Frank Aletter

Frank George Aletter (January 14, 1926 – May 13, 2009) was an American actor born in College Point, Queens, New York. He trained at the Dramatic Workshop in Manhattan and served in the United States Army in Germany from January 1946 to 1948 before pursuing a professional acting career.

Aletter's Broadway career began in 1950 when he stepped in as a replacement for Eli Wallach in Mister Roberts. Through the 1950s he accumulated additional stage credits, appearing in Wish You Were Here, Time Limit!, and Bells Are Ringing, with his Broadway activity spanning from 1952 to 1959.

His television work began in 1956 and extended through 1988, encompassing guest appearances across numerous programs as well as several recurring roles. From 1960 to 1961, Aletter starred in the sitcom Bringing Up Buddy, playing Buddy Flower, a bachelor stockbroker whose overprotective spinster aunts were portrayed by Enid Markey and Doro Merande. His then-wife, Lee Meriwether, made a guest appearance on the series during its run. Following that role, Aletter appeared in episodes of Target: The Corruptors, The Lloyd Bridges Show, and The Eleventh Hour. In 1962, he played Dr. Sam Eastman, an ear-nose-throat specialist with a passion for classical music, in an episode of The Lucy Show. That same year he portrayed Tom Logan in the Alcoa Premiere episode "Mr. Lucifer," written by Alfred Bester and hosted by Fred Astaire, who also starred opposite Elizabeth Montgomery.

In 1963, Aletter appeared in two notable dramatic roles: murderer Harry Collins in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Skeleton's Closet," and a featured part in the Twilight Zone episode "The Parallel." He returned to Perry Mason in 1964, playing television news reporter Tommy Towne in "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist." During the 1965–1966 season he appeared in two episodes of Twelve O'Clock High, once as Lt. Col. Bill Christy and once as a sergeant in public relations. He also played George Snyder in the Maude episode "Love and Marriage" and, in 1978, portrayed advertising executive Mr. Prescott in an episode of All in the Family.

Aletter held a regular role in the CBS series It's About Time during the 1966–1967 season, a Sherwood Schwartz production. From 1968 to 1970, he played Professor Irwin Hayden in Danger Island, a 36-part live-action serial directed by Richard Donner that aired on NBC Saturday mornings as part of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. In the fall of 1970 he had a supporting role in the NBC sitcom Nancy. He also appeared in the pilot episode of The Golden Girls as Harry, a bigamist with six wives to whom Blanche is engaged.

His film credits include Mister Roberts, Disney's A Tiger Walks, and Tora! Tora! Tora! Beyond performing, Aletter was elected a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1987.

In his personal life, Aletter was married to actress and former Miss America Lee Meriwether from 1958 until 1974; the couple had two daughters together. He subsequently married Estella Gelerter in 1984, and the marriage lasted until his death. He also had two stepdaughters from that marriage. Aletter died of cancer on May 13, 2009, at his home in Tarzana, California, at the age of 83.