Hans Conried

Hans Georg Conried, Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor, voice actor and comedian, who was very active in voice-over roles and known for providing the voices of Walt Disney's Mr. George Darling, and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (1953), for playing the title role in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, Dr. Miller on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Professor Kropotkin on the radio and film versions of My Friend Irma, his work as Uncle Tonoose on Danny Thomas's sitcom Make Room for Daddy, and multiple roles on I Love Lucy.

Early years
Conried was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to parents Hans Georg and Edith Beryl (née Gildersleeve). He was named Hans Georg Conried Jr. in honor of his father. Claims that his real name was Frank Foster are patently false. His Connecticut-born mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna, Austria. He was raised in Baltimore and in New York City.

He studied acting at Columbia University and went on to play major classical roles onstage. Conried worked in radio before working in movies in 1939. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army in September 1944.

Conried trained at Fort Knox as a tank crewman until the army decided he was too tall. He became a heavy mortar crewman then was sent to the Philippines as an engineer labourer until fellow actor Jack Kruschen obtained his release for service with the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Radio career and other voice work
One of Conried's early radio appearances came in 1937, when he appeared in a supporting role in a broadcast of The Taming of the Shrew on KECA in Los Angeles, California. Four years later, a newspaper reported about his role on Hedda Hopper's Hollywood: "But at the mike he's equally convincing as old men, drunks, dialeticians, or Shakesperean tragedians. Miss Hopper favors him for her dramatizations when the script will allow him, as she puts it, 'to have his head.'"

Conried appeared regularly on radio during the 1940s and 1950s. He was in the regular cast of Orson Welles's Ceiling Unlimited, for which he wrote the December 14, 1942, episode, "War Workers". On CBS's The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show he played a psychiatrist whom George regularly consulted for help in dealing with the ditzy Gracie.

Conried made his Broadway debut in Can-Can and was credited in six films (among them The Twonky and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T), all in 1953. Other Broadway productions include 70, Girls, 70 and Irene. He can be clearly heard on the original cast recordings of Cole Porter's "Can-Can" and Kander & Ebb's "70, Girls, 70" where, among other songs, Conried performs a sensational fast-paced patter song called "The Caper."

Conried's inimitable growl and impeccable diction were well suited to the roles he played, whether portraying the dim Professor Kropotkin in the radio show My Friend Irma or portraying comic villains and mock-sinister or cranky types, such as Walt Disney's Mr. Darling, and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (1953), and The Grinch/Narrator from Dr. Seuss' Halloween is Grinch Night. According to the DVD commentary of Futurama, he was the inspiration for the voice created for that series' "Robot Devil".

Conried was a cast member of other Dr. Seuss specials, and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, voicing the character of Snidely Whiplash in the Dudley Do-Right shorts, a creation of Jay Ward and Bill Scott, as well as Wally Walrus on The Woody Woodpecker Show, Uncle Waldo P. Wigglesworth on Hoppity Hooper, and Dr. Dred on Drak Pack. He also performed as the "slave in the mirror" character, hosting several memorable episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

TV appearances
Besides hosting Fractured Flickers, Conried was a regular panelist on CBS's pantomime program, Stump the Stars and a semi-regular guest on the Ernie Kovacs-hosted game show Take a Good Look. He was a regular guest on Jack Paar's Tonight Show on NBC from 1959 to 1962. Conried joined the cast of The Tony Randall Show during the 1977-78 season.

Guest appearances included I Love Lucy (as the English tutor Percy Livermore) Davy Crockett, The Californians, Meet McGraw, Hey, Jeannie!, The Ray Milland Show, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Real McCoys, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Mister Ed, The Islanders, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Lost in Space, Daniel Boone, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Lucy Show, Gilligan's Island, The Monkees, Have Gun – Will Travel, Love, American Style, Here's Lucy, Kolchak, Alice, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Hogan's Heroes, Match Game, Maverick, The Donna Reed Show, What's It For, Fantasy Island and Quark.

