Ray Walston

Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees.

He appeared in the films South Pacific (1958), Damn Yankees (1958), The Apartment (1960), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Paint Your Wagon (1969), The Sting (1973), Popeye (1980), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and Of Mice and Men (1992). Walston also starred as the title character on My Favorite Martian and as Glen Bateman in the miniseries The Stand (1994). For his role as Judge Henry Bone in Picket Fences he earned two Primetime Emmy Awards.

He started acting at an early age, beginning his tenure as a spear carrier rounding out productions at many New Orleans theaters. He mostly played small roles with stock companies, where he not only starred in traveling shows, but also worked at a movie theater, selling tickets and cleaning the stage floors. His family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he joined a repertory theater company under Margo Jones in 1938. He stayed at the Houston Civic Theater six years, "averaging 12 roles a year."

Career 1945–1957 Walston was popular with Margo Jones' team of actors before he traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent three years with the Cleveland Play House. He then traveled to New York City, where he made his Broadway debut in a 1945 production of Maurice Evans's The G.I. Hamlet. Three years later, Walston became one of the first members admitted to the newly formed Actors Studio.

In 1949, he appeared in the short-lived play Mrs. Gibbons' Boys, directed by George Abbott, who later cast him as Satan (who bore the name "Mr. Applegate") in the 1955 musical Damn Yankees opposite Gwen Verdon as his sexy aide Lola. The chemistry between the two was such that they both garnered critical success and won awards for their roles. After a decade in New York theater, he won a Tony Award.

He starred as Luther Billis in the 1951 London production of South Pacific. He reprised that role in the 1958 film adaptation. He and Juanita Hall (as Bloody Mary) were the only cast members to appear in both the stage and movie versions. Additional Broadway credits included The Front Page, Summer and Smoke, Richard III, Wish You Were Here, and House of Flowers. In 1957, actress and producer Katharine Cornell placed him in a role on Broadway in Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize winning play about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, There Shall Be No Night. The play was adapted for television for a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. He had a prominent role in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Me and Juliet, portraying the stage manager of the musical-within-the-musical, but his character did not participate in any of the musical numbers.

1958–1979 Walston reprised his role in the 1958 film version of Damn Yankees. He guest starred on numerous television programs, including The Shirley Temple Show, The Americans, and a television version of Going My Way.

Walston as Uncle Martin in the My Favorite Martian episode "There Is No Cure for the Common Martian" (1963, S1E3)

On TV, Walston appeared as the title character (Uncle Martin) on My Favorite Martian from 1963 to 1966, alongside co-star Bill Bixby. The two became close friends. The show was a top ten hit in its first season, still in the top 30 in its second, dropping to 45th in its third and final season. The success of My Favorite Martian typecast Walston and he had difficulty finding serious roles after the show's cancellation. He returned to character actor status in the 1970s and 1980s, and guest starred in such series as Custer, The Wild Wild West, Love, American Style, The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, Ellery Queen, The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Little House on the Prairie, and The Incredible Hulk, again with Bixby, in which Walston played Jasper the Magician in an episode called "My Favorite Magician".

1980–1992 From 1980 to 1992, Walston was featured in 14 films, including Galaxy of Terror and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (as well as the 1986 television adaptation) as Mr. Hand. In a 1999 interview, Walston said that he was happy and relieved that when he walked down the street, young fans shouted at him "Mr. Hand" because he had finally broken away from his connection to theMartian role. In 1984, Walston played a judge on an episode of Night Court. Six years later, he made a guest appearance on an episode of L.A. Law. He later was hired for the role of Judge Henry Bone on Picket Fences; the character was originally a recurring role, but Walston proved to be so popular the character was later upgraded to a starring role. In the first season episode, "Remembering Rosemary", Judge Bone wears a Martian costume with antennae to a Halloween party as a nod to Walston's role as Uncle Martin.

He appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Boothby, head groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, and reprised the role twice on Star Trek: Voyager. In 1988, he guest starred in an episode of the popular horror-fantasy show Friday the 13th: The Series, as a bitter, elderly comic-book artist who uses a demonically cursed comic book to transform himself into a killer robot and murder his erstwhile enemies. In 1992, Walston played the role of Candy in the big-screen remake of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. He also made a cameo appearance as a barman in Madonna's Deeper and Deeper video.

1993–2000 Walston reunited with Sinise in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. He appeared in an AT&T long distance TV commercial in 1995, in which his dialogue implied he was Uncle Martin from Mars, looking for good rates to talk to fellow Martians living in the United States.

Walston received three Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Picket Fences, winning twice, in 1995 and 1996. CBS cancelled the show after four seasons in 1996. Walston made a guest appearance in an episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman entitled "Remember Me", in which he portrayed the father of Jake Slicker, who was stricken with Alzheimer's disease. Walston played Grandfather Walter Addams in Addams Family Reunion (1998). The next year, he appeared in the film remake of his hit series, My Favorite Martian (1999) in the role of Armitan. He appeared in the Touched by an Angel episode, "The Face on the Barroom Floor", which aired on October 15, 2000.

Walston made a cameo in the 7th Heaven episode, "One Hundred", which aired on January 29, 2001, four weeks after his death. His final film role was in the independent film Early Bird Special, which was released later that year.

