Val Avery

Sebouh Der Abrahamian (July 14, 1924 – December 12, 2009), known professionally as Val Avery, was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television episodes.[1]

Val Avery
Val Avery in the TV-series Bonanza, episode "Breed of Violence", 1960
Born	Sebouh Der Abrahamian (1924-07-14)July 14, 1924 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	December 12, 2009(2009-12-12) (aged 85) Greenwich Village, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–2004
Spouse(s)	Margot Stevenson ​ ( m. 1953; his death 2009)
Children	Margot Avery

Early life

Avery was born in Philadelphia to Armenian parents Megerdich and Arousiag Der Abrahamian. His father was from Sebastia and moved to America in 1907. During the Armenian Genocide, his grandfather Bedros Der Abrahamian, a priest at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Sebastia, was murdered.[1] In his early years he acted in plays with the Armenian Youth Federation. After serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, he attended the Bessie V. Hicks School of Drama in Philadelphia.[2]

Career

Avery was frequently cast as tough or low-class types, such as policemen, thugs, mobsters, bartenders, and blue-collar workers.[3]

He had television roles in The Twilight Zone episode "The Night of the Meek" (1960)[4] and the Columbo episodes "A Friend in Deed" (1974), "Dead Weight" (1971), "The Most Crucial Game" (1972), and "Identity Crisis" (1975).[3] Avery's other television appearances include The Untouchables, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, The Asphalt Jungle, Mission: Impossible, Daniel Boone, The Munsters, Mannix, The Odd Couple, Kojak, Quincy, M.E., Friday the 13th: The Series, Cannon and Law & Order.[1]

Avery made his film debut with an uncredited role in The Harder They Fall (1956), the last film of Humphrey Bogart. Avery appeared in five John Cassavetes films: Too Late Blues (1961), Faces (1968), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), and Gloria (1980).[3] His many film credits also include The Long, Hot Summer (1958), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), Hud (1963), Papillon (1973), The Wanderers (1979), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Cobra (1986), and Donnie Brasco (1997).[3]

On Broadway, Avery appeared in a successful 1969-70 revival of The Front Page.[5]

Personal life

Val Avery and actress Margot Stevenson were married from 1953 until his death. Their daughter, Margot Avery, is also an actress.[1]

Death

Avery died on December 12, 2009 at age 85 in his Greenwich Village home.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	The Harder They Fall	Frank	Uncredited
1957	Edge of the City	Brother
1958	The Long, Hot Summer	Wilk	Uncredited
1958	King Creole	Ralph	Uncredited
1959	Last Train from Gun Hill	Steve, Horseshoe Bartender
1960	The Magnificent Seven	Henry
1961	Too Late Blues	Milt Frielobe
1962	Requiem for a Heavyweight	Young fighter's promoter
1963	Hud	Jose
1963	Love with the Proper Stranger	Stein	Uncredited
1965	Sylvia	Pudgey Smith	Uncredited
1965	The Hallelujah Trail	Denver bartender
1965	Satan's Bed
1966	Wild Wild Winter	Fox
1966	Nevada Smith	Buck Mason
1966	Assault on a Queen	Trench
1967	Hombre	Delgado
1968	Faces	Jim McCarthy
1968	No Way to Treat a Lady	Bartender	Uncredited
1968	The Pink Jungle	Rodriguez
1968	The Brotherhood	Jake Rotherman
1969	Machine Gun McCain	Chuck Regan
1969	A Dream of Kings	Fatsas
1970	The Traveling Executioner	Jake
1971	Vanishing Point	Police Officer	Uncredited
1971	The Anderson Tapes	Rocco "Socks" Parelli
1971	Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!	The Marshal
1971	Minnie and Moskowitz	Zelmo Swift
1972	The Legend of Hillbilly John	Cobart
1973	Black Caesar	Cardoza
1973	Papillon	Pascal
1973	The Laughing Policeman	Insp. John Pappas
1975	Russian Roulette	Rudolph Henke
1975	Let's Do It Again	Lt. Bottomley
1975	Lucky Lady	Dolph
1976	The Killing of a Chinese Bookie	Blair Benoit
1976	Harry and Walter Go to New York	Chatsworth
1977	Heroes	Bus Driver
1978	Up in Smoke	The Hoods: Factory Boss
1979	Love and Bullets	Caruso
1979	The Wanderers	Mr. Sharp
1979	The Amityville Horror	Sgt. Gionfriddo
1980	Brubaker	Wendel
1980	Gloria	Sill
1981	The Chosen	Teacher
1981	Continental Divide	Yablonowitz
1981	Choices	Coach Rizzo
1981	Sharky's Machine	Man with Siakwan
1982	Assignment Berlin	Talaat Pasha
1982	Jinxed!	Milt Hawkins
1983	The Sting II	O'Malley
1983	Easy Money	Louie the Bartender
1984	The Pope of Greenwich Village	Nunzi
1985	Too Scared to Scream	Dr. Richards
1986	Cobra	Chief Halliwell
1986	The Messenger	Clark
1997	Donnie Brasco	Trafficante
1999	A Fish in the Bathtub	Abe
2001	In the Shadows	Carlo Pierazzi
2004	Blueberry	Judge

