Thomas Gordon Poston (October 17, 1921 – April 30, 2007) was an American actor and comedian who portrayed as Mr. Alfred Looney in the ABC sitcom Family Matters.
He also plays as Cliff Murdock in the CBS sitcom series The Bob Newhart Show, and his portrayed as George Utley in CBS sitcom series Newhart.
Early life[]
Poston was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of George and Margaret Poston. His father was a liquor salesman and dairy chemist.
After completing high school, Poston attended Bethany College in West Virginia, but did not graduate. While there, he joined Sigma NuFraternity. He joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1941. Accepted to officer candidate school and then graduating from flight training, Poston served as a pilot in the European Theater in World War II; his aircraft dropped paratroopers for the Normandy invasion.
Poston served in North Africa, Italy, France, and England. After his discharge, he began studying acting in New York City, graduating from the American Academy for Dramatic Arts.
Career[]
Personal life[]
Poston and actress Jean Sullivan were married in 1955 and divorced in 1968. Their daughter is actress Francesca Poston.
Poston married Kay Hudson in 1968. They had two children, daughter Hudson Poston and son Jason Poston. They divorced in 1975 but remarried in 1980 and remained together until her death in 1998 from ALS.
In 2001, Poston married actress Suzanne Pleshette, who played the wife of Newhart's character Bob Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, his fourth marriage. Poston had an affair with Ms. Pleshette in 1959. Tom Poston enjoyed fishing in northern Wisconsin.
Death[]
After a brief illness, Poston died of respiratory failure on April 30, 2007 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 85. Although he was not Jewish, he was interred in the Jewish Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery as his widow, the late Suzanne Pleshette, was Jewish.
External links[]
- Tom Poston on Wikipedia