George Tobias

George Tobias was an American actor born in New York City on July 14, 1901, the younger of two sons of Russian-Jewish immigrants Esther and Samuel Tobias. Both parents were active in the Yiddish theatre, as was his older brother Benjamin. Despite this family background in performance, his parents actively discouraged him from pursuing acting, hoping he would instead enter a profession such as medicine or law. Tobias nonetheless began acting at age 15 at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, and when he secured acting work during those early years, he concealed it from his family.

His pre-Broadway stage work included Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape in 1922, followed by Charles Méré's La Flamme and Channing Pollock's The Fool in 1923. Tobias made his Broadway debut in Maxwell Anderson's What Price Glory? in 1924, launching a stage career that would continue through 1956. His Broadway credits span more than three decades and include The International, The Road to Rome, The Grey Fox, and Red Dust, all in 1928, followed by S. S. Glencairn and Fiesta in 1929. Later productions included Sailors of Cattaro in 1934, and Black Pit, Paths of Glory, Hell Freezes Over, and Star Spangled in 1935 and 1936. He also appeared in You Can't Take It with You in 1936, Good Hunting in 1938, and Red Rust, among other productions. His final Broadway credit was Silk Stockings in 1955.

In 1939, Tobias signed with Warner Bros. and moved into film, taking on character and supporting roles during Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared alongside James Cagney in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942, with Gary Cooper in the drama Sergeant York in 1941, and alongside Irving Berlin, Ronald Reagan, and George Murphy in This Is the Army in 1943. In 1950, he was cast as a ruthless killer in the film noir Southside 1-1000.

Tobias also built a substantial television career. During the 1959 season he was a regular on Hudson's Bay, playing Pierre Falcon, and he portrayed Penrose in eight episodes of Adventures in Paradise from 1959 to 1961. He made uncredited appearances as a courtroom spectator on Perry Mason and played Sidney Falconer in that series' 1964 episode "The Case of the Antic Angel." From 1964 to 1971, he was a series regular on the ABC sitcom Bewitched, playing Abner Kravitz, the long-suffering neighbor. Between 1972 and 1973, he appeared in three episodes of The Waltons as junkman Vernon Rutley. In 1977, Tobias reprised the role of Abner Kravitz in a guest appearance on the Bewitched sequel Tabitha, which marked his retirement from acting.

Tobias never married. He died of bladder cancer on February 27, 1980, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 78. Following his death, the station wagon transporting his body from the hospital was briefly hijacked and driven three blocks before the thieves discovered the body and, according to witnesses, fled the scene. His memorial service took place on February 29, 1980, at Mount Sinai Memorial Park, and he is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York City.