"Trouble with Father" Character Actor Stuart Erwin 1967 Chapel of the Pines

Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903, Squaw Valley, California — December 21, 1967, Beverly Hills, California) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

Biography

Erwin began acting in college in the 1920s, having first appeared on stage.

Film career

He broke into films in 1928 in Mother Knows Best. In 1934, he was cast as Joe Palooka in the film Palooka. In 1932, he co-starred with Bing Crosby in the comedy The Big Broadcast, where he played Texas oil tycoon Leslie McWhinney. 

In 1936, he was cast in Pigskin Parade, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1940, he played Howie Newsome, the dairy delivery vendor, in the film adaptation Our Town, based on the Thornton Wilder play.

In Walt Disney's Bambi, Erwin performed the voice of a tree squirrel.

Later, Erwin appeared in the Disney films Son of Flubber and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones.

Radio career

In 1946, Erwin starred in Phone Again Finnegan on CBS. He played an apartment house manager in the comedy-drama.[1]

He also played various roles on Theater Guild on the Air, Lux Radio Theatre, The Old Gold Radio Theatre and Cavalcade of America.

Television career

In 1950, Erwin made the transition to television, in which he starred in Trouble with Father, which was retitled The Stu Erwin Show, with his co-star and real-life wife, actress June Collyer. He guest starred on the religion anthology series Crossroads.

He guest starred on the short-lived CBS sitcom Angel, starring Annie Fargé, and on ABC's The Donna Reed Show, Our Man Higgins, with Stanley Holloway, and The Greatest Show on Earth, with Jack Palance.

Erwin made four guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including the role of murderer Clem P. "Sandy" Sandover in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Double-Entry Mind," and murderer Edward Stanton in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Scandalous Sculptor."

Death

Stu Erwin died of a heart attack on December 21, 1967 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, at age 64, and was interred at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. Erwin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6240 Hollywood Blvd.

Partial filmography

Mother Knows Best (1928) 

Sweetie (1929) 

Paramount on Parade (1930) 
Playboy of Paris (1930) 
Make Me a Star (1932) 
The Big Broadcast (1932) 
Under the Tonto Rim (1933) 
International House (1933) 
The Stranger's Return (1933) 
Hold Your Man (1933) 
Day of Reckoning (1933) 

Going Hollywood (1933) 

Palooka (1934) 

Viva Villa! (1934) 

Chained (1934) 

The Party's Over (1934) 
After Office Hours (1935) 

Ceiling Zero (1936) 

Pigskin Parade (1936) 
Second Honeymoon (1937) 
Small Town Boy (1937) 

Checkers (1937) 

Three Blind Mice (1938) 
Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) 
Our Town (1940) 
When the Daltons Rode (1940) 
A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) 

The Bride Came C.O.D. (1940) 

Blondie for Victory (1942) 
He Hired the Boss (1943) 
The Great Mike (1944) 

Pillow to Post (1945) 

Heading for Heaven (1947) 
Killer Dill (1947) 
Father Is a Bachelor (1950) 
Main Street to Broadway (1953) 
For the Love of Mike (1960) 
Son of Flubber (1963) 
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964)

References

1. "'Phone Again Finnegan,' New Comedy Series on WHP, Stars Stu Erwin" (June 22, 1946). Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 21.