John Randolph was a renowned Tony Award-winning character actor whose remarkable career spanned over four decades. Despite being a regular face on screen, he remained a relatively unknown figure outside the entertainment industry.
Born Emanuel Cohen on June 1, 1915, in New York City, Randolph was the son of Jewish immigrants from Romania and Russia. His parents, Dorothy and Louis Cohen, were an insurance agent and a hat manufacturer, respectively. Tragedy struck when his father passed away, and his mother remarried Joseph Lippman, who subsequently renamed him Mortimer.
Randolph's early life was marked by a passion for drama, which led him to study under the esteemed Stella Adler. He adopted the less ethnic moniker "John Randolph" and began his professional training in the 1930s. His military service during World War II took a backseat to his acting career, as he married actress Sarah Cunningham in Chicago in 1945 while performing in Orson Welles's stage production of "Native Son." The couple had two children, Martha and Harrison.
After the war, Randolph became an original member of the Actors Studio and made his film debut with "The Naked City" in 1948. However, his outspoken leftist views and defense of accused figures led to him being blacklisted in the 1950s. He and his wife were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and pleaded the Fifth Amendment, which resulted in Randolph losing many jobs for the next 15 years.
Despite this setback, Randolph continued to find work onstage, primarily in New York. His breakthrough role came in 1966 when director John Frankenheimer cast him in "Seconds," alongside fellow blacklisted actors Will Geer and Jeff Corey. This marked the end of the Hollywood blacklist, and Randolph went on to secure important roles in films such as "Serpico" (1973),"Frances" (1982),"Prizzi's Honor" (1985),and "You've Got Mail" (1998).
Randolph's impressive television career included recurring roles in popular sitcoms and notable performances in TV movies like "The Missiles of October" (1974) and "Lincoln" (1975). He also received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a Communist grandfather in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" in 1987, earning both Tony and Drama Desk awards.
Throughout his life, Randolph remained committed to social and union activism. In the 1980s, he headed the Council of American-Soviet Friendship, a cultural exchange organization. Randolph passed away at the age of 88 due to natural causes, leaving behind a legacy as a dedicated artist and advocate.
