INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS star Kevin McCarthy passes away at the age of 96

Kevin in JOHNNY X

Every now and then news hits that an actor or actress has passed on, and occasionally it really depresses me. That was definitely the case today when I heard the great Kevin McCarthy died on Saturday at the age of 96. Now granted, living to 96 is pretty impressive already, but what’s really amazing is that Kevin had continued to act right up until his death. He never really quit the business (just slowed down a bit), and there’s something to be said for that.  I remember reading (and somewhere online seeing a trailer) about a retro-styled film called THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY X (website here), in which McCarthy filmed a cameo just a year or so ago, and if you look on IMDB you’ll notice he’s done more than a few movies in the past couple of years – more than even I (being a fan of his work) was aware of.  It’s very obvious this was an actor who truly loved his craft, and it showed every time he was on screen.

His first big screen film was DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1951), in which he played Biff Loman and co-starred with Fredric March. For that role he received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe win.  McCarthy appeared in numerous television roles through his early years, but eventually landed what would be one of his most-recognized parts as the lead in the 1956 sci-fi epic INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. A few years later he appeared with good friend Mongomery Clift in director John Huston’s THE MISFITS, in which he played the ex-husband of Marilyn Monroe’s character. Within the same decade he found sci-fi TV roles on both THE TWILIGHT ZONE (“Long Live Walter Jameson”, 1960) and THE INVADERS (“The Watchers”, 1967). In the 1970’s and 80’s he worked frequently with director Joe Dante on films like PIRANHA, THE HOWLING, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, and INNERSPACE – collaborating one last time with a cameo in LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (2003). One of my personal favorite McCarthy roles was that of the slimy and rubber-faced R.J. Fletcher in Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF (1989). While some would label Kevin as a ‘character actor’, I thought of him more as a friendly face on the big screen, and one that I always enjoyed seeing.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McCarthy back in 2001 at the Tulsa Trek Expo. At that time he was 87, but incredibly sharp and quick-witted. We talked about his work on UHF, and he had very nice things to say about working with Weird Al. I also asked him (at the suggestion of my good buddy Ed Dennis) if his role in THE MISFITS was intended to be bigger, since what is there seems a bit truncated, and at the time he was a pretty recognizable name. Oddly enough Kevin made it sound as if what was shot for that film was all there was. He had great recall for his work, and was happy to share stories. I always liked his role as the scared-to-death uncle in TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. Just before I left the show, a photo was delivered to me from Kevin, featuring the classic scene of him pulling the horrifying rabbit out of the hat, with an inscription “This rabbit’s name is Mark!” Kevin McCarthy was a class act, and a fine actor. Hollywood has truly lost a legend.

Here’s a little bit of Kevin’s funny performance as R.J. Fletcher in UHF:

Kevin McCarthy

1914 – 2010

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