Harold Gould

 

Hollywood lost another great character actor when Harold Gould passed away this weekend, at the age of 86. Harold Gould had a career that spanned stage, screen and television. He was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Louis B. Mayer in the NBC mini-series Moviola. Throughout his long career he received four additional Emmy nominations.

Most will remember Gould for his role as Martin Morgenstern, Rhoda's dad in the Mary Tyler Moore Show and it's spin-off Rhoda. He also had the re-occurring role of Miles Webber, Rose's (Betty White) boyfriend on The Golden Girls.

He was a television staple for the past fifty years, having guest starring roles on countless TV shows such as, Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, Empty Nest, The Streets of San Francisco, L.A. Law and Touched By An Angel. He originated the role of Howard Cunningham on the pilot for Happy Days, which aired as an episode of Love American Style.

His work in film included roles in Harper, Inside Daisy Clover, Patch Adams and Freaky Friday. But my two favorites are his roles in The Sting and in Woody Allen's Love And Death.

In The Sting he plays Kid Twist, a dapper con man, who works with Paul Newman and Robert Redford to pull off the con against Robert Shaw. In the con Twist plays the role of the Western Union operator who is supplying the names of winning horses to Henry Gondorff's (Newman) betting parlour. He cons Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw) into placing an incorrect bet and losing all his money.


Doyle Lonnegan: I put it all on Lucky Dan; half a million dollars to win. 
Kid Twist: To win? I said *place*! "Place it on Lucky D-" That horse is gonna run second! 
Doyle Lonnegan: [There is a pause, and Lonnegan runs horrified to the betting booth] There's been a mistake! Gimme my money back!

In Love and Death he plays a Anton Inbedkov a Russian noble who is involved with Countess Alexandrovna. When Boris Grushenko (Woody Allen) compromises her reputation Anton challenges him to a duel. Their bits of dialogue are some of the funniest in the film.

Anton: Grushenko? Isn't he the young coward all St. Petersburg is talking about? 
Boris: I'm not so young. I'm thirty-five. 

Anton: If you so much as come near the Countess, I'll see that you never   see the light of day again. 

Boris: If a man said that to me, I'd break his neck.
Anton: *I* am a man.
Boris: Well, I mean a much shorter man. 

Anton Inbedkov: Shall we say pistols at dawn? 

Boris Grushenko: Well, we can say it. I don't know what it means, but we   can say it.

Inbedkov: [preparing for duel] We'll do it now... and to the death.
Boris: Oh no, I can't do anything to the death. Doctor's orders. You see, I have this ulcer condition, and death is the worst thing for it. 

After Anton's bullet barely hits Boris and Boris refuses to shoot back Anton feels he is given a new lease on life and begins to sing about how he will devote himself to poetry and other beautiful things. Boris comments that he should have shot him after all.

From 1961 to 2010 Gould appeared in over 300 TV shows, 20 major motion pictures and over 100 stage productions. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lea and three children. RIP

*dialogue quotes come from IMDB.com