Harry Bartell
Harry Alfred Bartell was an American actor and announcer in radio, television and film. With his rather youthful sounding voice, Bartell was one of the busiest West Coast character actors from the early 1940s until the end of network radio drama in the 1960s.
Early years
Bartell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1913. In 1942, he joined the staff of KWKW radio as an announcer.Radio
Upon moving to California, Bartell became a favorite of producer/director Norman MacDonnell, performing frequently on Escape, and was a leading member of the Gunsmoke repertory company. Bartell was with the latter series from the first broadcast on April 26, 1952, until the last show on June 18, 1961; his roles ranged from friendly townspeople to victims to heavies, from the occasional role of Dodge City printer Mr. Hightower to famed gunslinger Doc Holliday in a 1952 episode. With fellow actor Vic Perrin, he also co-wrote two episodes near the end of the radio run, and appeared many times on the TV version of Gunsmoke, sometimes reprising his radio roles.Bartell worked on other radio Westerns such as The Six Shooter, Frontier Gentleman, Have Gun Will Travel, and Fort Laramie. Other recurring radio parts included a stint as one of several actors to play Archie Goodwin in The [New Adventures of Nero Wolfe] starring Sydney Greenstreet, Tommy Brooks on the situation comedy The [Charlotte Greenwood Show], and Officer Ed Miller on Rogers of the Gazette. As an announcer, he was heard on The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for several years, interviewing Dr. Watson and segueing into commercials for Petri Wine.
Other radio acting jobs included multiple roles in Norman Corwin's VE Day special On a Note of Triumph, frequent appearances on Jack Webb's shows Dragnet and Pete Kelly's Blues, and episodic parts on The Modern Adventures of Casanova, My Favorite Husband, The Saint, Suspense, and Lux Radio Theatre. He was a member of the stock company of the detective series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, playing characters on both sides of the law, as well as the recurring role of jittery insurance adjuster Harry Branson.
His final radio appearance was on Seattle radio producer Jim French's series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, guest starring as a blustery American publisher in an August 2003 episode.
Television
In films and television, Bartell's youthful voice was revealed to come from a silver-haired figure. His TV appearances included guest roles on Get Smart, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, The Wild Wild West, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, and The [Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone], in addition to the television versions of Gunsmoke and Dragnet.He played Sheriff Quinn in Have Gun Will Travel S1 E26 "Birds of a Feather" which aired 3/7/1958.