Olan Soule

 ( 1909 Births ) 

Beginning in 1943, he played lead male characters on radio's famed The First Nighter Program for nine years.Dunning, op. cit., "The First Nighter Program" pp. 252-254 Listeners of First Nighter who met Soule in person were often surprised, since his slight 135-pound frame did not seem to match the voices he gave to his characters. From 1941 on, Soule had the role of L. William Kelly, SS-11, the second in command of the Secret Squadron on the Captain Midnight radio adventure serial.Dunning, op. cit., "Captain Midnight" p. 137-138

He appeared as Mr. Krull, a boarding house resident in the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. He played a telegraph operator in the TV series S2 E7 "The Empty Cell" which aired 10/16/1959. He also acted in many other television series: The Donald O'Connor Show (as a semi-regular), Captain Midnight (as scientist Aristotle "Tut" Jones), I Love Lucy, several appearances as a hotel clerk and choir director John Masters on The Andy Griffith Show, and a semi-regular role as real-life LAPD criminalist Ray Pinker on the original TV and radio version of Dragnet, and as the slightly renamed but essentially identical LAPD criminalist Ray Murray on the 1967 revival version. He also played many different television roles in Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions including Dragnet, Adam-12, Emergency! and Project U.F.O..

In between the two Dragnet gigs, he had a similar semi-regular role on another LAPD-based TV series, The New Breed, as an unnamed "lab technician." He also made six appearances on Perry Mason, mostly as a court clerk, but also as a bank employee and water company official. He made at least two appearances on Petticoat Junction. In both, the 1967 episode "Shoplifter at the Shady Rest" and the 1968 episode "Mae's Helping Hand", he played Mr. Benson. In addition, he appeared several times as the clerk of the Carlton Hotel, the San Francisco residence of the character Paladin, in the TV series, Have Gun - Will Travel.

The list of Soule's supporting and starring roles is long. Some include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Jack Benny Program, I Love Lucy, The Danny Thomas Show, Dennis the Menace, The Tab Hunter Show, The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mister Ed, City Detective, Behind Closed Doors, Dante, Harrigan and Son, Hennesey, State Trooper, , The Restless Gun, The Rebel, , My Favorite Martian, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Bewitched, Pete and Gladys, The Addams Family, The Munsters, Johnny Ringo, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Happy, Bonanza, The Jean Arthur Show, Laramie, The Monkees, , The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Fantasy Island, Little House on the Prairie, Dallas and Simon & Simon.