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Joseph Sweeney
Sweeney in 12 Angry Men, 1957
Born	(1884-07-26)July 26, 1884 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	November 25, 1963(1963-11-25) (aged 79) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1918–1963

Joseph Sweeney (July 26, 1884 – November 25, 1963) was an American actor who worked in stage productions, television and movies principally in the 1950s, often playing grandfatherly roles. His best-known role was as the elderly Juror #9 in the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men, the role he originated in a 1954 Westinghouse Studio One live teleplay of which the film was an adaptation.

Early life

Born in Philadelphia on 26 July 1884, he was raised in a rooming house in the same place with W. C. Fields.

Career

In 1910 he started on an acting career and moved to Broadway, being fully active on-stage and touring throughout the United States. Sweeney debuted on stage in stock theater with a company in Norwich, Connecticut.

He had a successful career as a stage performer in such productions as The Clansmen, George Washington Slept Here, Ladies and Gentlemen, A Slight Case of Murder, Dear Old Darlin, and Days To Remember. In the 1940s, he made the switch to television as audiences' interests changed. He returned to the stage in 1953 to portray Giles Corey in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

In 1949 he was a regular on the CBS series Wesley, and between 1950 and 1960 he appeared in leading and supporting roles and in installments of Lights Out, Kraft Television Theatre, Philco Television Playhouse, Campbell Television Soundstage, Studio One, Producers' Showcase, Playwrights '56, The U.S. Steel Hour, The Defenders, Car 54, Where Are You?, and Dr. Kildare.

His most important performance in television was Twelve Angry Men (1954), by Reginald Rose, who played Juror Mr. McCardle, and later repeated the role in Sidney Lumet film adaption alongside Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Jack Warden. He also played crafty and villainous roles, such as the larcenous former household employee in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) or The Fastest Gun Alive (1956).

Death

Sweeney continued to act until the time of his death on 25 November 1963 at the age of 79, appearing in numerous television shows and programmes that year alone, including at least in more than a dozen during the last year of his life.

Filmography

Television

Films

Notes

1. other sources state 1882.

References

1. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Joseph Sweeney". All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 12 October 2003. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via New York Times.
2. ^ "Biography of Joseph Sweeney". Fandango. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
3. "Joseph Sweeney Finds Joy In Role of Villain". Times Union. New York, Brooklyn. May 6, 1928. p. 28. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. The Crucible, Bantam Book edition, 1959 at page xiii

External links

• Joseph Sweeney at IMDb
• Joseph Sweeney at the Internet Broadway Database
• Joseph Sweeney at Find a Grave

• 1880s births
• 1963 deaths
• American male television actors
• 20th-century American male actors
• Male actors from Philadelphia
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors