LAWRENCE DOBKIN

September 16, 1919

Lawrence ‘Larry’ Dobkin was born in New York City and went on to become a successful character actor and director with a career spanning seven decades. 

Dobkin was a popular performer during the Golden Age of Radio. His voice was used to narrate the classic western “Broken Arrow” (1950). He was one of five actors who played detective Ellery Queen in “The Adventures of Ellery Queen.” In “The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe” (1950–51), Dobkin played detective Archie Goodwin opposite Sydney Greenstreet.

“The few of us who are left…” Dobkin later said of his radio days, “…keep telling each other that we never had it so good.”

He started screen acting in 1946 with Best Picture winner The Best Years of Our Lives.  

From 1960 to 1985, Dobkin was a busy TV director. He directed episodes of Desilu series’ (or series’ filmed at Desilu) such as “Star Trek,” “The Real McCoys,” “My Living Doll,” and “The Andy Griffith Show.” 

His film performances include Never Fear (1949), Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and North by Northwest (1959).

Dobkin was recognizable for his bald head, so he wore hats in two of his three appearances on “I Love Lucy.”  Oddly, he was not cast in “Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald” (ILL S1;E34)!

MAX: “Just caught this dame with her hand in the till!”

Dobkin first played Max, the diner counter man in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (ILL S2;E30) in 1953. When Lucy needs change for the payphone, she helps herself to the cash register while Max and the policeman are glued to the boxing match on the diner’s TV.  Busted! 

In “Equal Rights” (ILL S3;E4) Dobkin played Xavier, who is either the maitre’ d or headwaiter of the unnamed restaurant where the Ricardos and Mertzes  dine. It is unclear if Xavier is his real name, or if Desi is just ad-libbing based on the first name of his former employer Xavier Cugat. Ricky bribes (tips?) Xavier to make Lucy and Ethel wash dishes to pay for their meals, a common TV and movie trope of the time. 

XAVIER: “What are you trying to do? Skip out without paying?”

Although this is an Italian Restaurant, Dobkin does not attempt an Italian accent. The part might have been better cast with Louis Nicoletti, one of the show’s regular Italian-American performers, who plays a policeman in the episodes final scene.  

Also in 1953, Dobkin did an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” starring Gale Gordon. The series was filmed by Desilu Studios. 

COUNTERFEITER: “As you Americans say: No Overhead!”

His third and final appearance on “I Love Lucy” was as a counterfeiter in “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18), where he does show of an accent. His shady transaction outside the American Express office gets Lucy into a pile of merde!  

In early 1957, he guest starred on Desilu’s “Whirlybirds” and “The Danny Thomas Show” featuring Mary Wickes. 

Although he was never seen, he was part of television history from 1960 to 1963. Preceding the closing credits of each episode of the landmark ABC television network series “Naked City”, he could heard saying "There are eight million stories in the naked city, and this has been one of them.“

In April 1959, he did a day on Desilu’s “The Ann Sothern Show.” 

In November, Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo on the series’ season two premiere.  

In 1959 and 1960, Dobkin did two episodes of the anthology series “The Westinghoue-Desilu Playhouse” introduced by Desi Arnaz, who also acted as Executive Producer. 

A series that grew out of “Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” was “The Untouchables.” Wearing a toupee, Dobkin played Dutch Schultz on three episodes of the series in 1959/60.  

Dobkin was nominated for an 1968 Emmy

for playing Dr. Gettlinger in "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight,” an episode of “CBS Playhouse”.

A 1998 live recreation of “My Favorite Husband”, billed as "Lucy’s First Sitcom: A 50th Anniversary Reunion,” featured Dobkin and “I Love Lucy” veterans Doris Singleton, Shirley Mitchell, Janet Waldo, Peggy Rea, and Roz and Marilyn Borden. Suzanne LaRusch play Liz Cooper and Dwayne Hickman (TV’s Dobie Gillis) played her favorite husband George.

He recorded excerpts from “Laughs, Luck.. and Lucy” by Jess Oppenheimer for the “I Love Lucy" DVD release.

He had one daughter, Debra Dobkin, by his first wife, Frances Hope Walker. 

In 1962, he married actress Joanna Barnes (above); they had no children. Dobkin married actress Anne Collings in 1970 and had two children. 

On October 28, 2002, Dobkin died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles. He was 83 years old.