# Harold Gould

Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom Rhoda (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–92). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Gould 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. He was known for playing elegant, well-dressed men (as in The Sting), and he regularly played Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and in film.

## Early life

Gould was born in Schenectady, New York. He was the son of Louis Goldstein, a postal worker, and Lillian, a homemaker who did part-time work for the New York 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 and studied to become a social studies or English public high school teacher.
After two years in college, Gould enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and saw combat in France in a chemical mortar battalion. He developed trench foot and was sent back to England to recover. After convalescence, Gould served in a rail transport unit in France.
After the war, Gould returned to Albany Teachers College and changed his major to study drama and theatre and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947. 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.

## Career

Upon graduation, Gould accepted a position at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he spent three years teaching and doing stage work. He made his professional theatre debut in 1955 portraying third President Thomas Jefferson in The Common Glory in Williamsburg, Virginia.
In 1956, Gould was offered a professorship in the drama department at the UC Riverside, which he accepted. He taught there for four years until 1960 when he decided to try professional acting himself. He had difficulty finding acting jobs at first and had to take side work as a security guard and as a part-time acting teacher at UCLA.
Gould made his film debut in an uncredited role in Two for the Seesaw (1962). His first credited role was a small part in The Coach (also 1962). That same year he appeared as Prosecutor Tom Finney on The Virginian in the episode titled "The Accomplice." After uncredited appearances in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964) and The Satan Bug (1965), Gould gradually found more work with credited roles in The Yellow Canary (1964), a Rod Serling film starring Pat Boone, Jack Klugman, and Barbara Eden; Inside Daisy Clover (1965); and Harper (1966) starring Paul Newman.
Gould began appearing regularly in television in the 1960s and 1970s including roles in the children's sitcom Dennis the Menace, followed by numerous other shows of various types / genres such as – Dr. Kildare, Hazel, The Twilight Zone, The Donna Reed Show, Get Smart, Hogan's Heroes, Gunsmoke, I Dream of Jeannie, The F.B.I., The Big Valley, Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Cannon, and Hawaii Five-O where he made multiple appearances as Honore Vashon, one of that series' most memorable villains. Gould originated the role of Marlo Thomas's father in the 1965 pilot for That Girl, but the series role was later recast with Lew Parker. Gould appeared in The Long, Hot Summer and He & She, two short-lived television series.
He also appeared in a pilot later broadcast as a 1972 episode of Love, American Style titled "Love and the Happy Days" with him in the role of Howard Cunningham, the frustrated father of a high schooler named Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard). Gould agreed to reprise the role on the upcoming series Happy Days; however, when production of Happy Days was delayed, he went abroad to perform in a play. Midway through the that play's run, after learning the TV series was ready to begin shooting, he decided to honor his commitment to the stage production and passed on the role. This led to the role of Howard Cunningham being recast with Tom Bosley. Gould would later state that a requirement to shave the beard he wore at the time was another factor in his decision to decline the repeat role.
Gould had worked steadily in television and film for nearly fifteen years before his career began to gain momentum with his portrayal of "Kid Twist' in the fake horse racing gambling hall set up in The Sting (1973), winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture of that year. He went on to appear in Woody Allen's Love and Death (1975) and the Disney film Gus (1976). He was "Engulf," the villainous head of a conglomerate, in Silent Movie (1976), directed by Mel Brooks, and made guest appearances on television shows such as Petrocelli, The Love Boat and Soap where he played the hospital roommate of Jody Dallas (Billy Crystal).
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 became a spin-off in 1974. Gould appeared in the short-lived 1977 series The Feather and Father Gang, starring as Harry Danton, a smooth-talking ex-con man, with Stefanie Powers as Toni "Feather" Danton, his daughter and a hard-working, successful lawyer. The show was canceled after 13 episodes, and Gould returned to Rhoda for the remainder of its run.
Gould also appeared in the miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors. In the 1980 NBC miniseries The Scarlett O'Hara War, he portrayed MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer which gained him 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 played Miles Webber, the steadfast suitor of Rose Nylund (Betty White), on The Golden Girls in 12 episodes across three seasons (he also played another of Rose's boyfriends, Arnie, in one episode of the show's first season). He reprised the role of Miles in two episodes of the spin-off, The Golden Palace, where he became the character's ex-boyfriend and married someone else.
He portrayed the father of a villain called The Prankster on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman 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 Stuart Little, Patch Adams, The Master of Disguise, the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday, Nobody's Perfect, and Whisper of the Heart.
His 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 Václav Havel, and reprised the role for a 1988 PBS version of the play. Gould was an early and longtime (48 years) member of Theatre West, the oldest membership theatre company in Los Angeles. He played Mr. Green in Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr. Green at the Pasadena Playhouse, and George Antrobus in Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth" at the Old Globe Theater, which was broadcast on PBS' American Playhouse in 1983.

