House Jameson

House Jameson
November 1944 photo from the radio program The Aldrich Family. From left: Dick Jones (Henry Aldrich), Katherine Raht (Mrs. Aldrich) and House Jameson (Mr. Aldrich).
Born	December 17, 1902 Austin, Texas
Died	April 23, 1971, age 68 Danbury, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor
Known for	Playing Sam Aldrich in The Aldrich Family
Home town	Austin, Texas
Spouse(s)	Edith Taliaferro Jameson (1928(?) - 1958, her death) Elizabeth Mears Jameson (? - 1971, his death)
Parent(s)	Joe Lee Jameson and Clarissa Amaryllis Routh Jameson
Relatives	Brother: Malcolm Routh Jameson

House Jameson (December 17, 1902 - April 23, 1971) was an actor in the era of old-time radio and early television.

House Baker Jameson was a native of Austin, Texas. He was named for Edward M. House, a political figure who was a friend of the family. He graduated from Columbia University. Jameson said that he knew at age 5 that he wanted to be an actor, when an aunt, who raised him after his father died, took him to see a performance of The Shepherd King. Jameson told TV Guide that after the family returned home, he "absolutely refused to go to bed until the family rustled up some costumes and re-enacted the play."

Jameson broke into radio in the early 1930s, as an announcer with WEVD. Jameson admired a WEVD announcer named Roland Bradley in Chicago, and wrote him a letter telling him so. This led to a friendship and an invitation to occasionally pinch-hit as an announcer. Bradley left WEVD, and in 1934, Jameson was named chief announcer and dramatic director.

Jameson soon became known for his leading roles in Renfrew of the Mounted and Crime Doctor. Renfrew was an adventure story based on the novels and stories by Laurie York Erskine, and was aimed at a juvenile audience. Jameson played Inspector Douglas Renfrew, a Canadian Mountie, from 1936 to 1940. The show was so popular at one point that, after a single offer of a photograph of Jameson in full Renfrew regalia, it received 17,000 requests. In an episode of Behind the Mike, Jameson recounted the case of a boy who recovered from a serious illness after receiving a telegram and an autographed photo from "Renfrew." The boy's brother had contacted Jameson at home to ask for his assistance.

Jameson appeared on Crime Doctor from 1940-1947, taking over the lead role of Dr. Benjamin Ordway (replacing Everett Sloane) in 1944.

Jameson's best-known role was as father Sam Aldrich in the comedy The Aldrich Family. In January 1953, newspaper columnist Richard Kleiner wrote about House Jameson, who played Mr. Aldrich in the radio comedy, "Mr. Jameson, a handsome, white-haired gentleman with a handsome white-haired mustache, is making a career out of being father to a perennial high school junior called Henry Aldrich." He played that role on the radio program 1939 - 1953. In 1968, Jameson noted that the show was popular with younger children and adults but teenagers did not like the show. Jameson said that working on the show was "the happiest acting experience" he ever had and he still missed it. He said that there was never any personality conflicts among the actors, crediting the leadership of its star, Ezra Stone. Jameson and Stone indicated that they developed a father/son relationship in real-life that continued after the show ended.