Karl Weber (March 17, 1916 – July 30, 1990) was an actor in the era of

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

Early years

A native of Columbus Junction, Iowa, Weber attended

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

and was a graduate of the University of Iowa. He had three brothers and two sisters.

Stage

Before going into radio, Weber acted with Shakespearean troupes in the Midwest. In the late 1940s, he helped to found the New Stages off- Broadway group in New York City. His Broadway credits include ''The Land of Fame'' and ''Lady Behave''.

Radio

Weber's roles in radio programs included those shown in the table below.

Television

Weber played Arthur Tate in ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...

''. He was also on Perry Mason

Film

Weber portrayed FBI agent Charlie Reynolds in '' Walk East on Beacon'' (1952).

Commercials

In the mid-1960s, Weber was featured in commercials for Avis Rent a Car. The company spent $6 million on the campaign in its first year. He also made commercials for Lyndon B. Johnson's and Nelson A. Rockefeller's campaigns for president.

Other activities

In 1968–1969, Weber was president of New York's chapter of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

. He also used his talent to record more than 200 books for the

American Foundation for the Blind The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practice ...

Personal life

Weber met his wife, Marjorie, when they were students at

. They had a daughter, Lynn, and two sons, Christopher and Mark.

Death

Weber died of congestive heart failure in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 30, 1990. He was 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Karl 1916 births 1990 deaths American male stage actors American male radio actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Iowa