Elliott Bruce Lewis (November 28, 1917 – May 23, 1990)[1] was an American actor, writer, producer, and director who worked in radio and television during the 20th century.

He was known for his ability to work in these capacities across all genres during the golden age of radio, which earned him the nickname "Mr.

He gave voice to the bitter Harvard-educated Soundman on the 1940–41 series of Burns and Allen and several characters (Rudy the radio detective, the quick-tempered delivery man, and Joe Bagley) on the 1947–48 series, many characters on The Jack Benny Radio Show (including the thuggish "Mooley", and cowboy star "Rodney Dangerfield"), a variety of characters on the Parkyakarkus show,[18] and Rex Stout's roguish private eye Archie Goodwin, playing opposite Francis X. Bushman in The Amazing Nero Wolfe (1945).

[15]: 147  He played Harry Graves on Junior Miss,[15]: 185–86 [16][17] Barney Dunlap on Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police,[15]: 311–12 [16] Mr. Peterson on This Is Judy Jones,[14]: 664  and adventurer Phillip Carney on the Mutual Broadcasting System's Voyage of the Scarlet Queen[15]: 348 [16][17] Lewis was an announcer on Escape.

[13][22][12] During World War II, Lewis was a master sergeant who produced 120 shows for the Armed Forces Radio Network.

[13] Much of his work involved recording programs from commercial networks and editing them before they were broadcast to military personnel.

"[23] In an era that preceded tape recording, that meant working with transcriptions on glass discs, which could easily be broken.

[20] Perhaps Lewis' most famous role on radio was that of the hard-living, trouble-making, left-handed guitar player Frankie Remley on NBC's The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.

[1][3] This character, based in name only on the actual guitar player in Harris' band, served only one purpose – to get Phil into trouble.

[25] Jeanine Roose, who portrayed Alice Jr. on the program, described Lewis as a "totally extroverted wild man," adding, "He and Phil would play off each other all the time; they had such good rapport and a genuine liking for each other.

Harris left Benny's show at the end of the 1951–52 season, and the Frankie Remley name was changed in the first episode of the 1952–53 season of the Harris-Faye Show (October 5, 1952), "Hotel Harris", in which the character claimed "Frankie Remley" was just his stage name, and he now wanted to go by his given name of "Elliott Lewis".

[32] Lewis said he disagreed with studio executives and sponsors who, he said, would ask for changes to a script shortly before a show was to record.

On his desk was a mug with a question printed that Lewis had heard from Fred Allen: "Where were you when the page was blank?"

[20] As a producer, director, and writer, Lewis was a force behind such radio programs as The Lineup,[15]: 201–02  Mr. Aladdin,[14]: 462  Pursuit[14]: 555  Suspense,[14]: 647 [16][3][17] Broadway Is My Beat,[16] Crime Classics, and numerous other shows.

"[20] Lewis did work in film, although radio was his great passion, and he claimed to become extremely nervous in front of cameras.

[12] On the big screen, he played the distraught father of a child killed in a car accident in The Devil on Wheels (1947), narrated The Winner's Circle (1948), and portrayed Rod Markle in The Story of Molly X (1949).

He also appeared as a police officer in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950), and as reporter Eddie Adams in Saturday's Hero (1951).

[41] Lewis reported that though the records never made much money, years later, he learned that they were played annually by the CBS affiliate station in St. Louis, KMOX.

[6] Though he was initially critical of television,[42] Lewis began to work in the medium in the final years of the golden age of radio.

[46] Lewis was one of three members of a "board of revue" established by NBC-TV to oversee development of color programming in 1955.

[47] In 1956, he was executive producer of Tomado Productions' Crime Classics, a TV version of the radio program of the same title.

[48] By the 1960s, Lewis was directing such shows as The Mothers-in-Law,[49] Petticoat Junction, and Bill Cosby's and Andy Griffith's programs.

[60] In his later years, Lewis wrote seven detective novels about Fred Bennett, a police officer who becomes a private investigator.

Wigton filed for an annulment on the grounds that Lewis had tricked her into marriage by falsely claiming he wanted to start a family.