Ned Glass
Encyclopedia
Ned Glass was an American character actor
who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly or weasely characters. Short and bald, with a slight hunch to his shoulders, he was immediately recognizable by his distinct appearance, his nasal voice, and his pronounced New York City
accent.
to a Jewish family, Glass immigrated to the United States
at an early age and grew up in New York City. He attended college at City College
.
, and appeared on Broadway
in 1931 in the Elmer Rice
play Counsellor-at-Law. He continued to act and direct on Broadway until 1936, when he was signed as a MGM contract player. He made his first film appearance in 1937, with an uncredited role in True Confession, and his first credited film appearance came in two episodes of the serial Dick Tracy Returns
(1938).
From 1937 on, Glass worked regularly in films, helped by friends like producer John Houseman
and Glass's next door neighbor, Moe Howard
of The Three Stooges, who got him a part in the Stooges' film Nutty But Nice
. He also appeared in From Nurse to Worse
, Three Little Sew and Sews
and You Nazty Spy!. Glass did not appear in any films released between 1942 and 1947 (possibly due to national service), but generally worked in a handful of films almost every year, playing small roles and bit parts, including additional Stooge films Uncivil War Birds
, Hokus Pokus
and Three Hams on Rye
. He was reportedly briefly blacklisted, during which time he worked as a carpenter.
Glass began showing up on television in 1952, when he did an episode of The Red Skelton Show
. He later was frequently seen in Jackie Gleason
's The Honeymooners
sketches. From 1955 to 1958, Glass played "Sgt. Andy Pendleton" on You'll Never Get Rich (better remembered as The Phil Silvers Show
). In 1957, he appeared as "Jackson", an arms dealer to Indians
, in an episode of the syndicated
western
series, Boots and Saddles
, as well as a railroad ticket agent in Alfred Hitchcock
's North by Northwest
. He had a sizable role in Hollywood's take of West Side Story
, playing Doc, the drugstore owner. In the fall of 1963, Glass guest starred in an episode of the 13-week CBS sitcom/drama
Glynis
, starring British
actress Glynis Johns
as a mystery writer and Keith Andes
as her attorney
-husband.
Glass popped up in the 1967 Monkees episode "Monkees in the Ring" as fight promoter Joey Sholto. He played "Sol Cooper" on the Diahann Carroll vehicle Julia
from 1968 to 1971, and was nominated in 1969 for an Emmy Award
for his performance in the "A Little Chicken Soup Never Hurt Anybody" episode Glass also played "Uncle Moe Plotnick" on the short-lived series Bridget Loves Bernie
(1972–73)
Highlights of Glass's film career include playing "Doc" in West Side Story
, "Popcorn" in Blake Edwards
's thriller Experiment in Terror
, and bad guy "Leopold W. Gideon" in Stanley Donen
's Charade. He was notable in Kid Galahad
with Elvis Presley
, Disney's The Love Bug
, Billy Wilder
's The Fortune Cookie
and Save the Tiger
starring Jack Lemmon
. His final film appearance was in the low-budget comedy Street Music, and his final TV appearance was as a pickpocket on Cagney & Lacey
in 1982.
, and was brother-in-law to character actor Frank McHugh
, and bit player Matt McHugh
. Kitty McHugh committed suicide on 3 September 1954, and Glass later married actress Jean Burton. That marriage ended in divorce.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly or weasely characters. Short and bald, with a slight hunch to his shoulders, he was immediately recognizable by his distinct appearance, his nasal voice, and his pronounced New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
accent.
Early life
Born in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to a Jewish family, Glass immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at an early age and grew up in New York City. He attended college at City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
.
Career
Glass worked in vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, and appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1931 in the Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
play Counsellor-at-Law. He continued to act and direct on Broadway until 1936, when he was signed as a MGM contract player. He made his first film appearance in 1937, with an uncredited role in True Confession, and his first credited film appearance came in two episodes of the serial Dick Tracy Returns
Dick Tracy Returns
Dick Tracy Returns is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial Dick Tracy, with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as the title character...
(1938).
From 1937 on, Glass worked regularly in films, helped by friends like producer John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
and Glass's next door neighbor, Moe Howard
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
of The Three Stooges, who got him a part in the Stooges' film Nutty But Nice
Nutty But Nice
Nutty but Nice is the 47th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. He also appeared in From Nurse to Worse
From Nurse to Worse (1940 film)
From Nurse To Worse is the 49th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.- Plot :...
