Very Well Dunn

Posted by medusamorlock on August 31, 2007

The Incredible Michael Dunn in Ship of Fools Today I pause to remember one of my all-time favorite performers, an incredible actor who died thirty-four years ago yesterday, August 30, 1973. Michael Dunn was not only an amazing actor, but he was a certified genius (his IQ hovered around 180), a talented singer, a writer, a sculptor, and so many more things. It was a terrible loss to the entertainment world when he died at the age of only 39, the victim of the overwhelming physical stresses and illnesses resulting from Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, the condition that led to his dwarfism.

Born in Michigan to parents who doted on their brilliant, charming but severely physically challenged son, Michael Dunn – real name Gary Miller – was encouraged by his family to do anything that anyone else might do, and he went well beyond that. He graduated high school early, entered college, excelled, and went to New York to begin a career as an actor. His biggest success there was his acclaimed run in Edward Albee’s Ballad of the Sad Café, for which he received a Tony Nomination as Best Actor.

It was in New York that he also began a career as a professional singer, teaming up with actress/singer Phoebe Dorin in a duo act that was hatched from impromptu performances held outdoors on the street, and graduated into a series of smash performances in hip nightclubs that were the talk of the town. He was also profiled in Life Magazine around this time, in a piece with Michael Dunn in Ship of Fools, 1965 photographs by Roddy McDowall, who was an early fan of Dunn and Dorin and encouraged their act.

After some TV guest star roles, Michael achieved big screen fame with his role in director Stanley Kramer’s 1965 film of Katherine Anne Porter’s novel Ship of Fools. His role is key: Carl Glocken, the narrator/Greek Chorus of the film who sets the stage for the journey of a diverse group of passengers on their way to Germany just before Hitler’s rise to power. Michael Dunn’s delightful, sly Dr. Loveless Wanted Poster from The Wild Wild West and intelligent portrayal earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor (though he lost to Martin Balsam).

That same year Dunn would begin a recurring role on TV that would ensure his entertainment immortality. CBS’ new western-era spy adventure series The Wild Wild West brought him in to play arch villain Dr. Miguelito Loveless, surely one of television’s most memorable characters of all time, brought to brilliant life by Dunn. In nine appearances over the series’ four year run, Michael Dunn fashioned a lovable bad guy, an eccentric genius with a vendetta against Dunn and Dorin singing on TWWW humanity, a hilarious wicked laugh, a grudging respect for Agent James West and a soft side that came out when he sang duets with his frequent co-star Phoebe Dorin, his real-life NYC singing partner. Michael Dunn is synonymous with The Wild Wild West, and with the series now out on DVD, his brilliant episodes — universally considered the best of the series – are easily viewed and appreciated.

Captain Kirk and Michael Dunn on Star Trek TOS As if appearing in one classic TV series wasn’t enough, he’s also in the TV Hall of Fame for his charming performance on a fairly bizarre third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. Dunn rises far, far above the material and delivers a heartfelt and moving performance as Alexander, the put-upon servant of psychokinetically-enhanced bullies who get their eventual comeuppance thanks to Captain Kirk. He also made memorable appearances on Bonanza (a particularly sweet performance which was virtually duplicated when Michael Landon was later making Little House on the Prairie, only this time Michael Dunn Obituary, 1973 starring Billy Barty) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as a mad murderous clown. He also appeared in the pilot episode of another TV classic, Get Smart.

Clearly Dunn’s physical reality limited the choice of roles he was given, but there was no doubt that he could have done anything, had he been given the chance. Unfortunately, his early death robbed us of so many brilliant roles we would never get to see him play. We are lucky, though, that many of Michael Dunn’s most fascinating performances are available for us to enjoy today, and I highly recommend that you seek out his movies and especially his episodes of The Wild Wild West. We have been too long without him, and yet, he really isn’t gone at all.

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9 Responses Very Well Dunn

Posted By Stoogey : August 31, 2007 12:31 pm

Excellent tribute — and thanks for helping me put a name with the face. He really did make an impression in all his work.

