Films and Television
As an on-camera performer, Baer was recognizable by both his voice and his balding, paunchy appearance, often as fussy or obstinate officials or neighbors. Extended television roles included obnoxious Mayor Stoner on The Andy Griffith Show, neighbor Darby on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, frequent guest appearances on The Addams Family as insurance man and city commissioner Arthur J. Henson, and in later years, Miles Dugan on The Young and the Restless in the late 1990s.
Baer guest starred in the 1950s on NBC's The Dennis Day Show and It's a Great Life, on CBS's Hey, Jeannie!, on ABC's The Law and Mr. Jones with James Whitmore, and on the syndicated crime drama Johnny Midnight with Edmond O'Brien. He made several guest appearances on Perry Mason during the show's nine-year run on CBS. He appeared as well on the ABC sitcom Harrigan and Son, and on NBC's crime drama Dan Raven starring Skip Homeier.
In 1961, Baer guest starred on Marilyn Maxwell's short-lived ABC drama series, Bus Stop. On April 13, 1962, he appeared, along with Frank Ferguson and Royal Dano in ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors! in the episode "Journey into Mourning". The 1962 film Gypsy had Baer appearing opposite Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell as hotel owner Mr. Kringelein. In 1964, he appeared as a sheriff in an episode of Mickey Rooney's short-lived Mickey sitcom. He was seen in four episodes of Hogan's Heroes and eight episodes of Bewitched in various roles as advertising clients of McMann and Tate. Later guest appearances included Three for the Road, Three's Company (as a cooking competition judge), The A-Team, Star Trek: Voyager, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Dukes of Hazzard, Night Court, Little House on the Prairie,The Golden Girls, and Mad About You.
Baer's film roles included parts in several live action Disney features, including Follow Me, Boys! (again as a mayor), The Ugly Dachshund, and Those Calloways. He also appeared in Two on a Guillotine and Dave (as the Senate majority leader).
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Famous quotes containing the words films and/or television:
“Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.”
—David Thomson, U.S. film historian. America in the Dark: The Impact of Hollywood Films on American Culture, ch. 8, William Morrow (1977)
“All television ever did was shrink the demand for ordinary movies. The demand for extraordinary movies increased. If any one thing is wrong with the movie industry today, it is the unrelenting effort to astonish.”
—Clive James (b. 1939)