Tom Poston

Infobox actor
caption = promotional photo of Tom Poston


birthdate = birth date|1921|10|17|mf=y
birthplace = Columbus, Ohio, USA
deathdate = death date and age|2007|4|30|1921|10|17|mf=y
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, USA
spouse = Jean Sullivan (1955-1968)
Kay Hudson (1968-1975)
Kay Hudson (1980-1998)
Suzanne Pleshette (2001-2007)
emmyawards = Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Comedy Series
1959 "The Steve Allen Show"

Tom Poston (October 17, 1921 – April 30, 2007) was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950. He appeared as a comic actor, game show panelist, comedy/variety show host, film actor, television actor, and Broadway performer.

Biography

Early life

Poston was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Margaret and George Poston, who was a liquor salesman and dairy chemist. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/Tom-Poston.html Tom Poston Biography (1921-) ] ] After completing high school, Poston attended Bethany College in West Virginia, but did not graduate.

Instead, he joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1941. Accepted to officer candidate school and then graduating from flight training, Poston served as a pilot in the European Theater in World War II; his aircraft dropped paratroopers for the Normandy invasion. Poston served in North Africa, Italy, France, and England. After his discharge, he began studying acting in New York City.

Career

In the 1950s, Poston gained recognition as a comedic "Man in the Street" (along with his colleagues Louie Nye, Dayton Allen and Don Knotts) on the "Steve Allen Show". For these performances, Poston won the 1959 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Comedy Series. Following that, he appeared frequently on Broadway and as a television game show panelist, including regular appearances on "To Tell the Truth" and "What's My Line?". While Poston's film career was limited to quirky comedies (such as William Castle's "Zotz!" and "The Old Dark House" in the 1960s), his television career was expansive, covering the better part of five decades, and saw him contributing his comedic talents in virtually every corner of the medium, from made-for-TV movies to variety shows to situation comedies to talk shows and even to voice-overs for cartoons.Poston was a recurring guest star on "The Bob Newhart Show" in the 1970s. He later played the role of Franklin Delano Bickley on "Mork & Mindy". A longtime friend of Bob Newhart, Poston played George Utley, bumbling country handyman of the Stratford Inn, on "Newhart" and appeared with Newhart in Cold Turkey (1971) as the town drunk, Edgar Stopworth. He was nominated for an Emmy Award three times for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on "Newhart": in 1984, 1986, and 1987. He had a third role with Newhart in the short-lived "Bob".

Poston also had regular roles on many other television series: "Family Matters","Murphy Brown", "Home Improvement", "Cosby","Malcolm & Eddie", "ER", "Grace Under Fire", "That '70s Show", "Will & Grace", and guest starred in an episode of "The Simpsons" as the Capital City Goofball. He also played Art Hibke on ABC's "Coach", for which he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1991.

In 2001, Poston married for the third time, to actress Suzanne Pleshette, who played the wife of Newhart's character Bob Hartley on "The Bob Newhart Show". Poston continued to appear in supporting roles in films, including 2003's "Beethoven's 5th" and two released in 2004, "Christmas with the Kranks" and "", and on several television programs. In 2005, he played the character "Clown" on the brief-lived NBC series "Committed". They Might Be Giants mentions Poston as a writer for the "New York Times" in their song "Critic Intro". In 2006 Poston guest-starred on an episode of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" in the episode "Ah! Wilderness" as Merle, which became his final acting role.

After a brief illness, Poston died on April 30, 2007 in Los Angeles, California [ [http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=260819&GT1=7703 'Newhart' Actor Tom Poston Dies at 85 - MSN TV News ] ]

ee also

*Sigma Nu LEADership learning program

References

External links

*findagrave|19174741
*ibdb|68556
*imdb|0692976