Tony Swartz

Tony Swartz
PerformerTOS
{{{credit}}}
Portrays:	Jolly
Date of Birth:	September 24,1943
Date of Death:	September 27, 2016
Age at Death:	73
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
[ Official Site]
IMDb profile

Tony Swartz (September 24, 1943―September 27, 2016, born Russell Anthony Swartz) is an American actor who portrayed Flight Sergeant Jolly in the Original Series.

Career

Stage career

Born on September 24, 1943, in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa, Swartz graduated from Davenport Central High School as part of the class of 1961. In a 1980 interview given during a tribute to his former a cappella choir director, Milton Anderson, Swartz said Anderson was "the only teacher that ever touched me — taught me to turn around," crediting the choir program for setting him on the path toward a performing career.

Swartz went on to attend Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, before moving to New York to begin studies at New York University. A 1970 wedding announcement additionally noted that he had attended St. Ambrose College in Davenport before completing his degree in theatre at New York University. He took time away from his studies to work as a director with the Actors' Stage company in South Bend, Indiana, and to act with the Yarmouth Summer Theatre on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the Sterling Forest Repertory Theatre in Sterling Forest, New York. According to his 2016 obituary, he ultimately earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from New York University's School of the Arts, and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association.

During his time with Actors' Stage, Swartz appeared in the company's July 1965 production of the medieval mystery play Abraham and Isaac, playing the Voice of God and the doctor, staged together with Eugène Ionesco's Victims of Duty in the Catacombs at Donny's Inferno restaurant in South Bend. The same month, he took three roles in a program of one-act Eugene O'Neill sea plays staged by the company: Slocum in Ile, the captain in Bound East for Cardiff, and Joe, the bartender, in The Long Voyage Home.

After completing his studies at New York University, Swartz went directly to the Guthrie Theatre and its resident company, then billed as the Minnesota Theatre Company, in Minneapolis, where he spent three years. His roles there included parts in Sgt. Musgrave's Dance, Merton of the Movies, She Stoops to Conquer, Arturo Ui, and House of Atrius, and he also worked as an assistant stage manager. His obituary also credits him with stage work with the Tyrone Guthrie Repertory company in Minneapolis, on Broadway and off-Broadway in New York, and at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

In September 1969, Swartz became the new director of the F-M Community Theatre in Fargo, North Dakota, his first director's post after concentrating on acting during his Guthrie years. His debut production for the company was Luv, with tryouts held September 14, 1969, at the Emma K. Herbst Playhouse in Fargo and the show opening October 29, 1969. In May 1971, he directed The Fantasticks as the final production of the theatre's regular season, and also performed in the show as one of the two fathers.

Screen career

By 1979, Swartz was working in Los Angeles and was represented by talent agent Phil Arcara. That year, a Buffalo News profile of Arcara described the agent visiting Swartz, along with fellow Arcara client and Buffalo native Laurette Spang, on the set of Battlestar Galactica shortly after Arcara returned from a ski trip to Aspen, Colorado, during which he sprained his hand.

Tony has appeared in episodes of The Golden Girls, Kojak and The Invisible Man television series, as well as in some television movies, and has worked on a number of documentary and promotional films. In addition to acting, his roles in television and film productions have included working as a location scout, and with the transportation department as a driver. His obituary additionally credits him with an appearance in James Michener's Dynasty, a series regular role as Flight Sergeant Jolly on Battlestar Galactica, and feature film work in Loverboy, Xanadu, and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood.

Behind-the-camera career

In 1989, Swartz relocated with his family to Omaha, Nebraska, and moved behind the camera to work as a producer, director, and editor. His clients in this period included ABC/Tokyo productions and the Americana Television Network, and his credits included television commercials, industrial videos for Paramount Studios' Boy Scout and Cub Scout Home Video Library and for the Union Pacific Railroad, and music videos for Mannheim Steamroller. He also worked behind the scenes on the Omaha-area productions Election and About Schmidt.

