--- name: "Wendell Corey" canonical: "https://film.one/person/wendell-corey" fi1m_id: "wendell-corey" imdb_id: "nm0179819" tmdb_id: 7683 wikidata_id: "Q1340156" roles: ["Actor"] born: "20 March 1914" died: "8 November 1968" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-17T21:24:35.303896+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." --- # Wendell Corey ## Identity Wendell Corey - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/wendell-corey - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** wendell-corey - **IMDb ID:** nm0179819 - **TMDB ID:** 7683 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1340156 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Corey, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1340156, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179819/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7683 Actor. Born 20 March 1914 in Dracut, Massachusetts, USA. Died 8 November 1968. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 20 March 1914, Dracut, Massachusetts, USA - **Died:** 8 November 1968 - **Also known as:** Wendell Reid Corey - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Corey, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1340156, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179819/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7683 ## Fi1m on Wendell Corey > Wendell Corey makes sober authority worth watching by allowing a little cynicism into it. We value his understated support, especially in *Rear Window*, where a sceptical detective gives the excitement something useful to contend with. In *Rear Window* (1954), Wendell Corey gives doubt a gruff voice. His Thomas Doyle is the sceptical detective, and Alfred Hitchcock makes good use of an actor who seems unlikely to be hurried into agreement. We enjoyed Corey's sobriety here: in a film that makes watching so enticing, his resistance to suspicion gives us something to argue with. He does not need to make Doyle more colourful to make him worth watching. That sober manner was useful beyond detectives and doctors, the authority figures he often played. His film debut, *Desert Fury* (1947), came under producer Hal Wallis; by *The File on Thelma Jordon* (1950), he was co-starring opposite Barbara Stanwyck. He also appeared with her in the western *The Furies* (1950). The early opportunities to lead gave way to an emphasis on supporting work through the 1950s, where his understatement could help a star without demanding equal attention. Corey's strength is that solidity need not mean simple reassurance. The piercing eyes and gruff delivery suit men whose job is to assess a situation, while the cynicism leaves open the possibility that they have already had enough of everybody involved. We would be cautious about praising dependability as if it were sufficient in itself. An actor who supplies sober authority needs a film that makes that authority interesting, and Doyle's scepticism has a clear use in a story built around looking and suspecting. Our enthusiasm for *Rear Window* is not a claim that Corey carries it. James Stewart and Grace Kelly supply its warmth, and Hitchcock's courtyard thriller has humour and unease that reach well beyond this supporting performance. What Corey offers is the useful resistance of a man who will not simply share the excitement because the film invites it. Start there, and give the detective some attention even when it is more tempting to agree with somebody else. ## Biography Wendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician. He began his career on the stage, appearing in summer stock productions before making his Broadway debut in Comes the Revelation (1942). He achieved success as a cynical newspaperman in Elmer Rice's Dream Girl (1945). Producer Hal Wallis signed him to a Paramount contract, and Corey made his film debut in Desert Fury (1947). He became known for supporting roles in films including Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), The Search (1948), The Furies (1950) and Rear Window (1954), in which he played Lt. Thomas Doyle. On television he appeared in series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), Perry Mason (1957) and The Wild Wild West (1965), and had regular roles in Harbor Command (1957–1958) and The Eleventh Hour (1962–1963). Corey served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1961 to 1963 and as a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. A Republican, he was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1965 and stood unsuccessfully for the US Congress in 1966. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Rear Window* (1954), Fi1m 94, as Thomas Doyle — [page](https://film.one/film/rear-window.md) ## Complete filmography (67) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Star Maker* (1968), Actor - *The Astro-Zombies* (1968), as Holman - *Buckskin* (1968), as Rep Marlowe - *The Guns of Will Sonnett* (1967), series, Actor - *Red Tomahawk* (1967), as Sy Elkins - *Picture Mommy Dead* (1966), as Lawyer Clayborn - *Cyborg 2087* (1966), as Sheriff - *Waco* (1966), as Sam Stone - *Women of the Prehistoric Planet* (1966), as Adm. David King - *Agent for H.A.R.M.