Cat. #0010404221: HANS CONRIED

Scarce vintage 5x7-inch sepia-tone portrait, boldly signed and inscribed in violet fountain pen in 1952, the year of his unforgettable guest appearance on "I Love Lucy." In good condition, with some paper loss and tape remnants to the four corner tips, from previous display in a scrapbook. Hans Conried, whose public image, after years of radio work, was that of a Shakespearean ham, was born not in England but in Baltimore. His saturnine features and reedy voice made him indispensable for small character roles in Hollywood films like the Falcon series of the 1940s; Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942); The Big Street (1942); Saboteur (1942); Journey Into Fear (1943); Passage to Marseilles (1944); the bizarre musical 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1952), written by his friend Dr. Seuss; and the horror flick The Monster That Challenged the World (1957). He will forever be remembered by "I Love Lucy" buffs for his guest spot as the Ricardos' and Mertzes' English tutor, Percy Livermore (1952), and by fans of "Make Room for Daddy" (1955-1963) for his portrayal of the imperishable Uncle Tonoose. Cartoon producers also relied heavily on Conried, notably Walt Disney, who cast the actor as the voice of Captain Hook in the animated fantasy feature Peter Pan (1953), and Jay Ward, for whom Conried played Snidely Whiplash on "The Bullwinkle Show" (1961), Uncle Waldo on Hoppity Hooper (1964-1965) and hosted "Fractured Flickers" (1963-1964). He died of a heart ailment at the age of 64 and his autograph is elusive in any format.