, Three Little Sew and Sews
Three Little Sew and Sews
Three Little Sew and Sews is the 36th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
and You Nazty Spy!. Glass did not appear in any films released between 1942 and 1947 (possibly due to national service), but generally worked in a handful of films almost every year, playing small roles and bit parts, including additional Stooge films Uncivil War Birds
Uncivil War Birds
Uncivil War Birds is the 90th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges . The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
, Hokus Pokus
Hokus Pokus (1949 film)
Hokus Pokus is the 115th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
and Three Hams on Rye
Three Hams on Rye
Three Hams on Rye is the 125th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
. He was reportedly briefly blacklisted, during which time he worked as a carpenter.
Glass began showing up on television in 1952, when he did an episode of The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as...
. He later was frequently seen in Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
's The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
sketches. From 1955 to 1958, Glass played "Sgt. Andy Pendleton" on You'll Never Get Rich (better remembered as The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
). In 1957, he appeared as "Jackson", an arms dealer to Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, in an episode of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Boots and Saddles
Boots and Saddles (TV series)
Boots and Saddles is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1958. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader.-Synopsis:...
, as well as a railroad ticket agent in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
. He had a sizable role in Hollywood's take of West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, playing Doc, the drugstore owner. In the fall of 1963, Glass guest starred in an episode of the 13-week CBS sitcom/drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Glynis
Glynis
Glynis is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 18, 1963.-Synopsis:The series stars Welsh actress Glynis Johns as Glynis Granville, a mystery writer. Keith Andes appeared as Keith Granville, Glynis' husband who works as a successful criminal defense attorney....
, starring British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actress Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
as a mystery writer and Keith Andes
Keith Andes
Keith Andes was an American film, radio, musical theatre, stage and television actor.-Early life:John Charles Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey on July 12, 1920. By the age of 12, he was featured on the radio....
as her attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
-husband.
Glass popped up in the 1967 Monkees episode "Monkees in the Ring" as fight promoter Joey Sholto. He played "Sol Cooper" on the Diahann Carroll vehicle Julia
Julia (TV series)
Julia is an American sitcom notable for being one of the first weekly series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants. The show starred actress and singer Diahann...
from 1968 to 1971, and was nominated in 1969 for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his performance in the "A Little Chicken Soup Never Hurt Anybody" episode Glass also played "Uncle Moe Plotnick" on the short-lived series Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American television comedy program created by Bernard Slade, the creator of the 1970–74 ABC sitcom, The Partridge Family, based loosely on the premise of the 1920s’ Broadway play and 1940s’ radio show Abie's Irish Rose...
(1972–73)
Highlights of Glass's film career include playing "Doc" in West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, "Popcorn" in Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
's thriller Experiment in Terror
Experiment in Terror
Experiment in Terror is a 1962 thriller film. It was directed by Blake Edwards and written by Mildred Gordon and Gordon Gordon based on their 1961 novel Operation Terror. The film stars Glenn Ford and Lee Remick.-Plot:...
, and bad guy "Leopold W. Gideon" in Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen ; is an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are Singin' in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. His other noteworthy films include Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Damn...
's Charade. He was notable in Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. The film was released by United Artists. The film opened at #9 at the box office when released in the United States in August 1962...
with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Disney's The Love Bug
The Love Bug
The Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
and Save the Tiger
Save the Tiger
Save the Tiger is a 1973 film about moral conflict in contemporary America. It stars Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Thayer David, Lara Parker and Liv Lindeland. The film is directed by John G...
starring Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
. His final film appearance was in the low-budget comedy Street Music, and his final TV appearance was as a pickpocket on Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
in 1982.
Personal life
Glass was married to actress Kitty McHughKitty McHugh
Katherine "Kitty" McHugh was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1934 and 1953.-Career:...
, and was brother-in-law to character actor Frank McHugh
Frank McHugh
Francis Curray "Frank" McHugh was an American film and television actor.Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and as a young child he performed on stage...
, and bit player Matt McHugh
Matt McHugh
Matt McHugh was an American film actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small parts.-Career:...
. Kitty McHugh committed suicide on 3 September 1954, and Glass later married actress Jean Burton. That marriage ended in divorce.
Death
Glass died in Encino Hospital in Encino, California, on 15 June 1984 at the age of 78, after a long illness.External links
- Ned Glass at TCM Movie Database
- Ned Glass at Allmovie
- Ned Glass at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Ned Glass at Great Character Actors
- Obituary in the New York Times