John Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898 - October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School. He initially pondered a law career, but acting won out and he established himself as a musical stage performer. Educated in dramatics at the University of Pittsburgh, where he became a brother of Sigma Chi, Toomey began as a stock actor and eventually on Broadway. Toomey was a singer on stage until throat problems (acute laryngitis) while touring in Europe stopped that aspect of his career. In 1929, Toomey first began appearing in films. He initially started out as a leading man but then found more success as a character actor (sans his toupee.) Toomey appeared in over 180 films and guest starred on dozens of television programs. In 1941, he appeared in You're in the Army Now, in which he and Jane Wyman had the longest screen kiss in cinema history - 3 minutes and 5 seconds. [1]
Selected filmography
- Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
- Meet John Doe (1941)
- They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
- You're in the Army Now (1941)
- Phantom Lady (1944)
- Spellbound (1945)
- The Big Sleep (1946)
- Raw Deal (1948)
- Show Boat (1951 version) (as Sheriff Vallon)
- My Pal Gus (1952) (as Farley Norris)
- The High and the Mighty (1954)
- Guys and Dolls (1955) (as Uncle Arvide Abernathy. In the stage version, Arvide sings one song, More I Cannot Wish You, but the song was dropped from the film)
