Harold Gould

Infobox actor
bgcolour = plum
name = Harold Gould


imagesize = 185px
caption = publicity photo
birthname = Harold V. Goldstein
birthdate = birth date and age|1923|12|10
location = Schenectady, New York U.S.
spouse = Lea Vernon (?–?)

Harold V. Goldstein (best known stage name Harold Gould) (born December 10, 1923) is an American actor best known for playing Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcom "Rhoda", a role he reprised from his earlier recurring role in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Gould has acted in film and television for nearly 50 years, appearing in more than 300 television shows, 20 major motion pictures, and over 100 stage plays, and received Emmy Award-nominations five times. [http://www.albany.edu/writers.inst/gould_harold.html Harold Gould] , New York State Writers Institute. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.] He is known for playing elegant, well-dressed men, and he regularly plays Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and film. He had a major recurring role as Miles on "The Golden Girls" as well as a major role in the 1973 Academy Award-winning Best Picture "The Sting".

Early life

Gould was born in Schenectady, New York to Louis and Lillian Goldstein. Louis was a postal worker, and Lillian was a homemaker who did part-time work for the state health department. Gould was raised in Colonie, New York and was valedictorian of his high school class. He enrolled at Albany Teachers College upon graduation (now known as University at Albany, SUNY), and studied to become a social studies or English teacher. After two years in college Gould enlisted in the army, during World War II, and saw combat in France in a mortar company. He developed trenchfoot, and was sent to England to recover. After convalescence, Gould served in a rail transport unit in France. [http://www.what-a-character.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=982796220 Harold Gould] , What A Character!. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.]

After the war, Gould returned to Albany Teachers College to study drama, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1947. [http://www.filmbug.com/db/292690 Harold Gould @ Filmbug] , Misja.com, retrieved on 2006-08-13.] He performed in summer stock theatre on Cape Cod, then decided to enroll at Cornell University to study drama and speech. Gould earned a master of arts degree in 1948 and a Ph.D. in theatre in 1953 from Cornell, and also met his future wife, Lea Vernon.

Early career

Upon graduation, Gould accepted a position at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and spent three years there teaching and doing stage work. He made his professional theatre debut in 1955 as Thomas Jefferson in "The Common Glory" in Williamsburg. [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800012754/bio Harold Gould biography] , Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.]

In 1956, Gould was offered a professorship in the drama department at the University of California, Riverside, , which he accepted. He taught there until 1960, when he decided to try professional acting himself. He had difficulty finding acting jobs at first, and had to take work as a security guard and as a part-time acting teacher at UCLA. Gould made his film debut in "Two for the Seesaw" but was not credited for his work; his first credited role was a small part in "The Coach" in 1962. He gradually found more work and got roles in" The Yellow Canary", a Rod Serling movie with Pat Boone, Jack Klugman, and Barbara Eden, "The Satan Bug", "Inside Daisy Clover", and "Harper", starring Paul Newman.

Gould had steady work in television in the 1960s and early 1970s, including roles in "Dennis the Menace", "Dr. Kildare", "Hazel", "The Twlight Zone", "Hogan's Heroes", "The Big Valley", "The F.B.I.", "Cannon" and "". Gould originated the role of Marlo Thomas's father Lou, in the 1965 pilot for "That Girl", but the series role went to Lew Parker. Ray Hamel, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0332390/ Biography for Harold Gould] . Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.] He appeared in "The Long, Hot Summer" and "He and She", two short-lived television series. Gould also acted in a 1972 episode of "Love, American Style" titled "Love and the Happy Days" as Howard Cunningham, the frustrated father of a young man named Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard). When ABC turned that episode into a series called "Happy Days", Gould was unavailable, and the series role went to Tom Bosley. Hal Erickson, [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=27975&mod=bio Harold Gould biography] . All Movie Guide excerpt published in the New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-08-13.]

Character actor

Gould had worked in television and film for almost 15 years before his career really took off with his portrayal of Kid Twist in "The Sting". Twist's dignified, dapper appearance and manner put Gould into the ranks of memorable character actors, but he did not seem to be typecast and never lacked for work. He had parts in the Woody Allen movie "Love and Death", as a villain in "Silent Movie" (directed by Mel Brooks), and made guest appearances on television shows such as "Hawaii Five-O", "Petrocelli", "Soap", and "The Love Boat".

