HERB VIGRAN

June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986

Herbert Vigran  was a character actor from the 1930s to the 1980s. 

Vigran was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but his family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he was 16. He married Belle Pasternack in 1952 and they had two sons. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances, many with Lucille Ball or for Desilu. 

Vigran occasionally turned up on Lucille Ball’s radio show, “My Favorite Husband” (1948-50) in various roles.

Vigran also was heard on “Grandby’s Green Acres” a summer replacement series for “My Favorite Husband” which also featured Bea Benadaret and Gale Gordon. It was the radio prototype for the CBS TV sitcom “Green Acres” 15 years later. Ironically, although he appeared on TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Petticoat Junction”, which shared characters and locations with “Green Acres,” it was the only series Vigran was not in!   

He made his “I Love Lucy” debut as Jule, Ricky’s music agent, in “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2) in 1952… 

….and immediately returned in “The Anniversary Present” (ILL S2;E3) to play the same character – and wearing the same costume!  

In “The Anniversary Present” he co-starred with Gloria Blondell, whom he also appeared with in an episode of “The Life of Riley” in five episodes from 1953 to 1955, although, just like on “I Love Lucy,” the two never shared screen time! 

November 1954, Vigran did an episode of Desilu’s “December Bride” as well as three episodes of “Our Miss Brooks” starring Even Arden and Gale Gordon. 

He played Pete Wilson on two episodes of “The Ann Sothern Show” in 1959 and 1960. Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo on the series for a single episode in 1959. 

He also played Mrs. Trumbull’s nephew Joe, the washing machine repairman, in “Never Do Business With Friends” (ILL S2;E31)… 

…and Al Sparks, the publicist who turns Lucy and Ethel into Women from Mars, in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23). 

Vigran played the salesman who sold Lucy and Desi The Long, Long Trailer (1953). 

On “The Lucy Show” he played the role of Doctor Jacoby, who was also Danfield’s part-time baseball umpire during season one. He returned to the same role in the more colorful season two. 

He played a Danfield Postman in “Lucy and the Lost Stamp” (TLS S3;E14).   

Vigran was a Los Angeles veterinarian in “Lucy and the Countess Have a Horse Guest” (TLS S4;E6). He discovers that Lucy and Rosie’s horse is a she, not a he, and that she is expecting!  This episode marked William Frawley’s final screen appearance. Vigran had done four films with Frawley from 1947 to 1951. 

In 1966′s “Lucy, the Super Woman” (TLS S4;E26), Vigran plays the man who comes to install and demonstrate the heavy computer that Mr. Mooney installs and Lucy later miraculously lifts off her boss’s foot! 

Speaking of super powers, Vigran and Lucille Ball both acted opposite the Man of Steel (George Reeves).  Vigran did six episodes of “The Adventures of Superman” between 1952 and 1958.  In 1957, Superman was the surprise guest at Little Ricky’s birthday party on a season six episode of “I Love Lucy.” 

In his final appearance on “The Lucy Show”, he played another doctor, Major Cooper, the doctor who gives Lou C. Carmichael a physical in “Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft” (TLS S5;E9). At the end of the episode, Jim Nabors does a cameo as Gomer Pyle.  

Shortly afterwards, Vigran made four appearances on “Gomer Pyle USMC,” a spin-off of “The Andy Griffith Show” also filmed by Desilu. Vigran turned up in Mayberry in 1962 and 1965 on “The Andy Griffith Show” and in 1969 and 1970 on “Mayberry RFD”. Both shows were spin-offs of “The Danny Thomas Show” (also filmed by Desilu) on which Vigran appeared six times between 1955 and 1963. Like Lucille Ball he did a single episode of “Make Room For Granddaddy” (1971).  Lucy played her “Here’s Lucy” character Lucy Carter. In 1959, “Danny Thomas” did a crossover episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” (and vice versa) where the Williams’ and the Ricardos families meet – meaning that all of Herb Vigran’s characters on these shows are connected by degrees to Lucy Ricardo, Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Carter!  Six Degrees of Lucy! 

It becomes even more remarkable to learn that the day Vigran died, Monday, November 29, 1986, an episode of “Life With Lucy” was supposed to air, but the series was canceled a few weeks earlier. 

Vigran and Larry J. Blake played cops on the beat in “Jack Benny’s Carnival Nights” (1968) featuring Lucille Ball, although they did not share any scenes together. For ten years, Vigran had appeared on 19 episodes of Benny’s television program. He also played a cop when Jack Benny starred in Desilu’s “Shower of Stars” in 1957. Coincidentally, Vigran and Blake also appeared together in a 1956 episode of Desilu’s “Cavalcade of America” where Blake also played a cop. 

In 1959, Vigran did an episode each of Desilu-filmed shows “The Texan,” “The Untouchables,” and “Whirlybirds.” 

In 1968, Desi Arnaz hired Vigran for an episode of his sitcom “The Mothers-in-Law.”  Interestingly, the credits spell his full first name “Herburt” which is also how it was spelled in his Los Angeles Times obituary.