The Times (22/Jun/2007) - Obituary: Teddy Infuhr

(c) The Times (22/Jun/2007)

Obituary: Teddy Infuhr

Child actor who played a small but key role in Hitchcock’s Spellbound

Rarely, if ever, has such a small role in a film been quite as important as that played, as a child, by Teddy Infuhr in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological drama Spellbound (1945). He has no lines and is on screen for only a few seconds — no longer than a typical appearance of Hitchcock himself. But the whole plot hinges on his character.

Gregory Peck plays the central character, John Ballantine, who adopts the identity of a murdered doctor and subsequently becomes principal suspect for the killing. His case is not helped by his inability to remember details from his past.

The film exploits new psychological theories, includes a famous dream sequence created by Salvador Dali and finally traces Peck’s problems to the subconscious repression of childhood memories. He is racked by guilt over a childhood accident in which he killed his brother — played by Infuhr — by knocking him off a wall and impaling him on railings.

It was not a long scene, but one that got Infuhr noticed. By the time he was 20 he had made more than 100 film appearances, ranging from small uncredited parts in such classics as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) to recurring roles in the popular Rusty and Ma and Pa Kettle series.

Born Theodore Edward Infuhr, in St Louis in 1936, he moved with his family to Los Angeles as an infant, was spotted by a talent scout and made his film debut when he was five in the exotic Charles Laughton comedy The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942).

Thereafter there was a steady stream of roles for him. He often played bullies and brats, although he was reputedly one of the few child actors Natalie Wood’s mother considered suitable company for her daughter. They appeared together in the family drama Driftwood (1947).

Other films include The Bishop’s Wife (1947), The Boy with Green Hair (1948) and the biblical drama David and Bathsheba (1951), in which Peck played David and Infuhr was the young prince Jonathan.

After a final appearance in Blackboard Jungle (1955) Infuhr retired from movies and became a chiropractor in Silverlake, near Hollywood, where he practised for 47 years.

Teddy Infuhr, child actor, was born on November 9, 1936. He died on May 12, 2007, aged 70