In addition, he appeared in the TV Movies Death Scream (1975), Portrait of an Escort (1980), Thornwell (1981), The Other Victim (1981), City Killer (1984), I Married a Centerfold (1984), The Guardian (1997), The Superagent (2009) and You Don't Know Jack (2010). He portrayed Sergeant Dobbs in the 1986 TV mini-series Fresno.
Susman's better known television roles include, between 1984 and 1989, as Officer Shifflett on 20 episodes of Newhart, and as the unseen P.A. system announcer on 46 episodes of the television series M*A*S*H (a task he shared with actor Sal Viscuso, who provided the voice on 37 episodes), and one guest role in January 1974, as Private Danny Baker. Susman played Harold Bloom in 5 episodes of Orange is the New Black.[3] He portrayed Ben Braxton in 6 episodes of Empty Nest, Victor Bevine in 4 episodes of St. Elsewhere, Glen in 4 episodes of Grace Under Fire, Bill in 4 episodes of Coach, and 4 different characters in 4 episodes of Barney Miller.
In 2012, Susman appeared in the original cast of the off-Broadway Westside Theatre show, "Old Jews Telling Jokes", in which Jessica Shaw of Entertainment Weekly called his portrayal "the funniest moment...delivered with a Yiddish accent as thick as schmaltz".[6] Jason Zinoman of The New York Times also complimented his performance, saying "the incongruity between content and form is perfectly tuned, and Mr. Susman benefits from resisting the urge to oversell the joke".[7] David Finkle of TheaterMania.com also said Susman "often scores simply through his feigned stoicism".[8]
In 2013, Susman, along with the Old Jews Telling Jokes cast and The Chew personality Carla Hall, appeared at Carnegie Deli to unveil the "OJTJ sandwich", named for the comedy group.[9]
Personal life
In a 1971 news article, Susman mentioned he moved to Los Angeles because a friend told him he could make $500 a week as a writer. Unfortunately, the plan did not go well and he ended up making $60 a week as a writer for American International Pictures.[10]
Susman has one child with his first wife Judy, who is a working actress.[2] He married Bella Kordonov on November 6, 1982; they have three children.[11][4]