Cliff Osmond (born Clifford Osman Ebrahim; February 26, 1937 – December 22, 2012) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

, screenwriter, and acting teacher.

Early life

Osmond was born in the Margaret Hague Medical Center in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, and reared in Union City, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Thomas A. Edison grammar school, Emerson High School, and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

(

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English). He received his master's degree in Business Administration from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

and advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. in the field of Theater History at UCLA.

Career

He starred in four films directed by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

, including ''

Irma la Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Al ...

'', ''

Kiss Me, Stupid ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' is a 1964 American sex comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on the play ''L'ora della fantasia'' ('' ...

'' (1964), ''

The Fortune Cookie ''The Fortune Cookie'' (alternative United Kingdom, British title: ''Meet Whiplash Willie'') is a 1966 American black comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It is the first film in which Jack Lemmon collaborated with Wal ...

'' and ''

The Front Page ''The Front Page'' is a Broadway theatre, Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema severa ...

''. Osmond played Pap in the 1981 television adaptation for ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. Osmond appeared in over one hundred films and television series. During that period he guest-starred at least half a dozen times on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' and in the 1965 episode "Yahoo" of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Laredo''. He played a vengeful blind man in the "None So Blind" episode of

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

in 1962, and was cast in " The Gift", (1962) of the original ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. He played a hippie in '' Ironside'' (1968) and appeared as well on ''

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 third ...

'' (1974), '' The New Land'' (1974), as a plumber's apprentice on work release from prison in ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' (1975). As a screenwriter, Osmond was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award for writing an episode of '' Streets of San Francisco'' (1973). He also wrote and directed the film '' The Penitent''. Osmond received a Best Actor award for his UCLA performance of Berthold Brecht's ''

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

'', and the Joseph Jefferson acting award for a Chicago stage appearance in Shaw's '' You Never Can Tell''. In addition to his acting and writing careers, Osmond was an acting teacher and coach in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and San Francisco. In the fall of 2004, he was visiting professor in acting and Guest Resident Artist at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, teaching two acting courses and directing

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

''. In 2010, he wrote a book about his career and acting: ''Acting Is Living: Exploring the Ten Essential Elements in any Successful Performance''.

Death

Osmond died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

on December 22, 2012.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1962) – None So Blind * ''

'' (1962) – Bartender (uncredited) * ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'' (1962) "The John Bernard Story" – Ben Gill * ''

Irma La Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Al ...

'' (1963) – Police Sergeant * ''

Have Gun, Will Travel Have or having may refer to: * the concept of ownership * any concept of ''possession'' * the English verb "to " is used: ** to express possession linguistically, in a broad sense ** as an auxiliary verb ** in constructions such as ''have somet ...

'' (February 22, 1963) – "Caravan" – Koro * '' The Raiders'' (1963) – Private Jean Duchamps * '' Wild and Wonderful'' (1964) – Hercule – Giselle's Uncle * ''

'' (1964) – Barney * '' Laredo'' (1965, TV) – Midas Mantee / Running Antelope * ''

'' (1966) – Purkey * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1967, TV) – Andante * ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a Prisoner-of-war camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoner ...

'' (1967, TV) – Season 3 Episode One "The Crittendon Plan" – Marko * ''Three Guns for Texas'' (1968) – Running Antelope * '' The Devil's 8'' (1969) – Bubba * ''

'' (1970) "Celia" – Ben Sommars * '' Sweet Sugar'' (1972) – Burgos * ''

Invasion of the Bee Girls An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of c ...

'' (1973) – Captain Peters * '' Oklahoma Crude'' (1973) – Massive Man * ''

'' (1974) – Jacobi * '' Sharks' Treasure'' (1975) – Lobo * ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...

'' (1975) – S4Ep5 – Clide * '' Bob Newhart Show'' (1975) – S4Ep5 – Leonard de Paolo * ''Joe Panther'' (1976) – Rance * '' Guardian of the Wilderness'' (1976) – McCollough * '' The Mouse and His Child'' (1977) – C. Serpentina (voice) * '' The Great Brain'' (1978) – Mr. Kokovinis * '' The North Avenue Irregulars'' (1979) – Big Chin * '' The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again'' (1979) – Wes Hardin (Bank-robber) * '' Beggarman, Thief'' (1979, TV) – Sagerac * '' Hangar 18'' (1980) – Sheriff Barlow * ''

The Adventures of Nellie Bly ''The Adventures of Nellie Bly'' is a 1981 American television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film starring Linda Purl as 19th century journalist Nellie Bly and human rights crusader. The film was directed by Henning ...

'' (1981, TV) – Stanfil * ''Lone Star Sports Bar & Grill'' (1983) – Cal * ''

In Search of a Golden Sky ''In Search of a Golden Sky'' is a 1984 adventure film, adventure-drama film released by Comworld Pictures. In the film, three orphan children find solace in their uncle's wilderness home after their mother has died. Plot After their mother dies ...

'' (1984) – Russ McGuire * ''For Which He Stands'' (1996) – Javier Chavez (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osmond, Cliff 1937 births 2012 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Emerson High School (Union City, New Jersey) alumni Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey Actors from Union City, New Jersey Male actors from Los Angeles Dartmouth College alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Georgetown University faculty American memoirists Western (genre) television actors Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica