Wesley Addy began his impressive career as a prime player on the classical stage, transitioning to occasional films and TV in the early 1950s. Known for his intelligent, white-collar demeanor and lean, icy, cultivated menace, the silver-haired performer, born in Omaha, Nebraska, was often mistaken as British.
Majoring in economics at the University of California in Los Angeles, Wesley switched gears and trained in summer theater on Martha's Vineyard before pursuing a professional career in New York City. In 1935, he made his Broadway stage debut with Orson Welles in Archibald Macleish's "Panic". He continued with roles as both "Marcellus" and "Fortinbras" in Leslie Howard's production of "Hamlet". Other Shakespearean roles during this early period included "Hotspur" in "Henry IV, Part I", "Benvolio" in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Orsino" in "Twelfth Night". He often performed alongside legendary interpreters such as Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, and Maurice Evans.
World War II interrupted Addy's early momentum, but he eventually returned to the theatre following his tour of duty and played opposite Katharine Cornell in "Antigone" and "Candida". A continued presence on Broadway, he had strong stage roles in "The Traitor", "Another Part of the Forest", "King Lear" and "The Leading Lady".
In 1951, the 38-year-old Addy made his film debut in the drama, "The First Legion", and would be seen from time to time throughout the decade in such dramatic fare as "Scandal Sheet", "My Six Convicts", "Time Table", and films directed by Robert Aldrich, including "Kiss Me Deadly", "The Big Knife", "The Garment Jungle", "Ten Seconds to Hell", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", and "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte".
Never acquiring a strong footing in the movies, Wesley changed his on-camera focus in the 1960s to TV and also sought out theatre roles, as well. In 1961, he married actress Celeste Holm, with whom he proved a strong stage coupling in both comedies and dramas.
A reliable, durable performer, Wesley played suave gents and villains on TV, with a major portion of his work coming from daytime soaps, including "The Edge of Night", "Days of Our Lives", "Ryan's Hope", and "Loving". Later films included "Seconds", "Network", "The Europeans", and "The Verdict". He continued to act close to the end, with his last film role being a judge in "Before and After" (1996),starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson, which was released in the year of his death, at the age of 83.
