---
name: "Willard Waterman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/willard-waterman"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 August 1914"
died: "2 February 1995"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:13:57.999344+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Willard Waterman

Actor. Born 29 August 1914 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Died 2 February 1995.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 August 1914, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- **Died:** 2 February 1995
- **Also known as:** Willard Lewis Waterman

## Biography

Willard Lewis Waterman was an American character actor in radio, film, television and theatre. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, he studied at the University of Wisconsin before beginning his radio career in the 1930s at local station WIBA and later moving to NBC in Chicago.

Waterman is best known for replacing Harold Peary as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on the radio series *The Great Gildersleeve* from 1950 to 1955, and he appeared in the 1955 television version. His film roles include Claude Upson in *Auntie Mame* (1958) and Mr. Vanderhoff in *The Apartment* (1960). He performed on Broadway in the musical *Mame* and received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for radio. He died in Burlingame, California, in 1995.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91, as Mr. Vanderhoff — [page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md)

## Also known for

- *The Flintstones* (1960), Gus Gravel (voice), Sherman Cobblehead
- *Bonanza* (1959), Cyrus K. Throckmorton
- *Father of the Bride* (1950), Vincent Dixon (uncredited)
- *Auntie Mame* (1958), Claude Upson
- *Hollywood or Bust* (1956), Manager Neville
- *Mystery Street* (1950), The Mortician
- *Mister Ed* (1961)
- *The Lucy Show* (1962), Greg Gregory, Critter

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/willard-waterman