Willard Waterman
Encyclopedia
Willard Lewis Waterman was a character actor
in films, TV and on radio, remembered best for succeeding Harold Peary
as the title character of The Great Gildersleeve
at the height of that show's popularity.
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.
Waterman attended the University of Wisconsin
in the mid-1930s, where he acted in student plays and was a friend of Uta Hagen
. He also began his radio career in Madison, and came to NBC in Chicago in early 1936. There he met and replaced Peary on The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters
. Not only did the two men become longtime friends, but Waterman — who actually 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 an ill-fated television version 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
and his wife Benita Hume
, The Halls of Ivy
. Waterman's pre-Gildersleeve radio career, in addition to Tom Mix, had included at least one starring vehicle, a short-lived situation comedy, Those Websters
, that premiered in 1945. He also 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. He is also remembered for his role as Claude Upson in the 1958 film Auntie Mame
.
In 1964 toured with a road production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
in the role of Jasper B. Biggley with Dick Kallman
in the lead as J. Pierpont Finch.
, My Favorite Martian
, The Eve Arden Show
, 77 Sunset Strip
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
, F Troop
, Dennis the Menace and Vacation Playhouse. He was all but retired from acting after 1973, though in 1980 he appeared in the "Boss and Peterson" radio commercial for Sony
, for which he received a Clio Award.
In 1937, Waterman was a founding member of the radio union now known as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
in San Mateo, California
.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
in films, TV and on radio, remembered best for succeeding Harold Peary
Harold Peary
Harold Peary was an American actor, comedian and singer in radio, film, television and animation remembered best as Throckmorton P...
as the title character of The Great Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve , initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around Throckmorton Philharmonic Gildersleeve, a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, first Introduced to...
at the height of that show's popularity.
Peary was unable to convince sponsor and show owner Kraft Cheese
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
to allow him an ownership stake in the show. Impressed with better capital-gains deals CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
was willing to offer performers in the high-tax late 1940s, he decided to move from 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...
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.
Waterman attended the University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in the mid-1930s, where he acted in student plays and was a friend of Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
. He also began his radio career in Madison, and came to NBC in Chicago in early 1936. There he met and replaced Peary on The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
. Not only did the two men become longtime friends, but Waterman — who actually 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 an ill-fated television version 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 Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
and his wife Benita Hume
Benita Hume
Benita Hume was an English film actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1925 and 1955.She was married to actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958; they were the parents of a daughter, Juliet...
, The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy
The Halls of Ivy is an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being adapted into a CBS television comedy produced by ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America...
. Waterman's pre-Gildersleeve radio career, in addition to Tom Mix, had included at least one starring vehicle, a short-lived situation comedy, Those Websters
Those Websters
Those Websters was a radio situation comedy series starring Willard Waterman and Constance Crowder as George and Jane Webster. The program was launched in New York and then moved to Chicago for a short spell before finishing its run from Hollywood....
, that premiered in 1945. He also had radio roles between the mid-1930s and 1950 on such shows as Chicago Theater of the Air (variety) and Harold Teen
Harold Teen
Harold Teen was a popular, long-running comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed . Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested, and certainly approved, the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkington's successful novel Seventeen. Asked in the late 1930s why he had started the strip,...
(comedy), plus four soap operas: Girl Alone, The Guiding Light, Lonely Women, The Road of Life and Kay Fairchild, Stepmother. He is also remembered for his role as Claude Upson in the 1958 film Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame (film)
Auntie Mame is a 1958 film based on the novel by Patrick Dennis and its theatrical adaptation by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. This film version stars Rosalind Russell and was directed by Morton DaCosta...
.
In 1964 toured with a road production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
in the role of Jasper B. Biggley with Dick Kallman
Dick Kallman
Dick Kallman was an American actor.Kallman was born July 7, 1933 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He starred in the title role of the 1965–1966 prime time television sitcom Hank on NBC, and later moved on to stage work with touring companies...
in the lead as J. Pierpont Finch.
Television
Waterman's later career included a variety of film and TV supporting roles on such shows as LawmanLawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
, My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
, The Eve Arden Show
The Eve Arden Show
The Eve Arden Show is a 26-segment American television sitcom which aired during the 1957-1958 season on CBS, alternately sponsored by Lever Brothers and Shulton, Inc. .-Overview:...
, 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
, The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, F Troop
F Troop
F Troop is a satirical American television sitcom that originally aired for two seasons on ABC-TV. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 and concluded its run on April 6, 1967 with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was filmed in black-and-white, but the show...
, Dennis the Menace and Vacation Playhouse. He was all but retired from acting after 1973, though in 1980 he appeared in the "Boss and Peterson" radio commercial for Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, for which he received a Clio Award.
In 1937, Waterman was a founding member of the radio union now known as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Death
He is interred at Skylawn Memorial ParkSkylawn Memorial Park (San Mateo, California)
Skylawn Memorial Park is a cemetery, mausoleum, crematorium, columbarium and funeral home complex in San Mateo, California, directly accessible from State Route 92. Interment records are at 1,308...
in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
.