Stanley Ralph Ross

Stanley Ralph Ross (July 22, 1935 – March 16, 2000) was an American writer and actor. Born Stanley Ralph Rosenberg, he was raised in Brooklyn, New York, working at Nathan's Famous and as a barker at the Coney Island freak show. His classmate at Abraham Lincoln High School (and later the best man at his wedding) was Louis Gossett Jr.

Ross made his mark on television as a writer. While working in promotions for ABC, he wrote (and directed) the classic opening segment to ABC's Wide World of Sports:

Ross wrote for song parodist Allan Sherman, and then co-wrote with Arbogast an album of parody songs titled My Son, the Copycat (as Stan Ross). After the release of the album, an agent told Ross, “You’re a better writer than you are a singer. We may have some work for you.” Ross was then hired to rewrite Beach Party (1963). This led to television writing credits, although Ross wrote another parody album for singer Christine Nelson, who had partnered with Allan Sherman on his song “Sarah Jackman.” At the live recording of the Christine Nelson album (1966's Did'ja Come To Play Cards Or To Talk?), Ross was approached by producer Howie Horwitz, who invited him to pitch story ideas for the new TV show, Batman. He also co-wrote the pilot that became the series That’s My Mama.

In 1977, Ross was awarded the Inkpot Award.

Acting work Ross was known for his distinctive voice, and did much voiceover work, in addition to dramatic roles. He did the voice of Gorilla Grodd on Challenge of the Superfriends and Super Friends cartoons, as well as taking over as Brainiac in Super Friends, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (following the death of Ted Cassidy), Perry White in the 1988 Superman cartoon, Dark Paw in Paw Paws. He provided the voice for the Arab singer in the original version of The Flight of the Phoenix and was also the voice of the Doberman and Bull Terrier characters in the movie, Babe: Pig in the City.

Ross also had numerous smaller parts (voice and acting) on television, movies, and over 1000 commercials. One of his most notable on-screen TV roles was Mr. Goodbury on The Munsters Today.

Other work Ross was also a songwriter, composing over 200 pieces, collaborating with such talent as Henry Mancini. He wrote "Beat the System," the theme song for The Kallikaks, which Roy Clark performed for the opening credits of the show in 1977. He also made several forays into musical theater, co-writing and co-composing the musical Love Is Spoken Here with Jacquelyn Reinach.

In theatre, Ross wrote and produced “A Play With Fire” in Dundee, Scotland.

Ross wrote book, music, and lyrics for a stage musical called Chaplin with star Anthony Newley, who played the title role of Charlie Chaplin. The show was scheduled to come to Broadway in 1983, but fell apart after a tryout in Los Angeles.

He also taught at the University of Southern California film school.

In collaboration with Jay Robert Nash, Ross authored The Motion Picture Guide, a comprehensive multi-volume set of encyclopedias written from the 1970s to the early 1980s, containing detailed descriptions of possibly every motion picture made up to that time, with a two-volume index, and a separate volume entirely dedicated to silent films, and yet another listing every actor (and other major creative credit) with that person's complete list of films. The regular encyclopedia editions alphabetized every sound feature from 1927 until 1983, the last volume having a separate section in the back for 1984 movies (and the deaths of that year) that were compiled too close to press time to include alphabetically among the other listings; and starting in 1985 until the early 1990s, an individual volume was released annually, with an obituary section for that year also included. It used a five-star rating system, and was perhaps the most complete single project to catalog every movie until the creation of The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He later co-wrote the 1995 book Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights with Burt Ward, who starred as Robin on the 1960s Batman series. An ordained minister, Ross married Ward to his third wife; and married Milton Berle to his fourth wife. Under his ownership, the restaurant was renovated and the menu updated. The restaurant closed in 2002.

Death Ross died of lung cancer on March 16, 2000, leaving behind his wife Neila, three children, and a granddaughter.

Actor John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1964) as Muezzin (uncredited) My Favorite Martian (1964) as Folk Singer The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) as Arab Singer (uncredited) The Felony Squad (1966) as Reynolds Tony Rome (1967) as Sam Boyd Sleeper (1973) as Sears Wiggles Candy Stripe Nurses (1974) as Dr. Kramer The Lost Saucer (1975) as Dr. Frankenstein XIII Far Out Space Nuts (1975) as Dr. Drone Ellery Queen (1976) as Gabe Helter Skelter (1976, TV Mini-Series) as Sgt. Ross Serpico (1976) as Sgt. Meyers Three on a Date (1978) as Al Flying High (1979) as Newscaster For the Love of It (1980) as Agitated Driver Hart to Hart (1981) as Harry Carney Bret Maverick (1982) as Coates Casablanca (1983) as Bou Azza Romantic Comedy (1983) Allison Sydney Harrison (1983) as Karate Instructor The Facts of Life (1984) as Convict #1 The Paper Chase (1985) The Boss' Wife (1986) as Ticket Taker Falcon Crest (1987–1989) as Bank Manager / Phillip Tindall Side Out (1990) as Judge McKibbon The Munsters Today (1990) as Mr. Goodbury Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994) as Milo Balian HeartPower! Sing-Along (1999) Tobacco Man (final role) An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997) as Stanley Ralph Ross Babe: Pig in the City (1998) as The Pitbull / The Doberman (voice) (final film role)

Screenwriter Television The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966–1967) Batman (1966–1968) The Monkees (1967) That Girl (1967) Barefoot in the Park (1970) The Bugaloos (1971) All in the Family (1971, 1973) Love, American Style (1972) The New Bill Cosby Show (1972) The Mod Squad (1972) Banacek (1972–1973) Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1973) Columbo (1973–1974) That’s My Mama (1975) Wonder Woman (1975–1979) Monster Squad (1976) The Kallikaks (1977) Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978) G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985) Kids Incorporated (1985) Tales from the Crypt (1992) Burke’s Law (1995)

Films The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot (1965) Follow Me (1967) Coffee, Tea or Me? (1973) Death Among Friends (1975) Sky Heist (1975) Best Friends (1977) Three on a Date (1978) Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978) Gold of the Amazon Women (1979) as Sue Donem For the Love of It (1980) The Texas Rangers (1981) Carlo’s Wake (1990) (producer)