Edward Andrews

Edward Andrews
Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and in films from the 1950s through the 1980s. His stark white hair, imposing build and horn-rimmed glasses influenced the roles he received, as he was often cast as an ornery boss, a cagey businessman or other officious types.
Life and career
Andrews was born in Griffin, Georgia, the son of an Episcopal priest, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia. At the age of 12, he won a walk-on role in a stock theater production featuring James Gleason.
He attended the University of Virginia, and at age 21 made his stage debut in 1935, progressing to Broadway that same year. During this period, Andrews starred in the short-lived but well-received military drama So Proudly We Hail in the lead role opposite Richard Cromwell. In 1936, Andrews debuted in the film Rushin' Art. In 1949 he made a brief, uncredited appearance as a neighbor to David Wayne's character in Adam's Rib. His next film appearance came in 1955 as the subversive and corrupt Rhett Tanner, head of a violent political machine, in The Phenix City Story. This was soon followed by roles in other films such as The Harder They Fall (1956), These Wilder Years (1956), Tea and Sympathy (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), The Unguarded Moment (1956), Hot Summer Night (1957), The Tattered Dress (1957), The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) and Night of the Quarter Moon (1959).
Films
While Andrews' film acting career began in earnest in his forties, he appeared much older than he actually was and he was consistently typecast as a grandfatherly type. Though he often played amiable characters, Andrews was equally adept at portraying characters such as sleazy businessmen types or uptight bureaucrats.
Andrews appeared in several popular films, including Elmer Gantry (1960) in which he was memorable as George F. Babbitt, The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963) as the secretary of defense, The Thrill of It All (1963) with Doris Day and James Garner, Send Me No Flowers (1964) with Doris Day and Rock Hudson and Avanti! (1972) as a government agent. Among his other film credits are The Young Savages (1961), The Young Doctors (1961), Advise & Consent (1962), The Thrill of It All (1963), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), Youngblood Hawke (1964), Kisses for My President (1964), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966); The Trouble with Girls (1969) with Elvis Presley, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) as Admiral Harold R. Stark, How to Frame a Figg (1971), The Million Dollar Duck (1971), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Charley and the Angel (1973) and The Seniors (1978). He played Molly Ringwald's grandfather in the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles (1984) before making his final feature-film appearance in Gremlins (1984).
Television
Andrews guest-starred on many television series including Mama, Thriller, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Hands of Mystery, The United States Steel Hour, Justice (1954 series), Cheyenne, The Twilight Zone (in the episodes "Third From the Sun" and "You Drive"), The Real McCoys, The Eleventh Hour, Route 66, Naked City, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, The Wild Wild West, Ironside, The F.B.I., The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Novak, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, Love American Style, Ellery Queen, The Invaders, Bewitched, Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, The Rookies, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Storefront Lawyers, Sergeant Bilko, The Love Boat, The Andy Griffith Show, Fantasy Island, Three's Company, The Bob Newhart Show and Quincy, M.E..
Andrews was a regular on the ABC series Broadside (1964–1965) as Commander Roger Adrian. He had previously filmed the pilot for the popular series Hazel in the role of George Baxter. His was the only role recast when the pilot became a series; he was replaced by actor Don DeFore.
Andrews played the character of Charley in the 1966 dramatization of Death of a Salesman, and appeared on was active throughout the 1970s. He played Elton Dykstra on The Intruders, Ernest W. Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Mayor Robert Chisholm alongside Don Knotts in the film How to Frame a Figg (1971), and Mayor Massey on the television film The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton. In 1968, he played a safecracker in a four-part episode of I Dream of Jeannie and in early 1969, he appeared as a drug-dealing mortician on Mod Squad. He also had the lead role as Harry Flood in the NBC short-lived 1979 series Supertrain. In 1982, he appeared in an episode of ABC's Three's Company.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Andrews appeared in a series of popular commercials for Bell Telephone as an overbearing executive.
Personal life
Andrews' Broadway career was interrupted by military service during World War II. He served as the captain and commanding officer of Battery C within the 751st Field Artillery Battalion of the United States Army and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in September 1945.
Andrews married Emily Barnes in 1955. They had two daughters, Abigail and Tabitha, and a son, Edward III.
Andrews was an avid yachtsman.
Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery selected Tabitha as the name for her character's daughter after Andrews' daughter. She said: "The name was my idea. I loved it, because it was so old-fashioned. I got it from one of the daughters of Edward Andrews, the actor. The two Andrews girls are named Tabitha and Abigail."
Death
On March 8, 1985, Andrews suffered a heart attack at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was transported to Santa Monica Hospital where he died later that day. A memorial service was held at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades on March 11. Andrews was later cremated.
Filmography
The Phenix City Story (1955) – Rhett Tanner
The Harder They Fall (1956) – Jim Weyerhause
These Wilder Years (1956) – Leland G. Spottsford
Tea and Sympathy (1956) – Herb Lee
Tension at Table Rock (1956) – Kirk
Friendly Persuasion (1956) – Soldier (uncredited)
The Unguarded Moment (1956) – Mr. Bennett
Three Brave Men (1956) – Mayor Henry L. Jensen
Hot Summer Night (1957) – Deputy Lou Follett
The Tattered Dress (1957) – Lester Rawlings
Trooper Hook (1957) – Charlie Travers
The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) – Judge Parker
Night of the Quarter Moon (1959) – Clinton Page
Elmer Gantry (1960) – George F. Babbitt
The Absent Minded Professor (1961) – Defense Secretary
The Young Savages (1961) – R. Daniel Cole
Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961) – Sen. Clyde Holloway
The Young Doctors (1961) – Jim Bannister
Advise & Consent (1962) – Senator Orrin Knox
40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) – Herman
Son of Flubber (1963) – Defense Secretary
The Thrill of It All (1963) – Gardiner Fraleigh
The Man from Galveston (1963) – Alonzo Hyde
A Tiger Walks (1964) – Governor Robbins
The Brass Bottle (1964) – Prof. Kenton
Good Neighbor Sam (1964) – Mr. Burke
Kisses for My President (1964) – Sen. Walsh
Send Me No Flowers (1964) – Dr. Ralph Morrissey
Youngblood Hawke (1964) – Quentin Judd
Fluffy (1965) – Griswald
The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) – Gen. Wallace Bleecker
Birds Do It (1966) – Gen. Smithburn
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1967) – Dr. Montrose
The Trouble with Girls (1969) – Johnny
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) – Admiral Harold R. Stark
How to Frame a Figg (1971) – Mayor Robert Chisholm
The Million Dollar Duck (1971) – Morgan
Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) – Mr. Sampson
Avanti! (1972) – J.J. Blodgett
Charley and the Angel (1973) – Ernie, Banker
Wilbur and Orville: The First to Fly (1973)
The Photographer (1974) – Sgt. Sid Collins
The Seniors (1978) – The Banker
Sixteen Candles (1984) – Howard Baker
Gremlins (1984) – Mr. Roland Corben (final film role)
References
External links
1914 births
1985 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Griffin, Georgia
University of Virginia alumni
American Episcopalians