John Hoyt
Hoyt inThe Big Combo (1955)
Born	John McArthur Hoysradt (1905-10-05)October 5, 1905 Bronxville, New York, U.S.
Died	September 15, 1991(1991-09-15) (aged 85) Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Other names	John Hoysradt
Education	Yale University (BA,MA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1930–1987
Spouses	Marion Virginia Burns ​ ​ (m. 1935; div. 1960)​ († 1962) Dorothy Marion Oltman ​ ​ (m. 1961)​ († 1997)
Children	1

John Hoyt (bornJohn McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series.

He is perhaps best known for his roles in the filmsThe Lawless (1950),When Worlds Collide (1951),Julius Caesar (1953),Blackboard Jungle (1955),Spartacus (1960),Cleopatra (1963),The Outer Limits (1964), and the television seriesGimme a Break! (1981-87).

Hoyt was born John McArthur Hoysradt inBronxville, New York,^[1] the son of Warren J. Hoysradt, an investment banker, and his wife, Ethel Hoysradt (née Wolf). He attended theHotchkiss School and Yale University, where he served on the editorial board of campus humor magazineThe Yale Record.^[2] He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Yale.^[3] He worked as a history instructor at theGroton School for two years.^[3]

Hoyt made hisBroadway debut in 1931 inWilliam Bolitho's playOverture. Some of his other Broadway credits in the early 1930s includeMiracle at Verdun (1930),Lean Harvest (1931), andClear All Wires (1932). He also performed with several regional theater groups, and then joinedOrson Welles'sMercury Theatre in 1937; he remained a member of the troupe until he moved to Hollywood in 1945 after his army service.^[3][4] Hoyt continued to perform regularly in Broadway productions throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s. In this period, he was cast in a range of plays, such asValley Forge (1934),Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 (1935),The Masque of Kings (1936),Storm Over Patsy (1936), andCaesar (1937, director Orson Welles).^[5][6] He also worked as a stand-up comedian, sometimes both acting and doing comedy on the same day.^[3][4] His impersonation ofNoël Coward was so remarkable^{[citation needed]} that he was hired for the original cast of the Broadway comedyThe Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), in which he played Beverley Carlton.^[5]

Hoyt shortened his surname in 1945, the year before his film debut inO.S.S.^[7] He became a familiar face infilm noir and played the strict Principal Warneke in the 1955 filmBlackboard Jungle, starringGlenn Ford. He played an industrialist in the 1951 filmWhen Worlds Collide. Hoyt appeared in oneShakespearean film:MGM'sJulius Caesar, reprising the role of Decius Brutus (orDecimus Junius Brutus Albinus), whom he had played in the 1937 Mercury Theatre production. In 1952, he played Cato inAndrocles and the Lion. In 1953, he portrayedElijah in the biblical filmSins of Jezebel. He had featured roles in the big-budget sixties epicsSpartacus andCleopatra.

Hoyt played Colonel Barker onThe Adventures of Rin Tin Tin,^[8] Grandpa Stanley Kanisky, Dolph Sweet's onscreen father, onGimme a Break!,^[8]: 393 J.L. Patterson onHey, Mulligan,^[8]: 456 Martin Peyton inReturn to Peyton Place,^[8]: 890 and Dr. Kievoy onTom, Dick and Mary.^[8]: 1092

OnGunsmoke, in a 1957 episode titled "Bureaucrat", Hoyt played the part of Rex Propter, a government agent sent toDodge City, Kansas, to determine why the town had such a bad reputation for gun violence. He made five guest appearances onPerry Mason, including in the role of defendant Joseph Harrison in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Prodigal Parent", as C. Philip Reynolds in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Curious Bride", as the title character and defendant William Harper Caine in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Resolute Reformer", and as Darwin Norland in the 1963 episode "The Case of the Libelous Locket". In the 1964 episode "The Case of the Wednesday Woman", Hoyt played Thomas Webber, part owner of a jewelry business. He guest-starred, as well, onCrossroads.

