[Deathwatch] Harold Russell, actor, 88

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Thursday January 31 7:53 PM ET 

Oscar-Winner Harold Russell Dies
By POLLY ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer 

Harold Russell, who received two Academy Awards (news - web sites) for
his sensitive portrayal of a wounded veteran in ``The Best Years of Our
Lives'' after losing his hands in World War II, has died. He was 88. 

Russell, who rarely acted again but used his celebrity to push for the
rights of the disabled, died of a heart attack Tuesday at a nursing
home in Needham, Mass., his family said Thursday. 

Russell joined the U.S. Army on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the attack
on Pearl Harbor, as an instructor in the parachute corps. 

He was working as an explosives expert in 1944 when a defective fuse
exploded a charge of TNT he was holding as he instructed a demolition
squad at Camp Mackall, N.C. Both hands were amputated. 

Russell, who had hooks to replace his hands, was featured in an Army
documentary, ``Diary of a Sergeant,'' on the rehabilitation of an
amputee. 

Though Russell didn't say a word in the film, producer Sam Goldwyn saw
it and wanted Russell to play Homer Parrish in ``The Best Years of Our
Lives.'' 

The 1946 film won seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best
director for William Wyler and best actor for Fredric March. It also
starred Myrna Loy. The film depicted how WWII veterans coped with the
aftermath of the war and their return to changed families and
community. 

Russell actually received two Oscars (news - web sites) for the film:
one as best supporting actor, and a second, special Oscar for
``bringing aid and comfort to disabled veterans through the medium of
motion pictures.'' 

``It is not what you have lost but what you have left that counts,'' he
wrote in his 1949 autobiography, ``Victory in My Hands.'' It told of
his struggle to recover physically and psychologically from his wounds,
and to use the hooks that replaced his hands. He became so adept in
their use that he liked to joke he could do anything but pick up a
dinner check. 

Russell spent his life working as an advocate for the disabled, helping
establish the veteran's advocacy group AMVETS and creating a consulting
business that helped the handicapped get jobs. He said it was his
life's work to show disabled people that life could still be great, and
he was good-natured about his own handicap. 

``He was a humanitarian,'' his daughter, Adele Russell, said Thursday.
``He dedicated his life to the handicapped. ... (He was) a wonderful
person to everyone he met. He touched everyone in some shape or form.''


Russell made few other movie appearances. His first role after ``The
Best Years of Our Lives'' was 1980's ``Inside Moves.'' He also appeared
in the Vietnam War television series ``China Beach.'' His last film
role was in 1997's ``Dogtown.'' 

In August 1992, Russell sold his supporting-actor Oscar, saying he
needed the money to pay his wife's medical bills and other expenses. An
anonymous buyer paid $60,500, including a 10 percent commission for the
auctioneer, an autograph dealer. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites)
opposed the sale and offered to loan money to Russell. Then-Academy
president Karl Malden said the statuettes ``should not become objects
of mere commerce.'' 

The academy said it was aware of no previous instance in which an Oscar
had been sold by its original recipient at public auction. Several
Oscars have been auctioned since, most posthumously. 

Russell responded: ``I don't know why anybody would be critical. My
wife's health is much more important than sentimental reasons.'' He was
paid $10,000 for his role in the movie and received no residuals. 

``The movie will be here, even if Oscar isn't,'' he said. 

Russell was born in 1914 in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the family later
moved to Cambridge, Mass. He got a business degree from Boston
University after the war. 

His survivors include his daughter; a son, Gerald Russell; four
grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.