James Patrick Francis O'Malley

 James Patrick Francis O'Malley (March 15, 1904 – February 27, 1985)

O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs from the 1940s to 1982, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. He also appeared on the Broadway stage in Ten Little Indians (1944) and Dial M for Murder (1954). O’Malley began his career in entertainment in 1925 as a recording artist and then as principal singer with Jack Hylton and his orchestra in the United Kingdom from 1930 to 1933. Known at that time as Pat O'Malley, he recorded more than four hundred popular songs of the day. At the end of 1935 Hylton and O'Malley came to the United States to record with a band composed of American musicians, thus emulating Ray Noble and Al Bowlly. He worked on the Broadway stage during the 1940s and 1950s. O' Malley was a very familiar face on TV sitcoms and dramas for 3 decades, where he played mostly uncle and grandfather types. He made over 100 TV guest appearances, and was in groundbreaking series such as the The Twilight Zone (1959) and The Untouchables (1959). He performed a lot in radio with his versatile voice work, and he later used his talent in animated cartoons, providing many vocal characterizations.

Many baby boomers have fond childhood memories of his portrayals in the TV series The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955) and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957) and he played Mr. Harry Burns in My Favorite Martian (1963) In 1969, O'Malley portrayed Carol Brady's (Florence Henderson) father in the first episode of ABC's The Brady Bunch. He made several appearances on Maude between 1973 and 1975; and he performed on other series such as It Takes a Thief, One Day At A Time, Emergency!, Adam-12, The Practice, Three's Company, and Taxi. O'Malley died of cardiovascular disease in San Juan Capistrano, California, shortly before his 81st birthday. He was married from 1936 until his death, and had two children.