Happy Birthday, Jack Kruschen

Mar 20, 2017

Actor Jack Kruschen was born March 20, 1922. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Kruschen was a master of dialects and an incredibly versatile actor. Kruschen was a mainstay on radio: his credits include Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Night Beat, Frontier Gentlemen, Crime Classics, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Suspense, and more. Kruschen was such a ubiquitous presence on radio it would be hard to find a series where he didn’t lend his voice. On Broadway is My Beat, he played two recurring characters - the gruff Detective Muggavan and the cynical coroner Dr. Sinsky, sometimes in the same episode.

On the big screen, he picked up an Academy Award nomination for his memorable performance as Dr. Dreyfuss, Jack Lemmon’s neighbor, in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. In 1960, Kruschen told the Los Angeles Times “Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon were the best things that ever happened to me. They worked with me, helped me, brought out the ability to use whatever I have learned of my craft.”

He could also be seen in Cape Fear, McLintock!, and The War of the Worlds. On television, he appeared on Batman, Columbo, The Odd Couple, and many more. Younger audiences may remember him from his role of the Greek grandfather on Webster. Kruschen was still working well into the 1990s, with his final role coming in 1997’s Til There Was You.