Victor Jory was a charming man – tall and handsome, with a magnetic personality and a rich theatrical voice. He always seemed a little larger than life.

The well-known actor played the loathsome Overseer in Gone With The Wind and roles in hundreds of other movie and television roles. His wife, Jean Inness, was known for her appearances in movies such as Rosemary’s Baby and her role as head nurse in the television series, Dr. Kildare. Their son, Jon Jory, was hired in 1969 to revive an ailing theatre in Louisville. In a move to attract new theatergoers, the son persuaded his parents to walk the boards once or twice each season.

During the 1969-70 season, they debuted to great acclaim in Actors Theatre’s railway station home as Big Mama and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. That was followed by Victor’s searing performance as Jeeter Lester in Erskin Caldwell’s Tobacco Road. The following year, he played the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town while Jean played Mrs. Gibbs. The next season – the last in the railway station – Victor showed his considerable comedic talents as Joseph in My Three Angels, followed by a stunning portrayal of Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman, with Jean playing the role of Linda Loman.

Victor began his stage career at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 14. In 1929, he made his New York stage debut at 27 and began his movie career a year later. He spent the next five decades portraying more than 130 film roles – ranging from romantic leads to black-hearted villains. Highlights include a sinister but beautiful Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a vicious Injun Joe in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Helen Keller’s taciturn father in The Miracle Worker. He starred in nine Broadway plays, 11 national tours and guest-starred in such television series as Mannix, The Rockford Files and The Virginian. He also lectured, directed and acted at 22 major universities and in 1980 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Louisville. That year, he was awarded both the National Film Society’s Classic Screen Award and the Western Film Festival’s Golden Award.

Victor and Jean received no special privileges at Actors Theatre. They were paid the same Actors Equity salary as other members of the company and had to pay their own housing and other expenses. But their presence added grace and honor to our stage, and brought people to the theatre in droves. As an acknowledgement of Victor’s contribution to Actors Theatre’s success, an intimate 159-seat theatre – the theatre’s second performing space – was named for him when the complex opened in October 1972. Victor opened the new Main Street complex with a portrayal of Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons. Succeeding performances at Actors Theatre include You Can’t Take It With You, James Tyrone in O’Neill’s A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and tour de force performances in Swan Song, The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia, The Best Man and The Front Page.

On February 11, 1982, two years after performing at Actors Theatre for the last time, Victor died in his sleep at his Malibu home.

— Trish Pugh Jones