Jonathan Hole (August 13, 1904 – February 11, 1998) was an American actor whose entertainment career covered five genres over 65 years. From his early days on the vaudeville stage and in legitimate theater, through radio, television and feature-length films that took his career up to the 1990s, Hole created a variety of characters in hundreds of roles.

Jonathan Hole
Jonathan Hole in an episode of One Step Beyond (1960)
Born(1904-08-13)August 13, 1904
DiedFebruary 11, 1998(1998-02-11) (aged 93)
Resting placeWestwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles
34°03′30″N 118°26′26″W / 34.0583427°N 118.4406350°W / 34.0583427; -118.4406350 (Jonathan Hole grave)
OccupationActor
Years active1951–1990
SpouseBetty Hanna (?–1976; her death)
ChildrenDavid Jon Hole

Early years edit

Hole was born in Eldora, Iowa,[1] the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Hole. He graduated from North High School in Des Moines and attended Drake University.[2]

Career edit

Hole's career began in vaudeville in the 1920s. He further honed his acting skills during 1924–1934 in stage productions in New York.[1] In 1926, he joined the Morgan Wallace players as stage manager at the Princess Theater in Des Moines, Iowa.[2] By the end of 1929, he had also performed with stock theater companies in Brooklyn, New York; Dayton, Ohio; Lynn, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine.[3] In 1930, one of the productions he appeared in was the comedy Cinderelative that had been written by Dorothy Heyward.[4]

Hole was also a radio performer active in his native Iowa as well as New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles, California.[5] While working as an announcer on WBBM in Chicago, his last name was temporarily changed to Cole by the station.[6] In 1942 in Chicago, Hole was a co-chair of the Red Cross entertainment committee on war relief.[7] He portrayed Paul Henderson on the radio soap opera Ma Perkins.[8]

In 1951, he began acting in movies with a part in the Marie Windsor, Steve Brodie vehicle Two-Dollar Bettor. Although his appearances were usually uncredited, he appeared in thirty-six feature-length films. Among those were A Man Called Peter in 1955, Beloved Infidel in 1959, 4 for Texas in 1963 and The Graduate in 1967.

Hole carved out a long career in television, beginning in 1951 with an appearance on Hollywood Theatre Time, in the episode Mr. Young's Sprouts, which starred Gale Storm and Don DeFore. He often made repeat appearances on television shows, appearing in multiple episodes playing different roles. He appeared seven times each in Dragnet, Burke's Law, and Green Acres. He appeared in five Maverick episodes, and five times on CBS's Perry Mason. Hole appeared twice on ABC's The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, with Hugh O'Brian. He appeared in episodes 5 and 48 of Batman. Twice he played the part of Elmer Clark on Walter Brennan's The Real McCoys. Hole also guest starred on The Andy Griffith Show as Orville Monroe, the undertaker. He made 200 appearances in 121 television shows and made-for-television movies. Although he played a variety of parts, he was perhaps most frequently seen in comic roles, often as a fussy and somewhat self-important clerk, manager, or minor bureaucrat. His final television appearance was in Silhouette, a 1990 murder mystery starring Faye Dunaway.

During his early years in Hollywood his day job was at the California Employment Development Department.[citation needed]

Personal life and death edit

Hole married actress Betty Hanna, whom he met when they acted together in Dayton, Ohio.[9] She preceded him in death. He died in North Hollywood in 1998 at age 93, and is buried with his wife at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[10]

Stage work edit

Partial listing, New York stage productions only[11]

Theatre
Opening date Closing date Title Role Setting Genre Playwright Theatre
August 13, 1924 Aug 1924 Dr. David's Dad[12] Eric The Bronx Comedy Armin Friedmann, Louis Nerz
Book adapted by Carrington North and Joseph J. Garren
Vanderbilt Theatre
January 26, 1928 Feb 1928 57 Bowery[13] Terry New York City Comedy Edward Locke Wallack's Theatre
September 18, 1930 Sept 1930 Cinderelative[14] Horace J. Hill Paris, New York Comedy Dorothy Heyward, Dorothy De Jagers Comedy (Artef) Theatre
Nov 9, 1931 Nov 1931 Peter Flies High[15] Peter Turner Rosedale, New Jersey Comedy Myron Coureval Fagan Gaiety Theatre
August 1, 1932 August 8, 1932 Chamberlain Brown's Scrap Book'[16] Station Announcer, Francis Cameron a vaudeville theatre Vaudeville music revue Ambassador Theatre
December 26, 1932 Jan 1933 The Little Black Book[17] H. D. Porter Washington, D.C. Comedy, drama Harold Sherman Selwyn Theatre
December 25, 1933 Jan 1934 The Locked Room[18] John Burgess, Jr. New York City Melodrama Herbert Ashton Jr. Ambassador Theatre
October 15, 1934 Dec1934 Lost Horizons[19] David Prescott Canada, United States Fantasy Harry Segall, script revision by John Hayden St. James Theatre

Television edit

Films edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Jonathan Hole Theatre Credits". Broadway World. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Jonathan Hole Is Stage Manager at Princess". The Des Moines Register. Iowa, Des Moines. February 7, 1926. p. 32. Retrieved January 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "3 President Actors Named". Des Moines Tribune. Iowa, Des Moines. December 16, 1929. p. 15. Retrieved January 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dorothy Hayward". IBDB. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  5. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (180). Oxford University Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
  6. ^ "Interview with Jonathan Hole". Speaking of Radio. August 31, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Honingberg, Sam (March 28, 1942). "The Radio Talent-Chicago". Billboard. p. 9.
  8. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  9. ^ "Charles Charles Of Boston Played By Veteran Of Stage And Screen Jonathan Hole". The Jackson Sun. Tennessee, Jackson. September 7, 1947. p. 12. Retrieved January 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
  11. ^ "Jonathan Hole". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  12. ^ "Dr. David's Dad". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  13. ^ "57 Bowery". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "Cinderelative". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  15. ^ "Peter Flies High". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  16. ^ "Chamberlain Brown's Scrapbook". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  17. ^ "The Little Black Book". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  18. ^ "The Locked Room". IBDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  19. ^ "Lost Horizons". IMDB. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  20. ^ "My Pal Gus". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  21. ^ "The Kid from Left Field". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "A Blueprint for Murder". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  23. ^ "Riot in Cell Block 11". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  24. ^ "Woman's World". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  25. ^ "Men of the Fighting Lady". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Ransom!". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  27. ^ "The Opposite Sex". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  28. ^ "Three Brave Men". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  29. ^ "Slander". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  30. ^ "Top Secret Affair". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  31. ^ "The Way to the Gold". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  32. ^ "Kiss Them for Me". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  33. ^ "Cry Terror!". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  34. ^ "THE DECKS RAN RED". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  35. ^ "--30--". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  36. ^ "Beloved Infidel". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  37. ^ "4 for Texas". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  38. ^ "Some Kind of a Nut". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.

External links edit