Sam Wanamaker

Career timeline

1. 1919 · Born

   Born in Chicago, Illinois, USA

2. 1950 · Screen debut

   Sunday Night Theatre (TV)

3. 1961 · Directing debut

   The Defenders (TV)

4. 1971 · Breakthrough

   Columbo (TV)

5. 1993 · Latest release

   Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (Movie)

6. 1993 · Died

   December 18, 1993

Career in numbers

6 1950s

30 1960s

15 1970s

16 1980s

4 1990s

• Drama44
• Comedy13
• Crime9
• Western8
• Mystery8
• Thriller8

Highest-rated title Columbo 1971 8.1 Most popular title Columbo 1971 8.1

Frequent collaborators

People who appear most often alongside Sam Wanamaker in our catalogue.

Herbert Wise

7 titles together

Stuart Rosenberg

4 titles together

Abner Biberman

3 titles together

Patrick McGoohan

3 titles together

Wayne Maunder

3 titles together

Fielder Cook

3 titles together

Larry Peerce

3 titles together

Tracey Childs

2 titles together

Gina Lollobrigida

2 titles together

Reginald Rose

2 titles together

1. 1993 Bloodlines: Murder in the Family as Gerald Woodman Movie
2. 1991 Pure Luck as Highsmith 5.6 Movie
3. 1991 Guilty by Suspicion as Felix Graff 6.5 Movie
4. 1990 Always Remember I Love You as Grandfather Mendham Movie
5. 1988 Baby Boom as Fritz Curtis TV
6. 1988 Judgment in Berlin as Bernard Hellring Movie
7. 1987 Baby Boom as Fritz Curtis 6.4 Movie
8. 1987 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as David Warfield 4.6 Movie
9. 1987 The Two Mrs. Grenvilles as District Attorney TV
10. 1986 Raw Deal as Luigi Patrovita 5.8 Movie
11. 1985 Deceptions as Jim Nolan Movie
12. 1985 Deceptions as Jim Nolan TV
13. 1985 The Aviator as Bruno Hansen 5.7 Movie
14. 1985 Berrenger's TV
15. 1984 Irreconcilable Differences as David Kessler 5.6 Movie
16. 1982 I Was a Mail Order Bride as Frank Tosconi Movie
17. 1982 American Playhouse as E.I. Lonoff TV
18. 1981 Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years as Bernard Baruch TV
19. 1980 The Competition as Andrew Erskine 6.2 Movie
20. 1980 Private Benjamin as Teddy Benjamin 6.0 Movie
21. 1978 Death on the Nile as Rockford 7.2 Movie
22. 1978 Return of the Saint as Domenico TV
23. 1978 The Billion Dollar Bubble as Stanley Goldblum Movie
24. 1978 Holocaust as Moses Weiss 7.3 TV
25. 1977 Rafferty TV
26. 1977 Billy Jack Goes to Washington as Bailey Movie
27. 1976 Voyage of the Damned as Carl Rosen 6.0 Movie
28. 1976 The Sell Out as Harry Sickles Movie
29. 1967 Danger Route as Lucinda 5.6 Movie
30. 1967 The Day the Fish Came Out as Elias Movie
31. 1967 ITV Playhouse as Armitage TV
32. 1967 Judd, for the Defense TV
33. 1967 Warning Shot as Frank Sanderman 6.4 Movie
34. 1965 The Spy Who Came In from the Cold as Peters 7.1 Movie
35. 1965 Thirty-Minute Theatre as Solomon Ithimar, PhD TV
36. 1965 The Wild Wild West 7.6 TV
37. 1965 Run for Your Life as Major Joe Rankin TV
38. 1965 Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes as George Gruber 6.8 Movie
39. 1964 Man in the Middle as Major Kaufman 6.5 Movie
40. 1963 Espionage as Colonel Sprague TV
41. 1963 The Outer Limits as Dr. Simon Holm 7.8 TV
42. 1962 Taras Bulba as Filipenko 6.3 Movie
43. 1962 Man of the World as Nicola TV
44. 1961 The Defenders as Dr. Ralph Ames TV
45. 1960 Sunday-Night Play as B.F. Halliran TV
46. 1960 The Criminal as Mike Carter 6.5 Movie
47. 1960 Danger Man as Patrick Laurence 7.3 TV
48. 1960 Armchair Mystery Theatre TV
49. 1960 The Battle of the Sexes as Commentary spoken 6.6 Movie
50. 1958 Monitor TV
51. 1956 Armchair Theatre as Copeland TV
52. 1955 Gunsmoke as Asa Longworth 6.7 TV
53. 1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame as Richard TV
54. 1951 Mr. Denning Drives North as Chick Eddowes Movie
55. 1950 Sunday Night Theatre as Pepe TV

1. 1979 Hart to Hart 6.9 TV
2. 1979 Mrs. Columbo TV
3. 1978 David Cassidy: Man Under Cover TV
4. 1978 Return of the Saint TV
5. 1977 Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger 6.6 Movie
6. 1971 Catlow 5.1 Movie
7. 1971 Columbo 8.1 TV
8. 1970 The Executioner Movie
9. 1969 The File of the Golden Goose Movie
10. 1968 The Champions 6.5 TV
11. 1968 Lancer TV
12. 1968 The Legend of Custer Movie
13. 1967 Cimarron Strip TV
14. 1967 Custer TV
15. 1967 Dundee and the Culhane TV
16. 1967 Coronet Blue TV
17. 1966 Hawk TV
18. 1961 The Defenders TV

Quick facts