Harry Holcombe

Harry John Holcombe (November 11, 1906 - September 15, 1987)[2] was an American commercial, film, radio, television, theatre actor and radio director.[3] He was perharps best remembered as "Grandpa" in the Country Time commercials,[4] playing the role for ten years.[5] Holcombe was also known for playing the recurring role of "Dr. J.P. Martin" in the western television series Bonanza.[6]

Harry Holcombe
Holcombe in King Kong vs. Godzilla, 1963
Born
Harry John Holcombe

(1906-11-11)November 11, 1906
Malta, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 15, 1987(1987-09-15) (aged 80)
Valencia, California, U.S.
OccupationCommercial, film, radio, television, theatre actor and radio director
Spouse(s)
Betty Nielsen Holcombe
​
​
(died. 1982)​
[1]
Children2[1]

Life and career

Born in Malta, Ohio.[6] Holcombe began his career, as a radio director in Chicago, Illinois, in which he directed for radio programs including, Benny Goodman's program Camel Caravan.[5] He later worked as the poetry reader for the radio program Moon River at WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio.[1] After that, he moved to California, where he had begun his film and television career,[1] appearing in the 1943 film The Purple V.[6]

Later in his career, Holcombe guest-starred in numerous television programs, including, The Andy Griffith Show, Harbor Command, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, The Farmer's Daughter, That Girl, The Law and Mr. Jones, Leave It to Beaver, Here's Lucy and Bewitched. He also appeared and co-starred in films, such as, The Fortune Cookie, Birdman of Alcatraz,[7] King Kong vs. Godzilla,[4] The Unsinkable Molly Brown,[7] Kisses for My President,[7] When the Boys Meet the Girls and Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. Holcombe had also starred in the television program Barefoot in the Park, where he played the role of "Arthur Kendricks".[6]

Death

Holcombe died in September 1987 at his son's home in Valencia, California, at the age of 80.[5]

References
  1. "Betty Nielsen Holcombe". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. October 13, 1982. p. 21. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Cox, Jim (2001). The Great Radio Audience Participation Shows: Seventeen Programs from the 1940s and 1950s. McFarland. p. 90. ISBN 9780786410712 – via Google Books.
  3. "Holcombe Signed For Film". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. May 29, 1961. p. 10. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Ryfle, Steve (April 1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". ECW Press. p. 88. ISBN 9781550223484.
  5. "H. Holcombe; Radio, Stage, Movie Actor". Los Angeles Times. September 16, 1987. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  6. Cox, Jim (2007). Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780786427802 – via Google Books.
  7. "Harry Holcombe, actor". The Daily Item. Sunbury, Pennsylvania. September 18, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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