Ray Walston

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Ray Walston
A black-and-white photo of Walston as a Martian, with a shiny suit and antenna on his head
Walston in My Favorite Martian, 1963
Born
Herman Ray Walston

(1914-11-02)November 2, 1914
Laurel, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJanuary 1, 2001(2001-01-01) (aged 86)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Herman Ray Walston
  • Raymond Walston
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1940s–2000
Spouse
Ruth Calvert Walston
​
​
(m. 1943)​
Children1

Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian. Walston started his career on

Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees
(1956).

He's 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.[1]

Early life and education

Walston was born on November 2, 1914, in

New Orleans, Louisiana, around 1925.[citation needed
]

He started acting at an early age, beginning his tenure as a

Dallas, Texas, where he joined a repertory theater company under Margo Jones in 1938.[4] He stayed at the Houston Civic Theater six years, "averaging 12 roles a year."[5]

Career

1945–1957

Walston was popular with

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.[6]

In 1949, he appeared in the short-lived play

Tony Award.[citation needed
]

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.[7]

1958–1979

Walston reprised his role in the

Get a Clue. Walston landed one of the three leading roles in Billy Wilder's comic farce Kiss Me, Stupid opposite Dean Martin and Kim Novak because, after six weeks of filming, Peter Sellers had to withdraw from the cast due to a heart attack.[citation needed
]

He narrated many

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)

Walston achieved his greatest success as the title character (Uncle Martin) on My Favorite Martian from 1963 to 1966, alongside co-star Bill Bixby. The two immediately became close friends.[9] 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.[10] 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, 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 starred 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 torn away from his Martian 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.[11] 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 infamous role as Uncle Martin.

In 1985, Walston made a brief appearance in the opening credits of

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
.

1993–2000

Walston reunited with Sinise in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand.[12] He appeared in an

Martians living in the United States.[13]

Walston received three

The Face on the Barroom Floor",[14] which aired on October 15, 2000.[15]

Walston made a cameo in the 7th Heaven episode, "One Hundred",[16] 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.[17][18] The couple had one daughter, Katharine Ann.[4]

In 1994, Walston was diagnosed with lupus and as a result, worked more infrequently in his final years.[19] Walston died on New Years' Day 2001 at age 86 at his home in Beverly Hills, California[1]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1956
Tony Award
 Best Actor in a Musical
Damn Yankees
 Won
1994
Primetime Emmy Award
 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Picket Fences Nominated
1995 Won
1996 Won
1995 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
1996 Nominated
1995 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Received

References

  1. ^ a b c Gussow, Mel (January 3, 2001). "Ray Walston, Broadway Star And TV Martian, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  2. State of Mississippi
    . August 9, 1951.
  3. 1920 United States Census. The certificate was issued in 1951 and was based on the presentation of his school records from 1925 showing his date of birth as "November 2, 1914" and place of birth as "Mississippi". An identification card was also used as evidence, which also used "Mississippi" as his place of birth. The Social Security Death Index
    , and his Social Security application filed in November of 1936, both cite "November 2, 1914" as his date of birth. Some sources cited "December 2, 1914", incorrectly.
  4. ^ a b "Ray Walston Biography". Biography. A&E. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Theater Notes." Chicago Tribune, 4 April 1954.
  6. Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, E. G. Marshall, Margaret Phillips, Maureen Stapleton, Kim Stanley, Jo Van Fleet, Eli Wallach, Ray Walston and David Wayne
    ."
  7. ^ "Me And Juliet". Me And Juliet - Broadway Musical. Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Operation HARDTACK Military Effects Studies: Underwater Tests: United States Department of Defense: Free Download & Streaming". Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  9. ^ "A 1964 Interview with Ray Walston and Bill Bixby". Members.tripod.com.
  10. ^ "Retro : TV's Favorite Martian Returns : TNT STAYS UP ALL NIGHT FOR 10 EPISODES OF '60S SERIES". Los Angeles Times. 1993-07-25. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  11. ^ "Judge Gives Walston a Measure of Justice". Los Angeles Times Collections. 21 September 1995. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Ray Walston List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  13. YouTube
  14. YouTube
  15. ^ "Ray Walston – MovieActors.com". Movieactors.com.
  16. YouTube
  17. ISBN 9781771431262
    .
  18. ^ Who's who in Entertainment, Volume 1. Marquis Who's Who, Inc. 1989. p. 668.
  19. ^ "Ray Walston". Masterworksbroadway.com.

External links

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