Tom poston actor biography

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After supporting roles on two failed sitcoms, "On the Rocks" and "We've Got Each Other," he joined the hit ABC sitcom "Mork & Mindy" as Mr. Bickley, the grouchy downstairs neighbor, a role he played until the series' demise in 1982. He, Louis Nye, Don Knotts, and other members of Allen's stock company became famous for their hilarious characters in Allen's famed sketch sequences.

Early in his career he had played Trinculo in the 1960 "Hallmark Hall of Fame" rendition of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Poston's feature film appearances have also been sporadic.

He began on film as a detective in 1953's "The City That Never Sleeps" and perhaps is best remembered as the town cad in the 1971 Norman Lear comedy, "Cold Turkey."

Veteran comedic actor Tom Poston, he with the bugged-out eyes that commonly accentuated a vague look of bewilderment, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 17, 1921.

By age nine, the young boy was appearing with an acrobatic troupe.

Poston later attended Bethany College in West Virginia when World War II broke out and he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 1993

  • Mr. Norton, Grace under Fire, ABC, 1995-98
  • Also appeared as a panelist on Pantomime Quiz, CBS.
  • Episodic
  • "Tangled Web," Goodyear Television Playhouse, 1955
  • Title role, "The Change in Chester," U.S.

    Arthur Conrad, The Happy Hooker, 1975

  • The minister, Rabbit Test, 1978
  • Sisson, Up the Academy (also known as The Brave Young Men of Weinberg,Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy, and Mad Magazine's Up the Academy), 1980
  • Reverend Hayworth, Carbon Copy, 1981
  • Murphy's Laws of Golf, 1989
  • Gordon Harding (some sources cite Hargrove), Krippendorf's Tribe, Buena Vista, 1998
  • Mercurian leader, The Mercurian Invasion, Englewood Entertainment,1998
  • Harry, The Story of Us, Universal/PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1999
  • Also appeared in Gentle Ben.

    • Further Reference

    OTHER SOURCES

    Internet
    • Tom Poston Web Site, http://www.tomposton.com.

    .

    Given a chance to star in his own comedy films by the early 1960s, Poston went completely unnoticed in such blah vehicles as Zotz!

    Sadly, while wife Suzanne was battling cancer, Poston passed away unexpectedly of respiratory failure at his Los Angeles home on April 30, 2007, after a brief illness.

    tom poston actor biography

    Steel Hour, CBS, 1957

  • Charlie Denham, "Masquerade," Thriller, 1961
  • Panelist, The Hollywood Squares, 1966
  • Dr. Vance, Suddenly Susan, NBC, 1998
  • Tim, "Ol' Betsy," Cosby, CBS, 1999
  • Tim, "Timerity," Cosby, CBS, 1999
  • Ghost of Uncle Cosmo, "Honey, It's the Ghostest with the Mostest," Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (also known as Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show), syndicated, 1999
  • Garth Dubin, "Hot Pants," Malcolm and Eddie, UPN, 1999
  • Tom Porter, "The Roast," Diagnosis Murder, CBS, 1999
  • Garth Dubin, "Swooped," Malcolm and Eddie, UPN, 2000
  • Dr.

    Pleshette died on January 19, 2008.

    The stalwart actor may not have nabbed top comic superstardom in his heyday, but he certainly enjoyed a long, durable career doing what he did best -- acting goofy and giving audiences a reason to smile.

    • BornOctober 17, 1921

    DiedApril 30, 2007(85)

    Tom Poston Biography (1921-)

    Born October 17, 1921, in Columbus, OH; son of George (a dairy chemist and liquor salesman) and Margaret Poston; married Jean Sullivan, 1955 (marriage ended); married Kay Hudson, June 8, 1968 (divorced, 1976), remarried, 1980; children: (first marriage) one daughter, (second marriage) one daughter, one son.Addresses: Agent: International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1934.

    Nationality
    American
    Gender
    Male
    Occupation
    Actor
    Birth Details
    October 17, 1921
    Columbus, Ohio, United States

    Famous Works

    • CREDITS
    • Television Appearances
    • Series
    • The Mercurian, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, 1950
    • Toby Winfield, Hawkins Falls, Population 6200 (also known as Hawkins Falls: A Television Novel), 1953
    • Master of ceremonies, Entertainment, ABC, 1955
    • Various roles, including the perennial amnesiac, The Steve Allen Show, NBC, ABC, 1956-59, 1961
    • Panelist, To Tell the Truth, CBS, 1958-68
    • Host, Split Personality, 1959
    • That Was the Week That Was, 1964
    • Mr.

      (1962) and The Old Dark House (1963), which failed to capitalize on his delightfully bungling, eccentric humor, although he did turn in a very funny supporting performance as a perpetually soused playboy in the Dick Van Dyke comedy Cold Turkey (1971).

      After his movie career dried up, television again became the object of his affection, usually in service to other stars.

      Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 1997

    • Officer Murdoch, "The Cameo Episode," George and Leo, CBS, 1997
    • Mortgage broker, "Witch Trash," Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, ABC, 1997
    • Ted, "Thanksgiving," Home Improvement, ABC, 1997
    • Jerome Dickey, "Long Live the King," It's Good to Be King, 1997
    • Herb, "Jack's Old Partner," Just Shoot Me, 1998
    • Ed Yablonsky, "Cry and You Cry Alone," Touched by an Angel, CBS, 1998
    • Lester Mulford, "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag," Maggie Winters,1998
    • Mr.

      Their daughter, Francesca Poston, also became an actress. But Poston's career solidified with his appearances on "The Tonight Show" (in its first incarnation with Steve Allen as host) and later as a regular on Allen's variety series.

      In the latter, for which he earned an Emmy, Poston played numerous characters, typically the befuddled common man on the street.

      Hosting the amusing daily TV show "Entertainment" led to his biggest break on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956). Sullivan, On the Rocks, ABC, 1975-76

    • Damon Jerome, We've Got Each Other, CBS, 1977-78
    • Franklin Delano Bickley, Mork and Mindy, ABC, 1979-82
    • George Utley, Newhart, CBS, 1982-90
    • Ringo Prowley, Good Grief, Fox, 1990
    • Jerry Fleisher, Bob, CBS, 1992
    • Mr.

      They divorced in 1975, but remarried in 1980 and remained together until her death at age 54 in 1998 from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Sherman, The Owl and the Pussycat, U.S. cities, 1971

    • Sam Nash, Jesse Kiplinger, and Roy Hubley, Plaza Suite, U.S. cities, 1971
    • Lovers and Other Strangers, U.S.

      cities, 1973

    • Film Appearances
    • The City That Never Sleeps, Republic, 1953
    • Professor Jonathan Jones, Zotz! Columbia, 1962
    • Tom Penderel, The Old Dark House, Columbia, 1963
    • Lieutenant Magee, Soldier in the Rain, 1963
    • Edgar Stopworth, Cold Turkey, United Artists, 1971
    • J.