Jack Kruschen

Jack Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian-born character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio.

Radio

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kruschen began his radio career while still in high school, and during the 1940s, he became a staple of West Coast radio drama. He had regular or recurring roles on Broadway Is My Beat (as Sgt. Muggavan), and Pete Kelly's Blues (as Red, the bass player), as well as frequent episodic roles on anthology series, Westerns and crime dramas.

He was heard on such high-profile series as Escape, Dragnet, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke (usually as law abiding locals), Crime Classics, Frontier Gentleman, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Nightbeat and Suspense.

Films

His movie career is highlighted by his memorable performance as neighbor Dr. Dreyfuss in Billy Wilder's The Apartment (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor).

Other film assignments included George Pál's The War of the Worlds (as Salvatore, one of the first three victims, a role he reprised on the Lux Radio Theater adaptation), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (as saloon owner Christmas Morgan), Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Lover Come Back, McLintock! (with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara), Follow That Dream (with Elvis Presley) and Cape Fear.

Television

Kruschen was performing on television as early as 1939, appearing in dramas on Don Lee's experimental television station in Los Angeles, where he was seen on some 200 TV sets with three-inch screens.

His TV career included the regular role of Grandpa Papadopolis on the situation comedy Webster and guest villain Eivol Ekdol, a villainous magicians' craftsman on Batman. He also was seen on Dragnet, Zorro, Columbo, Barney Miller, and in later years, Murphy Brown, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and as Pam And Jesse's grandfather Papouli on Full House.

In 1969, he co-starred with Stefanie Powers in an unsold ABC sitcom pilot, Holly Golighty, adapted from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's.

His final on-camera appearance was in the 1997 film, Til There Was You (with Sarah Jessica Parker). He was married to Marjorie Ullman from January 1947 to 1951, and his second marriage was with Mary Pender from July 23, 1979 until April 2, 2002 when he died in Chandler, Arizona, aged 80.

External links

• Jack Kruschen at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Kruschen at Find a Grave