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	Lux Video Theatre	Hank	Episode: "One for the Road"
1954–1956	The Big Story	Informer	2 episodes
1955	Robert Montgomery Presents	Philip Reilly (The Tall Dark Man)	Episode: "The Tall Dark Man"
1956–1958	Kraft Television Theatre	John Hardy / Mauck	2 episodes
1956–1958	Playhouse 90	Bartender	2 episodes
1956–1961	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Uncle Steve / Joe Varetti / Napol / Ronald Levesque / Gino Dovelli	9 episodes
1957	There Shall Be No Night	Gus Shuman	Television film
1957	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	Carson	Episode: "Proud Woman"
1957–1969	Gunsmoke	Bull Anders / Trent / Dorner / Joe Nadler	4 episodes
1958	The Investigator		2 episodes
1959	The Lineup		Episode: "The Frederick Freemont Case"
1959	Border Patrol	Waxey Walters	Episode: "In a Deadly Fashion"
1959	Peter Gunn	Hoodlum	Episode: "Protection"
1959	Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Sheriff Jenkins	Episode: "Goodbye, Al"
1959	Johnny Staccato	Corky Lewis	Episode: "Viva, Paco!"
1959	The Lawless Years	Bobo Koening	Episode: "The Billy Boy 'Rockabye' Creel Story"
1959	The Play of the Week	Police Chief	Episode: "The Power and the Glory"
1960	Cradle Song	The Driver	Television film
1960	The Untouchables	Frank Salinas / Johnny the Enforcer	2 episodes
1960	Bonanza	Sheriff Trev Kincaid	Episode: "Breed of Violence"
1960	Hong Kong	Michael Fortune	Episode: "The Turncoat"
1960	The Twilight Zone	The Bartender	Episode: "The Night of the Meek"
1961	Tales of Wells Fargo	Frank 'Bully' Armstrong	Episode: "Town Against a Man"
1961	Have Gun – Will Travel	Banker B.J. Throckton	Episode: "The Gold Bar"
1961	Rawhide	Sheriff	Episode: "Incident of the Blackstorms"
1961	The Asphalt Jungle	The Big Fellow	Episode: "The Dark Night"
1961	The Power and the Glory		Television film
1961	The Investigators	Phil Bledsoe	Episode: "Something for Charity"
1961–1963	The Defenders	Strafaci / Mac Peters / D.A. Anthony Periko	3 episodes
1962	The Everglades	Pops / Harry Conlin	2 episodes
1963	Naked City	Franko	Episode: "Beyond This Place There Be Dragons"
1963	The Doctors and the Nurses	Charman Tompkins	Episode: "Strike"
1963–1964	East Side/West Side	Lt. Al Costello / Det. Al Costello	5 episodes
1964	The Reporter	Pete Krenek	Episode: "How Much for a Prince?"
1964	Mr. Broadway	Detective	Episode: "Smelling Like a Rose"
1964–1965	The Munsters	The Commissar / Marty	2 episodes
1965	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Sergeant / Colonel Velasquez	3 episodes
1965	Slattery's People	Lou Teller	Episode: "Question: Does Nero Still at Ringside Sit?"
1965	Peyton Place	Boudreau	Episode: #1.81
1965	Daniel Boone	Watowah	Episode: "The Old Man and the Cave"
1965	Get Smart	KAOS Agent #1	Episode: "Now You See Him, Now You Don't"
1965	Honey West	Roger	Episode: "A Neat Little Package"
1965–1967	The Fugitive	Jim Ross / Gordie Shiller / Jerry Kulik / Burns	4 episodes
1966	The Virginian	Jim Sunderland	Episode: "Harvest of Strangers"
1966	Run for Your Life	2nd Man	Episode: "Night Train from Chicago"
1966	Felony Squad	Gene Hardy	Episode: "Strike Out"
1966	I Spy	Josef	Episode: "Will the Real Good Guys Please Stand Up?"
1966	Laredo	Sheriff Jonathan Daniels	Episode: "Road to San Remo"
1966	The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones	Morgan	Television film
1966–1967	The Wild Wild West	Brad Logan / John Crane	2 episodes
1966–1974	The F.B.I.	Max Horton / Tony Hendricks / Carn / Roy Sumner	4 episodes
1967	Dragnet 1967	Phil Masturian	Episode: "The Big Explosion"
1967	The Invaders	Manager	Episode: "The Mutation"
1967	Iron Horse	Grimes	Episode: "The Passenger"
1967	Mr. Terrific	Leo	Episode: "Stanley the Track Star"
1967	CBS Playhouse	McDermott	Episode: "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
1968	Lancer	Wade Hackett	Episode: "Julie"
1968	Judd, for the Defense	John Rowan	Episode: "A Swim with Sharks"
1968	N.Y.P.D.		Episode: "The Love Hustle"
1968–1971	The Mod Squad	Briggs / Turk	2 episodes
1968–1972	Mission: Impossible	Augie Leitch / Frank Brady / Constantine Victor / Al Ross	4 episodes