## Death

Gould died from prostate cancer on September 11, 2010. He had two sons, Joshua and Lowell, and a daughter, Deborah. He and Lea were married for 60 years.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951 | The Man from Planet X | Frightened Villager | Uncredited |
| 1962 | The Couch | Hollingsworth | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Two for the Seesaw | Bit | Uncredited |
| 1963 | The Yellow Canary | Ponelli | |
| 1964 | Marnie | Mr. Garrett, Manager of Farm | Uncredited |
| 1965 | The Satan Bug | Dr. Ostrer | Uncredited |
| 1965 | The Spy with My Face | Doctor | |
| 1965 | Inside Daisy Clover | Cop on Pier | |
| 1966 | Harper | Sheriff | |
| 1966 | An American Dream | Ganucci's Attorney | |
| 1968 | Project X | Colonel Holt | |
| 1969 | The Arrangement | Dr. Leibman | |
| 1970 | The Lawyer | Eric P. Scott | |
| 1971 | Mrs. Pollifax-Spy | Nexdhet | |
| 1972 | Where Does It Hurt? | Dr. Zerny | |
| 1973 | The Sting | Kid Twist | |
| 1974 | The Front Page | The Mayor | |
| 1975 | The Strongest Man in the World | Regent Dietz | |
| 1975 | Love and Death | Anton | |
| 1976 | Silent Movie | Engulf | |
| 1976 | The Big Bus | Professor Baxter | |
| 1976 | Gus | Charles Gwynn | |
| 1978 | The One and Only | Hector Moses | |
| 1980 | Seems Like Old Times | Judge John Channing | |
| 1984 | The Dream Chasers | Telford Stampley | |
| 1986 | Playing for Keeps | Rockefeller | |
| 1989 | Romero | Francisco Galedo | |
| 1991 | Birch Street Gym | Jack | Short subject |
| 1995 | Killer: A Journal of Murder | Old Henry Lesser | |
| 1995 | Lover's Knot | Alan Smithee | |
| 1998 | My Giant | Milt Kaminski | |
| 1998 | Beloved | Barber Shop Man #4 | Uncredited |
| 1998 | Patch Adams | Arthur Mendelson | |
| 1998 | Brown's Requiem | Solly K | |
| 1999 | Stuart Little | Grandpa Spencer | |
| 2001 | Dying on the Edge | Arthur | |
| 2002 | The Master of Disguise | Grandfather Disguisey | |
| 2003 | Freaky Friday | Grandpa Alan Coleman | |
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Old Denahi (voice) | |
| 2003 | Nobody's Perfect | | Short subject |
| 2005 | Whisper of the Heart | Shiro Nishi (voice) | English version |
| 2005 | English as a Second Language | Wayne | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | Dennis the Menace | Tramp | Season 3 Episode 5: "Haunted House" |
| 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Frank the Cop (uncredited) | Season 1 Episode 7: "The Lonely Ones" |
| 1962 | National Velvet | | Season 2 Episode 24: "The Rumor" |
| 1962 | The Donna Reed Show | Cal Winslow | Season 5 Episode 8: "Rebel with a Cause" |
| 1962 | The Eleventh Hour | Paul Brauner | Season 1 Episode 1: "Ann Costigan: A Duel on a Field of White" |
| 1962 | The Eleventh Hour | Eric Stanger Judge | Season 1 Episode 9: "Cry a Little for Mary Too" |
| 1962 | Hazel | Mr. Prior | Season 2 Episode 1: "Hazel's Cousin" |
| 1962–1965 | The Virginian | Lacey / John Marshall Harrison / John Anderson / Adam Pendleton / Prosecutor Black / Prosecutor Tom Finney | 6 episodes |
| 1963 | Dennis the Menace | Mr. Sparks | Season 4 Episode 29: "The Three F's" |
| 1963 | Dr. Kildare | Dr. Peter Duey | Season 2 Episode 25: "The Dark Side of the Mirror" |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Judge | Season 2 Episode 10: "The Bride Wore Pink" |
