Hans Conried (April 15, 1917 - January 5, 1982)

It is good to be back...as stated in my previous post, In Memoriam will be updated on a weekly basis now instead of daily. But enough of the nuts and bolts...on with the tribute. Today's man of the hour is one of my personal favorites. He had a terrific voice and found himself appearing on just about every hit radio program of the day. He could be heard on "My Friend Irma", "The Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Show", "My Favorite Husband", "Life with Luigi", "Our Miss Brooks", "Amos 'N' Andy", "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", "The Alan Young Show", "The Eddie Cantor Show", "The Dinah Shore Show", "Escape", "The Great Gildersleeve", "The Jack Carson Show", "The Life of Riley", "Lights Out", "Lux Radio Theater", "The Martin and Lewis Show" and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." He was a member of Orson Welles "Mercury Theatre Company" and made his first film appearance in 1938. Some of his more notable films include The Big Street, Saboteur, My Friend Irma, New Mexico and Peter Pan. On television he made guest appearances on such shows as "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "To Tell the Truth", "Tonight Starring Jack Paar", "Pantomime Quiz", "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "Match Game 73", "The Merv Griffin Show", "Disneyland", "Mr. & Mrs. North", "I Love Lucy", "Four Star Playhouse", "Studio 57", "Playhouse 90", "The New Adventures of Charlie Chan", "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre", "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars", "Climax!", "Dragnet", "Maverick", "The Donna Reed Show", "The DuPont Show with June Allyson", "The Bullwinkle Show", "The United States Steel Hour", "The Red Skelton Show", "Mister Ed", "The Lucy Show", "Dr. Kildare", "Burke's Law", "Ben Casey", "Gilligan's Island", "The Farmer's Daughter", "Hogan's Heroes", "Please Don't Eat the Daisies", "Lost in Space", "The Danny Thomas Hour", "The Monkees", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Brady Bunch", "The Debbie Reynolds Show", "Here's Lucy", "Love, American Style", "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", Laverne & Shirley", "The Love Boat", "Alice", "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" and "Fantasy Island." He made regular appearances on "Make Room for Daddy" as Uncle Tonoose during the entire course of the show's run. He returned to the role for the series "Make Room for Granddaddy." During the 1977-1978 television season he played Wyatt Franklin on "The Tony Randall Show." He made appearances on all three of Lucille Ball's major television shows and her radio program: "My Favorite Husband" -He had a regular role as neighbor Mr. Benjamin Wood...Mr. Wood had 11 children. He also was heard in supporting roles and a couple of times as Mr. Rudolph Atterbury, George's boss. Some of Conried's more notable Mr. Wood episodes were when he would try to teach Liz something. His lessons included baseball, swimming, accounting and the piano. "I Love Lucy" -He played used furniture man Dan Jenkins (1952). -He played English tutor Percy Livermore (1952). "The Lucy Show" -He played singing coach Professor Gitterman in two episodes (1963). "Here's Lucy" -His character was called William Barkley this time around (1973). Not only was this the final time he worked with Lucille Ball it was also the final time he worked with Danny Thomas as well. The man was incredibly talented...and as a matter of fact a very dear friend of mine rode in an elevator with him when she was a little girl. In Memoriam Remembers: Hans Conried **Next post will be on Sunday, September 27th - At that time the man of the hour will be "The Millionaire" himself Mr. Jim Backus!**