Personal life and death Walston married Ruth Calvert on November 3, 1943. The couple had one daughter. On January 1, 2001, Walston died from the disease at his home at Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 86.

Filmography Film

1957: Kiss Them for Me as Lt. McCann 1958: South Pacific as Luther Billis 1958: Damn Yankees! as Mr. Applegate 1959: Say One for Me as Phil Stanley 1960: Tall Story as Professor Leo Sullivan 1960: The Apartment as Joe Dobisch 1960: Portrait in Black as Cobb 1961: The Americans as Whit Bristow 1962: Convicts 4 as Iggy 1963: Wives and Lovers as Wylie Driberg 1963: Who's Minding the Store? as Mr. Quimby 1964: Kiss Me, Stupid as Orville J. Spooner 1967: Caprice as Stuart Clancy 1969: Paint Your Wagon as Mad Jack Duncan 1973: The Sting as J.J. Singleton 1976: Silver Streak as Mr. Whiney 1977: The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington as Senator Sturges 1979: Institute for Revenge as Frank Anders 1980: Popeye as Poopdeck Pappy 1981: Galaxy of Terror as Kore 1982: O'Hara's Wife as Walter Tatum 1982: Fast Times at Ridgemont High as Mr. Hand 1983: Private School as Chauncey 1984: Gimme a Break! as Andy 1984: The Jerk, Too as Diesel 1984: Johnny Dangerously as Vendor 1985: O.C. and Stiggs as Gramps 1986: The Mouse and the Motorcycle as Matt 1986: Rad as Burton Timmer 1987: From the Hip as 1st Judge 1988: Red River as Groot 1988: Paramedics as Heart Attack Victim 1988: Blood Relations as Charles McLeod 1988: Saturday the 14th Strikes Back as Gramps Baxter 1989: A Man of Passion as Basilio 1989: Class Cruise as Cappy Connors 1989: Oro Fino as Sacacorchos 1990: Ski Patrol as Pops 1991: Blood Salvage as Mr. Stone 1991: Popcorn as Dr. Mnesyne 1992: The Player as Ray Walston 1992: Of Mice and Men as Candy 1996: House Arrest as Chief Rocco 1997: Get a Clue as Sandy McSouthers, Barney Northrup, Julian R. Eastman, and Sam Westing 1998: Addams Family Reunion as Walter Addams 1999: My Favorite Martian as Armitan 1999: Swing Vote as Justice Clore Cawley

Television

1963-66: My Favorite Martian (TV series) as The Martian/Uncle Martin 1970s: Math Country as Lionel Hardway 1972: The Paul Lynde Show as Mr. Temura 1972: Mission Impossible as Dr. Victor Flory 1974: The Rookies (S3, Ep14) as Harry Melrose 1976: The Six Million Dollar Man as Horton Budge 1978: The Love Boat as a cruise ship passenger 1979: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as Roderick Zale 1979: Cliffhangers (11 episodes) as Bob Richards 1979: Starsky and Hutch (S4, Ep13) as Tommy Reese 1979: The Incredible Hulk (S3, Ep5) as Jasper the Magician 1979: Little House on the Prairie (The King is Dead) as Jimmy Hart 1982: Fame (1982 TV series) (NBC) as Birdie Whelan 1982: Hart to Hart (TV series) as Elliott Laurence 1982: The Littlest Hobo S3 E16 as Charlie 1984: The Love Boat S8 E13 as Max Phelps in the Christmas-themed vignette "Santa, Santa, Santa" 1984: Santa Barbara as Mr. Bottoms 1984: Night Court (TV series) as Judge Martin A. Landis 1984: Newhart as Claude Darling 1985: Silver Spoons (TV series) as Uncle Harry 1985: Misfits of Science (TV series) as Barney 1987: Murder She Wrote (Tv series) as Q.L. Frubson 1987: The Law & Harry McGraw (episode "State of the Art") as Matthew O'Meara 1988: Friday the 13th: The Series (TV series) as Jay Star (episode: "Tales of the Undead") 1989: I Know My First Name Is Steven (TV movie) as Bob Augustine 1990: L.A. Law as Gus Nivens 1990: Angel of Death as Prison Librarian Jenkins 1991: Dream On (TV Series) (Season 2 Ep 12: "The Charlotte Letter") as Father Augustine 1991: Ralph S. Mouse as Matt 1992: Star Trek: The Next Generation as Boothby 1992: Eerie, Indiana (episode "The Loyal Order of Corn") as Ned 1992: The Commish (Season 2 Ep 5: The Witches of Eastbridge) as Burt Hagstone 1992: Space Case as Bert 1992-96: Picket Fences (TV series) as Judge Henry Bone 1994: The Stand as Glen Bateman 1996: Project ALF as Motel Manager 1997: Get a Clue (1997 film) (TV movie) in multiple roles 1998-99: Star Trek: Voyager (TV series) Boothby (2 episodes) 2000: Touched by an Angel (TV series) as Benjamin Clay 2001: Early Bird Special as Pappy 2001: 7th Heaven (TV series) as Sgt. Millard Holmes

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominated work Result1956 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Damn Yankees 1994 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Picket Fences 1995 1996 1995 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series 1996 1995 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame