Jack Reitzen

Jack Reitzen
Reitzen in Lock Up, 1961
Born(1924-05-27)May 27, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 13, 1998(1998-06-13) (aged 74)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
OccupationsFilm, stage and television actor

Jack Reitzen (May 27, 1924 – June 13, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor. He was best known for playing Chopstick Joe in the American adventure television series Terry and the Pirates.

Life and career

Reitzen was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his stage career in the 1940s, and in 1945, he played a philanthropist in the stage play The Drunkard at the Theater Mart in California. He then began his screen career in 1947, appearing in the film Slave Girl. In 1948, he starred as Norton Benedict in the film Appointment with Murder, starring along with John Calvert, Catherine Craig and Lyle Talbot.

Later in his career, in 1953, Reitzen starred as Chopstick Joe in the syndicated adventure television series Terry and the Pirates, starring along with John Baer, William Tracy, Sandra Spence and Gloria Saunders. He guest-starred in television programs including Gunsmoke, Tombstone Territory, Bat Masterson, The Court of Last Resort, The Sheriff of Cochise, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Untouchables and Cimarron City, and played the recurring role of Flores in the syndicated crime drama television series Not for Hire. He also appeared in films such as Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl, Female on the Beach, Untamed Mistress, Sword of Venus, Mask of the Dragon, Too Much, Too Soon, The Argyle Secrets and One Too Many.

Reitzen retired from acting in 1965, last appearing in the NBC spy television series I Spy.

Death

Reitzen died of natural causes on June 13, 1998, in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 74.

References

  1. ↑ Erickson, Hal (October 9, 2024). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987. McFarland. p. 45. ISBN 9781476613819 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Varied Routine Keeps Him Busy". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. August 19, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved October 31, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  3. ↑ "Dieting Unsuccessful For "Drunkard" Couple". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. September 6, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved October 31, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  4. ↑ "Appointment with Murder (1948)". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 31, 2026.
  5. ↑ Cox, Jim (June 14, 2015). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 252. ISBN 9781476612270 – via Google Books.
  6. 1 2 Lentz, Harris (July 1999). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1998. McFarland. p. 190. ISBN 9780786407484 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Offstage". The Register. Santa Ana, California. February 23, 1966. p. 69. Retrieved October 31, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Jack Reitzen List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved October 31, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Jack L. Reitzen". Santa Maria Times. Santa Maria, California. June 16, 1998. p. 5. Retrieved October 31, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon