Roderick McDowall was born in London, the son of a Merchant Mariner father and a mother who had always wanted to be in movies. He was enrolled in elocution courses at age five and by ten had appeared in his first film, Murder in the Family, playing Peter Osborne, the younger brother of sisters played by Jessica Tandy and Glynis Johns. His mother brought Roddy and his sister to the US at the beginning of World War II, and he soon got the part of Huw, youngest child in a family of Welsh coal miners, in John Ford's How Green Was My Valley, acting alongside Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara and Donald Crisp in the film that won that year's best film Oscar. He went on to many other child roles, in films like My Friend Flicka and Lassie Come Home until, at age 18, he moved to New York, where he played a long series of successful stage roles, both on Broadway and in such venues as Connecticut's Stratford Festival, where he did Shakespeare. In addition to making many more movies (over 150), McDowell acted in television, developed an extensive collection of movies and Hollywood memorabilia, and published five acclaimed books of his own photography. He died at his Los Angeles home, aged 70, of cancer.


In December of 1998 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) honored him for his acting career and critically acclaimed photography by naming its photo archive after him. The collection, which includes several million negatives and stills, will be known as the Roddy McDowall Photograph Archive at the Margaret Herrick Library. He appeared in three different "Batman" television series: he played the Bookworm in "Batman" (1966) and the Mad Hatter (Dr. Jervis Tetch) in "Batman" (1992) and its spin-off "The New Batman Adventures" (1997). He was a rarity among movie stars in that he appears to have made no enemies at all during his lifetime. A man with numerous friends both in and out of show business, those who knew him continue to speak well of him to this day, and his funeral drew overflow crowds. Won Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "The Fighting Cock." In 1974 the FBI raided his home and seized his collection of films and TV series during an investigation of copyright infringement and movie piracy. The collection consisted of 160 16mm prints and over 1,000 videocassettes. The value of the films was conservatively assessed at $5,005,426 by representatives of the movie industry. The actor was not charged and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. There was then no aftermarket for films, as the commercial video recorder had not been marketed, and studios routinely destroyed old negatives and prints of classic films they felt had no worth. Film buffs like McDowall had to purchase 16mm prints of films from the studios, or movie prints on the black market, or from other collectors. He claimed that he had once had as many as 337 movies in his collection, but at the time of the investigation he was not sure how many were still in his possession. He had bought Errol Flynn's movie collection, and had acquired other films through purchases or swaps. McDowall told the FBI that he had transferred many of his films to videotape in order to conserve space and because tape was longer-lasting than film, and subsequently had sold or traded the prints, plus other prints of movies he had lost interest in, to other collectors. He said that he collected the films due to his love of the cinema and to help protect the movies' heritage. McDowall also said that being in possession of prints of his own films allowed him to study his acting and improve his craft. One of the films he had purchased, from American-International Pictures, was Tam Lin (1970), a movie he himself had directed. He explained that he believed that he was not in violation of copyright, as he was not showing the films for profit, nor trying to make a profit when selling his prints as he charged only what he remembered as the price he himself paid. He believed he had purchased some of the films outright from 20th Century-Fox, but learned subsequently from his lawyer that his agreement with Fox meant the studio retained ownership of the prints, and that he was forbidden to sell, trade or lend them out. McDowall was forthcoming about the individuals he dealt with on the black market, and also named Rock Hudson, Dick Martin and Mel Tormé as other celebrities with film collections. Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 396-398. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Final stage appearance was as Ebenezer Scrooge in the New York City production of "A Christmas Carol" in 1997. He alternated performances with Hal Linden. Life-long friend of Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor has since referred to him as the one friend she had to whom she confided everything, and who was always understanding. Explained in 1995 during an interview for American cable station USA Network the limitations of his make-up on Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Overwhelmed by frustration over the inability to eat, touch his face and the constant itch brought on by the chimpanzee prosthetics, he admitted to crying. He was a close friend of Maureen O'Hara for 57 years, from the time that they made How Green Was My Valley (1941), their first and only film together, until his death in October 1998. He appeared in four of the five "Planet of the Apes" films. Having originally played the chimpanzee archaeologist Cornelius in Planet of the Apes (1968), he was unable to reprise his role in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) as he was directing Tam Lin (1970) in Britain at the time. In that film, the role was played by David Watson. However, he later returned as Cornelius in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and as his son Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). The day after his death, Angela Lansbury paid tribute to him on BBC Radio Five 5: Up all Night. She described him as 'one of the most wonderful friends, anybody could possibly have ... we've lost a beloved friend' and that he will be 'so missed'. Appeared on an episode of The Carol Burnett Show wearing his Planet of the Apes make-up. The look of fright on Carol Burnett's face was reputed to be genuine.