As I progress through life and review the good and the not so good memories that helped shape the person I am today, I’m also reminded of those TV memories that are permanently etched in my mind, for better or for worse.

Some of the earliest television shows I remember watching on my parent’s DuMont “Teleset” include The Mickey Mouse Club, Romper Room, and Captain Kangaroo. The local New York City area kiddie shows also left their memory mark with shows such as The Sandy Becker Show, Officer Joe Bolton, and Captain Jack McCarthy.

My earliest memories of watching The Adventures of Superman date back to when I was about seven years old. In fact, when I was making the move from Connecticut to Cape Cod 10 years ago, I found an envelope I had addressed as a youngster to Superman c/o WABC.

When TAOS first aired in the NYC area, it was carried on WABC (Channel 7). WPIX (Channel 11) would later be the “home” for TAOS and continue to air it for the next 25 years.

Several memories of this show are forever sealed in my mind. The dramatic music, those goofy looking Nash cars, that spooky Alvin Godfrey gassing the streets of “Clifton by the Sea” in his deep sea diver’s suit, the mole people climbing out of the oil well, the rapid demise of flowers as Superman held his hands over them in “Superman In Exile” and Jimmy Olsen’s wide eyed, fearful look as he heard, “Help me…I’m drowning.”      

There is however, one Superman memory that to this day, strikes me as especially unforgettable and spooky and that’s the image of the Great Brockhurst’s smiling face, floating among the night  time clouds intoning, “Here I am Sir Arthur…here I am.” Now, that’s the scary stuff nightmares are made of.

Brockhurst the magician was played skillfully by British actor Leonard Mudie.

Mudie was born Leonard Mudie Cheetham on April 11, 1883 in Manchester, England. His stage debut took place at Manchester’s Gaiety Theater in 1908. This gaunt faced actor starred in several films during the silent era in 1921, but soon left the movie cameras behind, choosing instead to work on Broadway. His Broadway career continued for the next ten years where he became quite an accomplished stage actor appearing in some 25 plays.

In 1931 the lure of the cinema brought Mudie back before the cameras where he would appear in many notable films of the1930’s, but often times only as an unnamed extra. By 1935 he had appeared in thirteen films as a British official, a judge, a doctor, a scientist, or a lawyer. Between 1936 and 1941, Mudie averaged ten movie appearances a year.

Some of his more notable roles included appearances in such classics as The Mummy, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dark Victory, and Lost Horizon. Leonard Mudie even made an uncredited appearance in Winged Victory which also starred an up and coming actor named George Reeves.

As the 1940s drew to a close, Mudie’s movie roles were becoming few and far between as demand for older actors dried up. So he followed the path that many of his peers were taking. He tried his craft in the new medium known as television. In 1950 he made his debut on the NBC-TV program Fireside Theater in an episode titled “Man without a Country.”

Leonard Mudie’s contribution to The Adventures of Superman began in 1953 with the episode titled Drums Of Death, where he played Dr. Leland Masters (“I savvy that drum talk.”).

His next appearance in TAOS was in 1953s A Ghost for Scotland Yard. This was probably his most memorable appearance in this series, where he played a dual role as Rocker and more notably, the demented magician Brockhurst.

Leonard Mudie would go on to star in two more TAOS episodes. The Magic Necklace in 1955 as Professor Jody and the 1956 episode titled The Jolly Rodger as the bumbling character, Captain Blood.

He continued to act occasionally through the remainder of the 1950s and into the mid 60s in both movies and TV. He appeared as Commissioner Andy Barnes in the Bomba, The Jungle Boy movie serials between 1949 and 1955 and even starred with Abbott and Costello in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. His other television credits include Jungle Jim, Sea Hunt, You Are There, and The Untouchables.

Mudie’s last acting role was as the survivor of a crashed spacecraft in the 1966 episode of Star Trek titled, The Cage which aired after his death. He was the oldest actor to ever appear in this series.   

Leonard Mudie died on April 14, 1965 in Hollywood, California from heart disease at the age of 82, leaving behind a lasting legacy captured in over 155 filmed appearances and numerous Broadway shows.