Bill Erwin

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William Lindsey Erwin , known as Bill Erwin , (born December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove , Texas , † December 29, 2010 in Studio City near Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor .

Life

Erwin was born in Texas and first attended San Angelo College . He then studied at the University of Texas at Austin . There he obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1935 .

He then completed an acting training at the Pasadena Playhouse , where he graduated in 1941 with a master's degree as a Master of Theater Arts . He began his acting career in 1940 at the Pasadena Playhouse Theater , the Laguna Beach Playhouse in Laguna Beach and the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla . During World War II , he served as a captain in the United States Army Air Forces . After retiring from the military, he returned to Hollywood to resume his acting career.

He had his first film role in 1942 in the comedy Horrors of the Second Company , on the side of Phil Silvers . By the end of the 1950s, there were regular, sometimes tiny, supporting roles in other Hollywood films, including Die bronzene Göttin (1948), Kesselschlacht (1949), The Man of Del Rio (1956), The Night Runner (1957) and Faust des Satan's (1958). His repertoire included officers, doctors, bank tellers, bartenders and clerks; often Erwin was not even mentioned in the credits. In the late 1950s he was seen in the thriller The Cry Baby Killer (1958) in the role of Mr. Wallace as the father of Jack Nicholson , who had his first leading role in this film. Of his other film roles, his role as the lovable and venerable old hotel employee Arthur Biehl in the romantic fantasy drama A Deadly Dream (1980), in which he played together with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve , remained. He worked several times with the director, screenwriter and producer John Hughes , who used him in supporting and guest roles, often with Billie Bird as his wife, among others in A Ticket for Two , She's having a Baby , Kevin - Alone at Home and Dennis . In the cartoon In a Land Before Time , he took over the speaking role of grandfather in 1988.

Since the early 1950s, Erwin worked mainly for television . He has taken on episode roles in almost countless television series, including Highway Patrol , Richard Diamond, Private Investigator , West of Santa Fé , The People of Shiloh Ranch , Perry Mason , On the Run , Cannon , Smoking Colts , Lou Grant , The Waltons , Dallas , Hard but hearty , Falcon Crest , Who's the boss here? , An angel on earth , A terribly nice family , Under the California sun and Golden Girls . In 2003 he played the episode Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man on the television series Monk , the son of a 114-year-old murder victim.

In the science fiction television series Spaceship Enterprise - The Next Century , he was in the 1990 episode Remember me in the role of Dr. To see Dalen Quaice ; he embodied the fatherly friend and mentor of the series character Dr. Beverly Crusher . He played the moody, eccentric and uncontrollable grandfather Sid Fields on the 1993 sitcom Seinfeld . For this role, Erwin received an Emmy Award nomination in the "Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" category.

Erwin has also worked as a cartoonist for magazines such as The New Yorker , Playboy and Los Angeles Magazines ; He also shot numerous commercials , including Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream .

Private

Erwin was married to the actress and journalist Fran MacLachlan Erwin (†); The marriage resulted in four children, two sons and two daughters. Erwin died at his Studio City home at the age of 96; "natural reasons" were named as the cause of death.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d PASSINGS: Bill Erwin, Ellis EI Clarke, Bobby Farrell Obituary in: Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2011
  2. ↑ a b c "Seinfeld" actor Bill Erwin dies at 96 ( Memento from January 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Reuters obituary from January 3, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Erwin, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Erwin, William Lindsey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Honey Grove , Texas
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 2010
Place of death Studio City near Los Angeles , California