Jack Kruschen


Jacob "Jack" Kruschen was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. Dreyfuss in the 1960 comedy-drama The Apartment.

Early life

Kruschen was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His acting in an operetta produced at Hollywood High School brought him to the attention of CBS.

Career

Radio

Kruschen began working at a radio station in Los Angeles when he was 16. During World War II, he served in the Army, assigned to the Armed Forces Radio Service. Following the war, he resumed working on network programs, including Broadway Is My Beat, and Pete Kelly's Blues, as well as frequent episodic roles on anthology series, westerns and crime dramas.
He also performed on Escape; Dragnet; Gunsmoke ; Full House; Crime Classics; Frontier Gentleman; Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Nightbeat and ''Suspense.''

Film

Kruschen received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Dr. Dreyfuss in Billy Wilder's The Apartment. That same year, the ever-prolific Kruschen also appeared in the films
The Bellboy, Studs Lonigan, Seven Ways from Sundown, Where the Boys Are, and The Last Voyage, as Chief Engineer Pringle.
Kruschen's film debut came in Red, Hot, and Blue. His other films included George Pal's The War of the Worlds ; in Cecil B. DeMille's final film, The Buccaneer; as astronaut Sam Jacobs in the 1959 cult classic The Angry Red Planet; The Unsinkable Molly Brown ; Abbott and Costello Go to Mars; Lover Come Back; McLintock! ; Follow That Dream ; Cape Fear, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum; and Money to Burn with Eve McVeagh.

Stage

Kruschen appeared as Maurice Pulvermacher in the original 1962 Broadway production of I Can Get It for You Wholesale. In 1969, he co-starred in the London staging of the musical drama Promises, Promises, reprising his film role in this show based on The Apartment.

Television

Kruschen was performing on television as early as 1939, appearing in dramas on Don Lee's experimental television station in Los Angeles, where he was seen on some two hundred television sets with three-inch screens. Thereafter, Kruschen's television career included guest villain Eivol Ekdol, a villainous magicians' craftsman on Batman. He was seen in twelve episodes of NBC's Dragnet as well as the ABC/Disney series, Zorro. He also appeared in a color episode of Adventures of Superman. He had a recurring role across three seasons on Bonanza. He also played Clyde Bailey in "The Retired Gun" and Sammy in "One Went to Denver".
In 1969, Kruschen co-starred with Stefanie Powers in an unsold ABC sitcom pilot, Holly Golighty, adapted from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. The husky, mustachioed Kruschen seemed to specialize in playing benevolent ethnic paternal figures. His roles included Sam Markowitz on Busting Loose, fireman Mike Woiski on Emergency!, Morris Sheinfeld on E/R, Tully on Hong Kong, and Jay Burrage on The Rifleman. He also appeared on Columbo , Barney Miller, The Odd Couple, The Incredible Hulk, and, in later years, Murphy Brown and Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
He appeared in the recurring role of "Grandpa Papadopolis" on Webster series, and in the early 1990s, as another Greek grandfather and as Pam and Jesse's grandfather, Iorgos "Papouli" Katsopolis on Full House, appearing in only two episodes before his character is killed off in the episode, "The Last Dance". He also appeared as Kitty's grandfather, Fred Avery, on the CBC sitcom Material World from 1990–1993.
His final on-screen appearance was in the 1997 film 'Til There Was You as "Mr. Katz".

Death

Kruschen died at his residence in Kelowna, British Columbia, on April 2, 2002, according to a British Columbia Registration of Death. He had been in ill health for some time. Cause of death is given as a heart attack following years of Type 2 diabetes. He was 80. Though he died on April 2, his death was not widely reported to the media until mid-late May.