1969	My Friend Tony		Episode: "Let George Do It"
1970	Dan August	Ranch Foreman Russ Carter	Episode: "The Murder of a Small Town"
1970	The Name of the Game	Mike	Episode: "Cynthia Is Alive and Living in Avalon"
1970	The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	Lt. Aram Makarian	Episode: "Panther in a Cage"
1970–1974	Mannix	Vanaman / Doyle / Mel Cooley / Harry Ruxton	4 episodes
1971	A Tattered Web	Sgt. Harry Barnes	Television film
1971	Monty Nash	Luis Perez / Man	2 episodes
1971	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	Victor Corso	Episode: "The Convicts"
1971–1972	McCloud	Walter McKay / Gruber	2 episodes
1971–1975	Columbo	Louie / Artie Jessup / Ralph Dobbs / Harry Barnes	4 episodes
1972	Nichols	Jasper	2 episodes
1972–1973	Ironside	McKay / Arnie Hummel	2 episodes
1972–1974	Cannon	Leo Crothers / Pawnshop Owner	2 episodes
1973	Firehouse	Sonny Caputo	Television film
1973	Madigan	Augie	Episode: "The Park Avenue Beat"
1973	Shaft	Captain Rigano	Episode: "The Killing"
1973	Blood Sport	Frank Dorsdale	Television film
1973	The Odd Couple	Elmo	Episode: "A Barnacle Adventure"
1973–1974	Barnaby Jones	Andy Burns	4 episodes
1973–1974	Police Story	Sgt. Mahler / Steve	2 episodes
1974	Kojak	George Janis	Episode: "Marker to a Dead Bookie"
1975	Archer	Joe Mengers	Episode: "Blood Money"
1975	The Law	Ouspensky	Television miniseries
1975	McCoy	Turk	Episode: "Double Take"
1976–1977	Baretta	Ray Carmona / Pogo	2 episodes
1976–1978	Switch	Rosie Finniston / Irving Munn	2 episodes
1977	Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?	Chuck Voit	Television film
1977	Starsky & Hutch	Capt. Ryan	Episode: "Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty"
1977	The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	Tracy / Skipper	2 episodes
1977	Man from Atlantis	Lew	Episode: "C.W. Hyde"
1977–1981	Quincy, M.E.	Rawley Dinehart / Aaron Zakarian / Carlo Russo	4 episodes
1981	The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo	Bearded Man in Suit	Episode: "What're Girls Like You Doing in a Bank Like This?"
1984	The Streets	Whitcomb	Television film
1984	Hardcastle and McCormick	Willie Lerner	Episode: "It Coulda Been Worse, She Coulda Been a Welder"
1985	Out of the Darkness	Guido Pressano	Television film
1986	Courage	Pete Solto	Television film
1987	Cagney & Lacey	Rekubian	Episode: "Favors"
1988	Friday the 13th: The Series	Russ Sharko	Episode: "Badge of Honor"
1989	Men	Burt	Episode: "Cupid Ms...Takes"
1989	Moonlighting	Mr. Viola	Episode: "In 'N Outlaws"
1989	Hunter	Ray Sullivan	Episode: "Ring of Honor"
1991–1996	Law & Order	Max Schaeffer / Dan Magadan Sr.	2 episodes
1992	Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story	Salerno	Television film
1992	Counterstrike	Morey Lempke	Episode: "No Honour Among Thieves"
1992	Secret Service	Moe	Episode: "It's in the Mail/Counterfeit Murder"
1992	Civil Wars	Sol Lobell	Episode: "The Old Man and the 'C'"
1994	Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker	General William T. Sherman	Television film
1997	Gold Coast	Jimmy Capp	Television film
2001	100 Centre Street	Sal Gentle	Episode: "Queenie and Joe"

References

1. Vartabedian, Tom (January 15, 2010). "Val Avery Remembered As Actor Personified". Asbarez. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
2. Grimes, William (December 15, 2009). "Val Avery, Tough-Guy Actor in Movies, Is Dead at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
3. Vallance, Tom (February 11, 2010). "Val Avery: Character actor best known for his work with John Cassavetes". The Independent. London. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
4. Rubin, Steve (July 14, 2018). "July 14 in Twilight Zone History: Remembering actor Val Avery ('Night of the Meek') on the anniversary of his birth". Syfy Wire. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
5. "Val Avery". Playbill. Retrieved July 24, 2020.

External links

• Val Avery on IMDb 
• Val Avery at AllMovie
• Val Avery at the Internet Broadway Database
• Val Avery at the Internet Off-Broadway Database