Good Bye Santa

Huddleston, who died Tuesday at the age of 85, starred in the 1998 crime comedy movie along with actors Jeff Bridges and John Goodman. Huddleston’s character was millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski, namesake of Bridges’ character, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski.” Since its premiere, the film has gathered a cult following. Huddleston, who started performing when he was four years old to help support his rural Virginia family, appeared in scores of plays, films and television shows beginning in the late 1950s. His his sparkling blue eyes and poker-faced wit distinguished him from other character actors. Huddleston got his start in acting after he served four years in the Air Force. He used the GI Bill to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and graduated in 1957. He starred in several traveling theater productions before making the leap to the big screen. He played the title roles in Santa Claus: The Movie in 1985 and Hizzoner, an NBC series in 1979 about a small-town mayor. He was nominated for an Emmy for portraying Grandpa Arnold on the comedy-drama The Wonder Years, which ran on ABC from 1988 to 1993. The role he said he relished most was that of Benjamin Franklin, which he played in revivals of 1776 on Broadway in 1998 and at Ford’s Theater in Washington in 2003. “If he could have afforded to go to college, he probably would have been a politician,” Koeppe said of her husband in a telephone interview, the New York Times reported. Koeppe, a casting director and acting teacher, me Huddleston when she cast him as Santa, a role for which he learned to drive a team of reindeer. He played a variety of supporting roles with John Wayne and Bette Davis in his early film career. “He was so proud of the fact that he got to work with the greats,” said Koeppe. Beyond film and theater, Huddleston also starred on the small screen. In 1990, he received an Emmy nomination for his role as Grandpa in the sitcom The Wonder Years, a popular family comedy set in the 1960s. He ended his prolific career at the same place he started -- on the stage. There was something about the live audience that drew him in. He loved it, said Koeppe. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sarah C. Koeppe, and his son Michael Huddleston, according to the obituary Koeppe published this week.