Complete filmography

  • Red, Hot and Blue as Steve
  • Women from Headquarters as Sam
  • Where Danger Lives as Cosey – Ambulance Driver
  • No Way Out as Undetermined Minor Role
  • Gambling House as Burly Italian Immigrant
  • Cuban Fireball as Lefty
  • The Lemon Drop Kid as Muscleman
  • Comin' Round the Mountain as Gangster in Night Club
  • The People Against O'Hara as Detective
  • Meet Danny Wilson as Drunken Heckler
  • Confidence Girl as Detective Sergeant Quinn
  • Just Across the Street as Bit Part
  • Shadow in the Sky as Intern
  • The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima as Sidonio
  • Tropical Heat Wave as Stickey Langley
  • The War of the Worlds as Salvatore
  • Abbott and Costello Go to Mars as Harry
  • Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation as Jacques Amien
  • Fast Company as Doc – Poker Player
  • A Blueprint for Murder as Det.ective Lt. Harold Y. Cole
  • The Long, Long Trailer as Mechanic
  • Money from Home as Short Boy
  • The Great Diamond Robbery as Cafe Counterman
  • It Should Happen to You as Joe
  • Tennessee Champ as Andrews
  • Untamed Heiress as Louie
  • Prince of Players as Rabble-Rouser
  • Carolina Cannonball as Hogar
  • Dial Red O as Lloyd Lavalle
  • Soldier of Fortune as Austin Stoker
  • The Night Holds Terror as Detective Pope
  • The Benny Goodman Story as Murph Podolsky
  • The Steel Jungle as Truckdriver Helper
  • Outside the Law as Agent Phil Schwartz
  • Julie as Det. Mace
  • Badlands of Montana as Cavalry Sergeant
  • Reform School Girls as Mr. Horvath
  • Hear Me Good as Gaffer
  • Cry Terror! as F.B.I. Agent Charles Pope
  • Fräulein as Sgt. Grischa
  • The Decks Ran Red as Alex Cole
  • The Buccaneer as Hans
  • The Man Who Understood Women as Mickey
  • The Jayhawkers! as Cattleman
  • Beloved Infidel as Darby Forsythe – Beach Bum
  • The Angry Red Planet as CWO Sam Jacobs
  • The Gazebo as Taxi Driver
  • The Last Voyage as Chief Engineer Pringle
  • The Apartment as Dr. Dreyfuss
  • The Bellboy as Jack E. Mulcher, President of Paramount Pictures
  • Studs Lonigan as Charlie the Greek
  • Seven Ways from Sundown as Beeker
  • Where the Boys Are as Max – Cafe Counterman
  • The Ladies Man as Graduation Emcee Professor
  • Lover Come Back as Doctor Linus Tyler
  • Follow That Dream as Carmine
  • Cape Fear as Attorney Dave Grafton
  • Convicts 4 as Resko's Father
  • McLintock! as Jake Birnbaum
  • The Unsinkable Molly Brown as Christmas Morgan
  • Dear Brigitte as Doctor Volker
  • Harlow as Louis B. Mayer
  • The Happening as Inspector
  • Caprice as Matthew Cutter
  • Istanbul Express as Captain Granicekm
  • Holly Golightly
  • The Million Dollar Duck as Doctor Gottlieb
  • Deadly Harvest
  • Freebie and the Bean as Red Meyers
  • The Log of the Black Pearl
  • The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper
  • Guardian of the Wilderness as Madden
  • The November Plan
  • Satan's Cheerleaders as Billy
  • Incredible Rocky Mountain Race
  • The Time Machine
  • Once Upon a Starry Night
  • Sunburn as Gela
  • Cheaters
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  • Under the Rainbow as Louie
  • Legend of the Wild
  • Money to Burn as Pops
  • Dark Mirror
  • Deadly Intentions
  • Penny Ante: The Motion Picture as Isadore Perlman
  • The American Clock
  • Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is
  • 'Til There Was You as Mr. Katz

