Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin

 Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin (February 8, 1884 – January 28, 1977)

Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He also worked in radio and appeared in stage productions. Mustin began his professional acting career at the age of 67 after director William Wyler cast him in the 1951 film noir Detective Story. Known for his dependability and versatility, Mustin went on to establish a career as a well-known character actor and worked extensively in film and television from the 1950s to the 1970s. Before he began a professional career in show business, Mustin did amateur acting and performing. In 1921, he became the first announcer for a variety show broadcast on Pittsburgh's then newly established KDKA radio station. He appeared in productions in the Pittsburgh Savoyards (a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe) and the Pittsburgh Opera. Mustin made his television debut in 1951 with a role in the Western series The Adventures of Kit Carson. Almost from the start to the end of his career, Mustin specialized in playing older men, and with his tall scarecrow frame, bald head and beaked nose, he became one of the most familiar and busiest elderly character actors. Throughout the 1950s, he made guest appearances on Leave It to Beaver, The Abbott and Costello Show, The Loretta Young Show, Cavalcade of America, The Public Defender, Treasury Men in Action, The Lone Ranger, Fireside Theater, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Mackenzie's Raiders, Lux Video Theatre, Studio 57, Dragnet, Our Miss Brooks, It's a Great Life, The Gale Storm Show, General Electric Theater, Peter Gunn, and The Texan, among many others.

Mustin also starred in the TV series pilot episode of The Lone Wolf starring Louis Hayward in 1954. During the 1960s, Mustin made multiple appearances on Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Ichabod and Me, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Dragnet, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Get Smart, The New Phil Silvers Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dr. Kildare, The Jack Benny Program, Ben Casey, The Monkees, The Virginian, Cimarron Strip, My Three Sons, Batman, and Bewitched. He continued to act on television into the 1970's. In addition to his extensive work in television, Mustin also appeared in numerous films. He made his film debut at the age of 67 in Detective Story, in 1951. He followed this with roles in Talk About a Stranger (1952), The Silver Whip (1953), Half a Hero (1953), She Couldn't Say No (1954), The Desperate Hours (1955), Man with the Gun (1955), Storm Center (1956), and The Sheepman (1958). On January 28, 1977, Mustin died at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California, less than two weeks before his 93rd birthday. He is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills .