Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly in supporting roles. He is most known for his roles in the classic films ''

Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...

'' (1953) and ''

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ！) is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji ...

'' (1970). In his final years, Erdman found renewed fame through his portrayal of Leonard in the critically acclaimed comedy series ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

'' (2009–2015).

Early life

Erdman was born John Richard Erdmann in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

. His parents divorced during his childhood. He, a sibling, and their mother moved to

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

when he was a teenager. He graduated from Palmer High School, where he would perform on stage. During his youth, he worked as a paper boy for the ''Colorado Springs Evening Telegraph''. A stage director named Newton Winburne encouraged him to try his luck in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

Career

Erdman started his career at Warner Bros. where he signed a studio contract. Two of his first roles were in the films ''

Mr. Skeffington ''Mr. Skeffington'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman, based on the 1940 novel of the same name by Elizabeth von Arnim. The film stars Bette Davis as a beautiful but self-centered woman who has many suitors but marries Jo ...

'', starring

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

and

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...

and ''

Janie Janie may refer to: * Janie (given name) * ''Janie'' (1944 film), an American romantic comedy * ''Janie'' (2006 film), a short *Janie, West Virginia Janie is an unincorporated community and former coal town A coal town, also known as a coal ...

'', starring Joyce Reynolds. After a few smaller roles he achieved success as a character actor in supporting roles. In a career that spanned seven decades, his best-known roles are that of the barracks chief Hoffy in ''

'', and the garrulous, tedious barfly McNulty in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode "

A Kind of a Stopwatch "A Kind of a Stopwatch" is a 1963 episode of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. In this episode, a man acquires a stopwatch which can stop time. Opening narration Plot Patrick McNulty is a self-important, annoying m ...

". He also appeared in '' The Men'' (1950) with

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

and the

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

Cry Danger ''Cry Danger'' is a 1951 film noir thriller film, starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming. The film was directed by Robert Parrish, a former child star and later editor in his debut as a director. Plot Rocky Mulloy was sentenced to life in prison ...

'' (1951) with

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

and Rhonda Fleming. In ''

'' (1970) he played Colonel Edward F. French, the officer who responded to the failure to transmit the warning to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In the CBS TV series '' Perry Mason'' he played as murder victim Arthur Binney in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Gilded Lily". He then later plays the role for murderer three times ("The Case of the Absent Artist"

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

"The Case of the Antic Angel" 964 and "The Case of the Vanishing Victim"

966 Year 966 ( CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Byzantine-Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border betwee ...

. He guest starred in a wide variety of shows such as ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'', ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Prod ...

'', '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'', ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

'', ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's th ...

'', ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

'', ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin ...

'', '' The Bionic Woman'', '' One Day at a Time'', '' Lou Grant'', '' Quincy, M.E.'', ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'', and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

''. He was also known as a voice artist, contributing to the animated shows, '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'', ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'', '' Jonny Quest'', ''

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

'', ''

Snorks ''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...

'', ''

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

'', and '' Batman: The Animated Series''. He directed the 1971 TV film ''

Mooch Goes to Hollywood ''Mooch Goes to Hollywood'' (aka ''Mooch'') is a 1971 51-minute television film was directed by Richard Erdman and co-written by Jim Backus, who also stars in the film as himself. The film chronicles the adventures of Mooch, an ambitious dog, and ...

''. From 2009 to 2015, Erdman had a recurring role as the antagonistic and elderly community college student Leonard on ''

''. His last role was in 2017 in the sitcom ''

Dr. Ken ''Dr. Ken'' is an American multi-camera sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2015, to March 31, 2017. The series was created, written, and co-executive produced by its lead actor, Ken Jeong, who based the concept on his experience as a physici ...

''.

Personal life

Erdman married actress Leza Holland in 1948, but they divorced two years later. He was married to his second wife, Sharon Randall, from 1953 until her death in 2016. They had one daughter, Erica, who was born in 1954 and died on February 18, 2010, of an accidental overdose of prescription medicine. Erica was a poet and illustrator (''The Ellyn Maybe Coloring Book'') and the author of one full-length collection of poems (''The Apocalyptic Kid'').

Death

Erdman died on March 16, 2019, aged 93, in an assisted-living facility in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He had been suffering "from age-related

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

" and had recently had a fall.Richard Erdman, Actor in ''Stalag 17'' and TV's ''Community'', Dies at 93
hollywoodreporter.com; accessed March 17, 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

As a director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdman, Richard 1925 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Actors from Enid, Oklahoma American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of German descent Audiobook narrators Film directors from Oklahoma Male actors from Oklahoma