| 1963 | Empire | Judge Will | Season 1 Episode 14: "Stopover on the Way to the Moon" |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | General Larrabee | Season 5 Episode 9: "Probe 7, Over and Out" |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | District Attorney | Season 2 Episode 11: "How to Get Rid of Your Wife" |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Doctor | Season 1 Episode 8: "The Double Affair" |
| 1964 | Perry Mason | Lawrence West | Season 8 Episode 11: "The Case of the Latent Lover" |
| 1964–1965 | The Jack Benny Show | Director / Mr. Hunter, First IRS Man / DMV Clerk, Corrects Exam | 5 episodes |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Eller, Interviewer | Season 2 Episode 1: "Man in a Chariot" |
| 1964 | Gunsmoke | Hadley Boake | Season 10 Episode 5: "Doctor's Wife" |
| 1964 | Hazel | TV Announcer | Season 3 Episode 30: "Campaign Manager" |
| 1964 | Hazel | Mr. Wheeler | Season 4 Episode 1: "Never Trouble Trouble" |
| 1965 | Hazel | Judge Winston | Season 4 Episode 25: "George's Man Friday" |
| 1965 | Dr. Kildare | Earl McCloskey | Season 4 Episode 18: "Please Let My Baby Live" |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Dr. Willis | Season 3 Episode 1: "Wings of an Angel" |
| 1965 | That Girl | Lew Marie | Season 1 Pilot Episode: "What's in a Name?" |
| 1965 | Mister Ed | Psychiatrist | Season 5 Episode 6: "Ed the Pilot" |
| 1965–1972 | The F.B.I. | George Hale / Vincent Millard / Israel Jacobs / Martin Eldon / Doctor / Arnold Bruzzi / Dave Rice / Hans Hunter | 7 episodes |
| 1966 | The Green Hornet | Calvin Ryland | Season 1 Episode 15: "May the Best Man Lose" |
| 1966 | Get Smart | Hans Hunter | Season 2 Episode 11: "The Island of the Darned" |
| 1966 | Hogan's Heroes | General Von Lintzer | Season 2 Episode 14: "Klink's Rocket" |
| 1967 | Hogan's Heroes | General von Scheider | Season 3 Episode 3: "D-Day at Stalag 13" |
| 1967 | The Fugitive | Tom Crailer | Season 4 Episode 18: "Concrete Evidence" |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Dr. Paul Mailer | Season 1 Episode 1: "The Experiment" |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Allen Slater | Season 2 Episode 6: "The Trial" |
| 1967 | The Flying Nun | Father Sweeney | Season 1 Episode 10: "With Love from Irving" |
| 1967 | The Wild Wild West | Victor Freemantle | Season 3 Episode 1: "The Night of the Bubbling Death" |
| 1967 | The Big Valley | Major Wilson | Season 2 Episode 30: "Cage of Eagles" |
| 1967–1980 | Insight | God (Old Man) / Beggar / God / Jonathan / Morris Gertz / Eddie | 7 episodes |
| 1968 | The Big Valley | Judge William Daggett Captain Crawford / Harry Davis | Season 3 Episode 26: "The Challenge" |
| 1968 | The Flying Nun | Rabbi Mendez | Season 2 Episode 3: "The Rabbi and the Nun" |
| 1968 | The Wild Wild West | John Taney | Season 4 Episode 11: "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary" |
| 1969 | The Big Valley | Captain Crawford / Harry Davis | Season 4 Episode 19: "The Royal Road" |
| 1969 | The Debbie Reynolds Show | Whitaker | Season 1 Episode 1: "That's Debbie" |
| 1969 | Mission: Impossible | Vincente Bravo | Season 4 Episode 1: "The Code" |
| 1969 | I Dream of Jeannie | Irwin Winkler | Season 4 Episode 16: "Invisible House for Sale" |
| 1969 | I Dream of Jeannie | General Whetherby | Season 5 Episode 5: "Jeannie's Beauty Cream" |
| 1970 | Hogan's Heroes | General von Schlomm | Season 6 Episode 4: "Lady Chitterly's Lover: Part 1" |
