Philip Ober
(1902 - 1982)Many character actor's faces will remind you of a certain film or type of character. In the case of Philip Ober, for me, it is a single scene. Bald, with a stern looking face and intense eyes, he was a solid supporting actor. His look was that of a businessman, military officer, politician or some type of executive. Ober was born on March 23, 1902 in Fort Payne, Alabama. He attended Princeton University and worked for a time in advertising for such publications as Colliers and Liberty. He later switched to acting and spent 20 years on the Broadway stage before moving on to films and television. The scene that comes to mind upon seeing Philip Ober is from "North by Northwest" (1959) as Lester Townsend, where Cary Grant approaches him in the U.N. building to inquire about people using his home. He looks at a photo and gasps...a knife is thrown into his back. It is that gasp that is so memorable. Among his many films were: "Chloe, Love Is Calling You" (1934) as Jim, his film debut; "The Magnificent Yankee" (1950) with Louis Calhern, as Owen Wister; "The Clown" (1952) with Red Skelton, as Ralph Z. Henderson; "Come Back Little Sheba" (1952) as Ed Anderson; "From Here to Eternity" (1953) as Captain Dana Holmes; "Broken Lance" (1954) uncredited as Van Cleve; "Tammy and the Bachelor" (1957) as Alfred Bissle; "Torpedo Run" (1958) as Adm. Samuel Setton; "Ten North Frederick" (1958) as Lloyd Williams; "Beloved Infidel" (1959) with Gregory Peck, as John Wheeler; "The Mating Game" (1959) as Wendell Burnshaw; "Elmer Gantry" (1960) with Burt Lancaster, as Rev. Planck; "The Ugly American" (1962) as Sears; "The Brass Bottle" (1964) as William Beevor; "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1965) along with a cast of great character actors, as Nicholas Simmons and "Assignment to Kill" (1968) as Bohlen, his last film. He also appeared on numerous TV series including: "Mr. Lucky"; "I Love Lucy"; "Perry Mason"; "Twilight Zone"; "Honey West"; "The Munsters"; "The Monkees" and "Family Affair." He was also a regular on "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965-66) as Gen. Wingard Stone. He was married to actress, Vivian Vance from 1942-1960. He died on September 13, 1982 of heart failure in Mexico City, Mexico, where he worked for the U.S. Consulate.
From Great Character Actors, Page 1.
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