Ed Kemmer

{{Infobox person | name = Edward Kemmer | image = Ed Kemmer Space Patrol 1952.jpg | caption = Kemmer in ''Space Patrol'' (1952) | birth_name = Edward William Kemmerer | birth_date = {{birth date|1920|10|29}} | birth_place = Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2004|11|9|1920|10|29|mf=y}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = 1954–1983 | spouse = {{ubl | Elaine Edwards (divorced) | {{marriage|Fran Sharon|1969|2004}} }} | children = 3 }}

'''Ed Kemmer''' ({{ne}} Edward William Kemmerer; October 29, 1920 – November 9, 2004) was an American motion picture and television actor.

==Career== Kemmer was born '''Edward William Kemmerer''' in Reading, Pennsylvania, as Edward William Kemmerer, and served as a fighter pilot with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was shot down over France and spent 11 months in a POW camp.<ref name="sp">{{cite book |last1=Bassior |first1=Jean-Noel |title=Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television |date=2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786491711 |pages=63–75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CxIkCQAAQBAJ&q=%22Edward+William+Kemmerer%22&pg=PA65 |access-date=2 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> He briefly escaped from the camp for two weeks before being recaptured.

Kemmer made his television debut in 1951 and starred as Buzz Corry in the live television science fiction action-drama ''Space Patrol'' (1951-1956).<ref name="etvs">{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=999|edition=2nd}}</ref> Kemmer made his film debut in 1956 (''Behind the High Wall''). He had a starring role as a pilot in the film ''The Hot Angel'' (1958), but his big-screen work was mostly small roles in low-budget B movies such as ''Giant from the Unknown'' (1958). The bulk of Kemmer's work was for the small screen.

After ''Space Patrol'', Kemmer was a guest star in various prime-time television series, including the classic ''Twilight Zone'' episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", in which former space hero Kemmer co-starred with future space hero William Shatner. He also made two guest appearances on ''Perry Mason''. In 1960 he played Roger Porter in "The Case of the Frantic Flyer," and in 1961 he played murder victim Leslie Hall in "The Case of the Pathetic Patient." In 1964 he played a major part in ”The Impostor”, a tense Sutton Roley-directed episode of ''Combat!'' (S3, E10).

Kemmer starred for two years as an American astronaut in the soap opera ''The Clear Horizon,''<ref>{{cite news |title=Phyllis Sees Third Hubby On 'Horizon' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22417007/the_clear_horizon/ |work=Independent Press-Telegram |agency=United Press International |date=August 21, 1960 |location=California, Long Beach |page=70|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = August 1, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> leading to the later phase of his career as a leading player in various daytime drama series, including ''The Edge of Night'' (on which he met his wife, actress Fran Sharon) as Malcolm Thomas, ''The Secret Storm'' as Paul Britton #2, ''As the World Turns'' as attorney Dick Martin, and ''Somerset'' as attorney Ben Grant. He also made appearances as a doctor on ''All My Children''.

In 1962, Kemmer was cast as the historical investigative journalist Henry Morton Stanley in the episode, "The Truth Teller," on the syndicated television Anthology series, ''Death Valley Days'', hosted by Stanley Andrews. The episode is a study of the Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty. Stanley arrives at Fort Larned, Kansas, to assess Hancock's effort to avoid war on the frontier. Charles Carlson filled the role of Wild Bill Hickok, long after Guy Madison played Hickok in a weekly syndicated series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0556889/?ref_=ttep_ep1|title=The Truth Teller on ''Death Valley Days''|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=March 16, 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life== Kemmer was twice married and had three children, Jonathan, Todd, and Kimberly.{{cn|date=December 2025}}

On November 5, 2004, Kemmer suffered a stroke in New York City. He died four days later, aged 84.<ref name="ct">{{cite news |title=Hero of TV's 'Space Patrol' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22418205/ed_kemmer/ |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=The Los Angeles Times |date=November 14, 2004 |location=Illinois, Chicago |page=Section 4–9|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = August 1, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1955|| ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' || Ben Verber || Season 1 Episode 11: "Guilty Witness" |- |1956|| ''Behind the High Wall'' || Charlie Rains || |- |1957|| ''Sierra Stranger'' || Sonny Grover || |- |1957|| ''Maverick'' || Clete Overton || |- |1957|| ''Calypso Joe'' || Lee Darling || |- |1957|| ''Panama Sal'' || Dennis P. Dennis || |- |1958|| ''Giant from the Unknown'' || Wayne Brooks || |- |1958|| ''Too Much, Too Soon'' || Robert Wilcox || |- |1958|| ''Earth vs. the Spider'' || Professor Art Kingman || |- |1958|| ''Hong Kong Confidential'' || Frank Paige || |- |1958|| ''The Hot Angel'' || Chuck Lawson || |- |1958|| ''Official Detective'' || Joe Esposito || Episode: "Loan Companies"<ref>CTVA "The Classic TV Archive"</ref> |- |1959|| ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' || Aben Starr || Episode: ''Reunion for Revenge'' |- |1959|| ''Sleeping Beauty'' || Prince Philip || Performance Model |- |1960|| ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' || Adam Smith / William Davis || Episode: ''The Inheritance'' |- |1960|| ''The Crowded Sky'' || Caesar || |- |1960|| ''Requiem to Massacre'' || Soldier #2 || Two episodes of ''Cheyenne'' entitled ''Gold, Glory and Custer - Requiem'' |- |1961|| ''Perry Mason'' || Leslie Hall || Episode: ''The Case of The Pathetic Patient'' |- |1963|| ''A Gathering of Eagles'' || Pilot || Uncredited |- |1964 |Combat! |Lt. Tracey |Episode: The impostor |- |1965|| ''Mara of the Wilderness'' || First Pilot || |- |1973|| ''Executive Action'' || Reporter || Uncredited |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Ed Kemmer}} {{Portal|Pennsylvania|Los Angeles|California|Film|Television}} *{{IMDb name|0447220|Ed Kemmer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemmer, Ed}} Category:1920 births Category:2004 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Male actors from Reading, Pennsylvania Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American prisoners of war in World War II Category:American World War II fighter pilots Category:Male actors from Los Angeles Category:Military personnel from Pennsylvania Category:Shot-down aviators Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany