One of the funniest movies to come out of the 1980s was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", starring Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judge Reinhold (to name a few). Perhaps one of the funniest characters to come out of that film besides Spicoli was teacher Mr. Hand, portrayed by Ray Walston, who sadly passed away at the age of 86 in January 2001.
Ray Walston is a character actor who has been around forever - with such a friendly face that you couldn't help but like him in any role he played. He starred on both stage and screen and was a beloved actor, portraying such memorable characters as Uncle Martin in "My Favorite Martian", the Devil in "Damn Yankees", and the judge on the tv series "Picket Fences".
There is some discrepancy about when he was born - some say 1914, others 1917. Some say he was born in Mississippi and later moved to New Orleans, while others say he was actually born in New Orleans. Whichever is correct, Walston got his acting start in New Orleans, when he began his acting with a bit part in a local production. When his family relocated to Houston, Walston's father dreamed of having a son in the oil business, but Ray bucked that hope and instead joined a traveling theater company. He made his stage debut with the Houston Civic Theater in 1938, and stayed for six years before going to the Cleveland Playhouse for three theater seasons.
Next stop: New York. Walston got his big break on stage as the Evil One in George Abbott's "Damn Yankees", the story of a Washington Senators baseball fan who sells his soul so his team can get a shot at the pennant. For that part Walson won the coveted Tony award for Best Actor. Two years later he recreated the role for the film version, co-starring with his Broadway co-star, Gwen Verdon.
In 1957 Walston had his big-screen debut, co-starring with Cary Grant in "Kiss Them For Me". In 1958, Walston played Navy Seabee Luther Billis in the movie version of another Broadway hit, ``South Pacific,' which he had performed on stage in London and with a road company. His career was taking off, and Ray Walston was being noticed by critics and fans alike. He mainly played cranky secondary characters, but audiences were drawn to him nonetheless.
His film career took off and he later appeared in "Say One For Me" with Bing Crosby, as well as "The Apartment" and "Kiss Me, Stupid". In "The Apartment", easily playing one of his best roles, Walston portrayed a philandering insurance executive opposite Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray. In 1964, director Billy Wilder cast him as a nervous, desperate songwriter opposite Dean Martin playing a womanizing crooner who has his sights on Walston's wife in the domestic comedy ``Kiss Me, Stupid.' Walston got this part after Peter Sellers was felled by a heart attack.
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