I. M. Hobson

I. M. Hobson (1935-2003) was a character actor who played an auctioneer in Episode 2320 of Sesame Street (1987).

With thick impressive eyebrows, Hobson was frequently cast as butlers and other snooty types (such as maitre d's and prosperous businessman). He buttled on-screen in Annie, the Francis Ford Coppola Dracula, Hello Again (with Austin Pendleton), and a TV version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was a maitre 'd in Memoirs of an Invisible Man (with Chevy Chase), appeared three times on Newhart as Hubert (owner of Maison Hubert), and appeared twice on Night Court (as a maitre 'd and then as Mel Tormé's butler).

When not serving, Hobson was in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (at the read-through for NY/LA), the Coen Bros. films Barton Fink (as a Broadway producer) and The Hudsucker Proxy (as the most emotional of the board members), Amos & Andrew (with Samuel L. Jackson), and Newsies (as a publisher). Other TV guest turns included Seinfeld (the businessman who refuses to give George the time of day in "The Limo"), Who's the Boss? (as St. Peter), Saved by the Bell, Tales from the Darkside, and David Lynch's On the Air (breaking type as a stage magician).

On stage, Hobson was part of the original Broadway cast of The Elephant Man (as freak show owner Ross and two others) and played a reverend in the musical flop Dance a Little Closer (which opened and closed the same night). Touring roles included Van Helsing in a 1978 Passion of Dracula and Charlemagne in Pippin. The same year as his Sesame Street appearance, he was in an off-Broadway version of Man and Superman.