Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances, notably as Lurvy in Charlotte's Web.

Early years Vigran was born in Cincinnati on June 5, 1910. His family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he was 16. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Indiana University School of Law (Bloomington) in 1933, but later chose to pursue acting.

Stage Billed as Herbert Vigran, he appeared on Broadway in three plays from 1935 through 1938: Achilles Had a Heel (1935), Cyrano de Bergerac (1936), and Having Wonderful Time (1937). He also toured in Cyrano de Bergerac.

Radio After starting out on Broadway, Vigran soon moved to Hollywood with no money and only the Broadway acting experience. He first worked in radio in 1937 on Five Star Final and Our Gal Sunday. In 1939, Vigran's agent helped him secure a lead in the radio drama Silver Theatre. The actor had a $5 recording made of the radio show and used it as a demo to get other jobs with his unique voice. He performed in radio shows with the likes of Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball and Jimmy Durante.

Military service Vigran had basic training with the Army in 1943, after which he was made responsible for entertainment at Torney General Hospital in Palm Springs. He was released in October 1945.

Television He later had hundreds of television appearances on shows like Adventures of Superman (six episodes), Dragnet (eleven episodes), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (seven episodes), The Dick Van Dyke Show (three episodes), Perry Mason (two episodes), Dragnet 1967 (seven episodes), Petticoat Junction (one episode, 1969), and The Brady Bunch (two episodes). Vigran had a recurring role as Judge Brooker in Gunsmoke between 1970 and 1975. He appeared in four I Love Lucy episodes, and in the 1954 episode titled "Lucy Is Envious", Vigran is the promoter who hired Lucy and Ethel to dress up as "Women from Mars" for a publicity stunt. With his bushy eyebrows and balding pate, he was easily cast in a wide variety of middle-aged "everyman" roles: cops, small-time crooks, judges, jurors, bartenders, repairmen, neighbors, shopkeepers, etc.

Film Vigran had a small but significant role in Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947) as a reporter who interviews Chaplin as the title character while he is awaiting execution, while 1954's White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye saw Vigran in the role of Novello, a nightclub owner who ushers in the stars to see his floor show attraction, The Haines Sisters.

In the rock and roll movie Go, Johnny, Go! (1959), Vigran played an assistant to promoter Alan Freed and performed dialogue scenes with rock musician Chuck Berry. He also provided the voice of "Whitney's boss" in a series of Arrowhead bottled water commercials for television and radio in the 1960s.

Personal life In 1952, Vigran married Belle Pasternack. The couple had two sons.

Vigran was active up until his death.

Death Vigran died of complications from cancer at age 76 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was cremated.

Stage, radio, television, and film appearances Theater DateTitleRoleOctober 13, 1935 – October 1935Achilles Had a HeelMonkey and other members of societyApril 27, 1936 – June 1936Cyrano de BergeracA CavalierFebruary 20, 1937 – January 8, 1938Having a Wonderful TimeHoneymooner

Radio YearTitleRole NetworkNotes1939Silver Theatre actor CBS 1942–?Those We Love "Nosey" Jones ?1946The Sad Sack Sad Sack CBS Summer replacement for The Frank Sinatra Show 1946–1949The Eddie Cantor Show supporting actor NBC and CBS Dunning, op. cit., "The Eddie Cantor Show" pp. 220–2251947–1952California Caravan supporting actor Mutual-Don Lee Dunning, op. cit., "California Caravan" p. 1311948The Damon Runyon Theater Harry the Horse various 52 shows on records sold to various networks until mid-1950sDunning, op. cit., "Damon Runyon Theater" p. 1891949–1953Father Knows Best neighbor NBC Dunning, op. cit., "Father Knows Best" pp. 243–2441949–1954Broadway Is My Beat supporting actor CBS Dunning, op. cit., "Broadway Is My Beat" pp. 120–1211950–1952The Halls of Ivy supporting actor NBC Dunning, op. cit., "The Halls of Ivy" pp. 308–3091950–1951Tales of the Texas Rangers supporting actor NBC Dunning, op. cit., "Tales of the Texas Rangers" pp. 652–6531953–1954Family Skeleton supporting actor CBS Dunning, op. cit., "Family Skeleton" p. 2401979–1981 Sears Radio Theater supporting actor CBS-Mutual Dunning, op. cit., "Sears Radio Theater" p. 603

Television