# Herb Edelman

Herbert “Herb” Edelman (November 5, 1933 – July 21, 1996) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. His best-known role was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak (played by Bea Arthur) on The Golden Girls. He also had a recurring role on the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere.

## Early life and career

Herbert Edelman was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on November 5, 1933. His parents, Jennie (née Greenberg) and Mayer "Mike" Edelman, were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Ukraine, respectively. Before becoming an actor, Edelman studied to become a veterinarian at Cornell University but left during his first year. After serving in the U.S. Army as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio, he enrolled in Brooklyn College as a theater student, but eventually dropped out. He later worked as a hotel manager and as a taxicab driver. One of his fares was director Mike Nichols, who in 1963 cast Edelman in his breakthrough Broadway role, as the bewildered telephone repairman in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Edelman reprised his role in the 1967 film version (starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda).
He appeared as Murray the Cop in the movie version of Simon's The Odd Couple (1968) and later appeared in Simon's California Suite (1978). He also had a role in The Way We Were (1973) and in an installment of the Japanese movie series Otoko wa Tsurai yo in 1979.
He remains best known for his three decades in television, usually as a co-star, recurring character, or guest star on CHIPS, The Golden Girls, That Girl, Love, American Style, The Streets of San Francisco, Maude, Cannon, Happy Days, Welcome Back, Kotter, Highway to Heaven, Kojak, Fantasy Island, Cagney & Lacey, and MacGyver, but occasionally in a lead role. In 1976, he starred in the Saturday morning children's series Big John, Little John, as well as The Good Guys with Bob Denver (in what was Denver's first series after Gilligan's Island), from 1968 to 1970.
He also appeared with Bill Bixby and Valerie Perrine in Bruce Jay Friedman's Steambath, a controversial PBS dramedy, during 1973. From 1984 to 1988, he had a recurring role on St. Elsewhere. Edelman also appeared in ten episodes of Murder, She Wrote between 1984 and 1995, most frequently appearing as New York Police Department Lieutenant Artie Gelber. His last role was in an episode of Burke's Law.

