I'm Dickens, He's Fenster

Background:

In the entertainment industry since the 1950s, comedian, actor and agent Marty Ingels made his film debut in 1961's “Armored Command.” He hit the big time as Arch Fenster in the comedy series “I'm Dickens, He's Fenster” (1962-1963), opposite John Astin. He went on to earn a reputation as a voice actor for his work in such animated productions as “The New Tom & Jerry Show” (1975), “The Great Grape Ape Show” (1977) and “Pac-Man” (1982). More recently, he appeared in a 2006 episode of “ER,” in Len Austrevich’s “Chasing Robert” (2007), the horror movie “Parasomnia” (2008) and in an episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2010). He will costar in the upcoming film “Bruce the Challenge,” which is scheduled to be released in 2011.

Ingels has been married to Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones since 1977.

Brooklyn

Childhood and Family:

Martin Ingerman, who would later be popular as Marty Ingels, was born on March 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York. He had a troubled upbringing and after completing school, entered the army. The winner of several game shows, Marty later headed to California to try his hand at acting.

On November 13, 1977, Marty married singer-actress Shirley Jones (born March 31, 1934). Subsequently, he became the stepfather of Shaun, Ryan and Patrick, Shirley's sons from her previous marriage to actor Jack Cassidy. After more than two decades together, Marty and Shirley became estranged but reconciled six months later. Marty was previously married to Jean Marie Frassinelli (1960-1969).

Pac-Man

Career:

Marty Ingels first appeared on the small screen in the late 1950s when he was hired as a comedian for the Emmy winning variety series “The Steve Allen Show.” His first real acting job came when he landed a two episode role in the NBC short-lived series “Dan Raven” (1960). In 1961, he debuted on the big screen with “Armored Command,” a film starring Howard Keel. He then portrayed the reoccurring role of Sol Pomeroy in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-1962) and received a starring role, opposite John Astin, in the sitcom “I'm Dickens, He's Fenster” (1962-1963).

Ingels made his next movie appearance in “The Horizontal Lieutenant” (1962), which was based on a novel by Gordon Cotler. He then joined Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann two years later for the comedy “Wild and Wonderful.” After guest starring in “The Addams Family” and “Bewitched” (both 1966), he supported Sid Caesar, Robert Ryan and Anne Baxter in the comedy “The Busy Body” (1967) and appeared with Walter Matthau and Inger Stevens in director Gene Kelly's “A Guide for the Married Man” (1967). It was also that same year that Ingels returned to series TV in “The Pruitts of Southampton,” in which he portrayed Norman Krump. The sitcom lasted 30 episodes.

The Brooklyn native spent the rest of the decade appearing in the movies “Silent Treatment” (1968), “For Singles Only” (1968, starred John Saxon and Mary Ann Mobley), Mel Stuart's “If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium” (1969, with Suzanne Pleshette and Ian McShane) and “The Picasso Summer” (1969). He also portrayed a gangster in the TV film adaptation of Bella-Sam Spewack's play “Kiss Me Kate” (1968) and his voice was heard in the cartoon series “Cattanooga Cats” and the spin-off “Motormouse and Autocat” (both 1969).

During the 1970s, Ingels appeared in episodes of “The Rookies” (1973), “Adam-12” (1973-1974), “The Ghost Busters” (1975), “Police Story” (1975-1976), “CHiPs” (1977), “The Love Boat” (1978) and “Family” (1979). He also voiced Beegle Beagle in “The New Tom & Jerry Show” (1975) and “The Great Grape Ape Show” (1977). He maintained his presence in films with roles in 1974's “How to Seduce a Woman” and 1975's “Linda Lovelace for President.”

Ingels received the voice role of the title character in the animated series “Pac-Man” in 1982. He reprised the voice role in the TV film “Christmas Comes to PacLand” later that same year. After the projects, he left acting and did not return until 1990 with a small part in the film “Instant Karma.” He followed it up with a string of guest roles in such series as “Murder, She Wrote,” “Burke's Law,” “Baywatch” and “Walker, Texas Ranger.” His next film credits included “Round Numbers” (1992), “The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them” (1993) and “Kartenspieler (1999). Ingels' voice could be heard in an episode of “Darkwing Duck” (1995), the video game “Zork: Grand Inquisitor” (1997, as Griff) and the direct-to-video “The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998, as Hathi the Elephant).

In the new millennium, Ingels portrayed Richard Chainey in “Down the Barrel” (2003), which went straight to video, a butler in the animation series “Z-Squad” (2006) and guest starred in an episode of “ER” (2006).

Recently, Ingels was cast in William Malone's horror film “Parasomnia” (2009). He is scheduled to appear with his wife (Shirley Jones) in the upcoming movie “Bruce the Challenge” (2011).

Awards:
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