* (1966), as Jim Graff - *The Wild Wild West* (1965), series, Actor - *Run for Your Life* (1965), series, as Dwight Sinclair - *Broken Sabre* (1965), as Major Whitcomb - *Branded* (1965), series, Actor - *Blood on the Arrow* (1964), as Clint Mailer - *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Milo Morgan - *Channing* (1963), series, as Professor Jonathan Kobitz - *The Eleventh Hour* (1962), series, as Dr. Theodore Bassett - *The New Breed* (1961), series, as Roger Dawson - *Bus Stop* (1961), series, Actor - *Target: The Corruptors!* (1961), series, Actor - *Westinghouse Playhouse* (1961), series, as Dan McGovern - *Peck's Bad Girl* (1959), series, as Steve Peck - *Alias Jesse James* (1959), as Jesse James - *The Light in the Forest* (1958), as Wilse Owens - *Harbor Command* (1957), series, as Captain Ralph Baxter - *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Jerome Klee - *Loving You* (1957), as Walter (Tex) Warner - *The Rainmaker* (1956), as Deputy Sheriff J.S. File - *The Rack* (1956), as Maj. Sam Moulton - *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Clay Burnett, Marshal Bigger, Adam Mapes - *The Killer Is Loose* (1956), as Leon 'Foggy' Poole - *The Bold and the Brave* (1956), as Dave Fairchild - *The Big Knife* (1955), as Smiley Coy - *The 20th Century Fox Hour* (1955), series, Actor - *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Timber Woods - *Climax!* (1954), series, as Lieutenant Erich Ganz, Lou Gehrig - *Rear Window* (1954), as Thomas Doyle — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/film/rear-window.md) - *Hell's Half Acre* (1954), as Chet Chester, aka Randy Williams - *The Backbone of America* (1953), as Ben Bruce - *Laughing Anne* (1953), as Capt. Davidson - *A Tale of Two Cities* (1953), as Sydney Carton - *Jamaica Run* (1953), as Todd Dacey - *My Man and I* (1952), as Ansel Ames - *Carbine Williams* (1952), as Capt. H.T. Peoples - *The Wild North* (1952), as Constable Pedley - *The Wild Blue Yonder* (1951), as Capt. Harold Calvert - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, Actor - *Rich, Young and Pretty* (1951), as Jim Stauton Rogers - *The Great Missouri Raid* (1951), as Frank James - *Harriet Craig* (1950), as Walter Craig - *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Buster, Dante, Herb - *The Furies* (1950), as Rip Darrow - *No Sad Songs for Me* (1950), as Bradford 'Brad' Scott - *Your Show of Shows* (1950), series, Actor - *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, Actor - *Holiday Affair* (1949), as Carl Davis - *The File on Thelma Jordon* (1949), as Cleve Marshall - *Any Number Can Play* (1949), as Robbin Elcott - *The Accused* (1949), as Lieut. Ted Dorgan - *Man-Eater of Kumaon* (1948), as Dr. John Collins - *Studio One* (1948), series, as Senator James Norton, Will Robbins, Dr. Cory, John Ryerson - *Sorry, Wrong Number* (1948), as Dr. Philip Alexander - *The Search* (1948), as Jerry Fisher - *I Walk Alone* (1947), as Dave - *Desert Fury* (1947), as Johnny Ryan - *Easy to Get* (1947), as Military Doctor ## Gallery - ![Wendell Corey](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-0074d4d72291.jpg) Wendell Corey — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Wendell_Corey_in_The_Search_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Encina Drive-In theater advertisement for the American mystery thriller film Rear Window (1954). From the 13 October 1954 Santa Cruz Sentinel.](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-cb77afe6b286.jpg) Encina Drive-In theater advertisement for the American mystery thriller film Rear Window (1954). From the 13 October 1954 Santa Cruz Sentinel. — Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Encina_Drive-in_Ad_-_13_October_1954%2C_Santa_Cruz%2C_CA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Theatrical release poster for the 1955 film The Big Knife. (2026)](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-d3c366695a08.png) Theatrical release poster for the 1955 film The Big Knife. (2026) — United Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/The_Big_Knife_%281955_film_poster%29.png/1280px-The_Big_Knife_%281955_film_poster%29.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Promotional poster for the film The Furies. (1950)](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-542a1ca693f0.jpg) Promotional poster for the film The Furies. (1950) — "Copyright 1950 by Paramount Pictures", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/The_Furies_%281950_original_promotional_art%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Wendell Corey](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-dd15bd2ea377.jpg) Wendell Corey — Image via TMDB - ![Wendell Corey](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-693a16a116e8.jpg) Wendell Corey — Image via TMDB - ![Wendell Corey](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-16a5cc0bcd73.jpg) Wendell Corey — Image via TMDB - ![Cast photo from the short-lived television program Peck's Bad Girl. From left: Wendell Corey, Patty McCormack, Ray Farrell, Marsha Hunt. (1959)](https://film.one/media/person/59177/gallery-253e887b4bad.jpg) Cast photo from the short-lived television program Peck's Bad Girl. From left: Wendell Corey, Patty McCormack, Ray Farrell, Marsha Hunt. (1959) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Wendell_Corey%2C_Patty_McCormack%2C_Ray_Farrell%2C_and_Marsha_Hunt_from_Peck%27s_Bad_Girl_-_1959.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won - Theatre World Award 1946: Theatre World Award (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © 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/wendell-corey