Tom Ewell

 Tom Ewell, born Samuel Yewell Tompkins (April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994)

Ewell was a film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and arguably most identifiable role is of Richard Sherman in The Seven Year Itch, a role that he originated in the Broadway stage production (1952–1954) and reprised in the 1955 Hollywood film adaptation. He received a Tony Award for the play and a Golden Globe Award for the film. He appeared in several other light comedies of the 1950s, most notably The Girl Can't Help It (1956), though he preferred the stage. He made his Broadway debut in 1934 and his film debut in 1940, and for several years, he played comic supporting roles. His acting career was interrupted during World War II when he served in the United States Navy. From September 1960 to May 1961, Ewell starred in his own television series, in the self-titled The Tom Ewell Show, which lasted for one season. In the mid-1970s, Ewell enjoyed popular success with a recurring role as retired veteran policeman Billy Truman in the 1970s Emmy-winning TV series Baretta. On September 12, 1994, Tom Ewell died of undisclosed causes, aged 85, at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He was 85 years old.