Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "Reward to Finder" - 01:35 am Wednesday, April 29 on WJLP MeTV

Oscar Homolka (Actor)

Born: August 12, 1898
Died: January 27, 1978

Trivia: Beetle-browed, heavily-accented Viennese character actor Oscar Homolka graduated from the Royal Dramatic Academy in Vienna before going on to work on the Austrian and German stage, which led him to appear in many German silent and sound films. After Hitler came to power, he moved first to England, then to the U.S. in 1936. In Hollywood films and on Broadway he played imposing character roles, usually scheming or villainous but sometimes humorous or sympathetic. For his portrayal of gruff Uncle Chris in I Remember Mama (1948) he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Because of his coarse, Slavic features, he was frequently cast as heavies in films about foreign intrigue. He returned to England in the mid-'60s, intending to retire; instead, he continued appearing in films, and in 1975 came back to Hollywood to make two made-for-TV movies, One of Our Own and The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond, co-starring his wife, actress Joan Tetzel.

Jo Van Fleet (Actor) .. Anna

Born: December 30, 1919
Died: June 10, 1996

Trivia: A product of New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, Jo Van Fleet launched her career in 1944, specializing in playing women far older than herself. On the strength of her work in the 1954 Broadway play A Trip to Bountiful, she was cast as the slatternly mother of James Dean in the film version of Steinbeck's East of Eden, winning an Academy Award for her performance. Her later screen assignments included the role of an octogenarian in Elia Kazan's Wild River (1960) and the part of Paul Newman's dying mother in Cool Hand Luke (1967). Jo Van Fleet's TV resumé included three appearances on Alfred Hitchcock's anthology series and a virtuoso turn as the title character's wicked stepmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965). Van Fleet passed away in New York's Jamaica Hospital on June 10, 1996; she was 76.

Ann Hunter (Actor) .. Saleslday

Claude Akins (Actor) .. Policeman

Born: May 25, 1926
Died: January 27, 1994

Trivia: Trained at Northwestern University's drama department, onetime salesman Claude Akins was a Broadway actor when he was selected by a Columbia talent scout for a small role in the Oscar-winning From Here to Eternity (1953). With a craggy face and blunt voice that evoked memories of Lon Chaney Jr., Akins was a "natural" for villainous or roughneck roles, but was versatile enough to play parts requiring compassion and humor. A television actor since the "live" days, Akins achieved stardom relatively late in life via such genial adventure series as Movin' On (1974), B.J. and the Bear (1979), The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979) and Legmen (1984). In his last decade, Claude Akins was a busy-and most genial-commercial spokesperson.

Robert Whiteside (Actor) .. Boy

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Reward to Finder

01:35 am - 02:05 am, Wednesday, April 29 on WJLP MeTV (33.1)

Reward to Finder

Season 3, Episode 6