Personal life

On June 20, 1970, Swartz married Helen LaVerne Blume at Cando Lutheran Church in Cando, North Dakota. The bride's parents were Mr. and Mrs. Russell Blume of Cando, and the groom's parents were Mr. and Mrs. Russell Swartz of Durant, Iowa. Swartz's brother, Dan Swartz of Durant, served as best man. Following a wedding trip to Europe, the couple settled in Fargo, where Swartz was then employed as managing director of the Fargo-Moorhead theatre. Helen Swartz was a graduate of the University of North Dakota with a bachelor's degree in English, belonged to the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and was employed at the time as an English teacher with the St. Louis Park Public Schools in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Public records place Swartz in West Hollywood, California, as of November 1975, in Los Angeles, California, from 1993 to 1998, and in Durant, Iowa, from 2005 to 2006.

Swartz and Helen remained married for 46 years, until his death on September 27, 2016, in Kansas City, Platte County, Missouri, at age 73, following complications from a lung biopsy performed that May.. He was survived by his wife Helen, his daughter Kathryn, his son-in-law Nick Rees, and his brother Dan Swartz. He was preceded in death by his parents, Russell H. Swartz and Elaine M. (Pickrel) Swartz, and by his sisters, Suzanne Behal and Judie Lester. His obituary described him as an avid reader, a history enthusiast, a fan of The New York Times crossword puzzle, and an accomplished home cook.

References

External Sources

Cast (Original Series)

Cast & Crew

Ian AbercrombieNewell AlexanderAna AliciaKirk AlynMelody AndersonFrank AshmoreRene AssaFred AstaireLew AyresIna BalinDan BartonCarol BaxterEd Begley Jr.Christine BelfordDirk BenedictGeoffrey BinneyCharles BloomLloyd BochnerRay BolgerLloyd BridgesPatti BrooksWilliam BryantDiane L. BurgdorfDavid ByrdKatherine CannonTerry CarterLarry CedarSidney CluteJohn ColicosPaul CoufosCurtis CredelMillicent CrispRex CutterWalt DavisJohn de LancieAnthony De LongisNancy DeCarlSheila WillsJason DonahueJay DonahueJohn DullaghanDick DurockBritt EklandEvolutionRobert FeeroDennis FimpleJohn FinkPaul FixBen FrankTed GehringSandy GimpelBruce GloverDavid GreenanGillian GreeneLorne GreeneLynn HalpernTed HamaguchiKelly HarmonJonathan HarrisRichard HatchNoah HathawayJohn HollandNick HoltMichael HorsleyRance HowardJohn HoytLeann HunleyAlex Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-WhiteMilt JaminHerb Jefferson Jr.Anne JeffreysJunero JenningsMaren JensenChip JohnsonClaude Earl JonesDiane JonesJennifer JosephAudrey LandersJanet LansburyPaul LeClairLance LeGaultAnne LockhartCurt LowensRichard LynchJeff MacKayPeter D. MacLeanPatrick MacneeLarry ManettiAdam MannArlene MartelFrank MarthMurray MathesonDavid MatthauMyrna MatthewsSean McCloryRichard MilhollandRay MillandDenny MillerBob MinorEdward MulhareBrigitte MullerGeorge MurdockRobert MurvinBarry NelsonTed NooseRon NymanDan O'HerlihyRandi OakesCathey PaineFrank ParkerJames R. ParkesJim PeckNehemiah PersoffBrock PetersPaul PlaydonJanet PrescottLogan RamseyMitchell RetaSarah RushEric ServerJane SeymourFelix SillaBrett SomersOlan SouléLaurette Spang-McCookRick SpringfieldJack StaufferPatricia StichAlan StockW. K. StrattonNorman StuartRandy StumpfRichard StylesLiam SullivanTony SwartzKen SwoffordRoy ThinnesGay Thomas-WilsonPaul TinderBobby VanPaula VictorGary VinsonBud WallsLyman WardLennie WeinribRed WestJames Whitmore Jr.John WilliamsJonathan B. WoodwardJohn Zenda

Lists List of Actors that have Played Multiple Roles