Dan Tobin

Dan Tobin (October 19, 1910 – November 26, 1982) was an American supporting actor on the stage, in films and on television. He generally played gentle, urbane, rather fussy, sometimes obsequious and shifty characters, often with a concealed edge of malice.

Dan Tobin and Katharine Hepburn on Broadway in The Philadelphia Story (1939)

Early years

Tobin was a native of Cincinnati, and he attended the University of Cincinnati.[1]

Career

Tobin acted with a touring troupe in England. After an impresario saw him in Ah, Wilderness!, he gained a role in Behind Your Back at the Strand.[1]

Tobin's most memorable roles were as the overbearing secretary, Gerald, in Woman of the Year (1942), and the top-billed scientist in Orson Welles's innovative Peabody Award-winning unsold television pilot, The Fountain of Youth, filmed in 1956 and televised once two years later as an installment of NBC's Colgate Theatre.

Tobin also played as Alexander "Sandy" Lord in the original Broadway production of Phillip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, thus starting his career on stage in 1939. His work on Broadway included American Holiday (1939).[2]

On television, Tobin was a regular on I Married Joan,[3] My Favorite Husband,[3]:729 and Where Were You?[3]:1170

The Internet Movie Database lists 96 television and film acting roles for Tobin over a career spanning from 1939 to 1977, however TV Guide only credits him with 44 appearances.[4] In 1965, he appeared in an episode of The Cara Williams Show.[5] In 1966, he became a regular during the final season of Perry Mason as the proprietor of "Clay's Grill". He made a prior Mason appearance in 1964 as Dickens the butler in "The Case of the Scandalous Sculptor."

Personal life

Tobin was married to film and television screenwriter Jean Holloway (born Gratia Jean Casey: August 16, 1917 - November 11, 1989) from 1951 to his death in 1982.

Death

Tobin died in Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, in November 1982, at age 72. He was survived by his wife.[6]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1939Black LimelightRoberts - Reporter
1942Woman of the YearGerald Howe
1946UndercurrentProfessor Joseph Bangs
1947A Likely StoryPhil Bright
1947The Bachelor and the Bobby-SoxerChester WaltersReleased as Bachelor Knight (UK)
1948The Big ClockRay Cordette
1948Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream HouseBunny FunkhauserUncredited
1948The Velvet TouchJeff Trent
1948Sealed VerdictLt. Parker
1948Miss Tatlock's MillionsClifford Tatlock
1949Song of SurrenderClyde Atherton
1950The Magnificent YankeeDixonUncredited
1951Queen for a DayOwen Cruger
1953Dream WifeMr. Brown
1956The Catered AffairHotel Caterer
1956It's Always JanJack AdamsTV series, episode "Guilty Conscience"
1959The Last Angry ManBen Loomer
1962Who's Got the Action?Mr. Sanford
1965The MunstersReginald StubbsTV series, episode "Country Club Munsters"
1967How to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingJohnson
1969-1970The Ghost and Mrs. MuirMr. Hampton / Dr. Ryan McNallyTV Series, 2 episodes
1974Herbie Rides AgainLawyer
2018The Other Side of the WindDr. Burroughs(final film role)

References
  1. "Invited Out!". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 19, 1939. p. 32. Retrieved June 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Dan Tobin: Performer". Playbill. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  3. Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 493. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  4. "Dan Tobin". TV Guide. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  5. Classic TV Archive The Cara Williams Show (1964–1965)
  6. "Character actor Dan Tobin, whose career ranged from movies..." United Press International Archives. United Press International. November 28, 1982. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
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