Willard Lewis Waterman (August 29, 1914 – February 2, 1995)
[Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. .] 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 ...
in films, TV and on radio, remembered best for replacing
Harold Peary as the title character of ''
The Great Gildersleeve
''The Great Gildersleeve'' was a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was buil ...
'' at the height of that show's popularity.
Early years
In the mid-1930s, Waterman attended the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, where he joined
Theta Chi, acted in student plays, and was a friend of
Uta Hagen. His growing interest in theater put an end to his original plan to be an engineer, and he gained experience in radio at the university's station,
WHA.
[
]
Radio
Waterman began his radio career at WIBA in Madison, singing in a quartet that performed "musical interludes between programs,"[ ] and came to NBC in Chicago in early 1936.
Waterman replaced Harold Peary on ''The Great Gildersleeve'' in 1950, after Peary was unable to convince sponsor and show owner Kraft Cheese to allow him an ownership stake in the show. Impressed with better capital-gains deals CBS was willing to offer performers in the high-tax late 1940s, he decided to move from NBC to CBS during the latter's famous talent raids. Kraft, however, refused to move the show to CBS and hired Waterman to replace Peary as the stentorian Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve.
Peary and Waterman already knew each other from earlier radio jobs. Not only did the two men become longtime friends, but Waterman—who looked as though he could have been Peary's sibling and whose voice was a near-match for Peary's—refused to appropriate the half-leering, half-embarrassed laugh Peary had made a Gildersleeve trademark. He stayed with ''The Great Gildersleeve'' from 1950 to 1957 on radio and in a short-lived television series syndicated in 1955.
At the same time he was heard as Gildersleeve, Waterman had a recurring role as Mr. Merriweather in the short-lived but respected radio comedy vehicle for Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...
and his wife Benita Hume, '' The Halls of Ivy''. Waterman's pre-''Gildersleeve'' radio career had included at least one starring vehicle, a short-lived situation comedy, '' Those Websters'', that premiered in 1945.
He had radio roles between the mid-1930s and 1950 on such shows as '' Chicago Theater of the Air'' (variety) and '' Harold Teen'' (comedy), plus four soap operas: '' Girl Alone'', '' The Guiding Light'', '' Lonely Women'', ''The Road of Life'' and ''Kay Fairchild, Stepmother''.
Film
Waterman is remembered for his role as Claude Upson in the 1958 film '' Auntie Mame''. He was also seen in '' Riding High'', '' Three Coins in the Fountain'', and '' The Apartment''.[
]
Stage
Waterman was in two Broadway productions of the musical ''Mame
MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to emulate the hardware of arcade games, video game consoles, old computers and other systems in software on modern personal computers and ...
'' (the 1966 original and the 1983 revival) and the 1973 Broadway revival of '' The Pajama Game''. He also toured in the national companies of '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' and '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''.[
]
Television
Waterman's later career included a variety of film and TV supporting roles on such shows as a short-lived television adaptation of ''The Great Gildersleeve'', ''Vacation Playhouse'', '' Lawman'', ''My Favorite Martian
''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...
'', ''Bat Masterson
Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...
'', '' The Eve Arden Show'' (four episodes from 1957 to 1958 as Carl Foster), '' 77 Sunset Strip'', ''Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Guestward Ho!'', '' F Troop'', and '' Dennis the Menace'', in which he played the lovable grocer, Mr. Quigley. Between 1957 and 1959, he appeared five times as Mac Maginnis in the ABC sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' The Real McCoys'' starring Walter Brennan
Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Come and Get It (1936 film), Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky (film), Kentucky'' (19 ...
.
Waterman was all but retired from acting after 1973, although in 1980 he appeared in the "Boss and Peterson" radio commercial for Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
, for which he received a Clio Award
The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...
.
Labor activities
In 1937, Waterman was a founding member of the radio union known as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. One obituary noted, "He was believed to be the only person to have served as a member of the union's board of directors in four different locales: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York."
Personal life
In 1937, Waterman married Mary Anna Theleen, a secretary to the president of Nash Motors
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of Nash-Kelvinator. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in ...
in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Waterman lived in Chicago, and New York City.
In 1945, Waterman moved his family to the San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
in Southern California.
After 1980, Waterman lived in Burlingame, California, near a daughter.
Waterman died of bone marrow disease on February 2, 1995, at his home in Burlingame, California.
Recognition
Waterman has a star in the Radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
.
Filmography
Radio appearances
References
External links
*
*
Obituary: ''The New York Times''
Willard Waterman
at Hollywood Walk Of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterman
1914 births
1995 deaths
20th-century American male actors
Male actors from Madison, Wisconsin
American male film actors
American male radio actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Deaths from bone cancer in California
Male actors from Los Angeles
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni