The death of Harold Gould on 9/11 didn't get much press. I didn't hear about it until two weeks later, and I'm usually on top of this stuff. For those hoping for any kind of "Rhoda" reunion, only Rhoda and Brenda are left. Gould appeared as Rhoda's father, Martin Morgenstern, on surprisingly, if IMDb is to be believed, only 20 of the show's 110 episodes. Most of these were in the first two seasons, with eight of them in Season 2, released on DVD earlier this year. I always liked Gould as the sensible counterpoint to Nancy Walker's Ida Morgenstern, the overbearing mother and forerunner to Marie Barone.
Gould's also known for his recurring role as Miles Webber, Rose's boyfriendo n "The Golden Girls". I was no longer a regular watcher of in the final two seasons when he appeared. In the dozen times a day they run the show on WE and Hallmark, you might catch one with Gould.
Gould was a popular guest actor, appearing on dozens of different series from "Dennis the Menace" in the early 60s to an episode of "Nip/Tuck" this year. He also had roles in a few series that never went anywhere, even leading in one of them. Gould starred as Jonah Foot in "Foot in the Door", a midseason replacement for the too short-lived spoof
Filthy RichM on CBS. Even though it followed top-trated "Archie Bunker's Place", it was cancelled after six episodes. I never saw it because it was on opposite the first season of "Family Ties", and I loved me some "Family Ties".
There is, oddly enough, a video tribute to Gould for his guest role on "Hawaii 5-0" three-parter -
and here's the intro to his show with Stefanie Powers which few remember and even fewer saw -
...though when I mentioned this week's blog topic to pal Jim Alexander, he said, "Oh, Harold Gould from "The Father and Feather Gang"?"
1 comment:
By coincidence, I just saw Gould last night in "The Sting" on TCM! He's really great in it.
When I was growing up, Gould seemed fairly ubiquitous to me, and he was an actor I always immediately recognized and knew by name. He fell of my radar as I got older, but I would still occasionally see him and it's nice to know he remained active and working for many years. He was a quintessential character actor who was very familiar and comfortable to audiences, but a talented actor who always brought energy to whatever he was in.
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