From 1955-64, Conried made twenty-one guest appearances as Danny Thomas's Lebanese "Uncle Tonoose" in Make Room for Daddy on ABC and then CBS. He was featured in the 1958 episode "What Makes Opera Grand?" on the anthology series Omnibus. The episode, an analysis by Leonard Bernstein showing the powerful effect of music in opera, featured Conried as Marcello in a spoken dramatization of Act III of Puccini's La Bohème. The program demonstrated the effect of the music in La Bohème by having actors speak portions of the libretto in English, followed by opera singers singing the same lines in the original Italian.

Personal life and death
He married Margaret Grant on January 29, 1942; the couple had four children. Conried had a history of heart problems and suffered a stroke in 1974 and a mild heart attack in 1979. He managed to remain active until his death on January 5, 1982, one day after suffering a massive heart attack and three weeks short of his 40th wedding anniversary. His remains were donated to medical science.

Filmography

 * Dramatic School (1938) as Ramy
 * Never Say Die (1939) as Bit Part (uncredited)
 * On Borrowed Time (1939) as Man in Convertible (uncredited)
 * Dulcy (1940) as Vincent Leach
 * The Great Dictator (1940) as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
 * Bitter Sweet (1940) as Rudolph - Man at Mama Luden's (uncredited)
 * Maisie Was a Lady (1941) as Georgie Porgie - House Guest (uncredited)
 * They Met in Argentina (1941) as Guitar Player in Cantina (uncredited)
 * Underground (1941) as Herman - Underground Member (uncredited)
 * Unexpected Uncle (1941) as Clayton - Manager at Brocks (uncredited)
 * Weekend for Three (1941) as Desk Clerk
 * More About Nostradamus (1941) (uncredited)
 * The Gay Falcon (1941) as Herman (uncredited)
 * A Date with the Falcon as Desk Clerk (uncredited)
 * Joan of Paris (1942) as Second Gestapo Agent (uncredited)
 * Blondie's Blessed Event (1942) as George Wickley
 * Saboteur (1942) as Edward (uncredited)
 * The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942) as Hendrik Woverman
 * Pacific Rendezvous (1942) as Park Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
 * The Falcon Takes Over (1942) as Quincey W. Marriot (uncredited)
 * The Big Street (1942) as Louie - Headwaiter (uncredited)
 * The Greatest Gift (1942, short subject) as Father Fabian (uncredited)
 * Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) as Vienna Tailor's Fitter (uncredited)
 * Nightmare (1942) as Hans - Nazi Agent
 * Underground Agent (1942) as Hugo
 * Hitler's Children (1943) as Dr. Graf
 * Journey into Fear (1943) as Swami Magician
 * Hostages (1943) as Lt. Glasenapp
 * A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) as Gregg Stone
 * Crazy House (1943) as Roco
 * His Butler's Sister (1943) as Reeves
 * Passage to Marseille (1944) as Jourdain (uncredited)
 * Mrs. Parkington (1944) as Mr. Ernst
 * Sliphorn King of Polaroo (1945, short subject) as Narrator (voice)
 * Woody Dines Out (1945, short subject) as Taxidermist (voice, uncredited)
 * The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947) as Waiter
 * Variety Time (1948) as Rudy La Paix
 * Design for Death (1948) as Narrator (Japanese)
 * The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) as Ladislaus Ladi
 * My Friend Irma (1949) as Prof. Kropotkin
 * Bride for Sale (1949) as Jewelry Salesman (uncredited)
 * On the Town (1949) as François - Head Waiter (uncredited)
 * One Hour in Wonderland (1950) as Slave in the Magic Mirror
 * Nancy Goes to Rio (1950) as Alfredo
 * Summer Stock (1950) as Harrison I. Keath
 * New Mexico (1951) as Abraham Lincoln
 * Rich, Young and Pretty (1951) as Jean - Maitre D'
 * Behave Yourself! (1951) as Norbert 'Gillie the Blade' Gillespie
 * Texas Carnival (1951) as Hotel Clerk
 * Too Young to Kiss (1951) as Mr. Sparrow
