JESSE WHITE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Jesse White was born on January 3rd, 1917 in Buffalo, New York with the birth name Jesse Marc Weidenfeld.  He was raised in Ohio and first developed an interest in acting when he was fifteen years old and appeared in a local stage production. 

He worked a couple different jobs after high school, before deciding to focus on a career in acting.  He began with finding work as a vaudeville performer as well as burlesque.  In 1943, he was given his chance to appear on Broadway and after gaining some more stage experience, White broke into the film industry.

Some of his early film roles included, "Harvey" (1950) starring James Stewart, "Bedtime for Bonzo" (1951) starring Ronald Reagan, Diana Lynn and Walter Slezak, "The Girl in White" (1952) starring June Allyson, Arthur Kennedy and Gary Merrill, "Hell's Half Acre" (1954) starring Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Philip Ahn, Marie Windsor, Keye Luke and Nancy Gates and "Not as a Stranger" (1955) starring Robert Mitchum, Olivia de Havilland, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Myron McCormick, Lee Marvin, Harry Morgan and Lon Chaney Jr.  In addition to film work, he really began to earn a name for himself as a television actor.

Over the course of his career he appeared on such series as, "Make Room for Daddy", "The Lone Ranger", "The Bob Cummings Show", "Duffy's Tavern", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Loretta Young Show", "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", "TV Reader's Digest", "Cavalcade of America", "Climax!", "Private Secretary", "Circus Boy", "The Thin Man", "The Texan", "Lux Playhouse", "The Red Skelton Hour", "Man with a Camera", "Tightrope", "Petticoat Junction", "The Ann Sothern Show", "77 Sunset Strip", "Twilight Zone", "The Frank Sinatra Show", "Naked City" and "Bonanza" among many others.

Between his television roles and film work he appeared in over 100 different roles.  He also gained a lot of attention for his commercial appearances as the Maytag washer repairman.   

Some of his latest appearances were in the films, "The Cat from Outerspace" (1978) and "Matinee" (1993).  He also added the television credits, "Hart to Hart", "Small Wonder", "MacGyver" and his final role on the series, "Seinfeld" in 1996.

Jesse White married only once in 1942 to Celia Cohn and they had two children and remained married until he passed away on January 9th, 1997 in Los Angeles, California after suffering from a heart attack at the age of eighty.  His remains are interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.     

Filmography

1996         Seinfeld
1993         Matinee
1990         MacGyver
1989         Garfield and Friends 
1987         Small Wonder
1986         Monster in the Closet
1983         Trapper John, M.D.
1982         Hart to Hart
1982         Pandamonium 
1981         The Love Boat
1979         B.J. and the Bear
1978         The Cat from Outer Space
1978         The Plant Family
1977         ABC Weekend Specials 
1977         Quincy, M.E.
1976         Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976         Nashville Girl
1975         New Zoo Revue 
1975         Return to Campus
1975         Las Vegas Lady
1975         Happy Days 
1975         Kolchak: The Night Stalker 
1974         These Are the Days
1974         Devlin
1973         Yogi's Gang
1973         The New Temperatures Rising Show 
1973         The Brothers O'Toole
1972         Of Thee I Sing
1972         Here's Lucy
1972         Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color 
1972         Harvey
1971         Mannix
1971         The Partners
1971         Bless the Beasts & Children
1969-1971     Love, American Style
1970         Make Room for Granddaddy
1970         Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?
1970         Togetherness
1970         The Debbie Reynolds Show
1970         My World and Welcome to It 
1969         Land of the Giants
1967-1969     The Jackie Gleason Show 
1968-1969     That Girl
1969         Hawaii Five-O
1967-1968     Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. 
1968         The Bob Hope Show 
1967         Accidental Family
1967         I Dream of Jeannie 
1963-1967     The Beverly Hillbillies 
1967         The Spirit Is Willing
1967         The Reluctant Astronaut
1965-1967     Green Acres
1964-1966     Petticoat Junction
1966         The Tammy Grimes Show
1966         The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
1966         Please Don't Eat the Daisies
1966         The Wild Wild West
1958-1965     Perry Mason
1965         The Munsters 
1965         Kraft Suspense Theatre 
1965         Dear Brigitte
1964         The Addams Family 
1964         Pajama Party
1964         Mickey 
1964         Jonny Quest 
1964         Linus! The Lion Hearted 
1964         A House Is Not a Home
1964         Looking for Love
1964         Bonanza
1964         Ben Casey 
1957-1964     The Jack Benny Program
1963         Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963         It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963         The Yellow Canary
1963         I'm Dickens, He's Fenster
1962         It'$ Only Money
1962         Naked City
1962         Period of Adjustment
1961-1962     Twilight Zone 
1962         Oh, Those Bells
1962         Cain's Hundred
1962         Adventures in Paradise
1962         Pete and Gladys
1962         Hawaiian Eye
1962         King of Diamonds
1961         Sail a Crooked Ship
1961         77 Sunset Strip
1961         The Roaring Twenties 
1954-1961     G.E. True Theater 
1961         The Dick Van Dyke Show 
1961         Calvin and the Colonel
1960-1961     The Ann Sothern Show
1961         Angel
1961         On the Double
1961         The Right Approach
1961         Tomboy and the Champ
1961         Westinghouse Playhouse 
1961         The Andy Griffith Show 
1961         The Best of the Post
1961         A Fever in the Blood
1961         Three Blondes in His Life
1959-1960     Tightrope
1960         The Big Night
1960         The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
1960         Man with a Camera
1959         The Dennis O'Keefe Show
1959         The Red Skelton Hour
1959         Alcoa Theatre
1959         The David Niven Show
1959         Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1959         Lux Playhouse 
1959         The Texan
1959         The Donna Reed Show
1959         The Thin Man 
1958         Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958         The Real McCoys
1957-1958     The Frank Sinatra Show
1958         Marjorie Morningstar
1958         Country Music Holiday
1958         The Bob Cummings Show
1957         Circus Boy
1957         Johnny Trouble
1957         God Is My Partner
1956-1957     The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1957         Climax! 
1957         Designing Woman
1957         Schlitz Playhouse 
1954-1956     Private Secretary
1956         Cavalcade of America
1956         The Bad Seed
1956         Back from Eternity
1956         He Laughed Last
1956         The Come On
1955         Damon Runyon Theater
1955         Four Star Playhouse 
1955         TV Reader's Digest 
1955         The Girl Rush
1955         The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1955         Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre
1955         Not as a Stranger
1955         The Lone Ranger 
1955         Lux Video Theatre 
1955         Treasury Men in Action 
1954         Dear Phoebe
1953-1954     Make Room for Daddy 
1954         Witness to Murder
1954         The Loretta Young Show 
1954         Hell's Half Acre
1954         Duffy's Tavern 
1953         Forever Female
1953         Champ for a Day
1953         Gunsmoke
1952         Million Dollar Mermaid
1952         The Girl in White
1951         Death of a Salesman
1951         Callaway Went Thataway
1951         Francis Goes to the Races
1951         Bedtime for Bonzo
1951         Katie Did It
1950         Harvey
1950         The Ford Theatre Hour
1948         Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1947         Gentleman's Agreement
1947         Kiss of Death