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead (also credited as O. Z. Whitehead or Zebby) was an American character actor. Born in New York City on 1 March 1911, he attended Harvard University and began his career on the stage, appearing on Broadway from the early 1930s.

He made his film debut in *The Scoundrel* (1935) and became known for his work with director John Ford. His most recognised screen role was as Al Joad in *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940). He appeared in several other Ford films, including *The Last Hurrah* (1958), *The Horse Soldiers* (1959), *Two Rode Together* (1961) and *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962), as well as television series such as *Perry Mason*, *Gunsmoke* and *Alfred Hitchcock Presents*.

Whitehead moved to Dublin in 1963, where he lived until his death on 29 July 1998. He also wrote biographical works on the Baháʼí Faith.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, independent.co.uk.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), Fi1m 86, as Al Joad — [page](https://film.one/film/the-grapes-of-wrath.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Hello, Stranger* (1992), Actor
- *Philadelphia, Here I Come* (1975), as Ben Burton
- *The Lion in Winter* (1968), as Bishop of Durham
- *Ulysses* (1967), as Alexander J. Dowie
- *Summer Magic* (1963), as Mr. Perkins
- *Panic in Year Zero!* (1962), as Hogan
- *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962), as Herbert Carruthers
- *Hazel* (1961), series, Actor
- *Two Rode Together* (1961), as Lt. Whitehead
- *The Horse Soldiers* (1959), as Otis 'Hoppy' Hopkins
- *The Last Hurrah* (1958), as Norman Cass Jr.
- *Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!* (1958), as Isaac Goodpasture
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Harry Beacom
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Mr. Newton, Simms
- *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, as Hank Blenis
- *The Body Beautiful* (1953), as Oscar Blunt
- *Cavalcade of America* (1952), series, Actor
- *Beware, My Lovely* (1952), as Mr. Franks
- *The San Francisco Story* (1952), as Alfey
- *For Men Only* (1952), as Prof. Bixby
- *FBI Girl* (1951), as Chauncey
- *Journey Into Light* (1951), as Lippy
- *Comin' Round the Mountain* (1951), as Zeke
- *The Hoodlum* (1951), as Breckenridge
- *The Scarf* (1951), as Whoopie
- *Ma and Pa Kettle* (1949), as Mr. Billings
- *Suspense* (1949), series, as George Vance
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Peter Kovalesky
- *A Song Is Born* (1948), as Professor Oddly
- *Road House* (1948), as Arthur
- *The Romance of Rosy Ridge* (1947), as Ninny Nat
- *My Brother Talks to Horses* (1947), as Mr. Puddy
- *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), as Al Joad — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-grapes-of-wrath.md)
- *The Scoundrel* (1935), as Calhoun

---
© 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/o-z-whitehead