Hoyt was cast in 1958 as rancher Clete Barron in the episode "Trouble in Paradise Valley" ofFrontier Doctor. Also in 1958, Hoyt was cast as a clothier inLeave It To Beaver's "Wally's New Suit" episode. In 1958 and 1959, he performed in two episodes ofRichard Diamond, Private Detective, appearing as Burnison in "The George Dale Case" and as Harding, Sr. in "Murder at the Mansion". Later in 1959, onLaramie, Hoyt portrayed mentally troubled military officer Colonel Brandon in "The General Must Die". The same year, he was cast as Antoine Rigaud in the episode "About Roger Mowbray" onRiverboat.

In 1959, Hoyt was cast as John Cavanagh in "The Mourning Cloak", an episode of the crime dramaBourbon Street Beat. About this time, he guest-starred onThe Alaskans andPony Express. Also in 1959, Hoyt was cast in an episode ("Three Legged Terror") ofThe Rifleman, playing the character Gus Fremont, the cruel uncle of Johnny Clover (Dennis Hopper). He returned toThe Rifleman in late 1960 as Civil War veteran Captain Josiah Perry, a man deranged by grief over the loss of his son, in the episode "The Martinet". In 1960 and 1961, he appeared in the episodes "Burnett's Woman" and "The Salvation of Killer McFadden" ofThe Roaring 20's. Hoyt also appeared onThe Untouchables in the 1960 episode "The Big Squeeze".

Hoyt guest-starred on at least three sitcoms:Bringing Up Buddy,Hogan's Heroes, andPetticoat Junction (in the 1966 episode "Hooterville Valley Project", as Mr. Fletcher). He was cast as Dr. Philip Boyce in the pilot episode ofStar Trek ("The Cage"), and he appeared twice during the second season ofThe Twilight Zone as both the titular character in the classic episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" and as Dr. Loren in the episode "The Lateness of the Hour". He appeared asKAOS agent Conrad Bunny in "Our Man in Toyland" onGet Smart, as General Beeker in "Hail to the Chief" onVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and as Dr. Mendoza in "I Was a Teenage Monster" onThe Monkees. He guest-starred as Colonel Hollis in "Military School" onThe Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared twice in the first season ofThe Munsters, in episodes 12 ("Sleeping Cutie")^[9] and 35 ("Herman's Happy Valley").^[10]

In 1964, Hoyt appeared in three episodes ofThe Outer Limits, most notably "The Bellero Shield". He played the role of an extraterrestrial with large eyes who says, "In all the universes, in all the unities beyond the universes, all who have eyes have eyes that speak." Less than two weeks after this episode's broadcast, alleged alien abducteesBetty and Barney Hill provided a description of their alien abductors. Skeptic Martin Kottmeyer notes that the description is notably similar to Hoyt's appearance as the extraterrestrial on the show.^[11]

He was also a guest player in "The 14-Karat Gold Trombone" and "The Interview" episodes ofThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. Because of his stern demeanor, the writers had him play opposite to the befuddled way strangers usually reacted toGracie Allen's convoluted behavior.^{[citation needed]} In the teleplay of "The Interview", Hoyt simply would not tolerate Gracie's antics and immediately removed himself from the room—twice.

He incarnatedBertrand Russell andVoltaire in episodes ofSteve Allen's PBS seriesMeeting of Minds in the late 1970s. He appeared as Sire Domra in episode 21 "Baltar's Escape" ofBattlestar Galactica.^[12]

Hoyt was married twice, first to Marian Virginia Burns from 1935 to 1960, with whom he had one child, and later to Dorothy Oltman Haveman from 1961 to 1991, when he died of lung cancer in Santa Cruz, California.^[7][3][13]

• John Hoyt atIMDb
• John Hoyt at theTCM Movie Database
• John Hoyt at theInternet Broadway Database
• John Hoyt atMemory Alpha
• John HoytArchived 2018-01-15 at theWayback Machine (Aveleyman)

• 1905 births
• 1991 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• Deaths from lung cancer in California
• Hotchkiss School alumni
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• Male actors from New York (state)
• Male actors from Santa Cruz, California
• People from Bronxville, New York
• Western (genre) television actors
• Yale University alumni

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