Friday, May 4

Tom Poston, R.I.P.


Deadpan comic actor Tom Poston , whose prime-time career spanned the early days of network television right up to the Disney Channel present, died Monday at his Los Angeles home after what reports described as a brief illness. He was 85.

Poston is probably best remembered by modern audiences for regular roles on TV sitcoms like NEWHART, THE BOB NEWHART SHOW and THAT '70S SHOW. An Emmy winner back in 1959 for his work on Steve Allen's namesake sketch-variety show, Poston earned three more Emmy nominations, although no more statuettes, for NEWHART. Poston played the Stratford Inn's not-necessarily handy handyman George Utley on the 1982-1990 sitcom. Poston earned a fifth and final Emmy nod in 1991 for an appearance on COACH.

"Tom was always the 'go-to guy' on NEWHART," Bob Newhart said in a statement to a local wire service Tuesday. Newhart, who also worked with Poston on his 1990s sitcom BOB, and his 1970s sitcom THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, called the actor a "good and longtime friend

1 comment:

Mike Norton said...

I was saddened to see this here Saturday -- I didn't have the time to respond to it at the moment. Poston was one of the critical ingredients to so many great moments in comedy, yet I tend to think of as sadly under-appreciated by many in the audience.