 * I'll See You in My Dreams (1951) as William Rossiter (uncredited)
 * The Light Touch (1951) as Leopold (uncredited)
 * The World in His Arms (1952) as Eustace - Hotel Clerk
 * 3 for Bedroom C (1952) as Jack Bleck - Press Agent
 * Big Jim McLain (1952) as Robert Henried
 * Johann Mouse (1952, short subject) as Narrator (voice)
 * I Love Lucy (1952) English Professor
 * Peter Pan (1953) as Captain Hook/Mr. George Darling (voice)
 * The Emperor's New Clothes (1953, short subject) as Various (voice)
 * Siren of Bagdad (1953) as Ben Ali
 * The Twonky (1953) as Kerry West
 * The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) as Dr. Terwilliker
 * The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) as Professor Amos Pomfritt
 * Ben and Me (1953, short subject) as Thomas Jefferson/Crook (voice)
 * Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955) as Thimblerig
 * The Miracle on 34th Street (1955) as Mr. Shellhammer [TV adaptation]
 * You're Never Too Young (1955) as François (uncredited)
 * The Birds and the Bees (1956) as Duc Jacques de Montaigne
 * Bus Stop (1956) as Life Magazine Photographer
 * Carnival in Munich (1956, short subject) as Narrator
 * The Story of Anyburg U.S.A. (1957, short subject) as Prosecutor (voice, uncredited)
 * The Woody Woodpecker Show (1957) as Wally Walrus
 * The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) as Dr. Jess Rogers
 * Jet Pilot (1957) as Colonel Matoff (originally filmed in 1949)
 * The Big Beat (1958) as Vladimir Skilsky
 * Maverick (1958) (episode - Black Fire) as Homer Eakins
 * Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958) as Mr. Wright
 * Juke Box Rhythm (1959) as Balenko
 * The Real McCoys (1959) (episode - The Actor) as Sterling Ames
 * The Alphabet Conspiracy (1959, short subject) as Mad Hatter
 * 1001 Arabian Nights (1959) as The Wicked Wazir (voice)
 * The Real McCoys (1959) (episode - The Actor) as Mr. Ames
 * The Magic Fountain (1961) as Otto the Owl (voice)
 * The Bullwinkle Show (1961) as Snidely Whiplash
 * Mister Ed (1962) (episode - Ed and Paul Revere) as Igor
 * Fractured Flickers (1963-1964, 26 episodes) as Host
 * My Six Loves (1963) as Kinsley Kross
 * Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) as Mr. Ricks - Architect (uncredited)
 * The Patsy (1964) as Prof. Mulerr
 * Gilligan's Island (1964-1965, 2 episodes) as Wrongway Feldman
 * Hoppity Hooper (1961-1966, 104 episodes) as Professor Waldo Wigglesworth (voice)
 * Hogan's Heroes (1966, episode #15) as Major Bonacelli
 * Lost in Space (1967, 1 episode) as Sagramonte
 * The Cricket on the Hearth (1967) as Tackleton (voice)
 * Wake Me When the War Is Over (1969, TV) as Professor Herman Erhardt
 * The Phantom Tollbooth (1970) as King Azaz/The MathemaGician (voice)
 * Horton Hears a Who! (1970) as Narrator/Horton/Dr. H. Hoovey (voice)
 * O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1972) (episode - Operation: Dorias) as Count Anton Brelius
 * Dr. Seuss on the Loose (1973) as Narrator/North-going Zax/South-going Zax (voice)
 * The Brothers O'Toole (1973) as Polonius Vandergelt
 * The Shaggy D.A. (1976) as Professor Whatley
 * The Magic Pony (1977) (voice)
 * The Hobbit (1977) as Thorin Oakenshield (voice)
 * Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977) as The Grinch/Narrator (voice)
 * The Cat from Outer Space (1978) as Dr. Heffel
 * Every Girl Should Have One (1978) as Various (voices)
 * Alice (1979, 2 episodes) as Randolph Briggs
 * Oh, God! Book II (1980) as Dr. Barnes
 * Drak Pack (1980, 16 episodes) as Dr. Dread (voice)
 * Scruffy (1980) as Joe Tibbles/Solo the Scottish Terrier (voice)
 * Faeries (1981) as Faerie King/Shadow (voice)
 * The Trolls and the Christmas Express (1981) as Troglo (voice)
 * Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) as Chameleon (voice)
 * Miss Switch to the Rescue (1982) as Mordo, the Warlock (voice)