Carl Gordon, Late Bloomer

In his late 30s, Carl Gordon found himself twice-divorced, stuck in a dead-end manual labor job with the feeling that his life was going nowhere. By the time he died this week at age 78, he’d appeared in 26 TV shows and movies and a slew of Broadway productions.

Pretty in Pink: Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards and the Pink Panther

We're celebrating Peters Sellers and Blake Edwards by watching a few of our favorite "Pink Panther" scenes.

Bruno Kirby, Classic Sidekick

Bruno Kirby was rarely the star, but that didn't make him any less memorable.

Feisty Billie Bird

As with many a character actor, Billie Bird's name might not be familiar at first glance...

Ray Walston: More than a Martian

There was a time when actor Ray Walston worried that he would always be a Martian.

Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster

Al Lewis didn't mind being typecast as the genial vampire Grandpa from The Munsters.

Estelle Getty, Golden Girl

Today we're remembering a career crowned by Estelle Getty's 10-year turn as wise-cracking Sophia Petrillo.

Dom DeLuise and Friends

Dom DeLuise was funny on his own, but when he got together with his friends, he was downright hilarious.

Gordon Jump's Greatest

From "WKRP in Cincinnati" to the lonely Maytag repairman, Gordon Jump frequently played bumbling, hapless sorts — and he played them perfectly.

Robert J. Wilke’s Unusual Charm

Robert J. Wilke’s name may not ring a bell, but chances are good you’ve enjoyed watching him get arrested, beaten up or worse. For 45 years Wilke, who would have turned 100 today, was Hollywood’s go-to guy for villains, thugs and generally unlikable men. Aside from his role as the sympathetic farm foreman in Days of Heaven , Wilke was almost always the antagonist, or the antagonist’s second-in-command, in classics such as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea , in which he played first mate to the pathological Captain Nemo, or television Westerns including The Rifleman , Have Gun—Will Travel , Maverick and many, many more. His characters in hundreds of films and television programs often lacked names or backstories, but Wilke excelled in bringing them to life and earning the audience’s disdain without chewing the scenery –– at least not too much.

Victor French: From TV Villain to Friend of Angels

Victor French spent 20 years as a TV villain before finding his warm-hearted niche on "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven."

Remembering Eli Wallach

Veteran character actor Eli Wallach was beloved for his movie work, including roles in "The Magnificent Seven," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "The Misfits" and dozens more.

Does Frankenstein Deserve an Oscar?

Boris Karloff is known to most as Frankenstein. But his daughter remembers a soft-spoken, funny, and modest gentleman.

John Ciarcia (1940 - 2015), The Sopranos actor

John "Cha-Cha" Ciarcia, a tough-guy actor on "The Sopranos" who also owned a popular restaurant in New York City's Little Italy neighborhood that his celebrity friends frequented, has died. He was 75.

Robert Loggia (1930 - 2015), actor in Scarface, Big

Robert Loggia, the gravelly voiced character actor from "Scarface," "The Sopranos," and "Big," has died of Alzheimer's disease, according to The Associated Press. He was 85.

Angela McEwan (1934 - 2015), actress who starred in Nebraska

Angela McEwan, a character actress who played a small-town newspaper publisher in the Oscar-nominated movie "Nebraska," has died. She was 81.

Joe Santos (1931 - 2016), The Rockford Files co-star

Joe Santos, a character actor known best for playing Lieutenant Dennis Becker on TV’s “The Rockford Files” alongside James Garner, died March 18, four days after having a heart attack, according to multiple news sources. He was 84.

Bill Henderson (1926–2016), jazz singer and character actor

Bill Henderson, a jazz vocalist and actor, died Sunday of natural causes, according to Variety. He was 90.

William Schallert (1922–2016), "The Patty Duke Show" dad

Actor played Patty Duke's dad on her eponymous 1960s show.

Tonita Castro (1953–2016), sitcom co-star on Dads

Tonita Castro, a Mexican-born actress known best for her co-star roles on the TV sitcoms “Dads” and “Go On,” died May 8 of stomach cancer, according to multiple news sources. She was 63.

Beth Howland (1941 - 2015)

Beth Howland, a character actress known best for playing the accident-prone waitress Vera Gorman on the TV sitcom “Alice”

Angela Paton (1930 - 2016)

Character actress Angela Paton, known best for her role in "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, died Thursday, according to her family. She was 86.

Ronnie Claire Edwards (1933 - 2016), actress on "The Waltons"

Actress Ronnie Claire Edwards was best known for playing Corabeth Godsey on "The Waltons."

David Huddleston (1930 - 2016), The Big Lebowski actor

David Huddleston, an actor who was known best for “The Big Lebowski” and “Santa Claus: The Movie,” died Aug. 2, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 85.

Barry Jenner (1941 - 2016), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor

Barry Jenner, an actor who was known best for playing Admiral William Ross on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” died Aug. 9, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 75.

Kenny Baker (1934–2016), R2-D2 actor

Kenny Baker, the British actor who played R2-D2 in “Star Wars,” died Aug. 13, 2016, after a long illness, according to The Guardian. He was 81.

