Michael Strong(1918-1980)
- Actor
While never one of the big names on screen, Michael Strong was one of
those excellent method actors who were often compelling to watch.
Unsurprisingly, many of Michael's screen characters were typical New
Yorkers, whether they be cops or thugs, and he imbued them with an edgy
'in-your-face' intensity that was all his own. He was already an
established stage actor, both on and off-Broadway, with an extensive
resume to his name long before transferring his talents to the screen.
A graduate of the Actor's Studio, he was also part of the original crew
of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company, performing in key plays by
Arthur Miller,
S.N. Behrman and
Eugene O'Neill. Usually assigned
to playing military types or proletarian firebrands, Michael eventually
came to note as a young burglar in "Detective Story", written and
staged on Broadway by Sidney Kingsley in
1949. Director William Wyler subsequently
brought him to Hollywood to recreate his role for the 1951 motion
picture.
A couple of other good roles Michael later enacted for the big screen were his smarmy used-car salesman Stegman in the thriller Le point de non-retour (1967) and Brigadier General Hobart Carver in the Oscar-winning war drama Patton (1970). For the most part, however, television became Michael's most prolific medium. His furtive looks and nervous demeanor often suggested that his characters had something to hide - and most of them did, particularly those Eastern bloc spy types with names like Malkov and Petrovich. He was at home in just about every major police series of the period, equally adept at NYPD sergeants and contract assassins. Fans of Star Trek (1966) will also remember Michael as the unhinged Dr. Roger Korby who had his consciousness transferred into an android body in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". As tough as some of his characters, Michael continued to act right up until the end.
A couple of other good roles Michael later enacted for the big screen were his smarmy used-car salesman Stegman in the thriller Le point de non-retour (1967) and Brigadier General Hobart Carver in the Oscar-winning war drama Patton (1970). For the most part, however, television became Michael's most prolific medium. His furtive looks and nervous demeanor often suggested that his characters had something to hide - and most of them did, particularly those Eastern bloc spy types with names like Malkov and Petrovich. He was at home in just about every major police series of the period, equally adept at NYPD sergeants and contract assassins. Fans of Star Trek (1966) will also remember Michael as the unhinged Dr. Roger Korby who had his consciousness transferred into an android body in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". As tough as some of his characters, Michael continued to act right up until the end.