## Personal life and death

Edelman was married to soap opera actress Louise Sorel from 1964 to 1970; he had two children, Briana Edelman and Jacy Edelman. He was romantically linked with actress Christina Pickles from the mid-1980s until his death.
Herbert Edelman died of emphysema on July 21, 1996, in Los Angeles at the age of 62. He was interred at Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1967 | In Like Flint | Russian Premier | |
| 1967 | Barefoot in the Park | Harry Pepper | |
| 1968 | P.J. | Charlie | Alternative title: New Face in Hell |
| 1968 | I Love You, Alice B. Toklas | Murray | Alternative title: Kiss My Butterfly |
| 1968 | The Odd Couple | Murray | |
| 1972 | The War Between Men and Women | Howard Mann | |
| 1973 | The Way We Were | Bill Verso | |
| 1974 | The Front Page | Schwartz | Credited as Herbert Edelman |
| 1974 | The Yakuza | Wheat | Alternative title: Brotherhood of the Yakuza |
| 1975 | Hearts of the West | Polo | Alternative title: Hollywood Cowboy |
| 1976 | Smash-Up on Interstate 5 | Danny | TV movie |
| 1977 | Charge of the Model T's | Villa Nueva | |
| 1978 | Goin' Coconuts | Sid | |
| 1978 | California Suite | Harry Michaels | |
| 1979 | Tora-san's Dream of Spring | Michael Jordan | 24th entry in the Japanese Otoko wa Tsurai yo series |
| 1981 | On the Right Track | Sam | |
| 1983 | Cracking Up | Dr. Jonas Pletchick | |
| 1984 | Wheels on Meals | Matt Henry | |
| 1992 | The Naked Truth | Rupert Hess | Credited as Herbert Edelman |
| 1995 | Cops n Roberts | | (final film role) |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | The Reporter | Benny | Episode: "How Much for a Prince?" |
| 1965 | The Nurses | Marco | Episode: "The Witnesses" |
| 1965 | Honey West | Moody | Episode: "Live a Little... Kill a Little" |
| 1966 | Hey, Landlord | Garvin | Episode: "The Long Hot Bus" |
| 1966 | Occasional Wife | Uncle Harry | Episode: "Marriage Counselor" |
| 1966 | That Girl | Eddie | Episode: "Time for Arrest" |
| 1967 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Mr. Asterick | Episode: "The Furnace Flats Affair" |
| 1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Seth Swine | Episode: "The Reason Nobody Hardly Ever Seen a Fat Outlaw in the Old West Is as Follows" |
| 1967 | Accidental Family | Howard | Episode: "If You Knew Martha" |
| 1967 | The Flying Nun | Albion "Al" Caine | Episode: "Ah Love, Could You and I Conspire?" |
| 1968–70 | The Good Guys | Bert Gramus | 42 episodes |
| 1971 | The Bill Cosby Show | Mr. Maher | Episode: "Tobacco Road" |
| 1971 | Bewitched | Col. Bringham | Episode: "This Little Piggie" |
| 1971 | McMillan & Wife | Gregory Constantine | Episode: "Once Upon a Dead Man" |
| 1971 | Mission: Impossible | Frank Mason | Episode: "Run for the Money" |
| 1972 | Banacek | Joe Taddenhurst | Episode: "Project Phoenix" |
| 1972 | Banyon | Harry Sprague | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Howard Feinstein | Episode: "A Quality of Fear" |
| 1972 | Temperatures Rising | Dr. Patterson | Episode: "RX: Christmas" |
| 1973 | Ironside | David Wollens | Episode: "Murder by One" |
| 1973 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | George Benson | Episode: "One of the Boys" |
| 1973 | The Partridge Family | Darby Willis | Episode: "The Strike-Out King" |
| 1974 | Hawkins | Lt. Horowitz | Episode: "Murder on the Thirteenth Floor" |
| 1974 | Maude | Woody | Episode: "Maude the Boss" |
| 1975 | Happy Days | Burglar | Episode: "The Cunningham Caper" |
| 1975 | Barney Miller | Alan Schuster | Episode: "The Guest" |
| 1975 | Medical Center | Brannigan | Episode: "Gift from a Killer" |
| 1976 | Jigsaw John | Lieutenant Hill | Episode: "Sand Trap" |
| 1976 | Big John Little John | Big John Martin | 13 episodes |
| 1977 | Blansky's Beauties | Sindu | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected | Don Lucas | Episode: "You're Not Alone" |
| 1977 | The San Pedro Beach Bums | Schwann | Episode: "The Angels and the Bums" |
| 1978 | CHiPs | Sanders | Episode: "Rainy Day" |
| 1978 | Chico and the Man | Doctor | Episode: "The Hot Rock" |
| 1978 | Charlie's Angels | Joey January | Episode: "Angels in Vegas" |
| 1979 | The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove | Big Jim | 2 episodes |
| 1980–81 | Ladies' Man | Reggie | 16 episodes |
| 1981–82 | Strike Force | Commissioner Herb Klein | 20 episodes |
| 1982–83 | Nine to Five | Harry Nussbaum | 8 episodes |
| 1984 | Trapper John, M.D. | Dr. Haller | Episode: "A Little Knife Music" |
| 1984-88 | St. Elsewhere | Richard Clarendon | 17 episodes |
| 1984–95 | Murder, She Wrote | Lieutenant Artie Gelber, and others | 10 episodes |
| 1985 | The Fall Guy | Hal Vargas movie producer | Episode: "Reel Trouble" |
| 1985 | The Paper Chase | Dr. Arnie Samuels | Episode: "The Big D" |
| 1985 | Highway to Heaven | Dr. Cohn | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Harry Baxter | Episode: "Games People Play" |
| 1985–92 | The Golden Girls | Stan Zbornak | 26 episodes |
| 1987 | Matlock | Arthur Rydell | Episode: "The Rat Pack" |
| 1988 | Beauty and the Beast | Harold Levinson | Episode: "Temptation" |
| 1989 | The Famous Teddy Z | Lassister Fogel | Episode: "The Dark Closet" |
| 1989 | Out of This World | Stanley Mansfield | Episode: "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" |
| 1989–90 | thirtysomething | Murray Steadman | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | The Bradys | Gene Dickinson | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Knots Landing | Sergeant Levine | 5 episodes |
| 1991 | MacGyver | Gorman | Episode: "Faith, Hope and Charity" |
| 1992 | Batman: The Animated Series | Stern | 2 episodes |
| 1992–93 | L.A. Law | Judge Al Jones | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | The Golden Palace | Stanley Zbornak | Episode: "One Angry Stan" |
| 1994 | The Mommies | Therapist | Episode: "The Exercist" |

## Award nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1987 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |
| 1988 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Nominated |