And The Name Is Anthony Zerbe!

Although he has had a wonderfully varied stage career, throughout his film/television career, Anthony Zerbe has played mostly villains...
...trying to get the drop on Timothy Dalton's Bond, James Bond in "License To Kill"...
...freaking out a young Mr. Jones (and Charlton Heston) in "The Omega Man"...
...but interestingly enough, the role he might be best remembered for is the old, grizzled boss of ABC-TV's "The Young Riders"*!


Here's what the fibbers at Wikipedia have to say about Zerbe...

Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936 in Long Beach, California) is an American stage, film and television actor.
Zerbe studied at the Stella Adler Theater Studio in New York. He is the former artistic director of Reflections, A New Plays Festival at the GeVa Theatre in Rochester, New York, which is currently touring the United States in Behind The Broken Words, a performance of contemporary poetry, comedy and dramatic works with fellow actor Roscoe Lee Browne. Zerbe also continues to perform in a project, Prelude to Lime Creek, with poet and lyricist Joe Henry.
From 1959 to 1961, Anthony Zerbe served in the United States Air Force. In 1976, Zerbe won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance By a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Harry O).
He married Arnette Jens on October 7, 1962.


In my much-lamented former life as a stand-up comic**, I used to have a bit in my act where I did, what I'm sure, is the only impression of Zerbe ever. The idea came from my memories of seeing this guy play the bad guy in almost every other episodic crime show on TV in the early to mid-seventies.

Especially shows like "Cannon", "Ironside", "Hawaii Five-O", and, of course, "KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park". Zerbe would give these shows his all, which meant using some very theatrical enunciation (putting him squarely in Vincent Price territory- not a slam, I assure you) while playing, in some cases drug pushers "from the streets", or other non-stage trained characters. The bit always went something like this...

It's an episode of "Cannon" , where the detective has tracked down a "Mr. Jericho", a down and dirty pusher who has gotten Cannon's pal's daughter hooked on "the stuff". Jericho is the kind of character who wears paisley, collar-less shirts, John Lennon-ish sunglasses and Zerbe's trademarked, early-seventies slicked-back longish (but short enough that he could slick it back for his rare forays into respectability, playing cop foils on other crime shows) hair.

Zerbe, in his clench-jawed theatrical enunciation and wolf-ish smile, says, "Cannon what're you hassling me for? I'm just a simple businessman."

Cannon, in his booming Cannon-voice says, "Business? What business? Selling junk to kids?"

To which Zerbe, chuckling, replies "Wait a second, first I'm a drug pusher, then a junk man- get your story straight Cannon!"

Audiences everywhere adored me.

Because comedy club patrons love a good Zerbe.


*Not to be confused with FOX-TV's experimental pilot for "The Jung Riders" about a squad of psychiatric crime fighters in Europe at the turn of the century solving mysteries using dream therapy and gestalt theories. Zerbe was to have played their comic foil Sigmund Freud. It was passed over for "The New Adventures Of Beans Baxter" instead.
**See Variety's June 17th, 2007 front page headline "Whither Jones?" in which the world of comedy is quoted as "shedding a bitter tear that Jones walked away".