| 1970 | Hogan's Heroes | General von Schlomm | Season 6 Episode 5: "Lady Chitterly's Lover: Part 2" |
| 1971 | Columbo | Agent Carlson | Episode: "Ransom for a Dead Man" |
| 1971 | The Mod Squad | Lester Chennery | Season 4 Episode 12: "Real Loser" |
| 1971 | A Death of Innocence | Alexander Weisberg | TV movie |
| 1971 | Cannon | Nicholas Troas | Season 1 Episode 9: "A Lonely Place to Die" |
| 1972 | Love, American Style | Howard Cunningham | Season 3 Episode 22: "Love and the Happy Days"/"Love and the Newscasters" (segment "Love and the Television Set") |
| 1972 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Martin Morgenstern | Season 3 Episode 4: "Enter Rhoda's Parents" |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco | Arthur Lavery | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Takers" |
| 1972 | Hawaii Five-O | Honore Vashon | Season 5 Episode 9: "'V' for Vashon: The Son" |
| 1972 | Hawaii Five-O | Honore Vashon | Season 5 Episode 10: "'V' for Vashon: The Father" |
| 1972 | Hawaii Five-O | Honore Vashon | Season 5 Episode 11: "'V' for Vashon: The Patriarch" |
| 1973 | Cannon | Robert L. Jardine | Season 2 Episode 20: "Prisoners" |
| 1973 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Martin Morgenstern | Season 4 Episode 3: "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married" |
| 1973 | The Partridge Family | Walter Yost | Season 4 Episode 3: "Beethoven, Brahms and Partridge" |
| 1973 | Ironside | Martin Geller | Season 7 Episode 5: "The Armageddon Gang" |
| 1973 | Needles and Pins | Joe | Season 1 Episode 6: "Union Trouble" |
| 1974 | Gunsmoke | Colonel Lucius Shindrow | Season 20 Episode 3: "The Guns of Cibola Blanca: Part 1" |
| 1974 | Gunsmoke | Colonel Lucius Shindrow | Season 20 Episode 4: "The Guns of Cibola Blanca: Part 2" |
| 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Joseph Francis | Season 2 Episode 23: "Death and the Favored Few" |
| 1974 | Petrocelli | Haskell Fox | Season 1 Episode 6: "Death in High Places" |
| 1974 | Petrocelli | Haskell Fox | Season 1 Episode 8: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall..." |
| 1974 | Police Story | Andrea Basic | Season 2 Episode 4: "Fathers and Sons" |
| 1974–1978 | Rhoda | Martin Morgenstern | 17 episodes |
| 1975 | Cannon | Colonel Mirza | Season 4 Episode 23: "Tomorrow Ends at Noon" |
| 1975 | Hawaii Five-O | Honore Vashon | Season 8 Episode 6: "The Case Against McGarrett" |
| 1976–1977 | The Feather and Father Gang | TV series (co-starring Stefanie Powers) as Harry Danton | 14 episodes |
| 1976 | Petrocelli | Haskell Fox | Season 2 Episode 21: "Shadow of a Doubt" |
| 1976 | Police Story | Sam Grossman | Season 3 Episode 20: "Eamon Kinsella Royce" |
| 1977 | Police Story | Emmett Parnell | Season 4 Episode 16: "The Blue Fog" |
| 1977 | Soap | Barney Gerber | 4 episodes (Season 1 Episodes 9, 10, 11, 12) |
| 1977 | Family | Paul Schiller | Season 3 Episode 2: "Acts of Love: Part 2" |
| 1979 | The Rockford Files | Mr. Brockelman | Season 5 Episode 19: "Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job" |
| 1979 | 11th Victim | Benny Benito | TV movie |
| 1979 | The Man in the Santa Claus Suit | Dickie Dayton | TV movie |
| 1980 | Kenny Rogers as The Gambler | Arthur Stowbridge | TV movie |
| 1980 | The Scarlett O'Hara War | Louis B. Mayer | TV movie |
| 1980 | King Crab | Mr. Campana | TV movie |
| 1983 | Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues | Arthur Stowbridge | TV movie |
