Hanley Stafford

Hanley Stafford, born Alfred John Austin on September 22, 1899, was an actor whose career spanned stage, Broadway, radio, and television. He died on September 9, 1968, in Los Angeles following a heart attack. His work in American radio earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Stafford was born in England and emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1911. At the age of fifteen, in 1915, he enlisted in the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), CEF. During World War I he was wounded at the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 and returned to England in 1918. Following the war, he spent several years touring Canada in dramatic productions before settling in Los Angeles in 1924. He worked in stock theater for eight years and subsequently performed in tent shows. By April 1932 he was appearing on KFWB radio in Los Angeles. He then traveled to Phoenix to manage the Delmas-Lawless Players, a stock company, before returning to Los Angeles the following August to continue stage and radio work.

In 1936, Stafford appeared on Broadway in Double Dummy. That same year, from September 1936 to March 1937, he starred in the New York-originating radio detective series Thatcher Colt, after which he returned to Los Angeles.

Stafford became most widely recognized for his radio work. Beginning December 23, 1937, he played the father figure Lancelot Higgins on The Baby Snooks Show, a role he held until the program's final broadcast on May 22, 1951, two days before the death of star Fanny Brice brought the series to a close. He also portrayed Mr. Dithers, the employer of Dagwood Bumstead, on the Blondie radio program.

Between 1950 and 1963, Stafford appeared on a range of television programs. His earliest television credits included The Popsicle Parade of Stars and Hollywood Premiere Theatre during the 1950–51 season. He was cast in the ABC/Warner Brothers series Cheyenne, Maverick, Sugarfoot, and 77 Sunset Strip, playing Admiral Thomas Kyle in the 1962 episode of the latter titled "Dress Rehearsal." In 1957 he appeared as Colonel Farnsworth in "The Regina Wainwright Story" on CBS's The Millionaire. His CBS sitcom appearances included The Brothers, The Betty Hutton Show, and Angel, in which he played Mr. Corwin in the 1961 episode "The Second Marriage." His final recorded television credit was the role of Kenneth Westcott in "Lucy Is a Chaperone" on CBS's The Lucy Show in 1963.

The 1940 U.S. Census recorded Stafford living at 6200 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, California, with his mother Emily Austin, age 60, and his sister Anne Standing, age 36. He reported his 1939 income to census takers as a minimum of $5,000. Stafford had one son from his first marriage to Doris. On April 12, 1940, he married radio actress and singer Veola Vonn, following the resolution of a divorce proceeding involving his second wife Bernice.