{{short description|American actor (1901–1945)}} {{More citations needed |date=October 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Don Costello | image = Don Costello in Another Thin Man trailer.jpg | image_size = | caption = Costello in ''Another Thin Man'' (1939) | birth_name = Eldon Lawrence Costello | birth_date = {{birth date|1901|09|05}} | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1945|10|25|1901|09|05}} | death_place = Hollywood, California, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1929–1945 | spouse = Louise Maresch (m. ?-1945) (his death)<ref>https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-don-costello/110027624/</ref> | children = | relatives = }}
'''Eldon Lawrence "Don" Costello''' (September 5, 1901 – October 25, 1945) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio.
==Background== Eldon Lawrence Costello was born on September 5, 1901, in New Orleans,<ref>{{cite web |title=Eldon Lawrence Costello |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/287250:6587?tid=&pid=&queryId=de0c9db7b2f294b6892fa05af51865af&_phsrc=Dqh5839&_phstart=successSource |publisher=New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Birth Records Index, 1790–1915 |access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Don Costello |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/1522880:5180?tid=&pid=&queryId=922bd2f850b0ff7dd5286fa75a2bd02e&_phsrc=Dqh5836&_phstart=successSource |publisher=California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997 |access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref> where Jesuit Fathers educated him. His initial plans to study law gave way to his interest in acting.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |title=Don Costello is dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/10/26/archives/don-costello-is-dead-character-actor-had-appeared-in-many-films-in.html |access-date=March 5, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=October 26, 1945 |page=19|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Career== In the mid 1920s, Costello was stage manager for the Wright Players in Louisville, Kentucky.<ref>{{cite news|title=Handsome stage manager of Wright Players, doing his work, plays many parts|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17196904/don_costello/|work=The Courier-Journal|date=March 7, 1926|location=Kentucky, Louisville|page=31|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 5, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> Later in that decade, he acted with the Majestic Players in Elmira, New York.<ref>{{cite news|title=Majestic Play Is Real Drama|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17197107/don_costello/|work=Star-Gazette|date=October 11, 1927|location=New York, Elmira|page=13|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 5, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>
Costello entered films in 1935 and in 1939 was put under contract with MGM. Known for his wicked sense of humor, Costello oftentimes played the role of a menace or a tough guy. He is probably best known for his role as Lefty in the movie ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941). He appeared in 37 movies (31 times credited), including ''Another Thin Man'' (1939), ''Johnny Eager'' (1941) and ''The Blue Dahlia'' (1946).{{Citation needed |date=October 2020}}
==Death== Costello died of an overdose of sleeping tablets on October 25, 1945, at the age of 44. His wife, Louise, found him dead in the bedroom of their home in Sherman Oaks. He had earlier complained of being unable to get to sleep.<ref>{{cite news |title=Don Costello, Film Actor, Found Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110027624/don-costello/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 26, 1945 |page=1|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Broadway roles== * ''Jerry-for-Short'' (1929) - Anthony La Vere * ''The Last Mile'' (1930) - Drake * ''Face the Music'' (1933) - Louis / Mr. O'Ryan * ''The Ghost of Yankee Doodle'' (1937) - Ockleford
==Partial filmography== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''Another Thin Man'' (1939) - 'Diamond Back' Vogel * ''Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President'' (1939) - Fred * ''One Crowded Night'' (1940) - Lefty * ''Wildcat Bus'' (1940) - Sid Casey * ''Sleepers West'' (1941) - Carl Izzard * ''Ride on Vaquero'' (1941) - Redge * ''I'll Wait for You'' (1941) - Police Sergeant Brent * ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941) - Lefty * ''Whistling in the Dark'' (1941) - 'Noose' Green * ''Last of the Duanes'' (1941) - Jim Bland * ''Unholy Partners'' (1941) - Georgie Pelotti * ''Johnny Eager'' (1941) - Billiken * ''Joe Smith, American'' (1942) - Mead * ''Sundown Jim'' (1942) - Dobe Hyde * ''A-Haunting We Will Go'' (1942) - Doc Lake * ''Just Off Broadway'' (1942) - George Dolphin * ''A Night to Remember'' (1942) - Eddie Turner * ''Truck Busters'' (1943) - Anthony 'Tony' Bonetti * ''Air Raid Wardens'' (1943) - Heydrich * ''Crime Doctor'' (1943) - Nick Ferris * ''A Lady Takes a Chance'' (1943) - Drunk * ''Murder on the Waterfront'' (1943) - Gordon Shane - 'The Great Rajah' * ''Texas Masquerade'' (1944) - Ace Maxson * ''Rationing'' (1944) - Ace (uncredited) * ''The Whistler'' (1944) - Lefty Vigran aka Gorss (uncredited) * ''Mystery Man'' (1944) - Bud Trilling * ''Here Come the Co-Eds'' (1945) - Diamond (uncredited) * ''Great Stagecoach Robbery'' (1945) - Jed Quinlan * ''It's in the Bag!'' (1945) - Mickey (uncredited) * ''Nob Hill'' (1945) - Steve, Fighting Bartender (uncredited) * ''Along Came Jones'' (1945) - Leo Gledhill * ''Incendiary Blonde'' (1945) - Gus Vettori (uncredited) * ''Marshal of Laredo'' (1945) - Henchman Pretty Boy Murphy * ''Follow That Woman'' (1945) - Nick * ''The Red Dragon'' (1945) - Charles Masack * ''Crime of the Century'' (1946) - Joe, Bartender * ''The Blue Dahlia'' (1946) - Leo (final film role) {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons}} * {{IMDb name|0182538}} * {{Find a Grave|20290}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Don}} Category:1901 births Category:1945 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Male actors from New Orleans Category:Deaths in Calabria