Philip Ober(1902-1982)
- Actor
Philip Ober's bald head, stern bearing and booming voice made him a
natural for the roles of business executives, high-ranking military
officers and other authority figures he played so well. A Princeton
University graduate, Ober spent years as an advertising executive for
several different national magazines before switching careers to
acting. He spent many years on Broadway and in stock companies before
breaking into films. His best remembered roles would probably be that
of the murder victim who dies in Cary Grant's arms in North by Northwest (1959) and the
bullying officer whose wife is having an affair with his subordinate,
Burt Lancaster, in From Here to Eternity (1953). He also did much television work, including
appearances on his wife's show, I Love Lucy (1951) (he was married to Vivian Vance at
the time). He retired from acting and went into the U.S. diplomatic
service, and, while working at the U.S. consulate in Mexico City, died
of a heart attack in 1982.
