Career
His most famous role was as the elderly Juror #9 in the 1957 film 12 Angry Men, the role he originated in a 1954 Westinghouse Studio One live teleplay of which the film was an adaptation. Joseph Sweeney had a successful career as a stage performer. He was in such productions as The Clansmen, George Washington Slept Here, Ladies and Gentlemen, A Slight Case of Murder, Dear Old Darlin’, and Days To Remember.
In the 1940s Sweeney made the switch to television as audiences’ interests changed.
Sweeney returned to the stage in 1953 to portray Giles Corey in Arthur Miller"s "The Crucible"
Sweeney kept acting until his death, appearing in numerous television shows, including at least twelve during the year he died. Sweeney died on November 25, 1963, at the age of 79.