Bill Idelson (August 21, 1919 â€" December 31, 2007) was an actor,
writer, director and producer widely known for his teenage role as
Rush Gook on the radio comedy Vic and Sade and his recurring
television role as Herman Glimscher on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the
1960s.Idelson was born in Forest Park, Illinois, his parents were
Russian immigrants. He joined the U.S. Navy in World War II and was
awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals as a night
fighter pilot. He later married actress Seemah Wilder with whom he had
three sons, Paul, Howie and Jonathan as well as a daughter, TV writer
and actress Ellen Idelson, who died in 2003.Idelson died in 2007 from
complications due to a hip injury. On his death, writer-director
Norman Corwin told the Los Angeles Times Idelson was "a luminary, he
stood out among the radio comedians." Creator of the Dick Van Dyke
Show, Carl Reiner, said Idelson was "a very subtle actor. He made no
big movements, and every time you cut to him you could get a
laugh."Idelson's acting career began in 1931 on Chicago's WGN radio,
when he played Skeezix on Uncle Walt and Skeezix, a radio drama based
on the Gasoline Alley comic strip. One year later he landed the role
of Rush on the long-running Vic and Sade, playing the role until he
joined the U.S. Navy. He also had the title role on Cousin Willie and
portrayed Bill Clark on Secret City,:299-300 Hugo on The Trouble with
the Truitts,:339-340 and Chuck on That Brewster Boy.:329
writer, director and producer widely known for his teenage role as
Rush Gook on the radio comedy Vic and Sade and his recurring
television role as Herman Glimscher on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the
1960s.Idelson was born in Forest Park, Illinois, his parents were
Russian immigrants. He joined the U.S. Navy in World War II and was
awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals as a night
fighter pilot. He later married actress Seemah Wilder with whom he had
three sons, Paul, Howie and Jonathan as well as a daughter, TV writer
and actress Ellen Idelson, who died in 2003.Idelson died in 2007 from
complications due to a hip injury. On his death, writer-director
Norman Corwin told the Los Angeles Times Idelson was "a luminary, he
stood out among the radio comedians." Creator of the Dick Van Dyke
Show, Carl Reiner, said Idelson was "a very subtle actor. He made no
big movements, and every time you cut to him you could get a
laugh."Idelson's acting career began in 1931 on Chicago's WGN radio,
when he played Skeezix on Uncle Walt and Skeezix, a radio drama based
on the Gasoline Alley comic strip. One year later he landed the role
of Rush on the long-running Vic and Sade, playing the role until he
joined the U.S. Navy. He also had the title role on Cousin Willie and
portrayed Bill Clark on Secret City,:299-300 Hugo on The Trouble with
the Truitts,:339-340 and Chuck on That Brewster Boy.:329
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