David Huddleston
A portly, often bespectacled veteran character actor, David Huddleston knew from an early age he wanted to pursue a career as an actor. The Virginia native participated in school and church productions and after military service headed to NYC's American Academy of Dramatic Arts for his training. Almost immediately after graduating, he found work. appearing in touring companies of musicals and plays. He began to make inroads in film in the 1970s, supporting John Wayne in "Rio Lobo" (1970), James Stewart in "Fools' Parade" (1971) and Gregory Peck in "Billy Two Hats" (1973). As the vicious gang leader who is not without humor in "Bad Company" (1972), Huddleston earned much critical praise, but the film's lack of box-office did not advance his feature career. Mel Brooks used the actor to good effect in "Blazing Saddles" (1974) but he was relegated to inferior material for much of the next decade. In 1985, Huddleston was tapped for the title role in "Santa Claus: The Movie," a less than magical telling of the story of the Christmas icon. It took more than another ten years before the actor found a worthy role, this time as a wheelchair-bound Southern California millionaire known as "The Big Lebowski" (1998) in the Coen brothers feature. Huddleston also found time to make numerous guest appearances on TV shows, in everything from sitcoms to dramas. He co-starred in several series, including "Tenafly" (NBC, 1973-74) and "Petrocelli" (NBC, 1974-76). Huddleston created, co-executive produced and starred in the short-lived sitcom "Hizzoner" (NBC, 1979), about a Southern mayor, He earned an 1990 Emmy nomination for his recurring role as Grandpa Arnold on ABC's "The Wonder Years" and lent strong support as the father of a suspected murderer fighting for custody of his grandchild in the superior "In a Child's Name" (CBS, 1991). Throughout his career, Huddleston has returned to the stage. Among his more notable credits are co-starring as Branch Rickey in "The First" (1981), a musical biography of baseball player Jackie Robinson, appearing in support of Dustin Hoffman in "Death of a Salesman" (1984) and replacing Pat Hingle as Benjamin Franklin in the 1998 Broadway revival of the musical "1776." Although Huddleston slowed his career later in life, he still appeared in TV shows such as "Gilmore Girls" (WB/CW 2000-07), on which he appeared as the ayor of Stars Hollow, and "The West Wing" (NBC 1999-2006), on which he portrayed a Republican senator. Continuing his association with Mel Brooks, Huddleston had a cameo as a judge in the musical remake of "The Producers" (2005). His final role came in the indie thriller "Locker 13" (2014). David Huddleston died on August 2, 2016 of complications of kidney and heart disease in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 85 years old.
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David Huddleston
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13% |
|
Locker 13 | Floyd Marley (Character) | - | 2014 |
9% |
|
Postal | Peter (Character) | - | 2007 |
51% |
|
The Producers | Judge (Character) | $19.4M | 2005 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Reveille | Navy Man (Character) | - | 2004 |
No Score Yet |
|
G Men From Hell | Dr. Boifford (Character) | - | 2000 |
80% |
|
The Big Lebowski | Jeffrey Lebowski (Character) | $17.4M | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Man Next Door | Sheriff Dawkins (Character) | - | 1998 |
21% |
|
Joe's Apartment | P.I. Smith (Character) | $4.6M | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cultivating Charlie | Ed Thundertrunk (Character) | - | 1994 |
25% |
|
Life With Mikey | Mr. Corcoran (Character) | $12.3M | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Margaret Bourke-White | Remis (Character) | - | 1989 |
77% |
|
Frantic | Peter (Character) | $17.5M | 1988 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Tracker | Lane Crawford (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet |
|
When the Bough Breaks | Vicar McCaffrey (Character) | - | 1986 |
22% |
|
Santa Claus | Santa Claus (Character) | $23.6M | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Act | Corky Carew (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet |
|
Go for It | Tiger (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | M.A.D.D.: The Candy Lightner Story | Steve Blankenship (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet |
|
Family Reunion | Unknown (Character) | - | 1981 |
No Score Yet |
|
Gorp | Walrus Wallman (Character) | - | 1980 |
65% |
|
Capricorn One | Hollis Peaker (Character) | - | 1978 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid | Sheriff (Character) | - | 1978 |
No Score Yet |
|
Crime Busters | Capt. McBride (Character) | - | 1977 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Final Eye | Chief Sorrenson (Character) | - | 1977 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sherlock Holmes in New York | Inspector Lafferty NYPD (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Shark Kill | Bearde (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet |
|
Country Blue | Angus Wages (Character) | - | 1975 |
68% |
|
