Bill Erwin | |
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Erwin c. 1918
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Born |
William Lindsey Erwin December 2, 1914 Honey Grove, Texas, United States |
Died | December 29, 2010 Studio City, California, United States |
(aged 96)
Occupation | Actor, cartoonist |
Years active | 1941–2010 |
Spouse(s) | Fran MacLachlan (m. 1948; d. 1995) |
Children | 4 |
Signature | |
William Lindsey "Bill" Erwin (December 2, 1914 – December 29, 2010) was an American film, television and stage actor with over 250 television and film credits. A veteran character actor, he is widely known for his 1993 Emmy Award-nominated performance on Seinfeld, portraying the embittered, irascible retiree Sid Fields.He also made notable appearances on shows such as I Love Lucy and his Star Trek: The Next Generation. Character actor got Emmy nomination In cinema, his most recognized role is that of Arthur, a kindly bellhop at the Mackinac Island Grand Hotel, in Somewhere in Time (1980).
Erwin was a self-taught cartoonist, published in The New Yorker, Playboy, and Los Angeles. He won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, four Drama-Logue Awards, Gilmore Brown Award for Career Achievement, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters' Diamond Circle Award, and Distinguished Alumnus Award from Angelo State University.
Erwin was born in Honey Grove, Texas to Lee Eugene and Ida Mae (née Lindsey) Erwin. He had a sister named Mary Gene Cosper. He attended San Angelo College before earning his bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Texas, graduating in 1935. He completed a masters of theater arts at California's Pasadena Playhouse in 1941. After serving as a Captain in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II, Erwin returned to Hollywood to resume his acting career. His first film role was in the 1942 film You're in the Army Now.