Jack Kruschen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Kruschen
Kruschen in 1976
Born	Jacob Kruschen (1922-03-20)March 20, 1922 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died	April 2, 2002(2002-04-02) (aged 80) Chandler, Arizona, U.S.
Years active	1939–1997
Spouse(s)	Marjorie Ullman ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1961)​ Violet Rafaella Mooring ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 1978)​ Mary Pender ​ ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	2

Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) 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 (AFRS). Following the war, he resumed working on network programs, including Broadway Is My Beat (as Mugovin, a detective), and Pete Kelly's Blues (as club owner George Lupo), as well as frequent episodic roles on anthology series, westerns and crime dramas.

He also performed on Escape, Dragnet, Gunsmoke (usually as law-abiding locals), Full House, Crime Classics, Frontier Gentleman, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Nightbeat and Suspense.

Films

Front row, from left to right: Jack Kruschen, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Chill Wills in McLintock!

Kruschen received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Dr. Dreyfuss in Billy Wilder's The Apartment.

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 (as saloon owner Christmas Morgan), Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Lover Come Back, McLintock! (with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara), Follow That Dream (with Elvis Presley), 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 (episodes 9 and 10). He was seen in twelve episodes of NBC's Dragnet as well as the ABC/Desilu series, Zorro. He also appeared in a color episode of Adventures of Superman. He had a recurring role across three seasons on Bonanza (Italian grapegrower Giorgio Rossi). He also played Clyde Bailey in "The Retired Gun" (episode 17) and Sammy in "One Went to Denver" (episode 25).

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 (The Most Dangerous Match, 1973), Barney Miller, Odd Couple (TV series), The Incredible Hulk, and, in later years, Murphy Brown, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

He appeared in the recurring role of "Grandpa Papadopolis" on Webster series (1985–87), and in the early 1990s, as another Greek grandfather and as Pam and Jesse's grandfather, Iorgos "Papouli" Katsopolis on Full House.

His final on-screen appearance was in the 1997 film 'Til There Was You as "Mr. Katz".

Death

Kruschen died on April 2, 2002, in Chandler, Arizona, while vacationing. He had been in ill health for some time. He was 80. Though he died on April 2, his death was not widely reported to the media until mid-late May.

Complete filmography

Partial television credits

See also

In Spanish: Jack Kruschen para niños