Herbert Rudley
Encyclopedia
Herbert Rudley, was a prolific character actor who appeared on stage, in films and on television.
Rudley was born in 1910 (some sources say 1911) in Philadelphia, and attended Temple University
. He left Temple after winning a scholarship to Eva Le Gallienne
's Civic Repertory Theatre.
He began appearing on stage in 1926. His Broadway debut was in Did I Say No in 1931. He also appeared in stage productions of The Threepenny Opera
, Abe Lincoln in Illinois
and Macbeth
.
In 1940, he appeared in the film version of Abe Lincoln in Illinois
. For the next four decades he appeared in dozens of supporting film roles, including The Seventh Cross
and Rhapsody in Blue
, the film biography of George Gershwin
in which he portrayed Ira Gershwin
. He also appeared in A Walk in the Sun, Joan of Arc
, and The Young Lions
, in which he played an unsympathetic army officer.
On television, he appeared in both drama, often as a military person, and comedy. He also appeared on My Friend Flicka
. Im 1957, he guest starred as a Prussia
n cavalry
officer in an episode of the syndicated
western
series, Boots and Saddles
. From 1957-1959, he co-starred in the role of Sam Brennan in NBC
's western drama
, The Californians
, set in the San Francisco
gold
rush of the 1850s
. His co-stars included Sean McClory
and Adam Kennedy
.
In 1959, he appeared as John McAuliffe on the syndicated
television series Border Patrol
, with Richard Webb
. Rudley guest starred twice in the role of Jeremy
Thorne NBC's western series Laramie
. In the 60s, he was a regular in a short-lived television
vehicle for Juliet Prowse called "Mona McCluskey." In 1963, he appeared in two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies
as the psychiatrist
, Dr Twombey. In 1973, he guest starred in one episode of Lorne Greene
's ABC
crime drama Griff
.
Rudley, however, is best remembered for his role as Eve Arden
's husband, attorney Herb Hubbard, in NBC's sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law
.
Rudley was born in 1910 (some sources say 1911) in Philadelphia, and attended Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. He left Temple after winning a scholarship to Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
's Civic Repertory Theatre.
He began appearing on stage in 1926. His Broadway debut was in Did I Say No in 1931. He also appeared in stage productions of The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
, Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (play)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a play written by the American playwright Robert E. Sherwood in 1938. The play, in three acts, covers the life of President Abraham Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary...
and Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
In 1940, he appeared in the film version of Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (play)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a play written by the American playwright Robert E. Sherwood in 1938. The play, in three acts, covers the life of President Abraham Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary...
. For the next four decades he appeared in dozens of supporting film roles, including The Seventh Cross
The Seventh Cross (1944 film)
The Seventh Cross is a 1944 film starring Spencer Tracy, Hume Cronyn, Ray Collins and Jessica Tandy. Cronyn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
and Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue (film)
Rhapsody in Blue is a 1945 fictionalized screen biography of the American composer and musician George Gershwin . Starring Robert Alda as Gershwin, the film features a few of Gershwin's acquaintances playing themselves...
, the film biography of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
in which he portrayed Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
. He also appeared in A Walk in the Sun, Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, and The Young Lions
The Young Lions
The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:...
, in which he played an unsympathetic army officer.
On television, he appeared in both drama, often as a military person, and comedy. He also appeared on My Friend Flicka
My Friend Flicka (TV series)
My Friend Flicka is a 39-episode western television series set at the fictitious Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming at the turn of the 20th century. The program was filmed in color but initially aired in black and white on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from February 10, 1956, to February 1, 1957. It was a...
. Im 1957, he guest starred as a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer in an episode of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Boots and Saddles
Boots and Saddles (TV series)
Boots and Saddles is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1958. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader.-Synopsis:...
. From 1957-1959, he co-starred in the role of Sam Brennan in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's western drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, The Californians
The Californians (TV series)
The Californians is a 54-episode half-hour Western television series, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which aired on NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959...
, set in the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
rush of the 1850s
1850s
- Wars :* Crimean war fought between Imperial Russia and an alliance consisting of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire...
. His co-stars included Sean McClory
Sean McClory
Sean McClory was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series.-Early years:...
and Adam Kennedy
Adam Kennedy (actor)
Adam Kennedy was an American actor, screenwriter, novelist, and painter, who starred as the Irish-American newspaper editor Dion Patrick in thirty-seven episodes during the first season, 1957–1958, of NBC's western television series, The Californians...
.
In 1959, he appeared as John McAuliffe on the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series Border Patrol
Border Patrol (US TV series)
Border Patrol is a 34-episode syndicated half-hour adventure/drama television series which aired in the United States during calendar year 1959, with Richard Webb cast as Don Jagger, the fictitious deputy chief of the Border Patrol...
, with Richard Webb
Richard Webb (actor)
Richard Webb was a film, television and radio actor. He was born in Bloomington, Illinois.He appeared in more than fifty films, including many westerns and films noir including Out of the Past , Night Has a Thousand Eyes , I Was a Communist for the FBI and Carson City...
. Rudley guest starred twice in the role of Jeremy
Thorne NBC's western series Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
. In the 60s, he was a regular in a short-lived television
vehicle for Juliet Prowse called "Mona McCluskey." In 1963, he appeared in two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
as the psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, Dr Twombey. In 1973, he guest starred in one episode of Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
's ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
crime drama Griff
Griff (TV series)
Griff is a 13-episode ABC crime drama starring Lorne Greene and Ben Murphy, which aired from September 29, 1973, to January 4, 1974. Nine months after the expiration of his nearly 14-year role as Ponderosa Ranch patriarch Ben Cartwright on NBC's Bonanza western series, the Canadian native Greene...
.
Rudley, however, is best remembered for his role as Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
's husband, attorney Herb Hubbard, in NBC's sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law
The Mothers-in-Law
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969; it was produced by Desi Arnaz after the dissolutions...
.