Lyle Talbot

Lyle Talbot was an American actor on stage and screen, known for his career in film from 1931 to 1960 and for his appearances on television in the 1950s and 1960s. He played Ozzie Nelson's friend and neighbor, Joe Randolph, for ten years in the ABC situation comedy The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He began his movie career under contract with Warner Bros. in the early days of sound film. He appeared in more than 150 films, first as a young matinee idol, the star of many B movies, and later as a character actor. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild and later served on its board. Talbot's long career as an actor is recounted in a book by his youngest daughter, The New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot, entitled The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father's Twentieth Century.