Dan Seymour

Dan Seymour (22 February 1915 – 25 May 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including Casablanca, Key Largo, and To Have and Have Not.

Dan Seymour was born Daniel Seymour Katz on February 22, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago and later attended the University of Chicago, graduating with a B.S. degree in Fine Arts.

While attending the University of Chicago, Seymour performed in many school plays and also worked at night as an emcee at various Chicago night clubs. 

In the early 1940s, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue an acting career. His rotund build and imposing stature (265 lbs./120 kgs.) worked to his advantage in securing villain roles in Hollywood. At one point he weighed as much as 344 pounds, though he dropped to 244 lbs. after months of dieting and exercising.

Seymour made his acting debut in 1942, playing the character of "Pete Brogranza" in director Joseph H. Lewis' thriller Bombs Over Burma, starring Anna May Wong, Noel Madison, and Leslie Denison. In the same year, he also appeared in minor uncredited roles in five other films: Casablanca, Road to Morocco, The Talk of the Town, Cairo, and Mug Town.

In 1944, Seymour was cast as Vichy French Captain M. Renard — Humphrey Bogart's opponent — in director Howard Hawks' To Have and Have Not, alongside Walter Brennan and Lauren Bacall.

In 1946, he was seen as "Marsoli" in Austrian-German filmmaker Fritz Lang's film-noir Cloak and Dagger, starring Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer. Lang and Seymour bonded over the fact that Seymour could speak fluent German. They remained friends thereafter and Seymour even became the executor of Lang's estate.

After playing several roles, some uncredited, in a wide variety of films, Seymour was seen in five episodes of the television series Dangerous Assignment (1952) and three episodes of Adventures of Superman (1952-1953)

Also in 1952, he played opposite Raymond Burr and Errol Flynn in Gordon Douglas' Mara Maru. Later, from 1957 to 1965, he appeared in 7 episodes of Perry Mason, which starred Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale; the episodes spanned the entire nine-year run of the popular series. During the first season in 1957, he played "Harry Marlow" in "The Case of the Silent Partner," and in the final season in 1965, he played "Nappy Tyler" in the episode "The Case of the Carefree Coronary." 

In the years 1952-1953, he made three appearances in the TV series Adventures of Superman, with George Reeves and John Hamilton. In the years 1960-1962, he was seen in different characters in four episodes of the TV series The Untouchables.

In 1966, Seymour was seen in the character of "The Maharajah" in episodes 25 and 26 of Batman; he was credited as "Dan Seymore."

He was last seen on the screen in 1978, portraying the character of the proprietor in the "Carnival/The Vaudevillians" episode of the TV series Fantasy Island.

Seymour was married to his wife Evelyn Lois Schwartz from 29 March 1949 until his death on 25 May 1993. They had two children: Jeff, born in 1950, and Greg, born in 1954.

Seymour died on May 25, 1993, two months after suffering a stroke, in Santa Monica, California. He is buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.

• Bombs over Burma (1942) - Pete Brogranza
• Cairo (1942) - Fat Doorman in Cairo Theatre (uncredited)
• The Talk of the Town (1942) - Headwaiter at Nightclub (uncredited)
• Road to Morocco (1942) - Slave-Buyer (uncredited)
• Casablanca (1942) - Abdul (uncredited)
• Mug Town (1942) - Chef (uncredited)
• Tahiti Honey (1943) - Fats
• Rhythm of the Islands (1943) - Native Guard
• Hit the Ice (1943) - Resort Chef (uncredited)
• Tiger Fangs (1943) - Henry Gratz
• Klondike Kate (1943) - Harry - Piano Player
• Kismet (1944) - Fat Turk at the Cafe (uncredited)
• Rainbow Island (1944) - Fat Native Man (uncredited)
• To Have and Have Not (1944) - Capt. M. Renard
• Brazil (1944) - King of the Carnival (uncredited)
• It's in the Bag! (1945) - Fatso (uncredited)
• Guest Wife (1945) - Turkish customer (uncredited)
• The Spanish Main (1945) - Jailer (uncredited)
• Confidential Agent (1945) - Mr. Muckerji
• San Antonio (1945) - Laredo Border Guard (uncredited)
• A Night in Casablanca (1946) - Prefect of Police
• The Searching Wind (1946) - Torrone
• Cloak and Dagger (1946) - Marsoli
• Philo Vance's Gamble (1947) - Jeffrey Connor
• Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) - Dr. Armand
• Slave Girl (1947) - Telek - Tuareg Chieftain
• Intrigue (1947) - Karidian
• Key Largo (1948) - Angel Garcia
• Johnny Belinda (1948) - Pacquet - Storekeeper
• Highway 13 (1948) - Kelleher (uncredited)
• Trail of the Yukon (1949) - Tom Laroux
• Reign of Terror (1949) - Innkeeper (uncredited)
• Young Man with a Horn (1950) - Mike (uncredited)
• Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) - Josef (uncredited)
• Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950) - Charlie Crawford
• Sirocco (1951) - Wealthy Syrian (uncredited)
• The Blue Veil (1951) - Pelt
• Rancho Notorious (1952) - Comanche Paul
• Mara Maru (1952) - Lt. Zuenon
• Glory Alley (1952) - Sal Nichols (The Pig)
• Face to Face (1952) - Drummer ('The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky')
• Tangier Incident (1953) - Police Inspector Rabat
• The System (1953) - Mr. Marty
• Second Chance (1953) - Felipe
• The Big Heat (1953) - Mr. Atkins
• Human Desire (1954) - Duggan - Bartender (uncredited)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) - Josef
• Moonfleet (1955) - Hull
• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) - Greco
• The Buster Keaton Story (1957) - Indian Chief
• Undersea Girl (1957) - Police Lt. Mike Travis
• The Sad Sack (1957) - Arab Chieftain (uncredited)
• Watusi (1959) - Mohamet
• Return of the Fly (1959) - Max Barthold
• Unholy Rollers (1972) - Used Car Dealer
• The Way We Were (1973) - Guest
• Centerfold Girls (1974) - Proprietor
• The Manhandlers (1974) - Vito
• Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) - Psychic