Arthur Tovey(1904-2000)

Extremely prolific and ubiquitous extra Arthur Roland Tovey was born on November 14, 1904 in Douglas, Arizona. Tovey appeared in his first film in an uncredited minor role in 1924 and began working profusely as a background extra starting in the mid-1940's. One of the most busy and tireless of American bit players, Arthur popped up in scores of movies and TV shows alike in a career that spanned an impressive seven decades altogether and was still plugging away into his early 90's. Moreover, Tovey not only served in the U.S. Army during World War II, but also was a longtime member of both the Musicians Local 47 -- he was a musician all his life who was especially adept at playing the piano -- and the Screen Actors Guild. Arthur died at age 95 of natural causes at his home in Van Nuys, California on October 20, 2000.