    Partial television credits

  • Dragnet – 12 episodes
  • Terry and the Pirates – episode "Macao Gold" as Chopstick Joe
  • Craig Kennedy, Criminologist – "The Big Shakedown" as Jack Brown
  • Treasury Men in Action – "Case of the Swindler's Gold" as Miguel
  • The Adventures of Jim Bowie – "The Birth of the Blade" as Louis, and "Jackson's Assassination" as Frost
  • Gunsmoke – "Spring Term" as Jed
  • Crusader – "A Deal in Diamonds" as Leon
  • Adventures of Superman – "Tomb of Zaharan" as First Airport Robber
  • Zorro – "The Man with the Whip" and "The Cross of the Andes" as Jose Mordante
  • Trackdown – "The Kid" as Milo York
  • The Rifleman – "One Went to Denver" as Sammy, "The Retired Gun" as Clyde Bailey, "Baranca" as Doc Burrage, "Trail of Hate" as Doc Burrage
  • Bat Masterson – "The Inner Circle" as Patch Finley, "The Desert Ship" as Ben Tarko
  • Wanted: Dead or Alive – "The Empty Cell" as Hunt Willis, "Railroaded" as Sheriff Pig Wells
  • The Rough Riders – "Ransom of Rita Renee" as Tully
  • The D.A.'s Man – "Guns for Hire" as Leo Muller
  • Sugarfoot – "The Desperadoes" as Sam Bolt
  • The Detectives – "Twelve Hours to Live" as Fred Hambrough, "Secret Assignment" as Jonesy
  • The Westerner – "Going Home" as Rigdon
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective – "The Lovely Fraud" as Max Schilling
  • Death Valley Days – "Eagle in the Rocks" as Manuel Garcia
  • Black Saddle – "The Apprentice" as Ben Winkleman
  • Rawhide – "Canliss" as Barkeep
  • I Spy – "Lisa" as Aram Kanjarian
  • The Red Skelton Show – "The Bum Who Came in from the Cold" as Dr. Shnorba
  • The John Forsythe Show – "Engagement, Italian Style" as Constantino
  • Batman – "Zelda the Great" and "A Death Worse Than Fate" as Eivol Ekdal
  • Bonanza – "Big Shadow on the Land", "The Deed and the Dilemma" and "The Sound of Drums" as Giorgio Rossi
  • I Spy – "The Medarra Block" as Isaac
  • The Mike Douglas Show as Himself
  • Ironside – "The Macabre Mr. Micawber as McKay, "Memory of an Ice Cream Stick" as Busch
  • Daniel Boone – "Sweet Molly Malone" as Herman
  • Hawaii Five-O – "For a Million... Why Not?" as Blumberg
  • Emergency! – "The Wedsworth-Townsend Act" as State Assemblyman Michael Wolski
  • The Magician – "Ovation for Murder" as Albie Allikolos
  • Columbo – "The Most Dangerous Match " as Tomlin Dudek
  • Assignment: Vienna – "So Long, Charlie" as Orloff
  • McCloud – "Shivaree on Delancy Street" as Selditz
  • The Rockford Files – "Gearjammers, Part 2" as John Koenig
  • Movin' On – "Living It Up!" as Mr. Nash
  • Ellery Queen – "The Adventure of the Judas Tree" as Gunther Starr
  • Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color – "The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper: Parts 1 & 2" as Abner Debney
  • The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams – Home of the Hawk as Metcalf, "Once Upon a Starry Night" as Frost-bite Foley
  • Busting Loose – 12 episodes as Sam Markowitz
  • Barney Miller – "Burial" as Julius Wittenour
  • The Incredible Hulk – "Terror in Times Square" as Norman Abrams
  • Trapper John, M.D. – "Deadly Exposure" as Nicholas Bulgari
  • Alice – "Mel, the Magi" as Santa Claus
  • Barney Miller – "The DNA Story" as Rudolph Kamen
  • Vega$ – "Vendetta" as Carlo
  • Little House on the Prairie – "Gambini the Great" as Rudolpho 'The Great' Gambini
  • Trapper John, M.D. – "Cooperative Care" as Marvin Krakowsky
  • CHiPs – "Home Fires Burning" as Frank Higgins
  • Alice – "Carrie Chickens Out" as Benny Conway
  • The Devlin Connection – "Brian and Nick" as Max Salkall
  • No Soap, Radio – 5 episodes as Skit Performer
  • Hart to Hart – "Hart and Sole" as Harry Fulterman
  • Barney Miller – "Examination Day" as Benjamin Diamond
  • Matt Houston – "The Crying Clown" as Jonas Van Poolen, "Company Secrets" as Reels
  • Zorro and Son – "Zorro and Son" as Commandante La Brea
  • The A-Team – "The Out-of-Towners" as Bernie Shatzman
  • Hill Street Blues – "Fuched Again" as Isadore Fagenbaum
  • Webster – 18 episodes as 'Papa' Papadapolis
  • Too Close for Comfort – "Reconcilable Differences" as Dr. Axel Schreiber
  • Remington Steele – "Springtime for Steele" as Buddy Brokaw
  • Magnum, P.I. – "Laura" as Doheny's partner and speaker at the retirement
  • Full House – "Greek Week" and "The Last Dance" as Iorgos 'Papouli' Katsopolis
  • Material World – 8 episodes as Fred Avery
  • Matlock – "The Nightmare" as Judge Ogilvie/Bus Repairman
  • Murder, She Wrote – "Tainted Lady" as Dr. John Logan
  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – "Home Is Where the Heart Attack Is" as Mr. Melville
  • Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – "Madame Ex" as Captain Keene
  • Empty Nest – "What's a Mother to Do?" as Heshy