Edgar Stehli

Edgar Stehli (July 12, 1884 – July 25, 1973) was a French-born American actor whose career encompassed Broadway, film, television, and radio across more than five decades. Born in Lyon, France, to an English mother and a German-Swiss father, he was brought to New York in 1886, and the family later settled in Montclair, New Jersey. Stehli earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1907, followed by a master's degree in 1908, and took part in theatrical productions during his time there.

His professional career began with a stock theater company in Bayonne, where he took on understudy assignments, bit parts, and prop work. He continued with stock companies until 1919, when an invitation to join the Theatre Guild marked a turning point in his stage career. His Broadway work spanned exactly fifty years, opening on November 27, 1916, in Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil and closing on November 26, 1966, in Those That Play the Clowns. Among his notable stage credits were the 1938 production of The Greatest Show on Earth, the plays Devils and Semi-Detached, the comedies The Sin of Pat Muldoon and The Wooden Dish, and the 1941 production of Arsenic and Old Lace, in which he originated the role of Dr. Einstein.

Stehli maintained an extensive presence in film, appearing in Boomerang, Executive Suite, Drum Beat, The Cobweb, The Brothers Karamazov, No Name on the Bullet, 4D Man, Cash McCall, Atlantis the Lost Continent, Parrish, Pocketful of Miracles, The Spiral Road, Twilight of Honor, Seconds, The Tiger Makes Out, and Loving, among other pictures. On television he appeared in episodes of Dennis the Menace, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Hazel, and The Texan. His radio work included the role of Dr. Huer in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, D.A. Miller in Crime Doctor, and the title character in Gramps.

Stehli was married to Emilie Greenough. At the time of his death he was among the oldest active members of Actors' Equity Association. He died on July 25, 1973, at his home in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, at the age of 89.