Charles Tannen
Charles David Tannen (October 22, 1915 – December 28, 1980) was an American actor and screenwriter. Career. A general purpose actor who worked primarily at 20th Century Fox, Tannen had mostly bit and/or supporting parts in movies, appearing in more than two hundred films, including "Jesse James" (1939), "The Return of Frank James" (1940), "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954), "The Fly" (1958), and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961). Director Preston Sturges once praised Tannen for his acting ability, being quoted as saying, If you have a  middle-aged character part, either Gentile or Jewish, either comic or dramatic, I urge you to give it to Tannen, and I guarantee that you will be enchanted by his authority, his unction, his voice, his theatrical resource, and his profound ability. Tannen also made many appearances on such television series as "Bonanza, "Gunsmoke, "Perry Mason", "Lassie", "The Twilight Zone", "Rawhide", "The Rifleman" and "Jefferson Drum". In 1957 Tannen appeared as "Lonnie the Conductor" in the TV western"Cheyenne" in the episode titled "The Iron Trail." As a television screenwriter, Tannen wrote episodes for "Petticoat Junction", "I Dream Of Jeannie", "Gilligan 's Island", "The Brady Bunch", "All In The Family" and "Maude". Personal life and death. Tannen's father, Julius Tannen, and his brother, William Tannen, were also actors. Tannen died in 1980 in San Bernardino, California at the age of 65 of a heart attack.