PHIL OBER

March 23, 1902

Philip Nott Ober was raised in White Plains, New York. After attending a preparatory school and Princeton University, he worked in advertising before moving into acting. He made his debut on stage, playing Tom Faulkner in Technique in 1931. He appeared in Lawrence Riley’s Broadway show Personal Appearance (1934) opposite Gladys George. 

Ober’s film debut came in Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934), a B-movie about voodoo. His first studio feature was 1950′s The Secret Fury, also starring Vivian Vance, one of only two films she did before “I Love Lucy.” Vance and Ober had married in 1941. 

Not coincidentally, his first television show was the fifth episode of his wife’s new show, “I Love Lucy”. 

“The Quiz Show” (ILL S1;E5) was filmed on October 5, 1951, and first aired on November 12, 1951. Ober played a man posing as a long-lost husband of Lucy’s, but he was really an actor sent by Freddy Fillmore’s radio show. Ironically, although Vivian’s real-life husband, Phil Ober, appears in this episode, her on-screen husband, Fred Mertz, does not!

He later played the role of Dore Schary in “Don Juan is Shelved” (ILL S4;E22) filmed on February 10, 1955, and first aired on March 21, 1955. This time he was a last-minute replacement when the real Dore Schary backed out just before filming. Some sources say Schary (inset photo) did not want to make enemies in Hollywood, as many feared television was taking away audiences in large numbers. Schary said that Ober would do a better job playing him than he could himself. 

Although Schary playing himself would have added an interesting dimension to the episode, the switch works because few people actually knew what Schary really looked like. This is reinforced when Bobby the Bellboy says he’s never even seen Dore Schary!

In 1959, Ober appeared on an episode of “The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” titled “Martin’s Folly” starring Tony Randall and Carl Reiner.  The show was introduced by Desi Arnaz. 

In 1959, Vivian Vance divorced Phil Ober. Reportedly, Ober physically abused Vance. When she came to the set with a black eye one day, Lucy told Vivian that if she wouldn’t divorce Ober, she would! 

Shortly afterwards, Ober turned up in a small role in The Facts of Life, playing Doc Mason. 

In December 1961, he did an episode of Desilu’s “The Real McCoys” titled “The Rich Boy.” 

He also did characters on “The Danny Thomas Show” (1956 & 1963) and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1966), shows filmed at Desilu Studios, but not produced by Desilu. 

His final screen appearances was the 1968 feature film Assignment To Kill. After that, Ober left show business to become a diplomat. In 1982, while working at the US consulate in Mexico City, he died of a heart attack after complications from lung cancer, at age 80.