Max Showalter

Max Gordon Showalter (June 2, 1917 – July 30, 2000), sometimes credited as Casey Adams,[1] was an American film, television, and stage actor, as well as a composer, pianist, and singer. He appeared on more than 1,000 television programs.[2] One of Showalter's most memorable roles was as the husband of Jean Peters' character in the 1953 film Niagara.

Max Showalter
Showalter (as Casey Adams) portraying Ward Cleaver in the pilot, "It's a Small World" from Leave It to Beaver (April 1957)
Born(1917-06-02)June 2, 1917
Caldwell, Kansas, U.S.
DiedJuly 30, 2000(2000-07-30) (aged 83)
Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting placeCaldwell City Cemetery, Kansas, U.S.
Other namesCasey Adams
OccupationActor, composer, pianist, singer
Years active1935–84

Early life

Showalter was born in Caldwell, Kansas,[3] the son of Elma Roxanna (Dodson) Showalter (1889–1953), a music teacher, and Ira Edward Showalter (1887–1953), who worked in the oil industry and was also a banker and farmer.[4] He developed a desire for acting as a toddler while accompanying his mother to local theatres where she played piano for silent movies. He served in the Army in World War II as an entertainer.[5]

Stage

By the late 1930s, Showalter had multiple stage roles under his belt, including acting in productions of the Pasadena Playhouse. He soon made his Broadway debut in Knights of Song.[3] Showalter also appeared in the traveling musical This Is the Army for two years and in other notable Broadway productions like Make Mine Manhattan and The Grass Harp. His most memorable stage role was as Horace Vandergelder in the Broadway hit show, Hello Dolly!. Showalter performed the role more than 3,000 times opposite Carol Channing, Betty Grable and Ethel Merman.[6]

Motion pictures and television

In the late 1940s, Showalter was signed to 20th Century Fox as a featured contract player. His name was changed by Fox's founder, Darryl F. Zanuck, to the more "bankable" Casey Adams.

He made his feature film debut in Always Leave Them Laughing (1949).[3] He first appeared on live television in the short-lived musical variety series The Swift Show (1948–49),[7]:1045 also known as The Lanny Ross Show.

Showalter's second feature film was the biopic With a Song in My Heart (1952), where he had a small role as a vaudeville performer. In the film, Showalter, along with David Wayne, sang the song "Hoe that Corn", which he also wrote. He appeared in Niagara (1953) alongside Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten.[8] He made a cameo as a Life magazine photographer in another Monroe movie, Bus Stop, in 1956.

During the 1950s, Showalter appeared in television shows like The Loretta Young Show and Navy Log, in addition to films like Vicki (1953), Down Three Dark Streets (1954), Naked Alibi (1954), and Indestructible Man (1956).

The following year, billed as Casey Adams, he appeared as Ward Cleaver in It's a Small World, the original pilot for the 1950s sitcom Leave It to Beaver. The pilot was broadcast as an episode of the Studio 57 anthology series.[7] He was replaced by Hugh Beaumont for the television series.[9] Casey Adams also appeared in one episode of The Andy Griffith Show as an antiques dealer. His name is Ralph Mason in the episode titled "The Horse Trader."

In the 1960s, Showalter reclaimed his original name and continued to land roles in such big-budget films as Elmer Gantry (1960), The Music Man (1962), and How to Murder Your Wife (1965). He worked through the 1960s and 1970s. He made six appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of murderer Carl Reynolds in the 1958 episode, "The Case of the Curious Bride," murder victim Burt Stokes in "The Case of the Wandering Widow" in 1960, and murderer Talbot Sparr in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Ugly Duckling." He made appearances in other television series like The Twilight Zone (the iconic episode "It's a Good Life"), The Lucy Show, Gunsmoke, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The New Phil Silvers Show, Bewitched, Dr. Kildare, Surfside 6, The Doris Day Show, Kojak, Police Story, The Bob Newhart Show, as well as in cult films, Lord Love a Duck, The Anderson Tapes and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the 1979 film 10, he famously played a pastor whose hobby was writing (bad) songs. He was also a regular cast member in the short-lived 1980 TV series, The Stockard Channing Show.[7]:1022 Showalter made his last onscreen appearance in the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles (1984).

Composing

Showalter composed the music for Little Boy Blue, which opened at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California, on September 11, 1950.[10] He also wrote the musical Go For Your Gun, which premiered in Manchester, England, in 1963.[11]

Recording

In 1956, Showalter (as Casey Adams) recorded an album of his own music, Casey Adams Plays and Sings Max Showalter Songs (Foremost Records FML-1004).[12] He was one of the artists featured on The Secret Garden, a 1988 CBS Special Products album containing performances of music from the musical of that title that "has played the repertory circuit in England."[13]

Painting

Show business columnist Hedda Hopper reported in a 1963 newspaper column that Showalter had sold 139 paintings and would have his first one-man show.[14]

Later years

In 1984, Showalter retired from acting and moved to an 18th-century farmhouse in Chester, Connecticut, near the area where he acted in the film, It Happened to Jane (1959). Showalter became involved in local musical theatre, including the Ivoryton Playhouse, and went on to produce, direct, write, and narrate the Christmas musical Touch of a Child.[8] He spent much of his free time painting oil miniatures. Showalter was a good friend of actress Katharine Hepburn, who lived in nearby Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Personal life

In the 1950s, Showalter took a hiatus from his work in Hollywood, returning to Caldwell, Kansas, to care for his 15-year-old sister who was orphaned by the death of their parents in an automobile accident. Their deaths followed the death of Showalter's brother, Robert, in a car wreck two years earlier. After a few years he returned to Hollywood and resumed his career.[14]

Death

On July 30, 2000, Max Showalter died of cancer in Middletown, Connecticut. He was 83 years old.[1][8]

Filmography

Television

References
  1. Willis, John; Monush, Barry (2002). Screen World 2001. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 350. ISBN 9781557834799. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. Shapouri, Beth (August 14, 2000). "Obituaries" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 59.
  3. Lentz, Harris M. III (2001). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. pp. 204–205. ISBN 9780786410248. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  4. "Max Showalter Biography (1917–2000)". Film Reference. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/02/arts/max-showalter-83-character-actor-for-films-broadway-and-tv.html
  6. Find a Grave biography
  7. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 515. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  8. Max Showalter obituary
  9. movies.msn.com Biography
  10. "Out-of-Town Openings" (PDF). Billboard. September 30, 1950. p. 49. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  11. "Great Britain" (PDF). Cash Box. September 7, 1963. p. 50. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  12. "(Foremost Records Inc. ad)" (PDF). Billboard. September 22, 1956. p. 68. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  13. "POP" (PDF). Billboard. January 30, 1988. p. 78. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  14. Hopper, Hedda (July 11, 1963). "In Hollywood". Valley Morning Star. Texas, Harlingen. p. 11. Retrieved July 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
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