Bernard Philip Ofner, better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an Americanfilm, television, and radio actor. His most prominent roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s Dragnettelevision series, appearances in the 1960s on The Twilight Zone, in which he played a Venusian living under cover on Earth in "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?", and a supporting role as actor Fletcher Huff in the short-lived 1970s CBS series, The Betty White Show.
Biography and career
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Harry Nathan Ofner, a commercial salesman for the leather industry, and Leona Frank Ofner, a naturalized citizen of German origin, who went by the nickname Lonnie. He grew up and was educated in St. Louis, then moved to Los Angeles, California, after he graduated from college in 1935. Interested in acting, he got a small part in an independently produced Grade-B Western called Black Aces in 1937, but his show business career then languished. In 1940, he was in Meet the People on Broadway. Phillips enlisted in the United States Army in July 1941, serving in the signal corps during World War II. Following the war, Phillips procured small parts in several films during 1949-1952, before getting a regular role on the NBC television version of Jack Webb's Dragnet, as Sgt. Jacobs. He also voiced the recurring role of Hamilton J. Finger, a police sergeant in Frank Sinatra's radio program Rocky Fortune in 1953 and 1954. Thereafter he was a prolific character actor in both films and television series throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1955, he played Mr. Jamison in the I Love Lucy episode "Ricky's European Booking." He also played minor roles in two episodes of Perry Mason, including Mr. Johnson in "The Case of the Wintry Wife" in 1961. In the 1959-1960 television season, Phillips portrayed police Lieutenant Geller in the syndicatedcrime dramaJohnny Midnight, starring Edmond O'Brien as a New York City actor-turned-private detective. The following season, Phillips appeared as another police lieutenant, named "Avery," in seven episodes of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan, starring Stephen Dunne and Mark Roberts. In 1962, Phillips was cast as the historical General Winfield Scott Hancock in the episode "The Truth Teller" of the syndicated anthology seriesDeath Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. The episode focuses on the negotiations leading to the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867. Ed Kemmer appeared as investigative reporter Henry Morton Stanley, who assesses Hancock's success in avoiding war on the frontier. Charles Carlson, who had a limited acting career from 1960 to 1967, was cast as Wild Bill Hickok. Phillips remained active in television through the 1970s until his death in 1982. He was generally a guest star or featured player ; but he did have a number of recurring character roles in television, as series regular "Doc" Kaiser in Twelve O'Clock High, and as a regular on The Betty White Show. However, his best known role is likely to be as a surprising diner counterman in a long-remembered episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" on The Twilight Zone. Among many other appearances, Phillips can be seen briefly in Stan Freberg's Jeno's pizza roll commercial.
