Maurice Brenner

Maurice Brenner (August 25, 1914 – August 25, 2005) was an American actor whose career spanned stage, television, and film across several decades. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Brenner worked on Broadway from 1946 to 1975 and became recognizable to television audiences through his role on a prominent network sitcom.

Brenner made his Broadway debut in 1948 with the play The Bees and the Flowers. His stage career encompassed a range of productions, including The Madwoman of Chaillot, Sing Till Tomorrow, Lunatics and Lovers, Julia, Jake and Uncle Joe, The Beauty Part, Once for the Asking, Fiddler on the Roof, Minor Miracle, and Company. In addition to performing, he also took on assistant stage-managing duties for some productions.

On television, Brenner worked from 1950 to 1993, appearing in programs including Naked City, Car 54 Where Are You?, East Side/West Side, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Tribeca. He was originally hired to play Duane Doberman on The Phil Silvers Show, but was recast in the role of Pvt. Irving Fleischman after Maurice Gosfield auditioned for and won the Doberman part. The role of Fleischman became the performance for which Brenner was best known. His final television appearance came in the anthology drama series Tribeca, after which he retired in 1993.

Brenner's film work included Lilith, Mirage, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Sweet Lorraine, and American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy. He died on August 25, 2005, at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on his 91st birthday.