Gilford with Rufus on Tall Tales
Gilford in 1978
Jack Gilford (1908-1990) was a character actor whose sensitive face and soft voice could convey comedy or poignancy. In 1963, Gilford hosted the children's special Tall Tales, in which he appeared alongside the Muppet dog Rufus. He later lent his voice to the Hubleys' V insert on Sesame Street, extorting the letter to take its vitamins (First: Episode 0311). He continued to work with the Hubleys on the specials Everybody Rides the Carousel and The Doonesbury Special.
The actor had an indirect connection to another Muppet canine; as Winnie the Pooh on a 1962 album (recorded in 1952), Gilford sang "Cottleston Pie," later performed by Rowlf the Dog.
Gilford performed in clubs and in Broadway revues in the 1940s and appeared in a couple of movies and on early television, before being blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He continued to find sporadic work on stage, however, in the Off-Broadway production The World of Sholom Aleichem (with Will Lee and other blacklisted actors) and established himself dramatically as Mr. Dussel in The Diary of Anne Frank (1955). He originated roles in the Broadway musicals Once Upon a Mattress (the silent King Septimus, followed in the role by Lee), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Hysterium), and later Cabaret (Her Schultz). By the early sixties, Gilford had resumed TV and movie work, appearing in a long-running series of Cracker Jack commercials (usually sans dialogue) and on New York-shot series Car 54, Where Are You? and The Defenders. In movies, he was one of the few live actors in the Rankin/Bass feature The Daydreamer (with Margaret Hamilton) and reprised his stage role for the film of A Funny Thing...
More movies followed, including Enter Laughing (directed by Carl Reiner), Who's Minding the Mint? (with Milton Berle), Catch-22 (with Orson Welles), They Might Be Giants (with George C. Scott) and an Oscar-nominated turn supporting Jack Lemmon in 1973's Save the Tiger. He remained a busy TV face for the rest of his life and career (on Get Smart, his persona was tweaked when he played charming assassin Simon the Likable). Now often cast as endearing senior citizens, he played Rieger's father on two episodes of Taxi, was truly ancient as an abducted Hebrew named Saul on Soap, briefly married Sophia on The Golden Girls, and played one-time elderly pals of regulars on All in the Family, Rhoda, Lou Grant, and Night Court. He was a regular on the short-lived sitcoms Apple Pie and The Duck Factory (as an aging animator opposite Jim Carrey). He returned to Broadway periodically (taking over as Willie Clark in The Sunshine Boys and originating Crouch in the Larry Gelbart comedy Sly Fox). Later movies included Cocoon and its sequel (directed by Ron Howard) and Arthur 2: On the Rocks (with Dudley Moore).