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Warren Berlinger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warren Berlinger
As Larry Barnes, younger brother of Joey Barnes, in The Joey Bishop Show.
Born(1937-08-31)August 31, 1937
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 2, 2020(2020-12-02) (aged 83)
Valencia, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1946–2016
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2010)​
Children4

Warren Berlinger (August 31, 1937 – December 2, 2020) was an American character actor, with Broadway runs, movie and television credits, and much work in commercials.

Early life

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Warren Berlinger was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, of Jewish heritage, the son of Frieda (née Shapkin) and Elias Berlinger, a building contractor. His family owned Berlinger's Glass Store on Avenue D.[citation needed]

Career

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Berlinger performed in the original 1946 Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. He guest-starred on the original Howdy Doody television show, with roles following on Kraft Television Theatre and other programs. He also guest-starred on John Cassavetes's detective series, NBC's Johnny Staccato. He was known to have co-starred with Elvis.[1]

In 1960, he appeared with Jack Lemmon and Rick Nelson in The Wackiest Ship in the Army as Radioman 2nd class A.J. Sparks.

Berlinger appeared in both the Broadway stage and Hollywood movie productions of Blue Denim (winning a Theatre World Award for the stage version), and also The Happy Time, Anniversary Waltz (later adapted as the movie Happy Anniversary), and Come Blow Your Horn in 1961. He also performed in the 1963 London stage production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the Shaftesbury Theatre. His career as a character actor began in 1956 with the film Teenage Rebel,[2] and continued in the movies Because They're Young (1960), The Wackiest Ship In The Army (1960), Billie (1965) and Thunder Alley (1967).

In 1965, Berlinger was the star of Kilroy, a segment of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. In 1966, he played Phillip Short in the movie Spinout.[2] Later appearances included episodes of Charlie's Angels, Happy Days (including an appearance as "tough-as-nails" United States Army recruiter Sergeant Betchler), on Marlo Thomas' TV show That Girl, as Thomas's stingy cousin Howard (Season 1, Episode 27) and as Dr. Goldfisher (Season 4, Episode 25), Love, American Style, Operation Petticoat, Friends, Columbo and Murder, She Wrote. In 1973, he was a regular cast member of the short-lived situation comedy A Touch of Grace. He also starred in an Archie Bunker-type sitcom entitled "Warren." In 1975, he was a special guest member of the show Emergency! playing the role of heart transplant patient Frank Fenady alongside Jeanne Cooper.

His other films include The Long Goodbye (1973), The Girl Most Likely to... (1973), Lepke (1975), I Will, I Will... for Now (1976), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), The Magician of Lublin (1979), The Cannonball Run (1981), The World According to Garp (1982), Ten Little Indians (1989), Hero (1992) and That Thing You Do! (1996).

In 2006, Berlinger marked his 60th anniversary in show business. He was both honorary mayor and honorary sheriff of Chatsworth, California.

His final acting credit was a 2016 episode of Grace and Frankie.[3]

Personal life

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In 1960, Berlinger married actress Betty Lou Keim, who died in 2010. They had four children.[citation needed]

Berlinger died from cancer on December 2, 2020, at the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, California; he was 83.[4][5]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1956 Teenage Rebel Dick Hewitt
1956 Three Brave Men Harry Goldsmith
1959 Blue Denim Ernie
1960 Because They're Young Buddy McCalla
1960 Platinum High School 'Crip' Hastings
1960 The Wackiest Ship in the Army Radioman 2nd Class A.J. 'Sparks' Sparks
1961 All Hands on Deck Ens. Rudy Rush
1965 Billie Mike Benson
1966 Spinout Philip Short
1967 Thunder Alley Eddie Sands
1973 The Long Goodbye Morgan
1973 The Girl Most Likely To... Herman Anderson TV movie
1975 Emergency! Frank Fenady Season 5, Episode 5: "Heart Transplant Patient"
1975 Lepke Gurrah Shapiro
1975 Happy Days DJ Sam the Prince
1975 The Four Deuces Chico Hamilton - the Arch Rival
1976 I Will, I Will... for Now Steve Martin
1976 Harry and Walter Go to New York Stage Manager
1976 The Shaggy D.A. Dip
1977 Happy Days Sergeant Betchler Season 4, Episode 20: "The Physical"[6]
1979 The Magician of Lublin Herman
1981 The Cannonball Run Shakey Finch
1982 The World According to Garp Stew Percy
1986 Free Ride Dean Stockwell
1986 Blacke's Magic Officer Gunther Episode 12: "Wax Poetic"
1987 Going Bananas Palermo
1988 Outlaw Force Capt. Morgan
1988 Take Two Apartment Manager
1989 Ten Little Indians Mr. Blore
1992 Hero Judge Goines
1996 That Thing You Do! Polaroid T.V. Host
2003 They Call Him Sasquatch Howard Dell

References

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  1. ^ "Elvis Co-Star Warren Berlinger Joins Elvis Week Line-Up". www.graceland.com. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  2. ^ a b "Spinout - MGM 1966". IrishElvisFanClub.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  3. ^ Moniuszko, Sara M. "Warren Berlinger, actor in 'Happy Days,' 'Cannonball Run' and 'Blue Denim,' dead at 83". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  4. ^ Barnes, Mike (2020-12-02). "Warren Berlinger, Actor in 'Blue Denim,' 'Come Blow Your Horn' and 'Cannonball Run,' Dies at 83". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ^ Morales, Christina (5 December 2020). "Warren Berlinger, Film and Television Character Actor, Dies at 83". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Happy Days, TV Guide, https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/happy-days/episode-20-season-4/the-physical/100197/
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