Philip Ober
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| Philip Ober | |
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| Born | March 23, 1902 Fort Payne, Alabama |
| Died | September 13, 1982 (aged 80) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Resting place | Chapel of the Pines Crematory |
| Occupation | Stage, television actor |
| Years active | 1934–1968 |
| Spouse | Phyllis Roper (1923-1941) (divorced) 1 child Vivian Vance (1941-1959) (divorced) Jane Westover (1961-1982) (his death)[1] |
Philip Ober (March 23, 1902, Fort Payne, Alabama – September 13, 1982, Mexico City) was an American actor.
Ober often appeared in roles as a straight man in farcical circumstances. One of his most memorable stage role was in Lawrence Riley's Broadway hit Personal Appearance (1934) opposite Gladys George. From 1954 to 1967 he frequently appeared in television series. In 1941, he married actress Vivian Vance, who famously portrayed Ethel Mertz in the TV series I Love Lucy (1951–1957). He made two appearances on I Love Lucy, first playing "Arnold" in the episode "The Quiz Show," and later in the series stepping in to play Hollywood producer Dore Schary when Schary decided not to play himself in the episode. Ober and Vance divorced in 1959 at which time Ober claimed Vance was cruel during their marriage; Vance countered that the two "could never agree on how to handle my success." She also admitted that he was also living mostly on her income and was "extravagant and did not believe in savings".
Ober continued to work as an actor in films. He had an important, but brief role, as the UN ambassador in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) whom Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) meets, in order to clarify who had occupied his mansion. He also played Capt. Dana Holmes, an unsympathetic husband of Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr), in the film version of From Here to Eternity (1953).
He had a recurring role as Gen. Wingard Stone in the very early episodes of long-running NBC situation comedy I Dream of Jeannie and appeared in two episodes of McHale's Navy as tough-as-nails Admiral "Iron Pants" Rafferty. He retired from acting and went into the U.S. diplomatic service, and, while working at the U.S. consulate in Mexico City, died of a heart attack in 1982.
[edit] Filmography
- 1934: Chloe, Love Is Calling You : Jim
- 1938: Little Me
- 1950: The Magnificent Yankee : Owen Wister / Narrator
- 1950: The Secret Fury : Gregory Kent
- 1950: Never a Dull Moment : Jed
- 1951: The Unknown Man : Wayne Kellwin
- 1952: Washington Story : Gilbert Nunnally
- 1952: Come Back, Little Sheba : Ed Anderson
- 1953: The Clown : Ralph Z. Henderson
- 1953: The Girls of Pleasure Island : Col. Reade
- 1953: Scandal at Scourie : B. G. Belney
- 1953: From Here to Eternity : Capt. Dana 'Dynamite' Holmes
- 1954: About Mrs. Leslie : Mort Finley
- 1954: Broken Lance : Van Cleve
- 1956: Calling Terry Conway (TV) : Stan
- 1957: Tammy and the Bachelor : Alfred Bissle
- 1957: Escapade in Japan : Lt. Col. Hargrave
- 1958: The High Cost of Loving : Herb Zorn
- 1958: Ten North Frederick : Lloyd Williams
- 1958: Torpedo Run : Adm. Samuel Setton
- 1959: The Mating Game : Wendell Burnshaw
- 1959: North by Northwest : Lester Townsend
- 1959: Beloved Infidel : John Wheeler
- 1960: Elmer Gantry : Rev. Planck
- 1960: Let No Man Write My Epitaph : Grant Holloway
- 1960: The Facts of Life : Doc Mason
- 1961: The Crimebusters : Herman Hauzner
- 1961: Go Naked in the World : Josh Kebner
- 1963: The Ugly American : Ambassador Sears
- 1964: The Brass Bottle : William Beevor
- 1966: The Ghost and Mr. Chicken : Nicholas Simmons
- 1968: Assignment to Kill : Bohlen
