O.Z. Whitehead

Oothout Zabriskie Whitehead (8 March 1911-29 July 1998)Citation
last = Weinberg
first = Robert
title = Obituary O. Z. Whitehead Actor and writer
periodical = Bahá'í Studies Review
volume = 8
year = 1998
url = http://www.breacais.demon.co.uk/abs/bsr08/851_weinberg_whitehead.htm ] was born in New York City and attended Harvard University. Called "O.Z." or "Zebby", he was a stage star and a prominent character actor who also authored several volumes of biographical sketches of early members of the Bahá'í Faith especially in the West after he pioneered to Dublin Ireland in 1963.

Film, TV, and Theatre actor

Whitehead first appeared on Broadway in Martin Beck Theatre performing in The Lake (1933) in 55 performances from Dec 1933 to Feb 1934 which was Katharine Hepburn's first Broadway leading role and 11 other plays by 1939. [cite web
coauthors = anonymous
title = Theatrical performances of O.Z. Whitehead
work = Theatre
publisher = IMBD
url = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925713/otherworks
accessdate = 2008-04-26]

The Scoundrel(1935) by Ben Hecht, and Charles MacArthur which won a 1936 Oscar for Best Original Story was Whitehead's first film. [cite web
coauthors = anonymous
title = The Scoundrel
work = Movies
publisher = IMBD
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026970/
accessdate = 2008-04-26] Whitehead most famously played Al Joad (Henry Fonda's younger brother) in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath(1940) which was nominated and won several Oscars. [cite web
coauthors = anonymous
title = Grapes of Wrath
work = Movies
publisher = IMBD
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032551/
accessdate = 2008-04-26] Whitehead starred as Clarence in Life with Father with Lillian Gish [cite press release
title = Oscar Serlin presents Clarence Day's Life with Father
publisher = Oscar Serlin
date = 1940-02-15
url = http://www.andreaking.com/LifeWithFatherPage.htm
accessdate = 2008-04-26] among a total of more than 50 films and TV series episodes performances. Whitehead's first TV episode was "The Arrow and the Bow" in Cavalcade of America in 1953 and continued in other shows like Gunsmoke(1958), Bonanza(1960), and two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents(1960-1). Shortly thereafter Whitehead moved to Ireland and particpated in theatre arts there. In 1966 he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Dublin Theatre Festival for his performance in Eugene O'Neill's Hughie, a part he was to reprise at the Peacock until 1989. His final role was as the narrator/Voice in the Irish horrow movie "Biological Maintenance Department" (1997).

Publications

*cite book
last = Whitehead
first = O.Z.
authorlink = O.Z. Whitehead
title = Some Early Bahá'ís of the West
publisher = George Ronald Publisher Ltd
year = 1976
location = Oaklands, Welwyn, UK
pages = 240 pages
url =http://www.grbooks.com/show_book.php?book_id=193
isbn = 9780853980650
*cite book
last = Whitehead
first = O.Z.
authorlink = O.Z. Whitehead
title = Some Bahá'ís to Remember
publisher = George Ronald Publisher Ltd
date = 1983
location = Oaklands, Welwyn, UK
pages = 304 pages
url = http://www.grbooks.com/show_book.php?book_id=192
isbn = 9780853981480
*cite book
last = Whitehead
first = O.Z.
authorlink = O.Z. Whitehead
title = Portraits of some Bahá'í Women
publisher = George Ronald Publisher Ltd
date = 1996
location = Oaklands, Welwyn, UK
pages = 184 pages
url = http://www.grbooks.com/show_book.php?book_id=152
isbn = 9780853984030

Personal life

As a child he was fascinated by films and the theatre and decided to make his career as an actor. After years in stage, film and television Whitehead struggled in the Hollywood Studio system and became dissatisfied with the roles he was given access to and then first heard of the Bahá'í Faith in 1949. At his first informational meeting on the religion, Whitehead heard well known researcher Marzieh Gail. Whitehead joined the religion in the early 1950's, went on pilgrimage to Haifa in 1955, and attended the first Bahá'í World Congress in 1963 in London. He then pionnered to Ireland while also taking to the Dublin theatrical opportunities. Whitehead was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Dublin and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Republic of Ireland on which he served for 15 years following its formation in 1972. From about 1973 through the end of his life Whitehead devoted much of his time to the concerns of the Bahá'í Faith including work resulting in publishing three books while in his 6th decade but he also supported the Irish Actors Equity and the Screen Actor's Guild and served on the executive of the Irish branch of PEN, the international writers' club.

References