Allyn Morgan Joslyn

Allyn Morgan Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American actor who worked across theatre, radio, film, and television, building a career centered on comic character roles. Born in Milford, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Orlando West Joslyn Jr. and Gertrude Meyer. Among his notable relatives was Edwin D. Morgan, a former governor of New York, who was one of his great-uncles. Joslyn received his early dramatic training under Professor E. C. Durfee at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia before going on to attend Columbia University.

His stage career spanned more than three decades, with Broadway appearances from 1918 to 1952. Productions in which he appeared include The Firebrand, One For All, All That Glitters, Collector's Item, and Arsenic and Old Lace. By 1921 he had joined the Greenwich Village Follies. A pivotal moment in his theatrical career came in 1935, when he played Robert Law in the Broadway comedy Boy Meets Girl, a character said to have been modeled on screenwriter Charles MacArthur. That performance drew the attention of producer-director Mervyn LeRoy, who cast Joslyn in his 1937 film They Won't Forget, which also marked the screen debut of Lana Turner.

During the late 1920s, Joslyn frequently co-starred with Dorothy Yockel, a Philadelphia-born stage and radio actress. The two married in 1935 and remained together until her death in 1978. They had one daughter. Joslyn and Yockel shared an interest in fishing in addition to their professional collaborations.

His television work included recurring roles and guest appearances across numerous series. He played George Howell in nine episodes of The Eve Arden Show from 1957 to 1958 and portrayed Colonel Harvey T. Blackwell in all 26 episodes of McKeever and the Colonel from 1962 to 1963. He appeared as Mr. Hilliard in three episodes of The Addams Family across its first two seasons, in 1964 and 1966. Additional guest credits included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Untouchables, Target: The Corruptors, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Rawhide, My Three Sons, F Troop, and Ben Casey.

Joslyn died of heart failure on January 21, 1981, at age 79, at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Predeceased by his wife, he was survived by his daughter. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.