Jesse White (actor)

American actor (1917–1997)

Jesse White (born Jesse Marc Weidenfeld; January 3, 1917 – January 9, 1997) was an American actor who was best known for his portrayal as "Ol' Lonely" the repairman in Maytag television commercials from 1967 to 1988.

White was born in Buffalo, New York, and was raised in Akron, Ohio, to Jewish parents. He made his first amateur appearance in local stage productions at the age of 15. Though aspiring to be an actor, he worked at many different jobs during the 1930s, including selling beauty supplies and lingerie. After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, White began a career in vaudeville and burlesque, traveling widely before landing a role on Broadway. In 1942, White made his Broadway debut in The Moon Is Down, followed by a successful performance in the role of a sanitarium orderly in the popular play Harvey. He later reprised his role in the 1950 film version and the 1972 television movie. In 1947, White made his film debut in a small part in Kiss of Death. During the 1950s, he began landing roles on television shows, including appearances in Danny Thomas's Make Room for Daddy and Peter Lawford's Dear Phoebe. In 1954, he landed a semi regular role as Cagey Calhoun on Private Secretary, starring Ann Sothern. The role led to another semi regular part as the deceitful Oscar Pudney on CBS's The Ann Sothern Show in 1960. In 1955, he played Colonel Willoughby Oglethorpe on The Lone Ranger (season 4 episode 35). White guest starred on Four Star Playhouse and NBC's The Bob Cummings Show. He appeared in roles in The Bad Seed (1956); Designing Woman (1957), with Lauren Bacall; CBS's Mr. Adams and Eve (1958), with Ida Lupino and Howard Duff; and Marjorie Morningstar (1958), with Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly. On October 2, 1958, White portrayed the fast talking, presumably dishonest, used car salesman San Fernando Harry in the segment "The New Car" of the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan. From 1958 to 1965, White made five guest appearances on Perry Mason: as murderer Luke Hickey in "The Case of the Married Moonlighter," as bartender Cecil in "The case of the Melancholy Marksman", as murder victim Burt Renshaw in "The Case of the Polka Dot Pony," as Tony Cerro in "The Case of the Gambling Lady", and as murder victim Max Armstead in "The Case of the Fatal Fortune." In the 1960s, White appeared on Tightrope, Oh! Those Bells, The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show; The Donna Reed Show; The Andy Griffith Show, The Roaring 20s, Mickey, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres,The Munsters, The Addams Family, That Girl, and I Dream of Jeannie. In a memorable cameo, he played a frustrated airport tower controller in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). In 1966, he accepted the role of Donelli in The Reluctant Astronaut, playing a curmudgeonly janitorial supervisor. An advertising director who saw his performance on the film's release soon cast him in a television advertising campaign for the Maytag Corporation. White played the role of a lonely Maytag repairman, a man with nothing to do as a result of his company's dependable products. The campaign proved wildly successful, and the actor began a long running and highly paid career as the ever lonely Maytag repairman. White continued appearing in both television and films during his many years as the Maytag repairman. His final film role was a small but pivotal role in the 1993 Joe Dante comedy Matinee starring John Goodman, and his last TV role was in "The Cadillac", an episode of Seinfeld in 1996. Seinfeld co creator/star Jerry Seinfeld, who co wrote the episode, had been a fan of White since his appearances on The Ann Sothern Show, and described having him on Seinfeld as a boyhood dream come true. White was one of the voiceover actors for Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America: Volume One The Early Years and, 35 years later, he was featured on The Middle Years of the series. In addition to film and television work, White lent his voice to such cartoons as Jonny Quest and Garfield and Friends.

In 1942, White married Celia Cohn (July 17, 1914 – August 5, 2003). The couple had two daughters, Carole Ita White (who became an actress) and Janet Jonas.

On January 9, 1997, White died from a heart attack following surgery, six days after his 80th birthday. He is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.