Harry Holcombe

Harry John Holcombe (November 11, 1906 – September 15, 1987) was an American actor and radio director born in Malta, Ohio. He built a career spanning radio, stage, film, and television over several decades, becoming widely recognized for his recurring commercial and television roles in later years.

Holcombe began his professional life in Chicago, where he directed radio programs, among them Benny Goodman's Camel Caravan. He also worked as a poetry reader on the WLW radio program Moon River in Cincinnati, Ohio. He subsequently relocated to California, where his film career commenced with an appearance in the 1943 picture The Purple V.

His Broadway work took place between 1956 and 1959 and encompassed four productions across different genres. He appeared in the farce The Hot Corner, the play Only in America, the comedy Tall Story, and the musical Li'l Abner.

On television, Holcombe accumulated an extensive list of guest appearances, including roles on The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, Harbor Command, Leave It to Beaver, The Farmer's Daughter, The Law and Mr. Jones, That Girl, Here's Lucy, and Bewitched. He held a recurring role as the doctor in the western series Bonanza and starred in the television sitcom Barefoot in the Park, portraying the character Arthur Kendricks. He is perhaps best remembered for playing the grandfather in Country Time commercials, a role he held for nearly a decade.

His film appearances included The Fortune Cookie, Birdman of Alcatraz, King Kong vs. Godzilla, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Kisses for My President, When the Boys Meet the Girls, and Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. Holcombe died in September 1987 at his son's home in Valencia, California, at the age of 80.