Willard Waterman

Willard Waterman
Waterman in The Halls of Ivy (1950)
Born
Willard Lewis Waterman

(1914-08-29)August 29, 1914
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedFebruary 2, 1995(1995-02-02) (aged 80)
Burlingame, California, U.S.
Years active1949–1973
SpouseMary Anna Theleen (m. 1937)
Children2

Willard Lewis Waterman (August 29, 1914 – February 2, 1995)[1] was an American character actor in films, TV and on radio, remembered best for replacing Harold Peary as the title character of The Great Gildersleeve at the height of that show's popularity.

Early years

In the mid-1930s, Waterman attended the University of Wisconsin, 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.[2]

Radio

Waterman began his radio career at WIBA in Madison, singing in a quartet that performed "musical interludes between programs,"[2] and came to NBC in Chicago in early 1936.[3]

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.[4] 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[5] and in a short-lived television series syndicated in 1955.[6]

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 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,[7] 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,[8] The Guiding Light, Lonely Women,[9] The Road of Life and Kay Fairchild, Stepmother.

Film

Waterman is remembered for his role as Claude Upson in the 1958 film Auntie Mame.[10] He was also seen in Riding High, Three Coins in the Fountain, and The Apartment.[11]

Stage

Waterman was in two Broadway productions of the musical Mame (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.[11]

Television

Willard Waterman (right) and Stephanie Griffin (left) in the TV series The Great Gildersleeve, 1955

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, Bat Masterson, The Eve Arden Show (four episodes from 1957 to 1958 as Carl Foster), 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, 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 The Real McCoys starring Walter Brennan.

Waterman was all but retired from acting after 1973, although in 1980 he appeared in the "Boss and Peterson" radio commercial for Sony, for which he received a Clio Award.[12]

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."[13]

Personal life and death

In 1937, Waterman married Mary Anna Theleen, a secretary to the president of Nash Motors in Kenosha, Wisconsin.[14]

Waterman lived in Chicago,[15] and New York City.[14]

In 1945, Waterman moved his family to the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.[16]

After 1980, Waterman lived in Burlingame, California, near a daughter.[14]

Waterman died of bone marrow disease on February 2, 1995, at his home in Burlingame, California.[11]

Recognition

Waterman has a star in the Radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[17]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1949Flaming FuryDutchUncredited
1949Flame of YouthSteve Miller
1949Free for AllCommander H.C. Christie
1950No Man of Her OwnJack OlsenUncredited
1950Ma and Pa Kettle Go to TownJ.J. SchumacherUncredited
1950Riding HighArthur Winslow
1950Father of the BrideVincent Dixon - Engagement Party GuestUncredited
1950LouisaDick Stewart
1950The LawlessPawlingUncredited
1950Mystery StreetA Mortician
1950Three SecretsMaxUncredited
1950Hit Parade of 1951OilmanUncredited
1950Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. MaloneMr. Ogle
1950Watch the BirdieMayorUncredited
1951Fourteen HoursMr. HarrisUncredited
1951Francis Goes to the RacesExerciserUncredited
1951Darling, How Could You!Theatre Manager
1951RhubarbOrlando Dill
1951Sunny Side of the StreetJohn 'J.R.' Stevens
1952Has Anybody Seen My GalDr. WallaceUncredited
1953It Happens Every ThursdayMyron Trout
1953Half a HeroCharles McEstway
1954Three Coins in the FountainMr. HoytUncredited
1955Three for the ShowTV show ModeratorUncredited
1955How to Be Very, Very PopularSpeaker
1956Hollywood or BustManager NevilleUncredited; final Martin & Lewis film
1958Auntie MameClaude Upson
1959Bat MastersonBank Manager
1960The ApartmentMr. Vanderhoff
1962The Joey Bishop ShowJohnathan Flint.1 episode
1962Mister EdMr. DouglasEpisode- Ed's New Neighbors
1962Mister EdMr. HalstedEpisode 69 - Unemployment Show
1962Walk on the Wild SideMan Listening to SpeechUncredited
1963My Favorite MartianMr. TrimbleEpisode- There is No Cure for the Common Martian
1963Dennis the MenaceMr. QuigleyEpisode - The Big Basketball Game
1964Get Yourself a College GirlSenator Hubert Morrison
1972HailVice President(final film role)

Radio appearances

YearProgramEpisode/source
1948Screen Guild PlayersUp in Central Park[18]
1949EscapeRed Wine[19]

References

  1. ↑ Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.
  2. 1 2 Leadabrand, Russ (September 22, 1963). "A Pro in Evoking Stitches". Independent Star-News. Independent Star-News. p. 58. Retrieved June 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ Press release on Willard Waterman from NBC Chicago, dated November 9, 1936.
  4. ↑ Dunning, John (1998). "The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 675–676. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  5. ↑ Dunning, op. cit., "The Great Gildersleeve" pp. 293-296
  6. ↑ Charles Mercer (1955-09-13). "Throckmortom Gildersleeve Featured in TV Film Series". Ocala Star-Banner (FL). p. 9. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  7. ↑ "Those Websters". Pampa Daily News. Pampa, Texas. March 8, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved June 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 'Those Websters', with Jane Webb (top) as 'Belinda,' Gil Stratton, Jr. as 'Billy Webster' and (bottom) Constance Crowder and Willard Waterman as Mama and Papa Webster, portraying the humorous highlights in the life of a typical American family, will become a Sunday feature over Mutual beginning March 3. Open access icon
  8. ↑ Fairfax, Arthur (December 28, 1940). "Mr. Fairfax Replies" (PDF). Movie Radio Guide. 10 (12): 43. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950. The Viking Press; ISBN 0-670-16240-X (pp. 144-45).
  10. ↑ "(photo caption)". The Zanesville Signal (Zanesville, Ohio). May 31, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved June 13, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. 1 2 3 "Willard Waterman, An Actor on Radio And TV, Dies at 80". The New York Times. New York Times. February 8, 1995. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ Clio Award website, clioawards.com; retrieved on July 15, 2007.
  13. ↑ Folkart, Burt A. (February 4, 1995). "Willard Waterman; Actor on Radio, Screen and Stage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 "Mary Anna Waterman". sfgate. 19 January 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2024. Died peacefully, Thursday, January 15, 2004. Mary Anna was born September 4, 1914 in Kenosha, WI, to Corabell White Theleen and Oscar Henry Theleen.
  15. ↑ "Actor Willard Waterman -- TV, Radio Star". sfgate.com. Associated Press. February 4, 1995.
  16. ↑ "Susan Anne Waterman - Obituary". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles, CA: Legacy.com. 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Folkart, Burt A. (February 4, 1995). "Willard Waterman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. 40 (1): 32–39. Winter 2014.
  19. ↑ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 39 (1): 32–41. Winter 2013.
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