American actor, an eternal juvenile who was still youthful looking at 60. He made a Broadway debut in 1931, faking a British accent and introducing himself as Blade Stanhope Conway. When he went to Hollywood, he faked a southern drawl and presented himself as Brice Hutchens, a Texan. He later reclaimed his own name and made films from 1935, including “King’s Row,” “Dial M For Murder” and “How to be Very Popular.” In his 20-year career, Cummings made more than a hundred pictures. On TV into his 70s, his work included the series “My Hero,” 1954 and “The Bob Cummings Show” 1955-1959. In 1954 he won an Emmy for a dramatic role on TV, “Twelve Angry Men.”
He was a health-food and vitamin advocate with a hobby of flying small aircraft. He is the author of a book on nutrition called “How to Stay Young and Vital,” and for a time operated Bob Cummings Inc, which sold vitamins and food supplements. In 1972, the firm was accused by the state attorney general of operating an “endless chain” or pyramid scheme by making its profits from recruiting investors rather than from product sales.
He married five times and had a total of seven kids, three sons and four daughters. His drawn-out divorce from his third wife in 1969 on the grounds of cruelty was highly publicized. She contested the action and it was not until 1970 when California adopted its “no-fault” divorce law that he was able to carry it through. They divided his $700,000 community property. His fifth wife, in August 1989, was a former fan who wrote to him.
While suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Cummings was admitted to the hospital on 18 November 1990 and died of kidney failure and pneumonia on 2 December 1990, Woodland Hills, CA.
Link to Wikipedia biography