Booth Colman doesn’t really have an instantly recognizable face. And that may be because his most famous role was that of Dr. Zaius in full ape regalia in Planet of the Apes. But Mr. Colman has had a rather lucrative career as a character actor in a slew of over 150 film and TV appearances. Most recently he has twice appeared as a judge in two of the Coen Brothers’ The Man Who Wasn’t There and Intolerable Cruelty.
He also starred in quite a variety of TV shows that I enjoy including Gilligan’s Island, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, and Frasier. But if I were to be honest, I’d have to say that my real interest in Booth Colman was that he was one of Stan Laurel’s nearest and dearest friends in his later years. In fact he was interviewed extensively for John McCabe’s book The Comedy World of Stan Laurel, one of my favorite childhood books. I know…I’m a bit odd.
I had actually met Booth Colman back in 1997 at the Hollywood Collectors Show. That week my friends and I actually spent the night in Stan Laurel’s Oceana Hotel (formerly apartments) room and I recall having a conversation with Mr. Colman about how we would be staying there. He described the apartment as best as he could recall.
So naturally I’ve had his autographed photo for a while, but since he was appearing at the Hollywood Collectors Show on Saturday, October 4, I decided to take the opportunity to finally get a photo with him – and he was kind enough to oblige…for free!
Celebrities of the 2008 Hollywood Collectors Show will continue…
Did you talk with him at all about Stan? I remember chatting with him, and Kathleen Freeman, while we were going over on the Catalina Express for a Sons banquet in Avalon back in 1990.
Randy Skretvedt
March 11th, 2009