Eddie Mayehoff

Eddie Mayehoff
Mayehoff (right) and Cyril Ritchard in the play Visit to a Small Planet (1957)
Born
Edward Mier Mayehoff

(1909-07-07)July 7, 1909
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedNovember 12, 1992(1992-11-12) (aged 83)
Ventura, California, U.S.
Alma materYale School of Music
Occupation(s)Jazz Musician and Actor
Years active1946-1970

Edward Mier Mayehoff (July 7, 1909 – November 12, 1992) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Harold Lampson, the henpecked husband and incompetent lawyer in How to Murder Your Wife (1965). Mayehoff could also be seen in TV commercials during the 1950s (e.g., for Falstaff beer).

Early years

Mayehoff grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, after having been born in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Yale University's School of Music, where he played four instruments, led the school's orchestra,[1] and sang in the glee club.[2]

Career

Mayehoff began his career as a musician, playing trombone and leading a dance band in New York hotels.[1] For five years, he played around the United States in hotels in the Knott and United Hotels chains.[2] He left music behind and turned to impersonations of celebrities, performing in night clubs.[1]

During World War II, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, but seasickness caused him to leave. After that, he entertained military personnel for the USO and worked with the Army's radio division. He also recorded programs for the BBC.[2]

On radio, by 1940 he had a weekly show on the Mutual Radio Network called On the Town.[3]: 259  He also was a regular on The Charlie McCarthy Show[3] and was host of Beat the Band.[4]

On television, from 1946 to 1947, he co-hosted Hour Glass,[2] the first regularly scheduled U.S. network variety show. In 1952, he starred in the NBC sitcom Doc Corkle,[5] which was broadcast for only three weeks.[6] In the 1954-55 television season, Mayehoff appeared as a construction contractor and former football player trying to impel his son to success on the American football gridiron in That's My Boy, based on the 1951 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film of the same name,[5]: 1067  in which Mayehoff played the same part. Mayehoff also appeared in two other Martin and Lewis comedy films, The Stooge (1952) and Artists and Models (1955).

Without offering explanation, the Broadway historian Ethan Mordden described Mayehoff as "the most disliked comedian who ever lived who wasn't El Brendel." (Page 194, "The Guest List," St. Martin's Press, 2010.)

Mayehoff's Broadway credits included A Rainy Day in Newark (1963), A Thurber Carnival (1960), A Visit to a Small Planet (1957), Season in the Sun (1950), Concert Varieties (1945), and Rhapsody (1944).[7]

Death

Mayehoff died in Ventura, California at the age of 83.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1951 That's My Boy Jarring Jack Jackson
1951 The Stooge Leo Lyman
1953 Off Limits Karl Danzig released in Britain as Military Policemen
1955 Artists and Models Mr. Murdock
1965 How to Murder Your Wife Harold Lampson
1967 Luv D.A. Goodhart

References

  1. ^ a b c "Eddie Mayehoff, Comic Caricaturist, Began His Career as a Trombonist". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. January 13, 1957. p. 76. Retrieved December 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "TV Portraits -- Eddie Mayehoff". The Bedford Daily-Times Mail. Indiana, Bedford. April 3, 1954. p. 11. Retrieved December 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  4. ^ Edstrom, Ed (August 16, 1944). "Eddie Mayehoff Is Versatile Entertainer". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. p. 15. Retrieved December 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  6. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Eddie Mayehoff". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "Eddie Mayehoff; Entertainer". The Los Angeles Times. November 14, 1992. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.