Sawyer, Joe

Joe Sawyer was born on August 29, 1906 in Guelph , Ontario , Canada . His father was a butcher who died at the age of 24. Joe’s childhood was severe, in the summer for the sake of earning he was sent to work on a farm to his uncle in Saskatchewan ^[1] . As a very young man, Sawyer, dreaming of becoming an actor, moved to California . He graduated from high school in Los Angeles , after which he entered the University of Southern California , where he began to play in various plays and dramas ^[1] .

Sawyer was noticed by the artistic director of the Pasadena Theater Gilmore Brown , who invited the young actor to his theater ^[1] . In this theater, Sawyer played in more than 100 performances, having received serious acting experience ^{[2] [1]} . According to Brown’s recommendation, in 1927 Sawyer went to try his luck on the New York theater stage, however, he played only a few small roles with low pay and returned to Hollywood in 1930 ^[1] .

In 1930, Sawyer made his film debut in the short film "Lovers from the campus." Over the next three years, Sawyer played many small and episodic roles, often without indicating his name in the credits ^[3] . As a rule, Sawyer played small roles as friends of heroes, working together with other novice actors. Among them was John Wayne , who played with Sawyer in two sports films “ The One Who Makes Men ” (1931) and “ Student Trainer ” (1933), after which they became poker and fishing buddies ^[1] . For playing the role of a fighter of the Irish Republican Army in John Ford ’s drama “The Informant ” (1935), Sawyer was widely recognized by both critics and viewers ^[1] .

Until 1935, he appeared in film credits under various variations of his name, and only in 1935 after signing a contract with Warner Bros he began to work under the name Joseph Sawyer ^{[1] [4]} . In the crime drama Archie Mayo's " Petrified Forest " (1936), Sawyer played the role of a well-known gangster's assistant ( Humphrey Bogart ), also earning good criticism ^[1] . Until the late 1930s, Sawyer played in several other crime dramas, including The Cool Guy (1936) with James Cagney , where he was a hired gangster who steals important documents from the government office and then blackmails his employer with these documents. A year later, in the prison drama San Quentin (1937), Sawyer played a recidivist who, together with another prisoner ( Humphrey Bogart ), escapes from prison, but dies in a car accident during the persecution. Having positively assessed the picture, contemporary film historian Hans J. Wollstein noted that “although it contains most of the clichés of prison films”, nevertheless “Bogart, Joe Sawyer and Veda Ann Borg give her a sense of novelty and freshness” ^[5] . In the social drama The Black Legion (1937), Sawyer played one of the leaders of a semi-underground nationalist organization that involves workers in it, including the hero Bogart. Finally, in the prison melodrama “ Crime will not get away with you ” (1939) Sawyer was again a prisoner who, after refusing parole, persuades the inveterate felon to allow him to enter the group of fugitives, but he is killed during the escape. Sawyer also played a small role as a sergeant in the highly successful crime melodrama Roaring Twenties, or the Fate of a Soldier in America (1939), starring Cagney and Bogart ^[6] .

In the 1940s, working under a contract with Hal Roach's studio, Sawyer starred in several 45-minute “in-line” (as Roach called them) films by this producer. In particular, in 1941-43, he played the role of Sergeant Ames in a series of five military comedies with William Tracy (he later repeated his role in two films that Hal Roach Jr. made for Lippert Films in 1951-52) ^{[ 4]} . In 1942–43, also with Roach, Sawyer, along with William Bendix, played in three films of the comedy film series about the misadventures of a pair of Brooklyn taxi drivers ^[4] .

In addition, in the 1940s, Sawyer appeared in small roles in such recognized films as The Bunches of Wrath (1940), The Long Way Home (1940), They Died at Their Posts (1941), and Sergeant York "(1941). Starting in the second half of the 1940s, Sawyer played small roles in several significant noir films. In particular, he was a henchman of the criminal owner of a casino in the Guild (1946), a drunk football player who is trying to look after the heroine in the film Deadline at Dawn (1946) and a detective in theatrical noir Double Life (1947) ^[7] .

In the 1950s and 1960s, the most significant films with Sawyer's participation were the newspaper drama Criminal Stripe in the US Press (1952) with Humphrey Bogart , the science fiction film It Came from Far Space (1953), and the noir film Stanley Kubrick about robbery Murder ”(1956), the comedy western“ North of Alaska ”(1960) and another western,“ How the West was Conquered ”(1962), which was his last movie work. In the last two films, Sawyer personally persuaded his old friend John Wayne to play ^{[1] [8]} .

Since 1952, Sawyer began to work on television. His most memorable work, which earned him the most recognition, was the comic role of the tough but kind sergeant Aloysius “Biff” O'Hara in 96 episodes of the children's television series Western “ The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin ”, which went on the ABC channel from 1954 to 1959 year. The show was very popular, ranking second in terms of the number of viewers on the ABC channel after the Disney Show ^{[1] [4]} .

Sawyer later played guest roles in such popular TV shows as Sugarfoot (1959), Maverick (1959), Peter Gunn (1959), Bet Masterson (1961) and Surfside 6 (1961) ^{[9 ]} .

As many film historians have noted, although Sawyer was from a family of German descent, he nevertheless had a pronounced Irish appearance. He stood out "with a solid massive figure, blond hair, a fleshy face, a protruding chin and bead eyes, which made him an ideal candidate for the role of tough guys." At the same time, he could play both a cop and a gangster, both a coach and a football player, both a thug and an armed accomplice ^{[1] [4]} . Along with the threatening roles, Sawyer also had the opportunity to play comic roles as well, causing a smile ^{[4] [10]} .

Over the course of his 40-year acting career, Sawyer has played in more than 200 films, and has also performed dozens of television shows ^[1] , including starring in five films directed by John Ford and played six times with Humphrey Bogart ^[11] .

After leaving the movie, Sawyer began working as a developer , devoting all his time to this business. In particular, he played a key role in the implementation of several development projects in Southern California, including the construction of a hospital ^[1] .

Sawyer had many interests and hobbies. He was an avid reader and loved to eat. He loved to travel, and after retirement he was able to satisfy his passion. He passionately loved cars, as well as sailing, cigars and shooting. Moreover, he was a workaholic, who sometimes worked from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. ^[1] .

December 22, 1930 Sawyer married Gene Wood, who was the daughter of the famous Hollywood director Sam Wood . However, their marriage ended very quickly, and in 1933 they divorced ^[1] . In 1937, Sawyer remarried June Golden, and they lived together until her death from leukemia in 1960. They had five children, one of whom died at an early age. Sawyer was very upset by the death of his wife, which, in particular, led to his early departure from the cinema. He officially retired in 1960. ^[1]

The last years of his life, Sawyer spent the summer months with his son Riley in Ashland , Oregon . When Sawyer's health began to weaken, he moved to his son for permanent residence. There, Joe Sawyer died on April 21, 1982 from liver cancer at the age of 75 ^{[2] [1]} .

• Joe Sawyer at IMDb
• Joe Sawyer at AllMovie
• Joe Sawyer at Turner Classic Movies