Thursday, May 13, 2021

Time Passages: Norman Lloyd

 

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.