Actor Bernard Fox, who guest starred in “Tea and Empathy” during Season 6, died today at the age of 89. The Welsh actor began his career in movies and TV in the United Kingdom in the mid-1950s. He moved to the United States in the early 1960s and was soon making guest appearances on TV shows like Combat!, Make Room for Daddy, McHale’s Navy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Andy Griffith Show.
Fox is perhaps best known for a pair of recurring sitcom roles. He portrayed Colonel Crittendon on Hogan’s Heroes from 1965 to 1970 and played Dr. Bombay on Bewitched from 1967 to 1972. He also appeared in two movies about the sinking of the Titanic: A Night to Remember in 1958 and Titanic in 1997.
In “Tea and Empthy,” Fox played Major Ross, a British commander visiting his wounded troops. Hawkeye and B.J. initially found Ross callous for insisting his men return to duty right away. The doctors also didn’t like the way Ross criticized them for “molly-coddling” his men. Later, Hawkeye learned that Ross wasn’t actually lashing out at his men. He yelled at them because they expected it. If he yelled at them, it meant he thought they were going to get better, and that meant they believed they’d get better.
Obituaries can be found at Variety and The New York Times.
(Thanks to Dan.)
Guess he finally answered Samantha’s call.
“Dr. Bombay! Dr. Bombay! Emergency – Come Right Away!!”
RIP
Another recurring role he had in the 60s was on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, where he played gentleman’s gentleman, Malcolm Merriwether.
Interestingly on BEWITCHED, he guest starred in an episode before becoming Dr. Bombay, in which he played a witch hunter instead of a witch doctor – he discovered an incantation that can make witches disappear at random, and of course, if affected Samantha, prompting Darrin and Endora to search for an antidote.
He seemed to be the ultimate character actor of the 60s, there almost isn’t a show that he didn’t make an appearance on, lol.
Really a shame, though.