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| - Fritz Feld played Zumdish in two episodes: The Android Machine and The Toymaker. ☀{{Infobox person | bgcolour = | name = Fritz Feld | image = Fritz Feld and Virginia Christine, 1979.jpg | caption = Fritz Feld, with his wife, [[Virginia Christine]] (1979) | birth_name = Fritz Feilchenfeld | birth_date = {{Birth date|1900|10|15}} | birth_place = [[Berlin, Germany]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|11|18|1900|10|15}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles]], California, US | resting_place = [[Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles | othername = | yearsactive = 1917–1989 | occupation = Actor | spouse = {{marriage|[[Virginia Christine]]|1940|1993}} his death | children =2 | homepage = }} '''Fritz Feld''' (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film [[character actor]] who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both [[silent film|silent]] and [[synchronized sound|sound]]. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a pop sound.{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/fritz-feld-22985 |title=Fritz Feld |accessdate=2009-07-21 |quote=It was in 1947's If You Knew Susie that Feld developed his signature "schtick": the sharp "Pop!" sound effect created by smacking his open mouth with the flattened palm of his hand. |publisher=[[AllMovie]] }}{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fritz Feld. Character Actor's Career Spanned Many Eras |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60257126.xml?dids=60257126:60257126&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+21%2C+1993&author=MYRNA+OLIVER&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=Fritz+Feld%3B+Character+Actor%27s+Career+Spanned+Many+Eras&pqatl=google |quote=[Fritz Feld], veteran character actor who played movie directors, spies, conductors, psychiatrists, waiters, heavies and comedians for seven decades in 425 films, 500 television shows, 1,000 radio programs and 80 commercials, has died. He was 93. Feld's career endured from the silent era through the development of radio and television and to modern comedy films such as "The Sunshine Boys" in 1975 and Mel Brooks' "History of the World Part I" in 1981. When 20th Century Fox staged "A Tribute to Fritz Feld-60 Years in the Movies" at Hollywood's Tiffany Theater in 1977, Feld preferred to talk about the people he had worked with. |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=November 21, 1993 |accessdate=2009-07-29 }} ==Early life and career== Born '''Fritz Feilchenfeld''' in [[Berlin, Germany]], Feld began his acting career in Germany in 1917, making his screen debut in ''Der Golem und die Tänzerin'' (''[[The Golem and the Dancing Girl]]''). Feld filmed the sound sequences of the [[Cecil B. DeMille]] film ''[[The Godless Girl]]'' (1929), released by Pathé, without DeMille's supervision since DeMille had already broken his contract with Pathé, and signed with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].[http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/thecrank/v2/pages/notes/Godless%20Girl.html The Crank Film Series, UCLA, film notes] He developed a characterization that came to define him. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop!" sound that indicated both his superiority and his annoyance. The first use of the "pop" sound was in ''[[If You Knew Susie]]'' (1947). Feld often played the part of a maître d', but also a variety of aristocrats and eccentrics; his characters were indeterminately [[Europe]]an, sometimes [[France|French]] and sometimes [[Belgium|Belgian]] but always with his particular mannerisms. In the 1938 screwball comedy ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' he played the role of Dr. Lehman. In 1939 He appeared with the [[Marx Brothers]] in ''[[At The Circus]]'' in the small but memorable role of orchestra conductor Jardinet. In one 1963 episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', "The Napoleon's Tomb Affair", Feld played a banker, a beatnik, a diplomat and a waiter. The episode also featured [[Ted Cassidy]] from [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[The Addams Family]]''. In his later years, Feld appeared in several [[Walt Disney]] films and also played an uncharacteristically dramatic role in ''[[Barfly (film)|Barfly]]''. In addition to films, he acted in numerous [[television series]] in guest roles, including the recurring role of "Zumdish", the manager of the intergalactic Celestial Department Store on [[CBS]]'s ''[[Lost In Space]]'', in two Season 2 episodes, ''The Android Machine'' and ''The Toymaker''. Zumdish returned in the Season 3 episode ''Two Weeks In Space'', where he has been brainwashed by bank robbers into believing he is a tour director taking the robbers on holiday. He also portrayed one of the Harmonia Gardens waiters in the movie ''[[Hello Dolly! (film)|Hello Dolly!]]'' Feld made his final film appearance in 1989. ==Personal life== Feld was married to [[Virginia Christine]] who was twenty years his junior, from 1940 until his death in 1993 in a convalescent home in [[Los Angeles, California]]; Christine died in 1996.