Norman Lloyd died this week. 106 years old! He was the kind and wise Dr. Auschlander on "St. Elsewhere"in the 80, one of the greatest series ever. There is a long list of movie and television roles. He was an actor. He was a producer. He did it all.
Sometimes, television gets it right. "St. Elsewhere" never had huge ratings, but it was a quality show that attracted an audience advertisers liked, and NBC stuck with it for six years and 137 episodes. Lloyd's character had the title "chief of services." In a lot of medical series, a character like that had to be mean, the villain. Dr. Auschlander did what he had to do, but it was done with warmth and compassion-- something that set "St. Elsewhere" apart from other series in that genre.
Lloyd could play the heavy. Just watch "Dead Poets Society."
I loved his voice. Norman Lloyd was one of those actors who improved everything he touched.