Herman Raymond Walston

 Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001)

Walston was best known as the title character on My Favorite Martian. His major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (South Pacific), Mr. Applegate (Damn Yankees), J. J. Singleton (The Sting), Mr. Hand (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Candy (Of Mice and Men), and Judge Henry Bone (Picket Fences). In 1949, he appeared in the short-lived play Mrs. Gibbons' Boys, directed by George Abbott, who later cast him as Satan (who bore the name "Mr. Applegate") in the 1955 musical Damn Yankees opposite Gwen Verdon as his sexy aide Lola. The chemistry between the two was such that they both garnered critical success and won awards for their roles. After a decade in New York theater, he won a Tony Award. He starred as Luther Billis in the 1951 London production of South Pacific. He reprised that role in the 1958 film adaptation. Additional Broadway credits included The Front Page, Summer and Smoke, King Richard III, Wish You Were Here, and House of Flowers. He also narrated many United States Department of Defense and Atomic Energy Commission (now United States Department of Energy) films about nuclear experiment, including the Operation Hardtack I nuclear test film series of 1958. Walston achieved his greatest success as the title character (Uncle Martin) on My Favorite Martian from 1963 to 1966, alongside co-star Bill Bixby. Although the show gained a large audience in syndication, My Favorite Martian typecast Walston and he had difficulty finding serious roles after the show's cancellation. He returned to character actor status in the 1970s–80s, and guest starred in such series as Custer, The Wild Wild West, Love, American Style, The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, Ellery Queen, The Six Million Dollar Man, Little House on the Prairie, and The Incredible Hulk, again with Bill Bixby. From 1980–1992, Walston starred in 14 films, including Galaxy of Terror and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

In 1994, Walston was diagnosed with lupus and as a result, his career began winding down. He appeared in an AT&T long distance TV commercial in 1995, in which his dialogue implied he was Uncle Martin from Mars, looking for good rates to talk to fellow Martians living in the United States. On January 1, 2001, Walston died at age 86 at his home in Beverly Hills, California, from lupus.