Posted By Rick J : August 31, 2007 5:14 pm

Thanks for the tribute. Mr. Dunn help make the "Wild, Wild West" one of the best, and maybe the only one of its kind. His performance in "Ship of Fools" was fantastic. I have not forgotten him, and am glad to see that I am not the only one.

Posted By YancySkancy : August 31, 2007 5:22 pm

Shouldn't that be 1973? He was indeed an amazing individual. Got to get off my butt and see Ship of Fools sometimes.

Posted By RHS : August 31, 2007 5:46 pm

Boy, could an obit headline be any more punishing? Thanks for the backstory, Medusa. I never knew about Dunn's cabaret singing. Wish I could have caught that act… although I did often see TWIN PEAKS/CARNIVALE's Michael Anderson busking in New York City in the 1980s.

Posted By Medusa : August 31, 2007 8:50 pm

Indeed, how could anyone not love that extraordinary face of Michael Dunn? I neglected to specially point out what a wonderful speaking voice he had, too. Just the way he said "Mister West" when addressing Agent James West on TWWW was brilliant.YancySkancy, thanks for catching that typo! It is indeed supposed to be 1973, and I've corrected it in the entry. Thanks again!And at least they called him a star, RHS, though boy, wouldn't he have hated that headline? I cut that obit from the newspaper at the time of his death and put it into my Star Trek scrapbook, and have safeguarded it ever since — which gives you an idea of what a packrack I am! It is great to see that Michael has fans everywhere!

Posted By Tim : November 3, 2007 3:10 am

What a fun site. Thanks for all the great comments about Michael. I'm Michael's Cousin and we lived next door to him growing up. Michael was not only a great actor but he was also a great cousin…

Posted By Rosetta C. Johnson : March 16, 2009 12:56 pm

Because rock music did not get any radio play time, roadside cafes like the cafe racer became the place to congregate with your motorcycle, listen to the new music, and hang out. From this venue, the biker clubs and cafe racing culture were born.

Posted By the listener : June 17, 2010 12:48 pm

Read Michael Dunn’s new biography! It is titled: The Big Life of a Little Man, Michael Dunn Remembered. The following was in a recent newspaper and it tells where to get it, etc. Very interesting!

Wild Wild West’s James T. West and Dr. Miguelito Loveless Revisited

Wild Wild West was one of the most popular TV series in the late 1960s and is one of those classic kind of shows that seem to live on. It is a mixture of western, “James Bond”, and science fiction, and is available on DVD while still shown on some cable stations. The shows heroes were United States secret service agents, James T. West, played by Robert Conrad, and, Artemus Gordon, played by the late Ross Martin. One special recurring villain, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, played by the talented Michael Dunn, always managed to escape at the end of each episode and was brought back ten different times to the delight of faithful viewers.
Author Sherry Kelly’s third book, The Big Life of a Little Man, Michael Dunn Remembered is the “can’t put down” biography of the late Michael Dunn, who just happened to be her first cousin. It tells the intriguing and poignant life story of a fascinating man from before he was born until after his mysterious death in London while making a movie. It is the story of his family’s abounding love and relates how they dealt with his dwarfism his entire life.
Recently, Kelly was an invited guest on Robert Conrad’s radio program on CRN Talk Radio out of Sunland, California. Mr. Conrad reminisced about Dunn who often stayed in his home while filming Wild Wild West. Conrad also related fond memories of Dunn refereeing football games between teams made up of actors from different studios who played against each other every Saturday. Kelly introduced The Big Life of a Little Man, Michael Dunn Remembered to Conrad and his international radio listeners and announced that the book is available from Tate Publishing 1-888-361-9473, amazon.com, or wherever books are sold.
Kelly’s other works include A Cat Named Zooby, a delightful true story for ages 8 to 108, and, Your New Baby’s Instruction Book, for parents of newborns – now babies can come with instructions!

Posted By Medusa : June 18, 2010 6:49 pm

Hi The Listener!

Thanks so much for posting the info about the new Michael Dunn biography. It’s the first I’ve heard of it, and of course I’m going to get it as soon as possible! Sounds like the author did a great job and again, many thanks for bringing it to our attention!

I’m glad that these Morlock posts stay around for fans to find and addend! Much appreciated!

-Medusa

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