Roger Charles Carmel (September 27, 1932 – November 11, 1986) was an American actor. He originated several roles on Broadway, played scores of guest roles in television series, was a lead in the sitcom The Mothers-in-Law and appeared in motion pictures.
Career
Carmel worked on Broadway from the late 1950s into the mid 1960s. He played multiple parts in The Power and the Glory (1958). He originated the roles of the 3rd Poet in Caligula (1960), Pasha in Once There Was a Russian (1961), The Deputy in Purlie Victorious (1961), and Mr. Andrikos in The Irregular Verb to Love (1963). He replaced Jack Creley in the role of Cardinal Wolsey in A Man for All Seasons (in 1962) and also replaced James Grout in Half a Sixpence (in 1966).
On television Carmel starred as the henpecked husband Roger Buell in the 1967 first season of the NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, but was replaced by Richard Deacon in season two. When the first season ended, creator and producer, Desi Arnaz told the entire cast that the show had a five year guarantee but there was no money to give the contractual raises for the second season. While the other cast members agreed to forgo their salary increases, Carmel refused to forgo his. Carmel believed that Arnaz was illegally taking four salaries from the series—producer, creator, writer and director—and this led him to quit the show.
Carmel’s television guest roles included the accountant Doug Wesley on CBS’s The Dick Van Dyke Show and Colonel Gumm on ABC’s Batman. He played the flamboyant and hapless galactic criminal Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd in two episodes of the original series of Star Trek, “Mudd’s Women” (1966) and “I, Mudd” (1967), and one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, “Mudd’s Passion” (1973). He also appeared in roles on The Patty Duke Show; I Spy; Blue Light; The Everglades; Hogan’s Heroes; Car 54, Where Are You?; Banacek; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; The Munsters; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Hawaii Five-O; The High Chaparral; All in the Family, and The San Pedro Beach Bums. He was a regular contestant on Pantomime Quiz, also known as Stump the Stars. His film roles included Gambit, Myra Breckinridge, Breezy, Thunder and Lightning, and Jerry Lewis’s comeback film, Hardly Working (1981).
Later life and death
Later in his career, Carmel was a frequent voice actor. He voiced Smokey Bear in fire safety advertisements and Decepticon deputy leader Cyclonus in the third season of the Transformers animated series (having originated the role in 1986’s Transformers: The Movie and voicing other characters in the series’ second season). In the television commercials for the Naugles chain of Mexican fast-food restaurants, he played the character of Señor Naugles.
According to a letter column in the first volume of the monthly DC Comics Star Trek comic book, Carmel was slated to reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a first-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but died before filming could commence.
Carmel was found dead in his Hollywood apartment on November 11, 1986. His death certificate listed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the cause. His death was publicly ruled a suicide, but was initially investigated by police as a “narcotics overdose.” He was interred in New Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York City. His plot is in the section dedicated to his parents’ synagogue, Temple Beth Emeth.
Television
Route 66 (1960) – episode – The Man on the Monkey Board – Man in the Shower
The Defenders (1961) – episode – The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms – Mr. Dinsmore
Car 54, Where Are You? (1962) – episode – Stop Thief – Mr. Cochran, Director (uncredited)
The Patty Duke Show (1964) – episode – Author! Author! – Mr. Blair
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) – episode – The Quadripartite Affair – Milan Horth
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1964) – episode – It Wouldn’t Hurt Them to Give Us a Raise – Doug Wesley
The Munsters (1965) – episode – Lily Munster, Girl Model – Laszlo Brastoff
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965) – episode – The Ultimate Computer Affair – Captain Cervantes
Hogan’s Heroes (1965) – episode – The Prisoner’s Prisoner – General Karl Schmidt
I Spy (1965) – episode – Affair in T’Sien Cha – Edwin Wade
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1965) S2:E12, “The Machines Strike Back” – Admiral Halder
The Phyllis Diller Show (1966) – episode – Phyllis, the General Stealer – Cannon
I Spy (1966) – episode – The Barter – Gordon Merritt
Star Trek (1966–1967) – episodes – Mudd’s Women & I, Mudd – Harry Mudd
Batman (1967) – episodes – A Piece of the Action & Batman’s Satisfaction – Colonel Gumm
I Spy (1967) – episode – Red Sash of Courage – Pappas
The Mothers-in-Law (1967–69) – 30 episodes – as Roger Buell
It Takes a Thief (1968) – episode – The Bill Is in Committee – Paz
The Hollywood Squares (1968) – 5 episodes – Himself
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1969) – episode – My Dog, the Thief: Parts 1 & 2 – McClure
Ironside (1971) – episode – Walls Are Waiting – Mike Elman
The High Chaparral (1971) – episode – The New Lion of Sonora (Part 1) – General Casados
Hawaii Five-O (1971–1972) – episodes – F.O.B. Honolulu: Parts 1 & 2 & The Ninety-Second War: Part II – Misha the Bear
Banacek (1972) – episode – To Steal a King – Oliver Garson
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) – episode – Mudd’s Passion – Harcourt Fenton Mudd (uncredited)
McMillan & Wife (1973) – episode – Death of a Monster… Birth of a Legend – Houston Gorman
McCloud (1975) – episode – The Man with the Golden Hat – David Kern
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977) – episode – Nancy Drew’s Love Match – John Bender
All in the Family (1977) – episode – Fire – Mr. Ligway
B.J. and the Bear (1979) – episode – The Eyes of Texas – Morton Jarvis
Three’s Company (1979) – episode – Ralph’s Rival – Merl Denker
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1980) – episode – Mystery on the Orly Express – Hubert Hemmings
Laverne & Shirley (1980) – episodes – Murder on the Moose Jaw Express: Parts 1 & 2 – The Waiter
Hart to Hart (1980) – episode – ‘Tis the Season to Be Murdered – Walter Brent
Diff’rent Strokes (1982) – episode – On Your Toes – Dimitri Kuznetsov
The Transformers (1985–1987) – 32 episodes – Cyclonus / Motormaster / Bruticus / Unicron / Prime Minister of Japan / Various
The Berenstain Bears (1985-1986) – Additional Male Voices (29 episodes)
The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986) – Additional Voices
Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1986) – 4 episodes – Sir Tuxford / Town Crier / Charm Teacher
DuckTales (1987) – episode – Master of the Djinni – Sultan (voice) (final appearance)
Filmography
Stage Struck (1958) – Stagehand (uncredited)
Act One (1963) – Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
A House Is Not a Home (1964) – Dixie Keeler
Goodbye Charlie (1964) – Inspector Frank McGill
The Art of Love (1965) – Zorgus
The Silencers (1966) – Andreyev
Alvarez Kelly (1966) – Capt. Angus Ferguson
The Venetian Affair (1966) – Mike Ballard
Gambit (1966) – Ram
Skullduggery (1970) – Otto Kreps
Myra Breckinridge (1970) – Dr. Randolph Spencer Montag
The Telephone Book (1971) – Analyst
Breezy (1973) – Bob Henderson
Thunder and Lightning (1977) – Ralph Junior Hunnicutt
That’s Life (1979)
Hardly Working (1980) – Robert Trent
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) – Cyclonus / Quintesson Leader (voice)
Transformers: Five Faces of Darkness (1986) – Cyclonus / Motormaster / Quintesson Judge #2 / Unicron (voice)
External Links
Actor Roger C. Carmel – Wikipedia
