Saturday, May 26, 2012

C. Lindsay Workman R.I.P.

Character actor and voice artist C. Lindsay Workman passed on 24 April 2012 at the age of 88.

C. Lindsay Workman was born on 6 March 1924 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied acting and literature at Pomona College in Claremont, California and later at Yale University. He was part of the theatre department of Scripps College for a time in the Fifties.

C. Lindsay Workman made his television debut in an episode of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in 1957. In the late Fifties he would appear on such shows as Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Third Man, Hotel de Paree, Have Fun--Will Travel, One Step Beyond, and Sugarfoot. He made his film debut in 1960 in Spring Affair. In the Sixties he appeared on such shows as The Untouchables, Dobie Gillis, Dennis the Menace, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Perry Mason, Mister Ed, The Wild Wild West, Daniel Boone, The Beverly Hillbillies, Batman, I Dream of Jeannie, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Flying Nun, Bewitched, That Girl, and Night Gallery. He was a regular on the series Here Come the Brides. He appeared in the film At the End of the Rainbow (1965).

In the Seventies Mr. Workman appeared in such shows as Love American Style, Alias Smith & Jones, Ironside, Bonanza, The Partridge Family, The F.B.I., The Partridge Family, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch, Adam-12, McCloud, The Waltons, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Cannon, Police Woman, and Lou Grant. He appeared in such films as Westworld (1973) and The One Man  Jury (1978). From the Eighties into the Nineties Mr. Workman appeared in such shows as Father Murphy and Highway to Heaven. He appeared in the film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991). He also provided various voices for animated specials based on the comic strip Garfield and also did voiceover work for Mercedes Benz commercials.

C. Lindsay Workman a very prolific actor, appearing in dozens of television shows over the years. He played many doctors, waiters, bartenders, and teachers. Mr. Workman was essentially one of those actors often called upon to play small, but important roles in television episodes, usually the various professionals characters with whom the characters might have to interact. And there is a very good reason why C. Lindsay Workman appeared on so many television shows--he was quite good at taking a bit part and making it seem very convincing. With just a few lines of dialogue, Mr. Workman could make a doctor or bartender seem like a real person. What is more, he was an actor who made an impression. While I seriously doubt most people would recognise his name, I have no doubt anyone who watched television from the Sixties into the Nineties would recognise his face and even remember shows on which he guest starred.

No comments: