David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. He had a prolific career as a character actor between 1960 and 2014, appearing in over 140 film and television productions, as well as playing the title character in both Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) and The Big Lebowski (1998). He was a Primetime Emmy Award nominee, and was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for the Broadway play Death of a Salesman.
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Early life
Huddleston was born in Vinton, Virginia in 1930, the son of Ismay Hope (née Dooley) and Lewis Melvin Huddleston. He attended Fork Union Military Academy for high school (postgraduate class of 1949), where he listed Villamont, Virginia, as his hometown, and he is listed among the school's prominent alumni. He was briefly an officer in the United States Air Force before beginning his formal education in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts via the G.I. Bill.
Career
Film
Known mainly as a character actor, Huddleston starred in the title role of 1985's big-budget film Santa Claus: The Movie, which featured a top-billed Dudley Moore as an elf. One of Huddleston's first roles came in the 1968 drama A Lovely Way to Die. Among Huddleston's notable feature-film credits prior to Santa Claus: The Movie are his co-starring roles in Blazing Saddles, McQ, The Klansman, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Breakheart Pass.
Huddleston's post-Santa Claus: The Movie career found him making occasional co-starring roles, in Finnegan Begin Again, Frantic, Life with Mikey, The Big Lebowski in which he played the title role, and G-Men from Hell.
In 2009, he appeared in the thriller Locker 13. Huddleston was also featured in the 2010 special It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: It's a Very Sunny Christmas released directly to DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download.
Television
Shortly after his film debut, the actor became a frequent guest star on several of the leading television series of the 1960s and 1970s, among them, Adam-12, Then Came Bronson, Gunsmoke, Bewitched, Bonanza, Columbo, Cannon, McMillan & Wife, The Waltons, The Rookies, Medical Center, Kung Fu, Emergency!, Spencer's Pilots, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Police Woman, Hawaii Five-O, Walker, Texas Ranger, Charlie's Angels, Vega$, Sanford and Son, The Practice, and The Rockford Files. He appeared in many episodes of the TV series Petrocelli, as Lieutenant John Ponce during the series' run from 1974 to 1976. He appeared in an unaired episode of the short-lived 1974 series The New Land and in the episode "The Nomads" from the 1977 series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (known in the United Kingdom as Twist in the Tale). He starred as J. T. Kallikak in the short-lived NBC situation comedy The Kallikaks later in 1977, and in 1979, he played the title role in the short-lived situation comedy Hizzonner as a small-town mayor.
Huddleston resumed his television career with roles in various television movies, among them Heatwave! (1974), The Oregon Trail (1976), Shark Kill (1976), Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978), Family Reunion (1981), Computercide (1982), and M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (1983). For much of the 1980s, Huddleston also starred in a series of television commercials for the Citrus Hill brand of orange juice. Later, he also had a recurring role as Albert "Gramps" Arnold, the paternal grandfather of the protagonist in The Wonder Years. Huddleston appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation as the train conductor in the episode "Emergence". He also appeared twice on The West Wing as Max Lobell, a Republican Senator who allies with Jed Bartlet on the issue of campaign finance reform.
Theatre
Among his Broadway theatre roles, Huddleston starred in productions of The First (1981), Death of a Salesman (1984), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1993-94), and as Benjamin Franklin in 1776 (1997-98). His performance as Franklin in a later Boston run of 1776 is referenced in the book Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, referring to him as "the actor who played the Big Lebowski in The Big Lebowski." For his portrayal of Charley in Death of a Salesman, he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play in 1984.
Huddleston also appeared in touring productions of The Music Man, Mame, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Personal life
Huddleston was married three times. At the time of his passing, he was married to casting director Sarah Koeppe. His son Michael (1951-2021) was also an actor.
Death
On August 2, 2016, Huddleston died of heart and kidney disease in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 85.
