Biography
Harry L. Lewis (April 1, 1920 β June 9, 2013) was a supporting actor in films and was the founder, along with his wife Marilyn, of the Hamburger Hamlet restaurant chain. Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 1, 1920. His first film role was as a flagman in Dive Bomber (1941). He was immediately put under contract to Warner Bros., at which he made several films. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Edward "Toots" Bass, one of Edward G. Robinson's henchmen, in 1948's Key Largo.Other small film roles included appearances as Claude Rains's butler in The Unsuspected (1947), Sheriff Clyde Boston in Gun Crazy (1949), the head of a gang of criminals in Blonde Dynamite (1950), and as a gangster in "The Monkey Mystery" episode of Adventures of Superman on television (1951). He also had a minor role as a slave in Cecil B. Demille's epic The Ten Commandments.
In 1950, Lewis and his then girlfriend Marilyn Friedman, invested US$3,500 (equivalent to $42,600 in 2022) to open the Hamburger Hamlet restaurant at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Hilldale Avenue on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The restaurant was successful and grew into a chain of 24 locations. The couple's two children, David and Adam, joined them in the restaurant business. The Lewises took Hamburger Hamlet public in 1969, and sold the company for $29.2 million in 1987 (equivalent to $75.2 million in 2022).
Lewis died on June 9, 2013, at the age of 93. His widow Marilyn died on May 3, 2017.
Filmography
all 27
Movies 24
TV Shows 3
The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)
The Man Is Armed (1956)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
Vice Squad (1953)
Run for the Hills (1953)
Mr. & Mrs. North (1952)
The Fat Man (1951)
Blonde Dynamite (1950)
Gun Crazy (1950)
Bomba on Panther Island (1949)
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch (1949)
Key Largo (1948)
Wallflower (1948)
Always Together (1947)
The Unsuspected (1947)
Her Kind of Man (1946)
Winged Victory (1944)
The Last Ride (1944)
Air Force (1943)
The Hard Way (1943)
Beyond the Line of Duty (1942)
Desperate Journey (1942)
Always in My Heart (1942)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
One Foot in Heaven (1941)
Bulldog Courage (1935)
Ratings
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Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1920-04-01
Deathday2013-06-09 (93 years old)
Birth PlaceLos Angeles, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsCpl. Harry Lewis, Harry L. Lewis
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