Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985)[1] was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and in films from the 1950s through the 1980s. His stark white hair, imposing build and horn-rimmed glasses influenced the roles he received, as he was often cast as an ornery boss, a cagey businessman or other officious types.
While Andrews' film acting career began in earnest in his forties, he appeared much older than he actually was and he was consistently typecast as a grandfatherly type. Though he often played amiable characters, Andrews was equally adept at portraying characters such as sleazy businessmen types or uptight bureaucrats.
Andrews was a regular on the ABC series Broadside (1964–1965) as Commander Roger Adrian. He had previously filmed the pilot for the popular series Hazel in the role of George Baxter. His was the only role recast when the pilot became a series; he was replaced by actor Don DeFore.
Andrews played the character of Charley in the 1966 dramatization of Death of a Salesman, and was active in television productions throughout the early 1980s. He played Elton Dykstra on The Intruders, Ernest W. Stanley in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Mayor Robert Chisholm alongside Don Knotts in the film How to Frame a Figg (1971), and Mayor Massey on the television film The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton. In 1968, he played a safecracker in a four-part episode of I Dream of Jeannie and in early 1969, he appeared as a drug-dealing mortician on Mod Squad. He also had the lead role as Harry Flood in the NBC short-lived 1979 series Supertrain. In 1982, he appeared in an episode of ABC's Three's Company.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Andrews appeared in a series of popular commercials for Bell Telephone as an overbearing executive.
Personal life
Andrews' Broadway career was interrupted by military service during World War II.[2] He served as the captain and commanding officer of Battery C within the 751st Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army[3] and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in September 1945.[4]
Andrews married Emily Barnes in 1955. They had two daughters, Abigail and Tabitha, and a son, Edward III.[5]
Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery selected Tabitha as the name for her character's daughter after Andrews' daughter. She said: "The name was my idea. I loved it, because it was so old-fashioned. I got it from one of the daughters of Edward Andrews, the actor. The two Andrews girls are named Tabitha and Abigail."[6][7]
Death
On March 8, 1985, Andrews suffered a heart attack at his home in Pacific Palisades.[8] He was transported to Santa Monica Hospital where he died later that day.[5] A memorial service was held at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades on March 11.[9] Andrews was later cremated.
