31 Facts About Harold Gould

Harold Vernon Goldstein, better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor.

Harold Gould appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom Rhoda and Miles Webber on the sitcom The Golden Girls.

Harold Gould was known for playing elegant, well-dressed men, and he regularly played Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and in film.

Harold Gould was born to a Jewish family in Schenectady, New York.

Harold Gould was the son of Louis Goldstein, a postal worker, and Lillian, a homemaker who did part-time work for the state health department.

Harold Gould was raised in Colonie, New York, and was valedictorian of his high school class.

Harold Gould enrolled at Albany Teachers College upon graduation and studied to become a social studies or English teacher.

Harold Gould developed trench foot and was sent to England to recover.

Harold Gould performed in summer stock theatre on Cape Cod and then decided to enroll at Cornell University to study drama and speech.

Harold Gould made his professional theatre debut in 1955 as Thomas Jefferson in The Common Glory in Williamsburg.

In 1956, Harold Gould was offered a professorship in the drama department at the University of California, Riverside, which he accepted.

Harold Gould taught there until 1960 when he decided to try professional acting himself.

Harold Gould had difficulty finding acting jobs at first and had to take work as a security guard and as a part-time acting teacher at UCLA.

Harold Gould made his film debut in an uncredited role in Two for the Seesaw.

Harold Gould's first credited role was a small part in The Coach.

Harold Gould originated the role of Marlo Thomas's father in the 1965 pilot for That Girl, but the series role was recast with Lew Parker.

Harold Gould appeared in a pilot later broadcast as a 1972 episode of Love, American Style titled "Love and the Happy Days" as Howard Cunningham, the frustrated father of a young man named Richie Cunningham.

Harold Gould had worked steadily in television and film for nearly fifteen years before his career began to gain momentum with his portrayal of Kid Twist in The Sting, winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Harold Gould appeared in the Woody Allen film Love and Death.

Harold Gould was "Engulf", the villainous head of a conglomerate, in Silent Movie, directed by Mel Brooks, and made guest appearances on television shows such as Petrocelli, The Love Boat and Soap where he played the hospital roommate of Jody Dallas.

In 1972, Harold Gould was cast as Martin Morgenstern, the father of Mary's best friend Rhoda, in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Harold Gould reprised the role the following year and was hired as a regular when Rhoda became a spin-off in 1974.

Harold Gould appeared in the short-lived 1977 series The Feather and Father Gang, starring as Harry Danton, a smooth-talking ex-con man, with Stefanie Powers as Toni "Feather" Danton, his daughter and a hard-working, successful lawyer.

Harold Gould appeared as Chad Lowe's grandfather in Spencer and played a Jewish widower wooing the Christian Katharine Hepburn in Mrs Delafield Wants to Marry.

Harold Gould received Emmy nominations for his roles in Rhoda, Mrs Delafield Wants to Marry, and Moviola.

Harold Gould played Miles Webber, the steadfast suitor of Rose Nylund, on the NBC series The Golden Girls in 12 episodes across three seasons.

Harold Gould reprised the role of Miles in two episodes of the spin-off, The Golden Palace, where he became the character's ex-boyfriend and married someone else.

Harold Gould won an Obie Award in 1969 for his work in The Increased Difficulty of Concentration, written by Vaclav Havel, and reprised the role for a 1988 PBS version of the play.

Harold Gould was an early and longtime member of Theatre West, the oldest membership theatre company in Los Angeles.

Harold Gould played Mr Green in Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr Green at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Harold Gould had two sons, Joshua and Lowell, and a daughter, Deborah.