Willard Waterman was a native of Madison, Wisconsin, who studied electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin. When he began skipping classes to attend drama classes, the Dean of the engineering school suggested that perhaps he should consider making his living as an actor. Waterman took this suggestion to heart, and headed for the Chicago in 1934, where he quickly became successful as a radio actor. He appeared on as many as forty shows a week, with roles on everything from comedies like “Amos ‘n Andy,” “My Friend Irma,” to soap operas like “Ma Perkins” and “Helen Trent.”
When Harold Peary left “The Great Gildersleeve” in 1950, Willard Waterman stepped into the role. Peary and Willard knew each other well, having both been active in Chicago radio for many years. In fact, this was not the first time that Waterman had replaced Peary– Waterman had replaced Peary as the Sheriff on the “Tom Mix Ralston Sharpshooter” program in the 1930′s. Peary and Waterman had such similar, booming voices, that Waterman later recalled that if they were cast on the same program, they’d decide ahead of time who would use a high voice and who a low voice. Their voices were so similar, many listeners didn’t even notice the difference.
As Bob Beckett notes in a posting to the OTR list:
Waterman did an amazing job in nearly perfectly capturing the tone and subtleties of Peary’s voice on a consistent basis, and interrelated with the show’s other characters just as well as Peary also. It was a great imitation. But there was really only ONE Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, and that of course was Mr. Harold Peary. Waterman just imitated him…and did a wonderful job in keeping the integrity and spirit of the originator. To change it in any way would have been a mistake.
Waterman appeared in the 1955 television version of “The Great Gildersleeve.” He also made guest appearances on many television programs including popular Westerns like “Maverick,” “Bat Masterson,” and “Wagon Train,” and played the recurring role of Mac Maginnis on “The Real McCoys.” He also appeared in many movies, including the role of Claude Upson in “Auntie Mame” and Mr. Vanderhof in “The Apartment.”
Links
- Willard Waterman — Wikipedia article
- Willard Waterman — IMDB (Internet Movie Database) listing
The old days of radio will allways remain in my memory as a young boy. The great gildersleeve was among my most favorite radio programs starring harold peary and willard waterman and they will live eternaly in my life. The modern day tv movies cannot ever compete with those golden unforgettable years of those wonderful days of radio. I can remember, as a boy, I had to complete my homework and then dash with great vigor into my bedroom and my radio. The great gildersleeve and inner sanctum were my eager favorites among many others. I relive the memories from yesterday,s years from the mist of the past.
Sincerely yours Ron Eck
Let it also not be forgotten that Willard Waterman portrayed “Mr. Quigley,” the grocer, on the TV series “Dennis The Menace,” where he got to work again with “Wistful Vista” & “Summerfield” resident Gale Gordon, who had taken over the role of the second “good ol’ Mr. (John) Wilson,” after the death of the beloved Joseph Kearns, who played the first “good ol’ Mr. (George) Wilson.”
And Jay North’s “Dennis” and the Hilldale kids, making periodic forays into “Quigley’s” supermarket, whether to cash in their empty soda pop bottles or plunder the proprietor’s endless supply of cardboard boxes, managed to annoy “Quigley” almost as much as the terrorizing tykes did their numbers on the “Misters Wilson.” In these interactions with the “junior mischievers,” Waterman was as much a master of the slow burn as was full-timer Gordon.
Waterman even filled in as the main protagonist (if you view “Dennis” and his band of tiny terrors as the villains) in one episode, in the period between the departure of Kearns’ “Wilson” and the arrival of Gordon, wherein “Quigley” coaches the kids’ pee-wee baseball team; a memorable episode of the series guest-starring Hall Of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, titled “Dennis & The Dodgers.”
Waterman was a delightful character actor and his presence on “Dennis,” along with such other, erstwhile stalwarts as Mary Wickes Irene Tedrow, Dub Taylor, Charles Lane, Helen Kleeb and George Cisar, made one feel right at home in this charming, little slice of mid-20th Century, suburban TV life.