Breakheart Pass | Dr. Molyneux (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Oregon Trail | Painted Face Kelly (Character) | - | 1975 |
40% |
|
McQ | Pinky (Character) | - | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Gun and the Pulpit | Mr. Ross (Character) | - | 1974 |
22% |
|
The Klansman | Mayor Hardy Riddle (Character) | - | 1974 |
89% |
|
Blazing Saddles | Olson Johnson (Character) | - | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Heatwave! | Arnold Brady (Character) | - | 1974 |
No Score Yet |
|
Billy Two Hats | Copeland (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet |
|
Death and the Maiden | Joseph Harrelson (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Man Running | Lieutenant Sam Church (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Brock's Last Case | Jack Dawson (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Joyride to Nowhere | Lieutenant Sam Church (Character) | - | 1973 |
83% |
|
Bad Company | Big Joe (Character) | - | 1972 |
0% |
|
Something Big | Malachi Morton (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Homecoming: A Christmas Story | Sheriff Ep Bridges (Character) | - | 1971 |
85% |
|
Brian's Song | Ed McCaskey (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet |
|
Fool's Parade | Homer Grindstaff (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Priest Killer | Harrison Davis (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Suddenly Single | Bennie (Character) | - | 1971 |
70% |
|
Rio Lobo | Dr. Ivor Jones (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Norwood | Uncle Lonnie (Character) | - | 1970 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
94% | 91% | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Eugene Hamilton (Guest Star) | 2010 |
54% | 85% | Jericho | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2007-2008 |
81% | 95% | The West Wing | Senator Max Lobell (Guest Star) | 2000 2002 |
No Score Yet | 88% | Gilmore Girls | Mayor Harry Porter (Guest Star) | 2000-2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Judging Amy | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2000 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | L.A. Doctors | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1999 |
64% | No Score Yet | The Naked Truth | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Walker, Texas Ranger | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1994 |
92% | 90% | Star Trek: The Next Generation | The Conductor (Guest Star) | 1994 |
No Score Yet | 88% | The Wonder Years | Grandpa Arnold (Guest Star) | 1990-1992 |
No Score Yet | 80% | Columbo | The Mayor (Guest Star) | 1990 |
No Score Yet | 89% | Murder, She Wrote | Sheriff Ed Ten Eyck (Guest Star) | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Nutt House | Big Jake Herder (Guest Star) | 1989 |
No Score Yet | 95% | Magnum, P.I. | Frank Peterson (Guest Star) | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fall Guy | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Trapper John, M.D. | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1982 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Family Reunion | Sen. Chester Winfield (Character) | 1981 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Benson | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hee Haw | Guest | 1977 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Waltons | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1972 1977 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Barnaby Jones | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1977 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Practice | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Charlie's Angels | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Good Heavens | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bronk | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1976 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Rockford Files | Sherm (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Police Woman | Milton Brooks (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Petrocelli | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974-1975 |
No Score Yet | 100% | Kung Fu | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1973 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gunsmoke | Emmett (Guest Star) | 1971 1973-1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Freddy (Guest Star) | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Paper Moon | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Snoop Sisters | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bonanza | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1971-1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Sixth Sense | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Rookies | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Longstreet | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cannon | Jimmy Winters (Guest Star) | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | McMillan and Wife | Pylant (Guest Star) | 1971 |
No Score Yet | 48% | Bewitched | Dog Pound Attendant (Guest Star) | 1970-1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Room 222 | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1971 |