Carl Betz

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Carl Betz
Betz with Donna Reed on The Donna Reed Show, 1959.
Born	March 9, 1921(1921-03-09) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States
Died	January 18, 1978(1978-01-18) (aged 56) Los Angeles, California, United States
Years active	1952–1977
Spouse	Gloria Stone Martin (1963-1978) (his death)

Carl Betz (March 9, 1921 – January 18, 1978) was an American film and television actor. A native of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Betz participated in childhood theatricals and later worked in summer stock. He graduated from Mount Lebanon High School in 1939 and then served in the military. Following military service, he graduated from Carnegie Tech and made his Broadway debut in 1952. He appeared in the television soap Love of Life, but is best remembered for playing Donna Reed's TV husband Dr. Alex Stone from 1958 to 1966 in the ABC sitcom The Donna Reed Show. Between 1967 and 1969, he played defense attorney Clinton Judd in Judd for the Defense, and won an Emmy Award in 1969 for his work. He died of lung cancer.

Career

Growing up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon, Betz began his acting career unofficially in grammar school when he formed a theatrical company with friends, performing plays in his grandmother's basement. He later took part in a Pittsburgh summer stock company, working for $45 a week along with room and board.

Following World War II military service in Italy and North Africa, Betz earned a degree at Carnegie Tech. He worked as a radio announcer and disk jockey before moving to New York and again working in summer and winter stock companies.

Betz made his Broadway debut in 1952 in The Long Watch, and toured with Veronica Lake in the summer stock play, Voice of the Turtle. He then passed 18 months as Collie Jordan on the television soap opera Love of Life and also made guest appearances in a number of movies and other television programs.

Donna Reed as Donna Stone, Paul Petersen as Jeff Stone, Carl Betz as Dr. Alex Stone, Shelley Fabares as Mary Stone, The Donna Reed Show (1958.)

In 1958, Betz began an eight-year stint as pediatrician Dr. Alex Stone on the ABC series The Donna Reed Show, a sitcom revolving around the typical home and school problems of a middle class family in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Alex was often called upon to rescue wife Donna from awkward situations and to monitor the behavior of their children Mary and Jeff. Jeff portrayer Paul Petersen introduced the sentimental hit song "My Dad" in a 1962 episode, singing the tune to Betz.

Betz earned excellent reviews for his performance on stage in The Night of the Iguana, but returned to television after the Reed show was cancelled as defense lawyer Clinton Judd in the two-season legal drama, Judd, for the Defense. He won an Emmy Award in 1969 for his performance, and made many guest appearances on a variety of popular television shows such as Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, and Starsky and Hutch. One of his last roles was Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the one-man stage play I Shall Return.

Death

Betz was diagnosed with lung cancer and entered Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on November 28, 1977. He died seven weeks later, on January 18, 1978 and was cremated.

Selected filmography

• O. Henry's Full House (Uncredited, 1952)
• My Pal Gus (Uncredited, 1952)
• The President's Lady (1952)
• Dangerous Crossing (1953)
• Inferno (1953)
• Vicki (1953)
• Spinout (1966)
• The Lady from Peking (1975)

Television

• Kraft Television Theatre (1 episode, 1954)
• Love of Life (1954–1955)
• Appointment with Adventure (episode "Suburban Terror", 1956)
• Crusader (1 episode, "Innocent Bystander", 1956)
• Gunsmoke (1 episode, 1957)
• Sheriff of Cochise (as Paul Sloan in episode "Statute of Limitations", 1957)
• Perry Mason (1 episode, 1958)
• The Millionaire (2 episodes, 1957–1958)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (2 episodes, 1958)
• The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
• Judd, for the Defense (53 episodes, 1967–1969)
• Love, American Style (1 episode, 1969)
• The Monk (ABC Movie of the Week, 1969)
• Medical Center (1 episode, 1970)
• Night Gallery (1 episode, 1970)
• Mission: Impossible (2 episodes, 1970–1972)
• The Mod Squad (1 episode, 1971)
• The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1 episode, 1972)
• The Streets of San Francisco (1 episode, 1972)
• Cannon (TV series) (1 episode, 1972)
• Barnaby Jones (1 episode, 1973)
• The New Adventures of Perry Mason (1 episode, 1973)
• Marcus Welby, M.D. (1 episode, 1974)
• S.W.A.T. (1 episode, 1975)
• Matt Helm (1 episode, 1975)
• Starsky and Hutch (1 episode, 1976)
• Police Story (1 episode, 1976)
• Most Wanted (1 episode, 1977)
• Kingston: Confidential (1 episode, 1977)
• The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1 episode, 1977)

Awards

External links

Biography portal

• Carl Betz at the Internet Movie Database
• Carl Betz at the Internet Broadway Database
• Carl Betz at AllRovi
• Carl Betz at Find a Grave