George Tobias (July 14, 1901 - February 27, 1980) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Abner Kravitz on the television sitcom, Bewitched.

Early life and career

Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood. In 1939, Tobias signed with Warner Brothers and was cast in supporting roles, many times along with James Cagney, in such movies as Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), as well as with Gary Cooper in Sergeant York (1941) and Irving Berlin, Ronald Reagan, and George Murphy in This Is The Army (1943).

From 1959 to 1961, Tobias played Penrose in eight episodes of the ABC television series, Adventures in Paradise, starring Gardner McKay. From 1964 to 1971, he played Abner Kravitz, the long-suffering neighbor on the ABC sitcom, Bewitched.

Tobias often appeared in an uncredited role as a courtroom spectator on CBS's Perry Mason and played Sidney Falconer in the episode, "The Case of the Antic Angel" (1964).

Tobias was charged in the death of 9-year-old Joel Watnick of Los Angeles in July 1954. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge awarded damages to four other boys who were passengers in a station wagon struck by Tobias' car. Tobias was not driving. He had loaned his car to actress Lynne Baggett, who was charged with felony hit-and-run after Watnick died. Watnick's mother sued Baggett in separate court proceedings. Baggett and Tobias shared responsibility for damages which amounted to $2,599.

Tobias never married and retired from acting in 1977 after a guest role in the Bewitched sequel Tabitha.

Death

On February 27, 1980, Tobias died of bladder cancer at the age of 78 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, Queens, New York City.

Selected filmography

• Ninotchka (1939) as Russian Visa Official (uncredited)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) as Beggar
• Torrid Zone (1940) as Roasario "Rosie" La Mata
• City for Conquest (1940) as Pinky
• South of Suez (1940) as Eli Snedeker
• Music in My Heart (1940) as Sascha
• They Drive by Night (1940) as George Rondolos
• The Strawberry Blonde (1941) as Nicholas Pappalas
• Out of the Fog (1941) as Igor Propotkin
• Sergeant York (1941) as Private Michael T. "Pusher" Ross
• The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) as Peewee Defoe
• Affectionately Yours (1941)
• The Tanks Are Coming (1941) as Malowski
• Captains of the Clouds (1942) as Blimp Lebec (bush pilot)
• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) as Dietz
• My Sister Eileen (1942) as Appopolous
• Wings for the Eagle (1942) as Jake Hanso
• Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) as Himself
• This Is The Army (1943) as Maxie Twardofsky
• Air Force (1943) as Asst. Crew Chief Weinberg
• Passage to Marseille (1944) as Petit
• Between Two Worlds (1944) as Pete Musick
• Objective, Burma! (1945) as Cpl. Gabby Gordon
• Nobody Lives Forever (1946) as Al Doyle
• Gallant Bess (1946) as Lug
• Sinbad the Sailor (1947) as Abbu
• Adventures of Casanova (1948)
• The Set-Up (1949) as Tiny
• Everybody Does It (1949) as Rossi
• The Judge Steps Out (1949) as Mike
• Southside 1-1000 (1950) as Reggie
• Rawhide (1951) as Gratz
• Ten Tall Men (1951) as Londos
• The Glenn Miller Story (1953) as Si Schribman
• The Seven Little Foys (1955) as Barney Green
• Silk Stockings (1957) as Vassili Markovitch, Commisar of Art
• The Tattered Dress (1957) as Billy Giles
• Marjorie Morningstar (1958) as Maxwell Greech
• A New Kind of Love (1963) as Joe Bergner
• The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) as Norman Fenimore
• The Phynx (1970) as Markevitch

[ Source: Wikipedia ]