September 27, 2010

Actor Harold Gould Dies at 86

The veteran character actor was known for roles on Rhoda and The Golden Girls.

Harold Gould, an actor recognized for more than four decades of work in television, feature films and theater, died September 11, 2010, of prostate cancer in Woodland Hills, California. He was 86 and lived in the retirement home of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Among television viewers, Gould is best known for the role of Marty Morgenstern, father of Valerie Harper’s title character on the 1970s sitcom Rhoda, after originating the role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Years later, he garnered attention as a regular guest star on The Golden Girls as a widower who romances Rose Nylund, played by Betty White.

His most enduring film performance was that of Kid Twist, a dandyish con man in the Oscar-winning movie The Sting.

Gould was born Harold Vernon Goldstein on December 10, 1923, in Schenectady, New York. He served in the Army during World War II, and saw action in France as a mortar gunner. After returning home, he graduated from New York State College for Teachers (now the State University at Albany) and enrolled in the graduate drama program at Cornell, where he earned a Ph.D.

He taught drama at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the University of California, Riverside prior to embarking on a professional acting career. He began his career in theater and appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and in regional productions throughout the U.S.

His other notable movies included Woody Allen’s Love and Death and Silent Movie, directed by Mel Brooks.

Gould’s television credits included episodes of dozens of series, including Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, Hazel, Perry Mason, Mister Ed, Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone, The Virginian, The Fugitive, Judd for the Defense, Hogan’s Heroes, Cannon, Mannix, Hawaii Five-O, Police Story, Family, Soap and The Love Boat. His last television credit was an episode of Nip/Tuck from February of this year.

On two occasions, Gould originated television fathers who eventually were eventually played by other performers. In the 1965 pilot for That Girl, he played Marlo Thomas’ father. Lew Parker played the part in the series. And in a 1972 episode of Love, American Style that inspired the hit series Happy Days, he played Howard Cunningham, the father of Richie Cunningham, played by Ron Howard; in the series, the father was played by Tom Bosley.

Survivors include Gould's wife, a daughter, two sons and five grandchildren.

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