Career
Known mainly as a character actor, Huddleston starred in the title role of 1985's big-budget film Santa Claus: The Movie, which featured a top-billed Dudley Moore as an elf.
Huddleston's first major role came in the 1968 drama A Lovely Way to Die. Shortly afterward the actor became a frequent guest star on several of the leading television series of the 1960s and 1970s, among them, Adam-12, Then Came Bronson, Gunsmoke, Bewitched, Bonanza, Cannon, McMillan & Wife, The Waltons, The Rookies, Medical Center, Kung Fu, Emergency!, Spencer's Pilots, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Police Woman, Hawaii Five-O, Walker, Texas Ranger, Charlie's Angels, Sanford and Son and The Rockford Files. Among Huddleston's notable feature film credits prior to Santa Claus: The Movie are his co-starring roles in Bad Company (1972), Blazing Saddles (1974); Billy Two Hats (1974); McQ (1974); Breakheart Pass (1975); The Greatest (1977); The World's Greatest Lover (1977); Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Go for It (1983).
Huddleston resumed his television career with roles in various television movies, among them Heat Wave! (1974); The Oregon Trail (1976); Shark Kill (1976); Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978); Family Reunion (1981); Computercide (1982); and M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (1983). For much of the 1980s, Huddleston also starred in a series of television commercials for the Citrus Hill brand of orange juice. Huddleston's post-Santa Claus career has found him making occasional co-starring roles, in Spot Marks the X (1986); Finnegan Begin Again (1985); Frantic (1988); Life with Mikey (1993); The Big Lebowski (1998); and G-Men from Hell (2000). Later, he also had a recurring role as Albert "Gramps" Arnold, the paternal grandfather of the protagonist in The Wonder Years (1988–1993). Huddleston even appeared on Star Trek: TNG as the train conductor in the episode 'Emergence'. He appeared twice on The West Wing as Max Lobell, a Republican Senator who allies with Jed Bartlett on the issue of campaign finance reform. His performance as Benjamin Franklin in a Boston stage production of 1776 is referenced in the book Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, referring to him as "the actor who played The Big Lebowski in The Big Lebowski." In 2009 he appeared in the thriller Locker 13. Huddleston was also featured in the 2010 special It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: It's a Very Sunny Christmas released directly to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download.
Huddleston's eldest son, Michael Huddleston, is also a longtime actor and performer. Huddleston is a long-time friend and former manager of musician/songwriter/businessman Roy Clark of Hee Haw fame.
Read more about this topic: David Huddleston
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