In 1972, Gould was cast as Martin Morgenstern, the father of Mary's best friend Rhoda, in an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". He reprised the role the following year and was hired as a regular when "Rhoda" was made into a spin-off in 1974. After "Rhoda" ended, Gould appeared in short-lived series such as the 1977 series The Feather and Father Gang where he starred as as Harry Danton, a smooth-talking ex-con man. With Stephanie Powers as Toni "Feather" Danton his daughter and a hard-working, successful lawyer. It ran for 13 episodes. Also "". In the 1980 NBC miniseries "Moviola", he portrayed Louis B. Mayer and earned an Emmy nomination. He appeared as Chad Lowe's grandfather in "Spencer", and played a Jewish widower wooing the Christian Katharine Hepburn in "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry". Other roles included a married man having an affair with another member of his Yiddish-speaking club in an episode of the PBS series "The Sunset Years", and as the owner of a deli grooming two African-American men to inherit his business in "Singer & Sons". Gould received Emmy nominations for his roles in "Rhoda", "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry", and "Moviola". Gould also played Miles Webber, the steadfast boyfriend of Rose Nylund (Betty White) on the NBC series "The Golden Girls" (he also played a different boyfriend of Rose's in the show's first season).

Gould's stage credits include Broadway theatre plays such as Jules Feiffer's "Grown Ups", Neil Simon's "Fools", Richard Baer's "Mixed Emotions", and Tom Stoppard's "Artist Descending a Staircase". Gould won an Obie Award in 1969 for his work in "The Increased Difficulty of Concentration", written by Vaclav Havel, and reprised the role for a 1988 PBS version of the play.

Recent roles

More recently, Gould played a villain called The Prankster on" ", and made guest appearances on television series such as "Felicity", "The King of Queens", "Touched by an Angel", and "Judging Amy". Gould's film roles in the 1990s and 2000s include appearances in "Patch Adams", "Stuart Little" as the voice of Grandpa Little, "Master of Disguise" with Dana Carvey, the 2003 remake of "Freaky Friday", "Nobody's Perfect", and "English as a Second Language". imdb|0332390]

Gould lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Lea. He has two sons, Joshua and Lowell, and a daughter, Deborah. He enjoys reading and playing golf.

elected works

Film

* "English as a Second Language"
* "Nobody's Perfect"
* "Brother Bear" (voice)
* "Freaky Friday"
* "The Master of Disguise"
* "Stuart Little" (voice)
* "Patch Adams"
* "Beloved" (uncredited)
* "My Giant"
* "Brown's Requiem"
* "The Love Bug" (1997 telefilm)
* "For Hope" (telefilm)
* "The Sunset Gang" (telefilm)
* "Seems Like Old Times"
* "King Crab" (telefilm)
* "" (telefilm)
* "" (telefilm)
* "Kenny Rogers as The Gambler" (telefilm)
* "11th Victim" (telefilm)
* "The One and Only"
* ""
* "The Feather and Father Gang"
* "Gus"
* "The Big Bus"
* "Silent Movie"
* "Love and Death"
* "The Front Page"
* "The Sting"

Television

* "Judging Amy"
* "Touched by an Angel"
* "The King of Queens"
* "Pacific Blue"
* "Felicity"
* "The Outer Limits"
* ""
* "The Golden Palace"
* "The Golden Girls"
* "The Ray Bradbury Theater"
* "Dallas"
* "Empty Nest"
* "The Feather and Father Gang"
* "Night Court"
* "L.A. Law"
* "Scarecrow and Mrs. King"
* "St. Elsewhere"
* "Park Place"
* "Insight"
* "Soap"
* "Police Story"
* "Petrocelli"
* "Hawaii Five-O"
* "The Bob Crane Show"
* "Cannon"
* "Rhoda" - recurring
* "Gunsmoke"
* "The Streets of San Francisco"
* "Ironside"
* "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
* "The Partridge Family"
* "The F.B.I."
* "The Mod Squad"
* "Hogan's Heroes"
* "I Dream of Jeannie"
* ""
* "The Debbie Reynolds Show"
* "The Big Valley"
* "The Wild Wild West"
* "The Flying Nun"
* "The Fugitive"
* "The Green Hornet"
* "Get Smart"
* "That Girl" - pilot only
* "The Virginian"
* "Hazel"
* "The Jack Benny Show"
* "Dr. Kildare"
* "Mister Ed"
* "Perry Mason"
* "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
* "The Twilight Zone"
* "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"
* "Dennis the Menace"

Notes

External links

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* [http://www.tv.com/harold-gould/person/4688/summary.html Harold Gould] at TV.com
* [http://entertainment.lycos.com/movies/celeb_bio.php?id=13776 Harold Gould biography] at Lycos Movies