R.I.P to "The Man Who Can't Remember His Name."

[DallasCowpoke]

Funny, funny guy! RIP
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Tom Poston, a Longtime Master At Playing Sidekicks, Dies at 85

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Associated Press[/FONT]
May 1, 2007 5:56 p.m.[/FONT]
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LOS ANGELES -- Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as "Newhart" and "Mork and Mindy," has died. He was 85.
Mr. Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of "The Bob Newhart Show," died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.
Bob Newhart remembered Mr. Poston as a "versatile and veteran performer and a kindhearted individual."
"Tom was always the 'go-to guy' on 'Newhart' in addition to being a good and longtime friend," Mr. Newhart said in a statement Tuesday.
Mr. Poston's run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with "The Steve Allen Show" after Mr. Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct "man in the street" interviews with.
Don Knotts was the shaky Mr. Morrison, Louis Nye was the suave, overconfident Gordon Hathaway and Mr. Poston's character was so unnerved by the television cameras that he couldn't remember who he was. He won an Emmy playing "The Man Who Can't Remember His Name."
His movie credits included "Cold Turkey," "The Happy Hooker," "Rabbit Test" and, more recently, "Christmas With the Kranks," "Beethoven's 5th" and "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."
On "Mork and Mindy," which starred Robin Williams as a space alien, Mr. Poston was Franklin Delano Bickley, the mindless boozer with the annoying dog. On "Newhart," he was George Utley, the handyman who couldn't fix anything at the New England inn run by Mr. Newhart's character. And on Mr. Newhart's show "Bob," he was the star's dim-bulb former college roommate.
"These guys are about a half-step behind life's parade," Mr. Poston commented in a 1983 interview. "The ink on their instruction sheets is beginning to fade. But they can function and cope and don't realize they are driving people up the walls."
"In ways I don't like to admit, I'm a goof-up myself," Mr. Poston continued. "It's an essential part of my character. When these guys screw up it reminds me of my own incompetence with the small frustrations of life."
Besides Ms. Pleshette, 70, Mr. Poston is survived by his children, Francesca Poston of Nashville, Tenn., Jason Poston of Los Angeles and Hudson Poston of Portland, Ore.
A private service was planned for immediate family. Details of a public memorial service were to be announced later.
Copyright © 2007 Associated Press

 

[smarta5150]

He was hysterical when he did cameos on Home Improvement.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

He was hysterical when he did cameos on Home Improvement.

Yup, he had quite a long resume, that's for true!

I got to sit and visit over drinks, at a hotel lobby bar here in Dallas w/ George Kennedy once while visiting a friend of my late wife's, who was the lead hair stylist for the "Dallas" series. All I could think about while listening to him spin yarns was, "mannnnn, this dude's probably seen Frank Sinatra nekid!!" :laugh1:

 

[Yeagermeister]

Oh man that sucks

 

[zrinkill]

One of my favorite funny guys from the 80's shows.

 

[trickblue]

Tom Poston was greatness...

He's done so much over the years, but I always loved his role as "The Peeper" on the original Bob Newhart Show...

 

[Duane]

Pure comic genious. He was always my favorite character on the Newhart show.