| 1984 | St. Elsewhere | Melvin Millstein | Season 3 Episode 9: "Up on the Roof" |
| 1984 | St. Elsewhere | Melvin Millstein | Season 3 Episode 10: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" |
| 1985 | The Golden Girls | Arnie Peterson, Rose's boyfriend | Season 1 Episode 3: "Rose the Prude" |
| 1986 | Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry | Dr. Marvin Elias | TV movie |
| 1986 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Andrei Zernov | Season 3 Episode 13: "One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn't" |
| 1986 | L.A. Law | Harry Finneman | Season 1 Episode 5: "Simian Chanted Evening" |
| 1986 | Night Court | Walter Wise | Season 4 Episode 11: "New Year's Leave" |
| 1989 | Empty Nest | Dr. Stanfield Weston | Season 1 Episode 19: "Man of the Year" |
| 1989 | Midnight Caller | Charlie Drexol | Season 1 Episode 17: "Blues for Mr. Charlie" |
| 1989 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Old Man | Season 3 Episode 9: "To the Chicago Abyss" |
| 1989–1992 | The Golden Girls | Miles Webber, Rose's boyfriend | (Seasons 5-7) (12 episodes) |
| 1990 | Dallas | Dr. Wexler | Season 13 Episode 26: "Three, Three, Three: Part 1" |
| 1990 | Dallas | Dr. Wexler | Season 13 Episode 27: "Three, Three, Three: Part 2" |
| 1990 | Singer & Sons | Nathan Singer | 4 episodes |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Colonel Stonesteel | Season 5 Episode 4: "Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties" |
| 1992 | The Golden Palace | Miles Webber, Rose's ex-boyfriend | Season 1 Episode 3: "Miles, We Hardly Knew Ye" |
| 1993 | The Golden Palace | Miles Webber, Rose's ex-boyfriend | Season 1 Episode 13: "Rose and Fern" |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Edwin Griffin | Season 2 Episode 4: "The Prankster" |
| 1995 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Edwin Griffin | Season 2 Episode 15: "The Return of the Prankster" |
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Gerry | Season 2 Episode 17: "Paradise" |
| 1996 | For Hope | David 'Dave' Altman | TV movie |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Sam Moskowitz | Season 3 Episode 5: "Written in Dust" |
| 1997 | The Love Bug | Dr. Gustav Stumpfel | TV movie |
| 1998 | Felicity | Dr. William Garibay | Season 1 Episode 3: "Hot Objects" |
| 1999 | Pacific Blue | Judge Solomon Stein | Season 5 Episode 6: "Hostile Witness" |
| 2000 | The King of Queens | Irv Glassman | Season 2 Episode 19: "Surprise Artie" |
| 2001 | Touched by an Angel | Albert Einstein | Season 7 Episode 22: "The Face of God" |
| 2003 | Judging Amy | Arthur | Season 4 Episode 15: "Maxine Interrupted" |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Monty Moran '08 | Season 6 Episode 9: "Pin Up Girl" |
| 2010 | Nip/Tuck | Walter Krieger | Season 6 Episode 18: "Walter and Edith Krieger" |

### Theatre

* The House of Blue Leaves (1970) – Artie Shaughnessy – Truck and Warehouse Theatre, New York City, NY
* The Skin of Our Teeth (1983) – Mr. Antrobus – Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA
* The Substance of Fire (1996) – Isaac Geldhart – Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
* Visiting Mr. Green (1999) – Mr. Green – Pasadena Playhouse
* Old Wicked Songs (2002) – Professor Josef Mashkan – Rubicon Theatre Company
* Tuesdays With Morrie (2005) – Morrie Schwartz – Rubicon Theatre Company