{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fritz Feld, Actor, 93 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5D6143BF930A15752C1A965958260 |quote= Fritz Feld, a character actor who appeared in hundreds of films, radio programs, television shows and commercials, died on Thursday at a convalescent home after a lengthy illness. He was 93. Mr. Feld performed with numerous stars in a career that began in silent films. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 23, 1993 |accessdate=2009-02-11 }}{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Virginia Christine, TV's Mrs. Olson, 76 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/23/obituaries/fritz-feld-actor-93.html |quote= Virginia Christine, a character actress who portrayed the motherly Mrs. Olson in Folger's coffee television commercials for 21 years, died on Wednesday at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. She was 76. The cause was heart complications, her family said. |work=[[Associated Press]] in [[New York Times]] |date=July 26, 1996 |accessdate=2009-02-11 }} The couple are interred at the Jewish [[Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery]] in the [[Hollywood Hills, California|Hollywood Hills]] section of Los Angeles. He was the younger brother of the [[art director]] [[Rudi Feld]]. Feld was a strong enough amateur [[chess]] player that 1948 U.S. champion [[Herman Steiner]] and international master [[George Koltanowski]] would come to his home some evenings in the 1940s, with the three of them playing chess until 6 o'clock the following morning, as mentioned in ''The Bobby Fischer I Knew and Other Stories'' (Denker & Parr, 1995). ==Partial filmography== {{col-begin}}{{col-break}} *''[[The Golem and the Dancing Girl]]'' (1917) *''[[A Ship Comes In]]'' (1928) *''[[Black Magic (1929 film)|Black Magic]]'' (1929) *''[[One Hysterical Night]]'' (1929) *''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' (1938) *''[[Campus Confessions]]'' (1938) *''[[The Affairs of Annabel]]'' (1938) *''[[Annabel Takes a Tour]]'' (1938) *''[[Swingtime in the Movies]]'' (1938) *''[[At the Circus]]'' (1939) *''[[Idiot's Delight (film)|Idiot's Delight]]'' (1939) *''[[Everything Happens at Night]]'' (1939) *''[[Phantom of the Opera (1943 film)|Phantom of the Opera]]'' (1943) *''[[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty]]'' (1947) {{nb10}} *''[[Mexican Hayride]]'' (1948) *''[[Julia Misbehaves]]'' (1948) *''[[The Lovable Cheat]]'' (1949) *''[[Belle of Old Mexico]]'' (1950) *''[[Paris Playboys]]'' (1953) *''[[Riding Shotgun (film)|Riding Shotgun]]'' (1955) {{col-break}} *''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]'' (1961) *''[[Who's Minding the Store?]]'' (1963) *''[[The Patsy (1964 film)|The Patsy]]'' (1964) *''[[Barefoot in the Park (film)|Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1967) *''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' (1969) *''[[The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes]]'' (1969) *''[[The Phynx]]'' (1970) *''[[The Sunshine Boys (film)|The Sunshine Boys]]'' (1975) *''[[Herbie Rides Again]]'' (1974) *''[[The Strongest Man in the World]]'' (1975) *''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976) *''[[Silent Movie]]'' (1976) *''[[Freaky Friday (1976 film)|Freaky Friday]]'' (1976) *''[[The World's Greatest Lover]]'' (1977) *''[[Herbie Goes Bananas]]'' (1980) *''[[History of the World, Part I]]'' (1981) *''[[Heidi's Song]]'' (1982) *''[[Barfly (film)|Barfly]]'' (1987) *''[[Homer and Eddie]]'' (1989) {{col-end}} {{Portal|Biography|Germany|California|Film|Television}} ==References== '''Notes''' {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0270915}}
* {{IBDB name|40295}}
* {{Find a Grave|6652}} {{Authority control}} {{Persondata |NAME= Feld, Fritz |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Feilchenfeld, Fritz |SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[Actor]] |DATE OF BIRTH= 15 October 1900 |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Berlin, Germany]] |DATE OF DEATH= 18 November 1993 |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Los Angeles, California]], USA }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Feld, Fritz}} [[Category:1900 births]] [[Category:1993 deaths]] [[Category:German male film actors]] [[Category:German male silent film actors]] [[Category:German emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:American Jews]] [[Category:Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery]] [[Category:Male actors from Berlin]] [[Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area]] [[Category:20th-century German male actors]]
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