It apparently hasn't hit the wire services yet but character actor Roy Stuart passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 70. Stuart was one of those guys who popped up at one time or another on every TV show shot in Hollywood beginning around 1964. He usually played some nervous clerk or official. The photo above at left is from one of the few recurring roles he had — that of Corporal Boyle on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., the soldier who was always trying to talk sense between Sgt. Carter and Private Pyle. Stuart's rubbery face also turned up in hundreds of commercials over the years. He was one of those actors who made a decent living in Hollywood but every day, someone would stop him in a public place and say, "I think I know you from somewhere." You may be looking at the above photos right now and going, "Oh, yeah…that guy."
I have a special affection for Mr. Stuart's skills as an actor. Around 1967, I saw The Odd Couple for the first time. It was at a production in the Ivar Theater in Hollywood, he was playing Felix and Jesse White was playing Oscar. If I had to list the ten evenings in my life when I laughed the most, that would certainly be among them. It was truly a wonderful production and Stuart was very proud of it. Over the years, I ran into him at parties and a few times at the Hollywood Collector Shows. Every time, I reminded him I'd seen him in the role and every time, he'd turn to someone else, point to me and say, "He saw me do The Odd Couple." He did a lot of stage work in L.A., mostly with the Theatre West group on Cahuenga, and I think I saw him there in several other plays. But he will always be my first Felix Unger…and trust me. He was as good as Lemmon or Randall or any of them.