Philip "Fyvush" Finkel (1922 - 2016), Picket Fences star

Fyvush Finkel, the actor who won an Emmy Award for his performance as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on "Picket Fences," died Aug. 14, 2016. He was 93. Born Philip Finkel Oct. 9, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Jewish immigrants, a Polish father and Belarusian mother. He began acting as a child, working onstage in New York's Yiddish theaters. But in high school, he considered breaking out of the business and began studying to become a furrier instead. The call of the stage proved too strong, however, and Finkel was back at it after he graduated, performing stand-up comedy on the Catskills' borscht circuit as well as continuing his stage acting. He made the move to Broadway in the 1960s, appearing in "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Little Shop of Horrors."

Jack Riley (1935 - 2016), The Bob Newhart Show actor

Jack Riley, a veteran comic actor who appeared on “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Aug. 19, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 80.

Marvin Kaplan (1927 - 2016), played Henry on Alice

Marvin Kaplan, a prolific comedy character actor who played the diner patron Henry the telephone repairer on the sitcom "Alice," died Aug. 25, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 89.

Jon Polito (1950 - 2016), Homicide: Life on the Street actor

Actor Jon Polito, known for playing Detective Steve Crosetti on TV’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” and for roles in films such as “Miller’s Crossing” and “The Big Lebowski,” has died. He was 65.

John Hostetter (1946 - 2016), Murphy Brown actor

John Hostetter, a veteran character actor who was known best for his role as the unflappable stage manager on TV's "Murphy Brown," died Sept. 2, 2016, of cancer. He was 69.

Bill Nunn (1953–2016), Do the Right Thing star

Bill Nunn, a character actor whose credits include “Spider-Man” and Spike Lee films, died Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to The Associated Press. He was 62.

Michael Massee (1955–2016)

Actor known for playing Gustav Fiers aka The Gentleman in the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Don Marshall (1936–2016), Land of the Giants star

Don Marshall, an actor whose TV credits include “Land of the Giants” and an episode of the original “Star Trek” series, died Oct. 30, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 80.

Fritz Weaver (1926 - 2016), The Twilight Zone actor

Fritz Weaver, a stage, film, and television actor whose credits include the TV miniseries "Holocaust," died Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, in New York, New York. He was 90.

Andrew Sachs (1930 - 2016), Fawlty Towers actor

British actor Andrew Sachs was known best for playing Spanish waiter Manuel on “Fawlty Towers.”

Don Calfa (1939 - 2016), Weekend at Bernie's actor

Don Calfa, a prolific character actor who appeared in “Weekend at Bernie’s,” died Thursday, December 1, 2016, of natural causes in Palm Springs, California, according to The Associated Press. He was 76.

Alice Drummond (1928 - 2016), Ghostbuster actress

Alice Drummond, the character who was featured as the librarian in “Ghostbusters,” died Wednesday, November 30, 2016 according to multiple news sources. She was 88.

Peter Vaughan (1923 - 2016), Game of Thrones actor

Peter Vaughan, an English character actor who played Maester Aemon on the HBO series "Game of Thrones," died Dec. 6, 2016, in West Sussex, England. He was 93. Vaughan played the "Game of Thrones" character from 2011 to 2015. He also played Grouty in three episodes the British sitcom "Porridge" as well as in the movie version. His credits also include the part of Tom Franklin on the British series "Chancer."

George S. Irving (1922 - 2016), Heat Miser voice actor

George S. Irving, a Tony Award–winning actor who played a role in “Irene” opposite Debbie Reynolds, has died at the age of 94, according to multiple news sources.

Om Puri (1950 - 2017), actor in Gandhi, City of Joy

Acclaimed Indian actor Om Puri appeared in hit films including "Gandhi," "City of Joy," and "East Is East."

Dick Gautier (1931 - 2017), Get Smart's Hymie the Robot

Dick Gautier, the comedic actor who played Hymie the Robot on “Get Smart,” died Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, in Arcadia, California, after a long illness, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 85.

Miguel Ferrer (1955 - 2017), NCIS: Los Angeles actor

Miguel Ferrer, the actor best known for starring as Owen Granger on “NCIS: Los Angeles,” died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, of cancer, according to multiple news sources. He was 61.

John Hurt (1940 - 2017), Oscar nominee for The Elephant Man

John Hurt, the acclaimed English character actor who starred in “The Elephant Man,” died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, according to multiple news sources. He was 77.

Frank Pellegrino (1944–2017), The Sopranos actor

Actor appeared on “The Sopranos,” co-owned Rao’s restaurant in Manhattan.

Christopher Wiggins (1931 - 2017), Swiss Family Robinson actor

Canadian character actor Christopher Wiggins, known for roles in "Friday's Curse" and "Swiss Family Robinson," died Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. Wiggins, who had Alzheimer's disease, was 86. Born in Blackpool, England, in 1931, Wiggins was a banker before moving to Canada in 1952 and beginning his acting career. His early work included roles on 1950s television series "Folio" and "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans." He won a 1969 best actor Canadian Film Award for his role in "The Best Damn Fiddler From Calabogie to Kaladar."

Darlene Cates (1947 - 2017), What's Eating Gilbert Grape star

Actress Darlene Cates was well-known for her role as the housebound matriarch alongside Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1993 movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

Bruce Hampton (1947–2017), Hampton Grease Band co-founder

Atlanta guitarist co-founded the 1960s Hampton Grease Band.

Michael Parks (1940 - 2017), Kill Bill actor

Actor appeared in films such as “Django Unchained” and “Kill Bill”...